In Tennessee, the Bullhorn Justins -- ousted state legislators Justin Jones and Justin Pearson -- routinely employ the metaphor of crucifixion in reference to their expulsion, and now resurrection. Lindsey Kornick at Fox News reports these same metaphors comparing the Democrats to Jesus are broke out Monday night on MSNBC.
On The Beat with Ari Melber, Rev. Mark Thompson, who hosted a leftist talk show for Sirius/XM satellite radio for almost 20 years, spoke live from a rally for the two men, after Jones are voted back in by the Nashville Metro Council (a similar vote is expected for Pearson in Memphis on Thursday).
Thompson said: "The word is right. It’s jubilant. Last week they sent these two gentlemen home, but it’s Easter weekend. So they’ve been resurrected. They’re back in their seats. And whatever the Republicans here were up to has been thwarted for now."
Guest host Melissa Murray agreed, "This is an Easter miracle of sorts, the resurrection of the political careers of these two men, or what will be two men if Memphis does the same thing." Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson merely hailed them as "mega-political stars," not quite Jesus.
Thompson made a similar comment while appearing on The ReidOut in the next hour. Reid began that hour by proclaiming "The useless humiliation of that state by pro-gun Republicans is now complete." Thompson recalled something Reid said last Thursday. "When you said 'watch God work,' we witnessed what was really an expulsion during the weekend of the crucifixion, but truth crushed the earth to rise again, so here is the manifestation of that truth crusher, a resurrection, and Justin Jones called it that himself. That's exactly what this is, so people feel jubilant....Just after being expelled, he has now been restored."
Thompson used the same rhetoric on Joy Reid's show on Thursday. "We’ll see what happens with Justin Pearson, but for these Republicans in Tennessee to do this, and for them to be so evangelical and as Bible-thumping as they are, to not realize the irony in trying to expel three today on the eve of the day when tomorrow, when three were crucified, simply for standing up for what is right and trying to end gun violence in this country."
MSNBC legal analyst Brittney Packett Cunningham called the expulsions "deeply unholy" during Holy Week.
The Beat guest host Jason Johnson on Thursday even metaphorically implied Jesus was black: "You know, between the anniversary of MLK’s assassination and Easter, this is a time of year we have to remember that governments have a tendency to kill black men who stand up against oppression and violence on behalf of the underprivileged and underserved."
The Jesus metaphors on Monday's Melber show were brought to you in part by E-Trade.
