Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett called sour grapes on Democrats upset with his state’s new redistricting map.
Last week, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed into law a GOP gerrymander map that favors Republicans in all nine of the state’s districts, and carves up the majority-Black district that includes the city of Memphis.
On Fox News Sunday, host Jon Scott asked what Burchett thought about Democrats suing to block the new map.
“Elections have consequences,” Burchett said. “When the Democrats do it, it’s called redistricting. When we do it, it’s called gerrymandering.”
Burchett continued:
They have a very short memory. I spent 16 years in the legislature in Tennessee in Nashville, and in 1992 the Democrats moved 14 districts into seven. You know, we just took it on the chin. It wasn’t anything to do with race, and this has absolutely nothing to do with race. It’s kind of ironic that they’re throwing the race card when they’re represented by a white guy, Steve Cohen, my friend. Very liberal, but he’s my friend, we were in the state legislature together. Yet, he is a white man. To to say we are taking Black representation from some folks is very disingenuous.
Of the new map, Cohen said, “Somebody who drew the map, or told the guy to draw the map ’cause they do it with computers — somebody told them, divide the Black vote up into three districts to where they are a minority and don’t have enough influence to elect a member of their own choosing.”
“That’s a mistake,” Cohen added, “and the people up there were supposed to be working for the good of the state of Tennessee. They’re working for the good of Donald Trump.”
Scott mentioned the recent Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act, saying, “we can’t consider race when deciding, when you’re drawing up congressional lines.”
“That’s correct and that’s all the Democrats have left in their big deck of cards, is the race card,” Burchett said. “And they divide folks up, and fear in their hearts, and that’s exactly what they’re doing with this. And as I said, it’s disingenuous.”
Watch the clip above via Fox News.
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