Tennessee State Representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson call for gun reform in wake of Nashville school shooting. AP Photo/File
(TriceEdneyWire.com)—Two years ago, the Tennessee Three (Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson) gave us their version of “Good Trouble” when they led a protest from the floor of the state legislature chamber. While the Tennessee lawmakers may have violated House chamber rules, and the drastic and radical response may have been uncomfortable for some, it served as a needed wake-up call to do something for a change.
In this case, the “good trouble” was motivated by the call for tighter gun control laws after three 9-year-olds and three adults were killed in a mass shooting in Nashville. The “thoughts and prayers” response by Republicans hasn’t been sufficient in stopping the long string of mass shootings. Right now, Tennessee and all of America could use a large dose of “Good Trouble” to confront the administration’s Project 2025 agenda, a tariff trade policy filled with uncertainty and the heartless “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The midterm elections will be here in 18 months, and while President Trump will not be on the ballot in 2026, many of his House and Senate enablers will be. John Rose is a MAGA enabler who currently represents Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District and is set on becoming the state’s next governor. The Congressman, like the Tennessee Three, is an elected official representing a state with one of the highest poverty percentages in the nation. They represent a state with the highest hospital closure rate per capita. In a Vanderbilt University post-election poll, registered voters in Tennessee voiced overwhelming support for Medicaid expansion, including 55 percent of MAGA Republicans. In a speech before the Republican Women of Williamson County, Rose referenced the blitz of executive orders.
“I know there is a lot of angst around the country,” Rose said. “The other side is twisted in knots about what the president is doing, and I would just tell you, let’s not forget, this president telegraphed everything, right on the campaign trail. He told us what he’s going to do, and now he’s doing what he said he was going to do.” Rose spoke to an audience of conservative White women as if their lives would never be impacted negatively by Project 2025. “How do you think the president was prepared to install all these executive orders?” Rose said. “How do you think they were prepared to make all of these appointments in such quick succession after he got into office? Project 2025.”
As thousands of federal workers began losing their jobs through Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) budget cuts and mass firings, the political backlash for Republican enablers is being felt at contentious town halls. Rather than face the hostile crowds, many enablers chose not to show up and face the heat from their constituents. One Republican lawmaker said it appeared that constituents who’ve been “quiet” since Joe Biden’s 2020 victory are back out in force. The heat from the town halls should be the beginning of the political accountability Republicans should pay for Project 2025, tariffs, and the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The plan should be to weaken Trump by making his enablers pay the political price for the economic chaos impacting Red and Blue America. Rep. John Rose, in his speech, told us what we already knew. He is bold in his speech as he talks about the other side (Democrats) being twisted in knots about what the president is doing, but have his Republican constituents finally figured out he is also referring to them being negatively impacted by Project 2025? It is time for poor, working-class, and middle-class Whites—en masse—to see the reality when they choose their racial status over their economic status. When they think certain things are only holding back Black and brown people, they are also holding back White individuals and families.
If the American voters from both parties stay informed and understand the full impact of a tariff-driven economy, the elections should spell additional trouble for any GOP official who supports an economic policy surrounded by so much uncertainty. The blame for needless hardships experienced by Americans should be placed at the feet of enablers like Rose. They should feel the political backlash when stores such as Walmart and Target start to have empty shelves due to tariffs. The Trump administration is already looking for ways to cover the full damage.
Soon after Walmart announced prices would increase on multiple items, President Trump blasted the retailer on social media by accusing it of blaming his tariff agenda for higher prices. During news interviews, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he spoke with Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, and the company would reportedly take some of the hit. “Walmart will be absorbing some of the tariffs; some may get passed onto the consumers,” Bessent said, according to The Associated Press.
Tennesseans said they want to expand Medicaid coverage, yet they could face having a Congressman in John Rose who voted to cut Medicaid on the ballot for governor. If people in his state and around the nation are suffering economically, then the political price should be paid by lawmakers in states such as Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and West Virginia. These red states are some of the nation’s poorest, yet their representatives can get away with not protecting their citizens’ health and economic well-being. Democrats may need to cause some radical “good trouble” to tap into the political anger already displayed during the Republican town halls. The 2026 midterm elections could see Republican enablers regret that they betrayed the people back home. They can hide from a town hall, but not an election.
(David W. Marshall is the founder of the faith-based organization TRB: The Reconciled Body and author of “God Bless Our Divided America.”)
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