Memphis lawmaker says he was ousted because he refused to be ‘brainless idiot’ for Democratic Party

Commercial Appeal ^ | 4/09/20 | Corinne S. Kennedy

[Libloather]

A day after the Tennessee Democratic Party voted to remove Memphis Rep. John DeBerry from the party's Aug. 6 primary ballot, the legislator hit back at the party, saying it no longer valued a diversity of ideas.

“The so-called party of inclusion is everything but inclusive. It’s all about thinking with one brain, marching in step and following the company line, sitting there like a brainless idiot and letting them tell you what to do,” he said in an interview Thursday morning.

In recent years, DeBerry, who represents District 90 - a gerrymandered district that weaves from north of Interstate 40, through parts of Volllintine Evergreen and into South Memphis - has come under fire from Tennessee Democrats for voting with Republicans on issues including abortion and school choice.

**SNIP**

DeBerry, an ordained Church of Christ minister, has been opposed to abortion his entire legislative career and in 2019 said he believed a lack of "personal responsibility" was a contributor to the number of abortions. He said Thursday that his values - passed on from his parents - had not changed since he was first elected 26 years ago. He scorned the party for kicking him off the ballot for not aligning with party values, saying he believed he still represented the values of his constituents.

[Deplorable American1776]

What values? Murdering black children in the womb? Blacks in bad schools? Higher taxes? Open borders? Those values? Sorry, but I love President Donald J. Trump’s values...

[Libloather]

Is this story correct?

Looks like it. There are two links above. This is from Fox 13 -

Tennessee Democratic Party removes state rep from ballot

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - (AP) - The Tennessee Democratic Party voted to remove a state representative from the party's primary ballot over allegations that he had Republican donor financing and voted contrary to the party.

https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/tennessee/tennessee-democratic/7LREEYT3GTJAW6AN23ATHQDVIU/

[sphinx]

There is this from the bylaws of the Tennessee Democratic Party:

SECTION 4. PRIMARY ELECTION NEUTRALITY:

(a) The Tennessee Democratic Executive Committee shall not endorse or campaign for any specific Democratic Party primary candidate prior to or during a contested local, state, or national Democratic Party Primary Election.

I'd love to hear from someone with a serious understanding of Tennessee primary elections. Since when did ANY state committee get to disqualify candidates in a primary election simply because the executive committee (in other places, like Stalinist Russia or China today, the Central Committee) dislikes said candidate's politics? This guy may have a straightforward legal case against the State Committee. If he presses such a case and wins, Republicans should note that Tennessee has an open primary.

[simpson96]

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[Mark17]

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