The Tennessee lieutenant governor is exposed.
According to reports, Randy McNally, a Republican, used his official Instagram account last week to like, comment, and then delete the explicit Instagram posts of a gay former Tennessean. Franklin McClure was a former constituent of McNally and is apparently also a cross-dresser. He assured media outlets that there was nothing illicit between him and the lieutenant Governor–just some friendly fire emoticons posted on photos of the young man with his barely-clad backside.
This is one of those rare occasions when a small part of politics is exposed. It is a shame that left-leaning commentators are so full of hypocrisy. They couldn’t have made a better example, even though they tried. An old white male Republican from a deep red state was found admiring barely dressed young men wearing lipstick, while passing legislation to ban public drag performances. It’s a Saturday Night Live! joke, but because the regime’s comedians excel at the field of low-hanging fruits, it became one .
McNally doesn’t seem to be able to explain his shocking behavior for his part. This almost gives the situation some humor. The lieutenant governor, who was once an advocate for gay couples in Tennessee’s right to adopt children, tried to defend himself and said that he doesn’t believe the situation is anti-gay. His spokesperson, however, claimed that the entire thing could be attributed to an elderly man not being able to use Instagram. McClure, a 79-year old politician, has been commenting on McClure’s posts for for a few years. His spokesperson stated that he “has no intention to stop” his active Instagram engagement. However, McNally has since indicated that he will be taking a short “pause” from the app. He was found to have liked posts from multiple gay accounts, and some, such as McClure’s, were clearly pornographic.
The lieutenant governor looked sweaty under the cameras of a local news interview. The lieutenant governor stated that his comments were meant to encourage, but one could reasonably ask what.
McNally stated that “a lot of times you see the name and what they’ve written, so you press the button that says Like.” McNally denied that McNally had seen a reference to marijuana, but he did admit that he might have read the section in which McNally called himself a prostitute. McNally stated in another media appearance that “I probably could’ve been a bit more careful in my selection.”
McNally was a fixture of Tennessee’s state legislature for more than 40 years. He served in the house and the senators before he was appointed lieutenant governor in 2017. The Tennessee lieutenant governor is elected by the state senators to serve a dual function. He can preside over the upper chamber or replace the governor if he becomes incapacitated. As lieutenant governor, McNally supported the proposals of his colleagues to ban hormone therapy for gender-confused kids and to protect single-sex spaces like sports teams, locker rooms, and bathrooms. He also supported the adult cabaret law banning drag performances in public places where minors are present. McNally has reminded reporters, Tennesseans, and the world of this week that he has attempted to maintain a balance between traditional Tennessee values and trying to understand the LGBT community better.
“I stood up from the Speaker’s podium to oppose a bill that would have restricted gay adoption. I also support legislation to protect children and keep obscenity from the public sphere. Traditional marriage is what I support. He said that there is no contradiction in this.
Although he may be right, it is unlikely that he will act in the manner he intended. McNally’s social media smuggling and his equivocations about what it means for traditional values to be held are not contradictory. But there is a conflict, and a grave one, between McNally protecting his family and whatever is going on between his eyes and his screens. Even though McNally doesn’t use Instagram, the suggestion that a 79 year-old man doesn’t know what pornography is, is asking us not to be more dense than a politician who likes to post raunchy mirror selfies to his public account. His political hypocrisy may be relevant, but it is not the bottom line. Bottom line: The avowed Catholic grandfather and father engaging in online behavior that should make every man with a conscience regret it.
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He’s even getting a free pass from his party.
McNally should be allowed to “time to assess and then proceed.” Jack Johnson, the next candidate for the governorship following McNally, said that he has tremendous respect for McNally. McNally claims that both Republican and Democrat members of the General Assembly have shown their support to him at this moment. McNally failed to show up for the scheduled Scripture reading at Bill Lee’s annual prayer breakfast on Tuesday. The governor’s office provided cover by skipping the programming portion without giving any explanation.
This seems not to be anyone’s concern. As long as the man whips votes for the party line it doesn’t matter what happens behind closed doors or under our noses.
