MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Everyone knew that most Republican leaders are squarely on the Donald Trump political train – no matter how irrational and dangerous Trump becomes. But not until now did we know for sure that they are also deathly afraid of the defeated President. Or to be more precise, they are afraid of Trump and his millions of voters.
Nowhere is that more evident than in Tennessee. Governor Bill Lee, who has been leading from behind since taking office in 2019, is one of those too afraid to say Joe Biden is the President-Elect. Instead, he echoed the GOP rhetoric about upholding the legal process and recounting votes.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s Attorney General Herbert Slatery is going even further. He just signed on to a court brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court – containing three Trump appointees – to take up a case involving disputed ballots in Pennsylvania.
That’s right. A state official in Tennessee is injecting himself into another state’s voting process.
I don’t know about Slatery’s motivation, but it’s clear to me that Governor Lee is well aware that Trump won Tennessee last week with 62% of the vote. That’s a 26-point advantage over Biden. Almost all of those voters are Lee’s voters, and he is clearly eyeing reelection in 2022.
But giving in to political fear is not leadership. It’s simply fear, and it also represents a sad day for democracy in Tennessee and elsewhere. And that’s my point of view.