A little over a week and a half after a leftist trans terrorist shot up a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, CBS Mornings spent part of their Friday newscast telling Republicans in the state that they could be the target of more leftist violence. And according to CBS Prime Time host John Dickerson, the violence would be caused by Republican state legislators voting to expel Democrats, who led a violent insurrection at the state Capitol and disrupted official proceedings on the floor of the House.
“Well, politics needs some cartilage. It needs some give. It can't be totally brittle,” Dickerson described the situation. He went on the warn that Republicans supposedly took a “maximalist” approach and left “no give” for Democrats. “[T]here are a series of steps to punish. But when you go to the maximalist, when you kick them out, that's brittle. There's no give,” he huffed.
Dickerson then suggested that Republicans should not be surprised if their actions led to Democrats getting violent:
When there's no give, the only way the other side gets to respond is by punching back. And so when you lose those interim steps, all you get is response and response and response. And that is not only -- you know where that leads. Right? That leads to violence.
Despite saying this, Dickerson followed up by saying that it’s Republicans and conservatives who were the violent ones:
And it takes us back to this previous conversation which is the reason this question of democracy is so important. And the reason faith in the judicial system is so important is we're at a moment where – more on the conservative side – but on both sides, you have people who think the system isn't working, we've got to effect change outside of the system through violence.
Of course, there was the obligatory January 6 reference. “And when you have a system like that, you have no system at all. If people take things into their own hands … And that's what essentially January 6 is,” Dickerson explained.
Earlier in the newscast, they treated the legal vote to remove the Democrats like a travesty of justice and tried to compare it to elements of the civil rights movement. “We begin this morning with the growing uproar after two black lawmakers were expelled from Tennessee's legislature,” fill-in anchor Natalie Morales announced, trying to inject race into the situation.
“Never before has a Tennessee lawmaker, never mind two Tennessee lawmakers, been expelled on partisan grounds. But in a polarized country, the gloves are off,” correspondent Mark Strassmann clutched his rhetorical pearls.
Strassmann declared them “the Tennessee Three,” an apparent attempt to frame them as akin to the kids of the Little Rock Nine, who were the face of the desegregation of schools and faced angry mobs of racists.
“Only one walked out still a lawmaker. Tennessee representatives Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson, and Justin Pearson addressed their colleagues in Nashville, but Americans all over were also watching,” Strassmann bloviated.
CBS’s suggestion that Republicans provoked violence against them was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from LeafFilter and Procter and Gamble. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Mornings
April 7, 2023
7:03:15 a.m. EasternNATALIE MORALES: We begin this morning with the growing uproar after two black lawmakers were expelled from Tennessee's legislature.
Democratic representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were removed by Republicans for taking part in a pro-gun control protest inside the House chamber last week. The protest followed the Nashville school shooting that left six dead. A third Democrat, Gloria Johnson, escaped expulsion by just one vote.
Protesters at the state capitol denounced the vote, and President Biden called it “shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.”
Mark Strassmann is outside the Capitol in Nashville. Mark, good morning.
MARK STRASSMANN: Good morning, Natalie. Never before has a Tennessee lawmaker, never mind two Tennessee lawmakers, been expelled on partisan grounds. But in a polarized country, the gloves are off.
[Cuts to video]
They walked in hand in hand as the Tennessee three. Only one walked out still a lawmaker. Tennessee representatives Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson, and Justin Pearson addressed their colleagues in Nashville, but Americans all over were also watching.
(…)
7:3750 a.m. Eastern
JOHN DICKERSON: Well, politics needs some cartilage. It needs some give. It can't be totally brittle. So when you have a situation in here where, okay, Republican lawmakers thought these Democrats broke decorum, stepped out of line, there are a series of steps to punish. But when you go to the maximalist, when you kick them out, that's brittle. There's no give.
When there's no give, the only way the other side gets to respond is by punching back. And so when you lose those interim steps, all you get is response and response and response. And that is not only -- you know where that leads. Right? That leads to violence.
And it takes us back to this previous conversation which is the reason this question of democracy is so important. And the reason faith in the judicial system is so important is we're at a moment where – more on the conservative side – but on both sides you have people who think the system isn't working, we've got to effect change outside of the system through violence.
And when you have a system like that, you have no system at all. If people take things into their own hands. So, if it's always brittle, people think: “Well, I can't get a result from inside the system, so I must go around it.” And that's what essentially January 6th is.
(…)
