DATELINE FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE — GARY HUMBLE HOSTS THE SAD AWARDS
Originally posted April 30, 2025
This week, Tennessee Stands founder Gary Humble dropped his 2025 Legislative Recap — an hour-plus monologue of martyrdom, finger-pointing, and email list brags.
He called it an “accountability report.”
It played like an earnings call from a bankrupt pyramid scheme — just before the CEO cashes out.
If you sat through the homeschool gripes, 250,000-email flex, and the ritual burnings of Gov. Bill Lee and Sen. Jack Johnson, you walked away with one inescapable truth:
Gary Humble doesn’t win. He just narrates defeat.
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SAD AWARDS: A+ FOR LOYALTY. NOT RESULTS.
This year’s top “honors” didn’t go to lawmakers who passed legislation — just the ones who clapped loudest when Gary talked.
Rep. Todd Warner
Still orbiting the Phoenix Solutions scandal. Still writing checks to the same sketchy vendors (allegedly). Still under a federal microscope. Awarded an A+ for “leadership.” Not a single question asked.
Rep. Jody Barrett
“Punished” by GOP leadership, as claimed by Humble. Accomplished nothing. Rebranded by Humble as a persecuted hero for opposing vouchers — and handed a leadership award like it came with animal crackers.
Rep. Monty Fritts
Tried to intimidate the TBI — in writing — to drop a criminal investigation. In any other world, that’s obstruction. In Humble’s world? That’s a 93 and a standing ovation.
See the pattern?
Loyalty earns applause. Independent thought earns a hit piece.
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NOT A RECAP. A CAMPAIGN AD.
Humble’s already announced a 2026 run against Sen. Jack Johnson.
So naturally, Johnson — and everyone who voted with him — failed the Tennessee Stands “scorecard.”
This wasn’t a recap.
It was a campaign launch — soaked in resentment, spiked with revisionism, and stapled to a donation link. Call them “principles” if you want — but it’s really just market positioning.
Humble backed school vouchers — until Gov. Lee did. Then he flipped.
He campaigned for voter power — then smeared 52 House Republicans for restoring it by ending secret caucuses.
He railed against government overreach and corruption — while praising legislators who meddled in criminal investigations or were actually the target of them.
It’s not conviction. It’s just volume dressed up as virtue.
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THE REAL SCOREBOARD
Let’s do the math:
• Legislative wins Humble backed? Three.
• Losses or outright failures? Over 40.
• Blame assigned? Everyone else.
• Donation link? Always working.
Three out of 43 isn’t a movement — it’s a slump.
In baseball, he wouldn’t make the bench.
In politics? He’s got a ring light and a grudge.
But that’s the business model, isn’t it?
When your product is outrage, losing isn’t a setback — it’s the whole brand.