Tennessee GOP Primary — Who’s Most Islamophobic?

by Stuart Shapiro

Tennessee has a Republican primary today and it is a barn burner with Rep. Diane Black (pictured) trying to fend off a challenge from Lou Ann Zelnick.  I’m sure they are focused on jobs and the economy, right?  Wrong.

Tennessee holds its primary elections today, and the marquee race involves a challenge to a very conservative member of the very conservative 2010 GOP Freshman Class in the House on grounds that she’s insufficiently focused on the dire threat of Shariah Law. No kidding. . . in a party that is supposedly focused with insane, teeth-grinding monomania on the economy and the fiscal situation and nothing else, a congressional primary is revolving around the horrid threat to Western Civilization of a mosque that’s not even in this district anymore (it was removed by redistricting).

May the most narrow-minded candidate win.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.