Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R.-Tenn., exits Judge Jacqueline Bolton’s courtroom.A prominent conservative blog and a well-financed family values group are calling for U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais’ ouster, adding to the national voices wanting new representation in Tennessee’s 4th District.
In a Thursday post titled “Scott DesJarlais Must Go,” RedState.com contributor Daniel Horowitz spoke of “a golden opportunity in midland Tennessee to show the country that we live by the standard to which we have set for ourselves.”
An anti-abortion Jasper physician who promotes a family friendly agenda, DesJarlais supported his ex-wife’s two abortions in the 1990s and later had sexual relationships with several female patients and co-workers, court documents show. Some of that information didn’t emerge until after DesJarlais won re-election in November.
The RedState piece originally surfaced on a website for the Madison Project, a “pro-life, pro-family” political action committee that spent $2 million during the 2012 election cycle. It urges conservatives to reject DesJarlais in the 2014 Republican primary.
“What has long distinguished our party from the Democrats is that we don’t tolerate immorality among our ranks,” Horowitz wrote, adding it’s time “to throw out a weak incumbent and replace him with one of our guys.”