Scott DesJarlais watch

It's now been 5 days since sworn testimony by Tea Party Republican family values congressman Scott DesJarlais revealed that he is a serial abortionist, liar and flouter of medical ethics. DesJarlais has not been heard from.

But some Tennessee Republicans see an opportunity to investigate Barack Obama.

You read that right. Not since the voters of my home county, Hamilton, re-elected Bookie Turner sheriff while he was serving a term in his own jail have Tennessee voters displayed more loyalty.

Times Free Press reporter Chris Carroll had this today:

Other Republicans on the state executive committee, all of whom said they consider themselves anti-abortion, said issues from 12 years ago -- even the congressman's sworn testimony -- aren't relevant now.
Tim Rudd, a Realtor who resides in Murfreesboro, said the media should "get off DesJarlais" and investigate President Barack Obama's background, education and "what makes him tick."
"We're talking about a personal issue in his former marriage," Rudd said of DesJarlais. "That did not form the man he is today."

I love Tennessee politics.

More top-notch local reporting

I always wanted to report for my hometown paper, but they never gave me the time of day. Here's some first-rate work from Chattanooga.

A decade before calling himself “a consistent supporter of pro-life values,” Tennessee physician and Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais supported his ex-wife’s decision to get two abortions before their marriage, according to the congressman’s sworn testimony during his divorce trial.

It gets worse from there, a lot worse.

Typical Tea Party phony.  The voters returned him in a landslide, although the bare bones of his conduct was revealed well in advance of the election. It was not, however, nailed down until the Times Free Press finally got the transcript of his sworn deposition.

The Washington Post notes:

DesJarlais easily won reelection last week despite reports that he had sex with patients and urged one of them to get an abortion. The congressman hasn’t directly responded to questions on the matter since then.

The Christians of east Tennessee have always been like that. Hamilton County was dry when I was a boy. My grandfather used to say it was because the Baptist ministers and the bootleggers allied to keep it that way.