Yes, democracy lives in Tennessee

We are used to hot takes on the internet and we know them when we see them—but then there is the screed recently published by the venerable publication, The Atlantic, once the home of bylines by distinguished luminaries like Frederick Douglas, Mark Twain, and Abraham Lincoln.

“Is Tennessee a Democracy?” That is the question Anne Applebaum asked in a story with that very question as a headline. Applebaum, whose sometimes thoughtful work deftly chronicled the horrors of Stalin’s starving of Ukraine and the atrocities of Russian gulags, brings her focus on democracy, not to the many failed states worldwide, but to the Volunteer State—Tennessee. From Applebaum’s analysis, one could think that Tennessee is joining the ranks of tyrannical regimes because Republicans are in control and doing the sorts of things that political parties in control of government often do.

What provoked such an overheated reaction? Applebaum is exercised by the messy conflicts in county board races, the conservative state legislature, and state government in general. She is particularly outraged by the governor of the state demonstrating the audacity to sign legislation restricting abortion and so-called gender transition care for minors. Progressive-majority states, such as Illinois or California, passing predictably progressive legislation doesn’t seem to signal to the erstwhile journalist that those blue bastions are sliding into authoritarianism. But the land of mountains, music, and medical innovation suddenly seems third world to Appelbaum and the Atlantic.

As someone who lived in Nashville for nearly a decade, I found The Atlantic’s description of a dystopia to be laughably at odds with my family’s experience. Every community has flaws, but we found Tennessee well-managed and enjoyable.

The most significant sign that democracy has eroded in Tennessee, according to Applebaum, is the composition of the state’s electorate:

Today, Tennessee is a model of one-party rule. It has a Republican governor and legislature. Republican appointees run the state supreme court. The state’s nine-member U.S. House delegation contains eight Republicans; Tennessee has sent two Republicans to the Senate. The governor is the only other official elected statewide. Unlike in other states, the attorney general and secretary of state in Tennessee are appointed, and they are both Republicans too.

The horror! Tennessee, once ruled by moderate Democrats, now boasts unified Republican control of state government. But this is far from the only state in the union to experience one-party rule. California, which used to send Republican presidents to Washington, is so reliably blue that statewide elections in the Golden State often feature spirited competition ... among Democrats. Not to mention Illinois, once a bipartisan capital of corruption, is now solid blue in every statewide office. Or any other deep blue enclave that escapes Applebaum’s scorn.

This sorting is a phenomenon of recent years as Americans seem to be moving according to political preferences. Tennessee has been the beneficiary of blue-state refugees escaping draconian COVID restrictions, increasingly left-wing public school propaganda, and high costs of living in progressive states. Tennessee is among the states with the highest population gains.

This trend may or may not be healthy as America further polarizes. It’s understandable to lament the lack of bipartisan give-and-take in states like California or Tennessee, though in one-party states often there are subgroups within majorities that make the politics as fractious and messy as the swing states. But the idea that the Volunteer State’s increasingly conservative makeup is somehow a malicious assault on democracy is preposterous. What is happening in Tennessee is the essence of democracy, as people vote to elect leaders that reflect their values. It’s not that Applebaum is witnessing the end of democracy. It’s that she’s witnessing an outcome of democracy that she doesn’t like.

Her perspective reflects a certain bias, where progressive one-party rule seems normal, but conservative one-party rule is cause for alarm. It’s not unlike the reaction by many in the media to the Supreme Court’s originalist decisions in recent years. Rather than arguing policy on the merits, the left accuses institutions of eroding democracy. But in our system of government, living with policies we often dislike is a feature, not a bug. The solution is to make the case, persuade your fellow citizens, and vote to change the outcome.

Preserving democracy is an important goal, but hyperbole and misrepresentation won’t get us there.