Political analyst Otis Sanford says Tennessee's business community resents the intrusion of partisan politics into public health policy.
Lawmakers did acquiesce to one business — Ford Motor Company — which recently announced it was bringing a massive new plant to the West Tennessee. Because of Ford, politicians will not force businesses to drop mask mandates for employees.
A similar intrusion of politics could become a part of school districts across the state after the legislature voted to allow partisan school board elections wherever local officials choose them. Sanford says this would allow Republicans more party control over educational curriculums statewide, with the object of placing more restrictions on what can be taught, principally Black history and LGBTQ awareness.
Finally, on Monday this week State Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) pled not guilty to federal charges of funneling soft money through a private Nashville Club to use on his failed U.S. Congressional campaign in 2016. Kelsey calls the charges a "witch hunt" by the Biden Administration, but Sanford says there is currently no evidence of that.
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