🤡 BLASTROOTS STRIKES BACK

DUMMY OF THE WEEK

A long time ago in a county not so far away…
Just kidding. It was actually last week.

If you thought Rep. Todd Warner had finally exhausted his supply of self-inflicted embarrassment — surprise, not surprise — he reached back into the legislative toolbox and pulled out another stick of dynamite.

What now, you ask? This time, Rep. Warner sponsored a bill to handcuff TDEC’s ability to decide what counts as “farmland.” Cute, right?

Too bad it was a dud — the very first stinker of this legislative session.

To the shock of absolutely no one, this Todd Warner special — designed to help none other than Todd Warner — failed to impress fellow committee members, who, under the neon “conflict of interest” sign, promptly booted it to the legislative incinerator.

But here’s the kicker: this isn’t a one-off. There are at least two more pieces of legislation carrying the same convenient theme: loosening environmental and water-use guardrails in the exact regulatory sandbox where, oddly enough, Todd Warner operates his quarry-adjacent “farm pond.”

There’s bill (HB1509), aimed at restricting how much TDEC can limit river withdrawals during low-flow conditions. This is the very same Duck River at the center of Warner’s discharge fight, where locals would prefer their drinking water without the quarry garnish.

Then there’s another resolution (HJR726), cheerleading the reconstruction of the Columbia Dam — a project that would fundamentally reshape water supply politics, once again, in the very river basin where Warner’s limestone operation sits. You see, nothing screams “watershed stewardship” quite like rearranging river flows in the same watershed as your own rock-crushing side hustle.

If you’re keeping count, that’s three swings. Every one of them touches water. Every one of them affects TDEC. And every one of them limits regulatory authority in a way that happens to align nicely with Warner’s personal business interests.

Can you name another Tennessee state rep who so aggressively legislates his own backyard business disputes? That’s a serious question. Can you?

And yet — somehow — Rep. Warner remains a darling of the “grassroots” crowd. The same folks who howl about cronyism, self-dealing, and swamp creatures somehow convince themselves that Warner’s fighting Big Gubmint for the little guy. Hate to break it to you, friends: the only little guy Warner champions is the one staring back in his mirror every morning.

Which brings us to the real head-scratcher: Mary Smith — Williamson County mayoral candidate — hosting an event. Special guest? You guessed it: none other than Rep. Todd Warner — the guy whose neighbors flocked to zoning boards begging not to have their homes rattled to the foundations by his “agricultural improvements.”

Listen, you can support a friend. You can respect someone you grew up with. You can even vote your tribe. But at some point, you have to admit that you’re not backing a representative — you’re promoting a one-man deregulation mission disguised as public service.

Welcome to peak Todd Warner: quarrying his integrity one farm-pond blast at a time — and Dummy of the Week, yet again.

Pure, unfiltered, self-inflicted political malpractice. And despite the valiant efforts of the good guys… he keeps striking back.