In September, TN Secretary of State Tre Hargett sent letters to the state's public libraries ordering them to review their children's books for LGBTQ themes or characters. His benchmark? Content the Trump administration deems harmful to kids. Tre ain't playing. The letters said that, since the libraries receive state and federal funding, they must comply with state, federal, and local laws. And, to put a paternalistic spin on the censorship, adhere to Trump's "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" executive order.
Adding some teeth to the demand, Hargett wrote that if they didn't, they could expect to kiss their funding goodbye.
"As the agency that administers grants, it is incumbent on the Tennessee State Library & Archives to remind grant recipients that grant funds must be used consistently with the grant contract as well as federal, state, and local law. Libraries receiving grant funds must comply with laws or regulations, whether they have been in place for years or have recently become effective."
Unsurprisingly (Tennessee is a top 10 pro-Trump state), Hargett is a Republican. Yet he is demanding that Tennessee's state libraries submit to the federal government's idea of what Tennessee's children should read. This political reality raises the question. Where did the conservative embrace of states' rights go? These reactionaries sure seem to like big government a lot more than their grandpappies did.
In the mid-19th century, local rule was so important to historical conservatives that they fought the federal government over a state's right to own slaves. Today, the memory of these secessionists is revered in the mythology of "The Lost Cause". And even though the Union won, they continued their fight against federal authorities through other means. For years, successfully.
The slavers lost the Civil War. But they won the peace. The good old boys weathered Reconstruction and embraced Jim Crow. But all good things come to an end. The days of unfettered white supremacy were numbered. But still they fought for local rule.
Since the 1950s, these conservatives have again rallied around the "States' Rights" banner. They opposed school integration, civil rights, universal voting, and women's choice by asserting that the Constitution limits only the federal government. They insisted they had a God-given, natural right to discriminate against whomever.
But then Trump made bigotry a Great American value. The separatists paid attention. And now that the White House is talking their language, these erstwhile secessionists view the Union more favorably. These bigots have no belief in this or that form of government. They embrace Otto Bismarck's realpolitik. They want what they want. And will use whatever governing philosophy brings them their desire.
We shouldn't be surprised. These expedient opportunists manipulate to achieve. They'll pound the Bible to claim God is on their side. They say that morality guides their actions. They embrace sanctimony to impose their 'values' on people. However, sadism, not morality, is their North Star.
Spicing the hypocrisy is the claim that conservatives care about children's welfare. Offering a reason for a policy doesn't mean it is the reason. If you say your goal is to hurt LGBTQ+, you will receive pushback. However, suppose you say you are acting on God's instructions to protect children. In that case, many will applaud your motive — even celebrate you as an upright citizen — even as your policy hurts people who have done you no injury.
Yet Tennessee's supposed care for its youth is belied by the state's rejection of the ACA's Medicaid expansion. Tennessee, along with nine other 2024 Trump states, argued that the measure was an unconstitutional federal mandate. And thus interfered with the various states' right to determine their own course. But that was when a different set of players was in charge.
The shift from "to hell with DC" to "Let's do what the feds say," raises a question. Have America's conservatives permanently changed their philosophy? Hardly. You can be sure Hargett's embrace of federal laws will last only as long as the federal government is in Republican hands.
