- David Dark is a lifelong Nashvillian and the author of " "The Possibility of America" and "We Become What We Normalize."
I wish to acknowledge a faint glimmer of hope I discerned whilst doom scrolling following the recent criminal conviction of the presumptive Republican nominee for the President of the United States.
Throughout our country, we've watched the smearing and the doxing of jurors, judges, and witnesses. And worse, elected officials have taken to their official government social media accounts to publicly target those who carried out their solemn duties in New York City at great risk to themselves.
And worse, my governor, both my United States senators, my congressperson (Rep. Andy Ogles), and numerous state legislators have joined the online mob on my dime and my time.
Here's the glimmer. I refer to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. I am pleased to note that, at least for now, on this one issue, he appears to be resisting the pressure to cave to those who would make of the Republican party a criminal protection racket.
Skrmetti is different from the politicians who posed with The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh
The pressure, please remember, isn’t theoretical.
Matt Walsh, of the Daily Wire disinformation mill housed in Berry Hill, took to X, formerly Twitter, with a directive: “Red state DAs need to arrest corrupt Democrats and prosecute them in front of Republican juries that already hate them before the trial even begins. I'm not saying we should 'stoop to the Left's level.' I'm saying we should stop pretending that we live in a country that no longer exists."
This order came days after Governor Lee and First Lady Maria Lee appeared in a group selfie with Mr. Walsh at the Courage Under Fire Gala.
If association is currency, there’s something of a power differential between Mr. Skrmetti and Mr. Walsh’s operation. The pain points are real. Could Skrmetti hold out under fire?
“Statehood means a person taking responsibility for governing themselves while also participating as part of the broader nation…Remember you are the most powerful person in Tennessee. Use your power wisely.” That’s Skrmetti lifting his voice late last week. (Re: "Statehood Day reminds Tennesseans they are masters, not the victims, of government," by Jonathan Skrmetti, guest opinion column, The Tennessean, May 31).
Was he responding directly to the pressure campaign of his party or was it just an already scheduled Statehood Day statement? I don’t know. For all I know, he was at the Courage Under Fire Gala himself but avoided selfies. Either way, I’m grateful for the timing of his guest opinion column. Am I dreaming when I imagine there might be a man of conscience in our AG’s office? Someone who chooses truth over tribe?
Cracker Barrel takes moralhigh ground on discrimination
Condemning violence against Justin Kanew was right. Welcoming Elon Musk, not so much.
He first came to my attention when I followed the news of someone firing shots into the home of Tennessee Holler founder Justin Kanew. Anyone firing shots into anyone’s home worries me, but this was within days of Gov. Bill Lee accosting Kanew on camera for asking a question about a photo of Lee in drag in a high school yearbook photo in light of signing legislation targeting drag shows. Dismissing him as "ridiculous," Lee walked away as Kanew persisted: “Is it only illegal when gay people do it, Governor?”
When news broke of Mr. Kanew and his family being shot at while sleeping, I hoped Governor Lee might seize the occasion, as Mr. Kanew’s state employee, to state publicly that, despite their differences, journalists, like Mr. Kanew, and their families have a right to bodily safety in the beautiful state of Tennessee. Governor Lee declined to chin up to the level of baseline moral seriousness on this matter.
But Attorney General Skrmetti did! In condemning the violence, he referred to Mr. Kanew as “a local political activist,” which struck me as an unhelpful characterization, and also mentioned that he himself is “a dad,” which is fine, I guess. But he also said this: “No Tennessean should have to worry about their safety, or the safety of their family, because of the opinions they express.” I don’t know if he requested Governor Lee’s permission first or if he simply fulfilled his job description without wavering. Either way, on this matter, Skrmetti appears to have understood the assignment. For this, I commend him.
In the meantime, there’s plenty to worry over. In my opinion, it’s extremely inappropriate, reckless even, for Skrmetti to hop on Twitter to personally welcome Elon Musk to Tennessee, as he did on June 5.
Even apart from a high-five to someone who publicly partners with a Saudi prince who had Jamal Khashoggi killed and dismembered, the deferential shout-out has the appearance of an officer of the law placing his thumb on the scale for an unprincipled businessman set to extract value remotely from one more precious resource that doesn’t belong to him.
In his guest opinion column, the attorney general wrote: “Remember you are the most powerful person in Tennessee.”
Thanks for saying so, Attorney General Skrmetti. Do you mean it? I hope you’ll prioritize the safety and the thriving of Tennesseans over these outside interests for whom you seem to have so much energy. We live in hope.
In any case, I’m heartened that AG Skrmetti has demonstrated a small degree of resistance to the violent course his party has staked out. I hope it lasts.
David Dark is alifelong Nashvillian and the author of ""The Possibility of America"and "We Become What We Normalize."
