In a segment on the Tennessee legislature, Last Week Tonight played a clip of discussion of gerrymandering in the state. By all accounts, the Tennessee Legislature seems as awful as Kentucky’s but I noticed one striking difference.
Their Senators are called out by name.
Contrast that with Kentucky, where the rules established by our House and Senate make it clear that they may NOT call each other by name.
Rule 22 states: Decorum of Members. No Senator shall designate another Senator by name.
The idea presumably is that using your name somehow gets personal. Apparently “Senator from Oldham, do you realize your bill will lead to more suicides among LGBTQ youth?” doesn’t sound as harsh as “Senator Lindsey Tichenor, do you realize your bill will lead to more suicides among LGBTQ youth?”
What sponsor wants their name tied to the bill they’re defending and answering questions about? Far better to tie it to their general location than the actual person who put their name on the bill.
I’d love to see this rule go away. Our representatives should not be anonymous when doing their work and they should have the courage to stand behind what they do. They should have real discussion and debate, and not the carefully orchestrated supposed decorum we see today.
But what do I know, I’m just a constituent from Jefferson County.
--30--
Comments
