Source: Glenda Jordan



The Tennessee Republican Party is already freaking out about midterms. So much so that they've been throwing all sorts of money at a state Senate special election happening Tuesday, in a district that should be solidly, easily Republican.

The GOP candidate for Senate District 14, Shane Reeves, hasn't exactly done himself any favors, appearing on a podcast and literally saying he thinks getting elected will help his pharmaceutical supply business. (I mean, sure, getting elected is not going to hurt your business, but don't say it out loud as a reason you're running!) But the Democratic candidate, Murfreesboro lawyer Gayle Jordan, isn't the kind of moderate Democrat thought to be more likely to get elected in rural Tennessee (like, say, Phil Bredesen). On top of being female — an impediment to office, given the numbers (not) represented at the Capitol — she's an outspoken liberal, and she's an outspoken atheist. When she ran against then-incumbent Sen. Jim Tracy in 2016, she got just 25 percent of the vote.

This is normally the kind of candidate the TNGOP would laugh and laugh about, thanking their lucky stars that their candidate is running against someone so unelectable. But Jordan's polling must have them worried, because they have gone out of their way to attack her for the past two months. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally called her one of the most "dangerous" candidates he's seen in his 40 years in politics. U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Scott DesJarlais showed up at a rally for Reeves over the weekend (where Blackburn seemed to imply that one shouldn't vote for candidates who believe in evolution). The party has even repeatedly called on Democratic candidates for office, including Bredesen, to denounce Jordan. (Obviously, no one has.)

Jordan's atheism has been the main attack point by the party in a series of mailers, because apparently atheists are not allowed to hold office and freedom of religion no longer exists — that, or the Republicans simply could not find any other dirt on Jordan at all, because if you look at the mailers, they're all the same couple of quotes, over and over again. There's no doubt that some Christian conservatives would rather kneel for the anthem than vote for an atheist, but if you are someone who does care about the First Amendment and the separation of church and state, the attacks are disturbing. What's next, anti-Semitic attack mailers? (Oh, wait.)

But the latest attack mailer sent by the state party has backfired spectacularly and could result in them getting sued, no matter how handily Reeves may win on Tuesday. (Even Democrats who are campaigning for Jordan say privately they'll be completely shocked if she pulls out an upset.) One side of the mailer calls Jordan's ideas "kooky," because she is pro-choice, doesn't want to repeal the Affordable Care Act (something that she could not do as a state senator anyway), and is, you know, an atheist.

But it's the other side that's causing all the controversy — an almost full-page reproduction of a Facebook post from Jordan's personal (not her campaign) page in December. In the picture, Jordan is standing between two young men dressed in vests and ties, wearing boutonnieres. All three are smiling, and Jordan has commented, "Doing my part to destroy the fabric of American society. Congratulations Shane and Landon!" Above that image on the flier, text reads, "Liberal Gayle Jordan 'will destroy the fabric of American society.' Take her word for it."

As anyone with half a brain knows, Jordan's post was obviously sarcasm — she had just performed the marriage of two men with whom she's friends, and whatever a handful of bozos still think, legal gay marriage clearly has done nothing to destroy anything. (Unless you count how it's made the omnipresent wedding-industrial complex that much worse.) On the mailer, the faces and names of the two men are very lightly blurred out, but it's not hard to identify them, and that's why the two men in question are quite understandably pissed off. Oh, and if that wasn't bad enough? One of the men is a combat veteran of the U.S. Air Force who has PTSD, and seeing his wedding picture on a mailer sent to thousands of voters has triggered a flare-up.

"To see our picture on our wedding day being used in such a vile manner, it's taken that special moment and ruined it," veteran Shane Morgan told WSMV. "Ruined it. Very hurt. Very hurt."

The two men have been together for nine years, their relationship surviving deployments and trauma and choosing to live in Tennessee, a state that currently allows mere children to be forcibly married to their rapists. The couple has hired a lawyer to explore suing over the unauthorized use of their picture.

But TNGOP executive director Michael Sullivan says that any post of any candidate's, on their personal page or not, is fair use for a mailer. In a phone call with Jordan's daughter Glenda, which she recorded and posted on Facebook on Friday, Sullivan expresses no remorse for using the photo.

"So you're saying that — just to be completely clear — you're absolving complete responsibility for the fact that you mailed out this picture that has triggered their PTSD?" Glenda asks after a couple of minutes of back and forth with Sullivan. "You’re saying that that’s not your fault at all?" (A full transcript of the entire conservation is at the end of this post.)

"I don’t know if I'd word it that way," Sullivan replies.

"And how would you word that?" Glenda asks.

"That we sent out a mail piece that was on, that highlighted a statement regarding marriage and faith from a Democratic nominee for state Senate," Sullivan says.

A minute or two later, Glenda says: "Obviously a lot of people are pretty upset about this, as the veteran himself is pretty upset about this. ... I mean, it’s amazing to me that that wasn’t thought through or any consideration to the personal lives of these two men."

"I guess then Gayle Jordan should have thought about that before — " Sullivan is cut off.

"Before she married them?" Glenda says.

"— before she ran for state Senate," Sullivan finishes.

As Glenda laughs in disbelief, Sullivan continues.

"Well, no that’s perfectly fine, have at it," he says. "But before posting a picture while running for state Senate on your Facebook page saying that you’re doing your part to destroy the fabric of America, ma’am, like, what do you think’s gonna happen?"

Sullivan hung up on Glenda shortly afterwards.

If you thought that there might have been any reconsideration or any reassessment of Sullivan's position after he had a whole weekend to think about it, you thought wrong. I called him on Monday afternoon, and then occurred one of the more absurd conversations I've ever had in the 16 years I've been in this frequently absurd career.

Sullivan repeatedly insisted that the mailer, prominently displaying a just-married gay couple, was not about opposition to gay marriage. I pointed out that he had told Glenda the piece "highlighted a statement regarding marriage and faith from a Democratic nominee for state Senate."

"It does not highlight gay marriage," Sullivan said, adding that the mailer does not even mention gay marriage. But Reeves' campaign website does mention it, stating, "Shane Reeves believes that marriage is between one man and one woman."

I repeatedly pressed Sullivan on how a picture of a gay couple getting married on an attack flier does not also imply that gay marriage is wrong. Sullivan repeatedly responded by reading a prepared statement, saying it over and over, so many times that I lost track.

"Millions of Tennesseans hold strong beliefs that marriage, family and faith are at the cornerstone of American life, and while Gayle Jordan has a right to believe something different, Tennessee voters deserve to know that she takes no issue in publicly mocking their beliefs," Sullivan said, again and again.

How is Jordan not holding a strong belief in marriage if she is literally marrying two people? I asked. Sullivan replied with the statement. So are you saying that gay marriage is not marriage? I asked. Sullivan again would not answer, quoting again the statement. So if gay marriage is wrong, should gay veterans be able to get married? Again, the statement. Does that mean the party thinks gay veterans should not get married? It's not about that, Sullivan said. So the party thinks gay veterans should have the right to get married? This is about a candidate who holds different beliefs, Sullivan said, continuing on with the entire statement again.

It felt entirely like going around and around with a toddler.

Finally, after much frustration, I spit out, "Does the party think that gay veterans should not be able to get married? Yes? Or no?" As Sullivan tried to repeat his statement again, I cut him off. "YES OR NO. ONE WORD."

After a lengthy pause, Sullivan responded. "We have no comment on that at this time," he said. I asked him again. He wouldn't answer. I pressed again, he responded with the statement again. I was forced to finally hang up the phone.

Let's be clear: It is settled law that gay marriage is legal. The Supreme Court of the United States is never going to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. Even the most liberal SCOTUS justices are still extremely conservative, and they are not going to upend the legal marital status of hundreds of thousands of Americans, no matter how Donald Trump stacks the court — especially since he himself has no problem with gay marriage. Whatever the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision this spring, whatever limitations on transgender civil rights come in the short term, however many idiotic lawsuits David Fowler files, gay marriage is not ever going away.

Michael Sullivan knows this. His boss Scott Golden, the head of the party itself, knows this. The entire staff of that office, most of the party's State Executive Committee know this. Almost all of them will admit it privately, and almost all of them will say they just want the GOP culture wars to go away, even if it can sometimes turn out the vote (which they are clearly hoping will happen on Tuesday). I've never discussed this with Golden, but I have with Sullivan and many other people off the record, and they all realize that Trump and his white supremacist supporters aren't the future of the party, that if they can't figure out how to attract younger voters who could care less about gay marriage and transgender bathroom bans, they will eventually start losing big, even with all the gerrymandering in the world.

But on the record? On the record Sullivan cannot, will not flat out say that a gay man who served in the Air Force should be able to legally marry his boyfriend after nine years of dating. On the record the party will just keep sending out dog whistle mailers that quite possibly violate fair use copyright law.

The members of our armed forces, past and present, deserve better than this bullshit. And so does the rest of Tennessee.

***

As promised, here's the full transcript of that phone call between Glenda Jordan and Sullivan, as best I could make it out:

[The first minute or so is Glenda speaking to an intern and then being on hold; finally Sullivan picks up the phone.] MS: I hear you had some concerns about a mail piece? GJ: Uh, yes, the one that was sent recently that had the wedding photo. One of the men in the photo is a combat veteran who served in the Air Force — MS: The men’s faces are blurred out, and their names are blurred out as well. GJ: Um, well it’s still public information and it was easy for them to see it, as it was sent to thousands of people, and he’s a combat veteran with PTSD, and of course that triggered his PTSD because you sent a hateful mailer to thousands of people across the district. So I just wanted to know what your thoughts were on that and what your position is on harassing veterans for this country, I just wanted to know. MS: Yeah, we’re against harassing veterans. GJ: But you did it anyway. MS: Uh, no. GJ: So you’re saying he isn’t a combat veteran and it didn’t trigger his PTSD? MS: No, no, I’m not arguing anything of that nature but — GJ: So, so but you’re acknowledging — But we blurred out the gentleman’s face and we also, uh, didn’t include any names on the mailer? GJ: Well, it’s super easy to look that info up, and their information is public now. MS: Well, I guess the Democratic nominee for state senate District 14 probably shouldn’t put images of combat veterans with PTSD on her public Facebook page. GJ: So they need to not share their wedding photo, and it’s her fault and not their [the Reeves’ campaign] fault for sending out a hateful mailer? MS: No, no, they’re perfectly fine to, but they fact that they had a candidate for state Senate, uh, share the photo on her public Facebook page — GJ: Yes, before she was running for a candidacy, and she married a couple. MS: Uh, the date, the date on the photo, uh, posted is after the writ of elections and filing deadline, so. GJ: So you’re, so you’re saying that — just to be completely clear — you’re absolving complete responsibility for the fact that you mailed out this picture that has triggered their PTSD? You’re saying that that’s not your fault at all? MS: Um … Hmm … I don’t know if I’d word it that way. GJ: And how would you word that? MS: Uh, that we sent out a mail piece that was on, that highlighted a statement regarding, uh, marriage and faith from a Democratic nominee for state Senate. GJ: So you’re saying that the consequences of that — MS: Posted after they — posted on on their public Facebook page — GJ: Yes. MS: — after they filed for office. GJ: Yes. And then you printed it out and sent it to thousands of people across the district and so that doesn’t — MS: Correct. GJ: So, okay, so no responsibility there? MS: A candidate’s name and a candidate’s picture. GJ: But no responsibility there, just to be clear. MS: I mean, no, we’re responsible for sending out the picture of the Democratic nominee. And her name. GJ: So you’re — I mean — you’re fine with the fact that that’s happened, though, to this veteran. MS: I mean, we can go in circles all you want. GJ: I just, you know, I’m just curious — I was just seeing if I could maybe get an answer about that but you know because now they’re — MS: I’ll give you an answer. GJ: — because now they’re in contact with their lawyer, and I just — obviously a lot of people are pretty upset about this, as the veteran himself is pretty upset about this. I personally live — my partner is a combat veteran, I live with one, so I’m kind of personally aware of all the stuff that they had to go through and I just didn’t know if — I mean, it’s amazing to me that that wasn’t thought through or any consideration to the personal lives of these two men completely. MS: I guess then Gayle Jordan should have thought about that before — GJ: Before she married them? MS: — before she ran for state senate. GJ: [laughs in disbelief] MS: Well, no that’s perfectly fine, have at it. But before posting a picture while running for state senate on your facebook page saying that you’re doing your part to destroy the fabric of America, ma’am, like, what do you think’s gonna happen? GJ: So you, so you think that when — MS: No. GJ: — she said that she — MS: If you say “so you think” one more time — GJ: Oh, what are you gonna do? Seriously, is that a threat? [Sullivan hangs up] GJ: The Tennessee Republican Party, y’all.



