On Thursday afternoon, the Tennessee legislature voted to oust three Democrat members of the state’s House of Representatives due to their instigation of an insurrection earlier in the week over the left’s demand that the legislative body passes a gun control bill. Later Thursday evening, the big three evening newscasts were clearly angry that Republicans would dare enforce decorum and punish the three Democrats for acting like children rather than serious lawmakers.
Filling in for David Muir on ABC, Linsey Davis opened World News Tonight by disapprovingly reporting on the “dramatic fallout after that mass shooting at Covenant School in Nashville.” Davis bemoaned that “Tennessee lawmakers are voting to expel three Democrats from the state legislature after they protested for stricter gun control on the floor of that chamber.”
Meanwhile, on CBS Evening News, anchor Norah O’Donnell lashed out at the Tennessee Republican legislature:
Republicans tonight are voting to expel Democratic lawmakers from the Tennessee House of Representatives. This is an incredibly rare move in the volunteer state. In fact, it's only happened to eight lawmakers since the Civil War. And six of them were Confederate racists from the 19th century who refused to give former slaves citizenship. One was for a bribery conviction, and another lawmaker was kicked out for allegations of sexual misconduct.
O’Donnell then snarked that “today's reasoning, disorderly behavior for leading chants with gun-control protesters from the house floor.”
Over on NBC Nightly News, anchor Lester Holt kicked off the broadcast with a sanctimonious lecture:
The tears of grief that consumed Nashville, Tennessee, just ten days ago over the murders of young children and school staffers are replaced tonight by cries of anger and accusations after an extraordinary move by Tennessee House Republicans to seek the expulsion of three Democratic members for their roles in a gun safety protest on the House floor last week.
All three networks huffed over the Tennessee Republican legislature holding three Democrats accountable for attempting to incite an insurrection, yet they had no problem with then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) removing all of Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) Republicans from her sham January 6 committee.
The broadcast networks melting down over the GOP holding Democrats accountable was made possible by WeatherTech on ABC, Aleve on CBS, and Salonpas on NBC. Their information is linked.
To read the relevant transcripts click “expand”:
ABC’s World News Tonight
4/6/2023
6:32:33 p.m. EasternLINSEY DAVIS: We begin with the dramatic fallout after that mass shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. Tennessee lawmakers are voting to expel three Democrats from the state legislature after they protested for stricter gun control on the floor of that chamber, chanting into a bullhorn "No action, no peace." The Republican Speaker of the House comparing them to January 6 rioters citing them for disorderly behavior.
This morning, supporters of the capitol welcomed them with cheers and watched in the gallery as the Republican super majority debated measures to oust them. Since the Covenant shooting, protesters for gun control have gathered at the capital a number of times and they were there again today even in the rain. Tennessee has only expelled lawmakers a handful of times and usually for criminal or sexual misconduct. This time, however, is very different.
[...]
ALEX PEREZ: Today, ahead of the expulsion votes, Johnson, Jones, and Pearson walking defiantly into the state capitol amid chants of “We support the Tennessee Three”. And tonight, with hundreds chanting outside the chamber, Jones calling this a political lynching.
CBS Evening News
4/6/2023
6:32:06 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: We want to begin tonight with the political showdown in the state of Tennessee that is getting national attention following the latest school shooting. Republicans tonight are voting to expel Democratic lawmakers from the Tennessee House of Representatives. This is an incredibly rare move in the volunteer state. In fact, it's only happened to eight lawmakers since the Civil War.
And six of them were Confederate racists from the 19th century who refused to give former slaves citizenship. One was for a bribery conviction, and another lawmaker was kicked out for allegations of sexual misconduct. Well, today's reasoning, disorderly behavior for leading chants with gun-control protesters from the house floor. State Representative Justin Jones was the first to be expelled from his democratically-elected position. He walked through a sea of supporters with his colleagues, Gloria Johnson and Justin Pearson, the Tennessee Three, as they are known.
NBC Nightly News
4/6/2023
6:31:44 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: The tears of grief that consumed Nashville, Tennessee, just ten days ago over the murders of young children and school staffers are replaced tonight by cries of anger and accusations after an extraordinary move by Tennessee House Republicans to seek the expulsion of three Democratic members for their roles in a gun safety protest on the House floor last week.
All day angry supporters and gun safety advocates crowding the statehouse where the GOP majority was putting the resolutions up to a vote one by one. Declaring the three participated and disorderly behavior when they led supporters in chants demanding stricter gun safety measures. Expulsion, a rarely exercised right of the Tennessee House that critics on the left tonight are calling anti-democratic.
