News Information and Media Site: GOP ouster of Tenn. lawmakers backfires, big time

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Ben Kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

FIRST READ

GOP lost more than it gained in expelling Tenn. lawmakers

George Walker IV / AP

If it's WEDNESDAY… President Biden arrives in Northern Ireland and meets with British PM Sunak… Republican Sen. Tim Scott launches presidential exploratory committee and visits Iowa, NBC's Ali Vitali reports… Nikki Haley, also in Iowa, promises: "You're not gonna see me come in and do a rally and leave," Vitali adds… And Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., announces re-election bid in WI-SEN.

But FIRST... One week later, it's safe to conclude that the GOP effort to expel two Black lawmakers from office – for protesting for gun control after the recent mass shooting in Nashville – backfired.

Big time.

For starters, Memphis today is set to reinstate the second expelled lawmaker, Justin J. Pearson, to the state legislature. (On Monday, Nashville voted to reinstate the other ousted lawmaker, Justin Jones.)

What's more, Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday signed an executive order strengthening background checks and called for the legislature to pass a red-flag law. (Lee, as we mentioned yesterday, had personal friends who were killed in that Nashville shooting.)

Yes, Lee's actions might lack real teeth, but they're still noteworthy coming from a Republican governor in a red state.

Finally, the entire episode grabbed national attention and negative headlines for Republicans – something that probably wouldn't have occurred if the protesting lawmakers had been censured or reprimanded for violating decorum rules.

In the end, Tennessee Republicans didn't gain anything by expelling Jones and Pearson from office.

But they, and Republicans around the country, sure lost a lot.

Chart of the day

Data Download: The number of the day is ... 54%

That's the share of U.S. adults who say they or a family member have been "impacted by a gun-related incident," which includes witnessing a shooting or being involved in an incident involving a gun, per a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

About one-in-five say they themselves have been threatened with a gun, and 17% say they've witnessed someone being shot, all according to a new poll from a Kaiser Family Foundation poll on gun violence.

Four percent say they've been injured by a gun themselves.

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Other numbers you need to know today

Almost 8,500

That's how many civilians have been confirmed to be killed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The number of years a retired firefighter received as a prison sentence after he hit police officers with a fire extinguisher during the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

66 cents

The proposed price for a first-class stamp, per a new Postal Service proposal.

240

The number of Democratic members of the House and Senate who signed onto an amicus brief to the Fifth Circuit asking judges to protect access to a prominent pill for medical abortions.

$35 million

The amount House Majority PAC, a Democratic group, plans to spend in California House races during the 2024 election cycle.

40 million

The number of Americans who depend on the Colorado River for water, as the Biden administration announces cuts in the allotment of water from the river in three states – California, Arizona and Nevada – the New York Times reports.

32,000

The number of fewer legal abortions per month in the U.S. in the six months after Roe v. Wade was overturned last year, according to a new analysis reported by CNN.

The number of months former Colorado county Clerk Tina Peters, a prominent election denier, was sentenced to in-home detention for not giving authorities access to an iPad on which she may have recorded other court proceedings.

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Eyes on 2024: Tim Scott makes his (first) move

Logan Cyrus / AFP - Getty Images

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is kicking off his tour of early presidential primary states by announcing that he is officially exploring a run for the White House, NBC News' Ali Vitali reports.

Scott is heading to Iowa Wednesday, New Hampshire on Thursday, and will return to his home state of South Carolina on Friday.

His home state was featured in his announcement video, which features Scott at Ft. Sumter, where the Civil War began.

"America was put to the test and we prevailed," Scott says in the three-minute video. "Today our country is once again being tested. Once again, our divisions run deep and the threat to our future is real. Joe Bien and the radical left have chosen a culture of grievance over greatness."

He references his unique role in the party as a Black man, saying Democrats "weaponize race to divide us, to hold onto their power."

"I disrupt their narrative. I threaten their control. They know the truth of my life disproves their lives," Scott says, later adding, "I know America is a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression. I know it because I've lived it."

In other campaign news…

Dems take to the Windy City: Democrats picked Chicago to be the host city for their 2024 presidential nominating convention.

On Wisconsin: Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin officially launched her re-election bid on Wednesday in what's expected to be one of the marquee races.

A tough schedule for Republicans: Politico reports on how a busy week for Republicans – a National Rifle Association leadership forum and a national party retreat in Nashville, shortly after a mass shooting – comes at a difficult time as the party defends its push to protect gun rights.

Trump faces a rape trial: The federal judge presiding over Trump's civil rape trial is asking the former president if he will attend the trial.

Arizona Republican focuses on the border and fentanyl: Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb officially launched his Senate bid Tuesday with a focus on the drug epidemic and the border.

Thanks, but no thanks: Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell says she won't run for Senate, clearing the path even more for her colleague, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, in her Senate bid.

Chair controversy: CNN rounds up a litany of controversial comments made by new Michigan GOP Chair Kristina Karamo – on abortion, on the LGBTQ community, on comparing gun control laws to policies from Nazi Germany and on claiming that Beyoncé is trying to "pull more and more Black Americans into paganism."

Montana millions: Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester's campaign says it raised $5 million in the first quarter of 2023, per a press release.

An Early longshot: Republican attorney Eric Early, who has lost multiple runs for office, is jumping into the California Senate race, per the Los Angeles Times.

A new salvo in the ad wars: Kentucky Attorney Gen. Daniel Cameron is booking his first TV ads of his gubernatorial campaign, a $430,000 buy, per AdImpact.

Rouda drops out to recover: Former California Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda is ending his comeback bid to instead recover from a traumatic brain injury he recently suffered.

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