Tennessee Legislature’s Excretion of Griffey is a Painful Movement Locally
Okay so remember back a couple years ago, when I warned all of you fine “New Republicans” about voting for Bruce Griffey for State Representative?
You don’t? Seriously?
I did! It’s in print. As early as July of 2018, a full month before the Republican primary, I had to drop some truth bombs on you folks.
You thought you were voting for a hard-working, stable, long-term resident, Griffey. In fact you were voting for a hardly working, very unstable, transient who moved back to Tennessee because he was broke.
But regardless, you were determined to prove me wrong. And so, in my August 8th column of that same year, I capitulated the election with the Pericles quote, “Wait for the wisest of counselors to judge you…time.”
And so, it has. We’ve lost our entire 75th district. The legislature took it from us. They moved it to Clarksville. Our state road funds have “disappeared.” And the name of Henry County has been embarrassed by not only Griffey, but by the less than intellectual local, “New Republicans” our fine Republican caucus.
Introducing now as our State Rep, a guy from Greenfield! Oh wait, yes and a guy from Erin!
To clue in some of you “New Republicans” who aren’t from here, these are not towns in Henry County.
It shouldn’t have been difficult for you to see past your own nose, to realize bad things were going to happen when you voted for this guy.
After all, he again, didn’t have a job. He owed, and by most accounts still owes, a huge amount of back taxes, from trying to run an education scheme in Florida.
But after a few years he scampers back home with his tail between his legs, with a law degree torn to shreds only to be immediately laughed at by our legal community.
In comparison, you same people vote out a guy, who successfully started and ran his own small business, was very active as a volunteer in the community, then as State Rep, helped secure us a multi-million dollar resort hotel, funding for TDOT for all our roads and actively searched for a solution to Asian Carp.
Why?
Because Wirgau was a funny sounding name and Griffey was a local name. Griffey was a name the “New Republicans” could trust.
And right from the start Griffey broke that trust.
Because of the wackiness of this character, most people thought I would write about him every week. I was quick to counter that. Such a deadbeat is not worth my time. I would only write about Griffey when he screwed up. And that’s what I have done. And lawd how gloriously he’s done that!
Remember the time he tried to “blackmail” the governor into giving his wife a judgeship?
I don’t think he’d even been in his part time job a year!
And then of course there was his outrage because none of his bills could get out of committee. I know you “New Republicans” don’t understand basic civics, but that’s important in a legislature of any size.
And so, Griffey, instead of building coalitions with his fellow Republican lawmakers, went super wacky and basically tried to introduce his own bills direct to the legislature.
They took his elevator pass.
Then they kicked him off his committees.
And that’s when I started to get phone calls, and text messages, and emails from people outside of Henry County who worked with the legislature on various matters.
“What is wrong with this Griffey guy?”
“You know TDOT could just forget to fund your roads, right?”
“You realize, they are talking about splitting Henry County up?”
And here we are two years later. The four-lane to Kentucky is dead. Our community is a laughingstock, statewide. And they didn’t just split Henry County up, they leap frogged the entire 75th, over the 76th, and into Clarksville.
Great job “New Republicans.” Great job.