Political analyst Otis Sanford discusses the week in Tennessee politics for Feb. 2-8, 2020.
Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander was, for a hot minute, thrust into the spotlight as a Republican who might have been in favor of calling witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. He demurred, however, saying that while House managers proved their case, the President's actions were "inappropriate," but not impeachable.
Congressional civility continued to unravel this week during the State of the Union Address, where Trump snubbed House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Pelosi tore up his speech in full view of the cameras. Political analyst Otis Sanford says some of this is to be expected as the President has lowered standards of discourse with virtual impunity. Democrats, Sanford says, are beginning to fight fire with fire.
Finally, in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee's State of the Union focused heavily on education funding. But with an unchecked Republican supermajority, the state could face a raft of controversial legislation including anti-LGBTQ bills, making the Bible the official State Book of Tennessee, and introducing firearms into university classrooms.
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