Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, talks with people attending a Senate hearing to discuss a fetal heartbeat abortion ban on Monday, Aug. 12, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)NASHVILLE – As the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly prepares to return Wednesday to the state Capitol – where GOP lawmakers have called themselves into a special session to target vaccination requirements and mask mandates – one GOP lawmaker is denouncing what he called an “evil” federal government.
“There is an evil government in Washington, D.C., that is overstepping its bounds and is trying to replace God with it. They’re trying to tell each and every one of us what we can and cannot do,” state Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, said Sunday as he spoke at a three-day conference at the Opryland Resort and Convention Center. “Not on my watch. Not here.”
Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Hendrell Remus on Monday sharply criticized Pody over his remarks, which were reported by Nashville radio station WPLN.
“I think those comments are dangerous, and they’re irresponsible, especially from someone who is serving in a public role, as a public servant,” Remus said. “As a parent whose child spent his entire fall break recovering from COVID, I’m appalled.”
The livestreamed conference was hosted by Ty and Charlene Bollinger and their group Truth About Cancer. Their organization has recently focused on COVID-19 vaccines with information that medical experts say is often misleading or false.