Nashville Republican Women Oct. Luncheon. Registration Ends Today

 

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I Am Not Alleging an Equivalence Between Trump and Biden; It is a Matter of Degree

by Rod Williams, Sept. 29, 2025- I recently posted a couple of pieces for which I received critical feedback. One was The difference between Democratic and Republican illiberalism, and the other was It Didn't Start With Donald Trump. Presidents Have a Long History of Using the FCC to Silence Their Critics. Both pointed out how Democrats were also guilty of illiberalism. 

I received criticism that I was alleging an equivalence between Trump and Biden or Republicans and Democrats. I am not. Equivalency would be to say that they are equally bad. I allege that Trump is much worse. Donald Trump is breaking norms and exhibiting authoritarian tendencies on many fronts.

That being said, however, that is not to say that Democrats are somehow paragons of virtue and honesty and respect for the rule of law, free speech, and fealty to the Constitution. If I were to chart corruption on a range of zero to 100, with 100 being extremely corrupt, and Donald Trump scored a 100, Joe Biden does not score a zero. Maybe if Trump is a 100, Biden is a 10?  A 20? The corruption is a matter of scale. Hunter Biden selling his paintings to people seeking favor with the White House is not that different from people seeking favor buying Trump meme coins.

On using the power of the government to silence your critics, it didn't start with Donald Trump. Liberals have been silencing opponents for decades. I think it is due to this history that so many conservatives rallied around Jimmy Kimmel. They have been the victims of government silencing from the Red Lions Broadcasting case of the mid-60s, to college speech codes, to banning Covid misinformation, to the deplatforming of Donald Trump. When it comes to free speech, liberals do not have the moral high ground. They do not inspire trust. 

I am for pushing back against attempts to trample free speech, but I do not trust liberals any more than Republicans to be the guardians of the First Amendment. If, following the Trump era, Democrats return to power, I will not then think our First Amendment freedoms are in good hands. I can see liberals banning "misgendering" or banning climate change "deniers," and other speech they do not like. I have a liberal acquaintance who once said he thought that to practice journalism, one should be licensed, and he thought we should reinstate the fairness doctrine. I don't think he is an outlier; that is the way liberals think.

When it comes to the rule of law and respect for the Constitution, Donald Trump has pushed the boundaries. He is a danger. However, it is worth remembering that President Joe Biden actually declared a proposed amendment to the Constitution to be part of the Constitution. I find this as outrageous as any of Trump's offences to the Constitution. This happened this January as one of Biden's last acts in office. He did not get away with it, but he tried. I did not hear a public outcry from Democrats.

Donald Trump is the present danger and is more ruthless in his attempt to grab power. Donald Trump is unique as a matter of degree, not as a matter of kind. That is not an equivalency I am alleging. I admit the degree.

If you thought it was acceptable for Joe Biden to attempt to amend the Constitution by decree, you don't have a principled objection to Trump's actions; you just prefer different policy outcomes. 

If you do not recall when Joe Biden tried to unilaterally amend the Constitution, see the following: 

Joe Biden attempts to amend the Constitution by executive fiat.

by Rod Williams, Jan. 20, 2025- Just because Donald Trump attempted a coup and a Democrat president has not, one should not be lulled into a false believe that Democrats care more about democratic norms or the Constitution than Republicans.

Ok, maybe they do care more, but it is not by much. On his way out the door, Joe Biden tried to amend the Constitution by executive fiat. That sounds like something Donald Trump would do. 

Of course that can't be done. That did not keep Joe Biden from attempting it. The following from Jonah Goldberg writing in The Dispatch explains the nuances of the issue, the logic of the Biden attempt, and the absurdity.

Jan. 17, 2025 - I saw the news that Joe Biden “believes” that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land. 
Say what you will about Biden, the man can keep a secret. In his statement, Biden says that it became the 28th Amendment almost exactly five years ago when the Commonwealth of Virginia ratified it on January 27, 2020. 
From that time until now, Biden has said pretty much nothing about this belief. That’s kind of a weird conviction to keep under your hat all this time. 
That is, unless, like almost everybody else, he didn’t think Virginia’s ratification of the ERA was anything other than symbolic until recently. Heck, the New York Times story on Virginia’s symbolic ratification of the ERA uses the word symbolic in the subhead and the first sentence. If the Times thought there was a shot at the ratification being something other than symbolic at the time, it would have flooded the zone with “let’s make this happen” coverage. Again, if they thought this was possible, the newspaper might even have asked Joe Biden what he thought about it, given that he was running for president at the time.  
Among the reasons nobody but a handful of activists even bothered claiming that Virginia’s ratification of the amendment was anything other than symbolic is that the deadline for the amendment’s ratification expired nearly two decades earlier. Again, don’t take my word for it. Here’s the NPR headline at the time, “Virginia Ratifies The Equal Rights Amendment, Decades After The Deadline.”
Now, it’s true there are lawyers, including at the American Bar Association, who argue that there was no deadline for the amendment approved by Congress in 1972 because the seven-year time-limit for ratification was only in the amendment’s preamble not the actual text. But it was put there expressly to keep the text clean if ratified. The Justice Department, including under Joe Biden, has long held that the deadline is binding. 
You know who else thought that the window closed on the Equal Rights Amendment? Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Of course she wasn’t a Supreme Court Justice then, she was just one of the country’s most famous feminist lawyers and law professors. But then in 2020, as a Supreme Court justice, she explained—again—that the deadline had passed for the ERA. Sorry, she said that the allegedly extended deadline had passed, in 1982. Among the reasons she thought it was a dead letter: Several states had withdrawn their ratification. As she put it at an event co-sponsored by the American Bar Association:
I would like to start over. There is too much controversy about latecomers [like] Virginia long after the deadline passed. Plus, a number of states have withdrawn their ratification. So if you count a latecomer on the plus side, how can you disregard states that said, ‘We have changed our minds’?
Pretty good point there, I think. 
... Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has been pushing a dippy theory that all Biden needs to do is order the archivist of the United States to declare the ERA ratified. Here’s how Gillibrand began her December 15 New York Times op-ed:

With Republicans set to take unified control of government, Americans are facing the further degradation of reproductive freedom.
Fortunately, Mr. Biden has the power to enshrine reproductive rights in the Constitution right now. He can direct the national archivist to certify and publish the Equal Rights Amendment. This would mean that the amendment has been officially ratified and that the archivist has declared it part of the Constitution.

Now, I don’t think this is correct. But, again, who cares about my legal opinion? Fortunately someone else agrees with me: The archivist of the United States. Two days after Gillibrand’s op-ed, Colleen Shogan and Deputy Archivist William J. Bosanko released a joint statement declaring:

As Archivist and Deputy Archivist of the United States, it is our responsibility to uphold the integrity of the constitutional amendment process and ensure that changes to the Constitution are carried out in accordance with the law. At this time, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions.
In 2020 and again in 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable. The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts.….As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate.

This was Shogan’s position during her confirmation hearings, by the way. Every voting Democrat chose to confirm her. 
... I know what happens next as much as Biden does: needless legal, political, and constitutional drama. Activists will take what is in effect a presidential fatwah as gospel and start filing lawsuits based upon the 28th Amendment being a thing. Opponents will say it’s not a thing. 

Democrats: The Constitution Is Whatever We Say It Is

By Mark Antonio Wright, National Review, January 17, 2025 - According to Joseph Robinette Biden, the so-called Equal Rights Amendment — which is not, and has never been, ratified per the terms of Article V — is now the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

... But we shouldn’t be surprised that the Democrats are trying to pull this stuff, should we?

The Democrats — also known as the “rule of law party,” according to no one but them — are the party of Barack Obama’s pen and phone.

... Joe Biden’s Democrats insist that the 14th Amendment — or maybe it’s the Fourth Amendment? Wait, actually, is it the Ninth Amendment? — unambiguously grants the people a constitutional right to an abortion.

The Democrats, as a party, believe when the First Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press” that applies completely . . . unless someone has used “hate speech” on the Internet, or prayed the Lord’s Prayer at the 50-yard line before kickoff, or decided to voice the scientific fact that young men can’t turn themselves into young women or vice versa no matter how hard they may try. (read it all)

 

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Bellevue Breakfast Club, This Saturday, Guest Speaker Councilman Thom Druffel

from Lonnie Spivak, 

Happy Fall! This month, we're diving into local issues such as single-family home zoning, Metro Council realignment, and property taxes with District 23 Councilman Thom Druffel. Join us for an engaging discussion on Nashville's future.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, October 4th

Time: 8:30 AM

Location: Plantation Pub, 8329 Sawyer Brown Rd.

About Thom Druffel

Thom Druffel

Thom Druffel is a dedicated community leader known for collaboration and impactful contributions, including:

Education: Instrumental in building The Academies for Metro Nashville Public Schools, a nationally recognized high school program with over 12 years of involvement.

Leadership Roles:

• Catholic Business League Board of Directors (former Marketing Committee Chair).
• Knights of Columbus - 4th Degree.
• Former Board Member, Our Place Nashville (supporting housing, jobs, and community for adults with developmental disabilities).
• Board Member and former Treasurer, Purple Heart Homes (home improvement for veterans).
• Tennessee State University: Chair of the Hospitality & Tourism Advisory Board, College of Business Advisory Board Member, and Adjunct Professor.
• Current Board Member, past President, and founding Chair of the Education Committee for the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association.
• Mayor’s Advisory Board on Exceptional Education.
• Board Member and former Treasurer, Arc of Davidson County.
• Volunteer Work: Supports Fannie Battle Day Home, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Nashville, Ladies of Charity, American Heart Association, Children International, Maryknoll Missionaries, American Diabetes Association.
• Special Olympics: Davidson County Tennis Coach for 15 years.
• NAZA: Board Member and Leadership Committee member of Nashville After-School Zone Alliance.

We look forward to seeing you for this important conversation!

Lonnie Spivak

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Gov. Bill Lee Endorses Matt Van Epps

 

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I Will be Casting my Vote in the TN-07 Republican Primary for Matt Van Epps

by Rod Williams, Oct. 1, 2025 Early voting for the primary election for the 7th Congressional District ends tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 2nd. So far, turnout has been low, and the winner in the Republican primary is up for grabs. Election day is Tuesday, October 7. 

I have studied each of the candidates, read the mailers they sent me, visited their websites, examined

Matt Van Epps

their ads, took note of who was endorsing whom, and watched the videoed candidate forums, and I have reached my decision. I will be voting in the Republican primary for Matt Van Epps.

While all of the candidates to one degree or another, state their support for Donald Trump and his agenda, Van Epps seems the least dogmatic. Many of the candidates seem like thoughtless followers in a cult rather than thoughtful people. In some ways, Van Epps is boring. He talks about policy. He doesn't rant about the social issues and doesn't go on about a stolen election. He doesn't spread conspiracy theories. He sounds reasonable and responsible. He seems to most resemble a pre-Trump era normal Republican. 

Matt Van Epps: Van Epps is the former Tennessee commissioner of General Services under Gov. Bill Lee. Prior to that, he worked as vice president of Main Street Health, which coordinates care for Medicare patients in rural clinics. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Van Epps is a lieutenant colonel in the Tennessee National Guard. 

Van Epps has garnered some major endorsements, including those of Congressman Mark Green, Governor Bill Lee, and Congressman Jim Jordan.   Also, he has been endorsed by a bunch of mayors and vice mayors and city councilmen of the various cities in the Seventh Congressional District.

For more information on Van Epps visit his website and Facebook page. 

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Mark Green's ex-wife endorses Barrett for Congress

By Kim Jarrett, The Center Square, Sep 29, 2025 -  Mark Green's ex-wife is endorsing Tennessee state Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson, for Green's former 7th Congressional District post, according to a release sent out by the Barrett campaign on Monday morning.

Barrett is running for the seat vacated by Green earlier this year. Green is endorsing Matt Van Epps, the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services.

“After spending some time with Jody and Holly Barrett, I believe Jody to be the best candidate to serve TN-07 in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Guenther-Green said in the release. “With his legislative and professional experience coupled with a deep grounding in faith, I am confident he is well prepared politically and spiritually to meet the demands and challenges of Washington, D.C., without losing his heart for the people who elect him.”

Other candidates in the Republican primary are state Reps. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, and Lee Reeves, R-Franklin, Stuart Cooper, Adolph Agbéko Dagan, Mason Foley, Jason D. Knight, Joe Leurs and Stewart Parks.

State reps. Vincent Dixie, Bo Mitchell, Aftyn Behn and Nashville businessman Darden Hunter Copeland are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Four people are running as independent candidates: Teresa "Terri" Christie, Bobby Dodge, Robert James Sutherby and Jon Thorp.

Copeland leads all candidates in fundraising, according to the latest reports from the Federal Election Commission. He raised $306,600.47 in individual contributions. He also received $1,000 from the Common Ground PAC and $2,000 from BlueWave America. Copeland loaned his campaign $100,000, according to the report.

“More than 10,500 people have invested in Darden’s campaign for Congress because they believe he is the best candidate to go to Washington and hold the billionaires, bigots and bullies accountable,” Kevin Teets, Copeland's campaign manager, said in a news release.

Two Republicans also made large loans to their campaign. Bulso loaned more than $493,000 to his election effort. He raised just over $56,000.

Reeves loaned his campaign $300,000 and has raised more than $269,000 from individual contributions, leading all Republican candidates.

Barrett has raised $241,872.71. Most of it, more than $236,000, came from individuals and $5,685.64 came from political committees.

Van Epps has raised $343,226.56 and all but $15,500 of it was from individuals, according to the Federal Election Commission report.

Early voting began Sept. 17 and ends Friday.

More than 20,000 people in the seventh district have cast their ballots, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State's Office--11,179 Republicans and 9,795 Democrats.

The general election is Dec. 2. 

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