Bruce Barry
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brucebarry.bsky.social
Bruce Barry
@brucebarry.bsky.social
Professor at Vanderbilt U, columnist for @TNLookout, civil libertarian, nonrecovering chocoholic, fond of parrhesia tempered with aporia, avid indoorsman.
Reposted by Bruce Barry
I can see what he's getting at.

The Ad looked like it was cooked up by tourists who have an idea of the south in their heads.

Cause growing up here, I've never been in a venue with a mechanical bull.
November 6, 2025 at 10:42 PM
TN7 special election ad watch: Matt Van Epps on TV w/ 30-sec ad, a $48K buy for 101 airings this week and next on ch 5. (Assume similar buys at 2, 4, 17 but gov't shutdown has FCC filings offline; have to get them directly from stations, and I'm in touch only w/ 5.) [1/3]
November 6, 2025 at 8:57 PM
icymi My take on Democrat Aftyn Behn's @aftynfortn prospects for turning Tennessee's markedly red 7th Congressional District blue in the upcoming Dec. 2 special election. Latest column at @tennesseelookout.com.

tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/30/c...
Can Democrats flip Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District? • Tennessee Lookout
Polling for Rep. Aftyn Behn, the Democratic nominee in Tennessee Congressional District 7, is favorable, but will enough Democrats vote?
tennesseelookout.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by Bruce Barry
Commentary: Columnist Bruce Barry analyzes the Democratic prospects for a win in the upcoming special election for Congressional District 7: Democratic nominee, Rep. Aftyn Behn, appears to be making a close race in a GOP district--but can she close the gap?
Can Democrats flip Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District? • Tennessee Lookout
Polling for Rep. Aftyn Behn, the Democratic nominee in Tennessee Congressional District 7, is favorable, but will enough Democrats vote?
tennesseelookout.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Can Democrats flip Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District? Analysis in my new column up today at @tennesseelookout.com.

tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/30/c...
Can Democrats flip Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District? • Tennessee Lookout
Polling for Rep. Aftyn Behn, the Democratic nominee in Tennessee Congressional District 7, is favorable, but will enough Democrats vote?
tennesseelookout.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Oct 15 means 3rd quarter FEC disclosures (updating from Sept. pre-primary numbers). In TN7 special the Dem. nominee
@aftynbehn.bsky.social reports total cycle raise $188K and total spend $167K, so as of 9/30 cash on hand heading into the general of just over $20K. Yikes?
October 15, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Enjoyed being on the show today. Watch it here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykAv...
October 9, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Workers should not lose jobs merely because in off hours they have controversial things to say on social media or in other public settings, and elected officials should not be egging on this witch hunt. My latest column up today at @tennesseelookout.com.

tennesseelookout.com/2025/09/23/t...
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Tennessee employers could use more restraint, less impulse in First Amendment matters • Tennessee Lookout
Since the murder of Charlie Kirk, employers have been violating the First Amendment by firing employees, writes Bruce Barry.
tennesseelookout.com
September 23, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Fun as always doing Nashville in Focus with host Scott Couch and panel. For the few who weren't up Sunday at 6:30 am to watch it live stream here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Xc...
Nashville in Focus: President Trump sending troops to Memphis, comments on Charlie Kirk's death
YouTube video by FOX NASHVILLE
www.youtube.com
September 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM
CD 7 Adwatch: FCC filings show first Dem up on TV is Darden Copeland on Ch 2, 4, 5. A modest buy: ~$30K total through 9/22, $14K of it a one-shot splurge on 30 seconds during Titans Colts on Sunday. Meanwhile Vincent Dixie hits radio with spots on 92Q.
September 19, 2025 at 3:05 PM
With some public universities and agencies letting themselves be pressured into firing staff for political expression, worth having a look at this very good @volokhc.bsky.social summary of the state of the law on free speech and employment in the public sector.

reason.com/volokh/2025/...
Firing Public Employees Who Publicly Praise Violent Criminal Attacks
Some have been calling for the firing of people who publicly praised the murder of Charlie Kirk, or at least...
reason.com
September 15, 2025 at 4:31 PM
CD7 Adwatch: @nashvillebanner.bsky.social reports today that Vincent Dixie "is the first Democrat to launch on TV" but no FCC filings (yet) for a buy by Dixie or any other Dem. With early voting for primary days away appears Dems mostly avoiding TV, unlike Repubs who are all over it.
September 12, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Tell me this line of Matt Van Epps's TV spot, "I know what to do to terrorists, so these woke wannabes in Washington better take cover," is not a call for violence against political foes. (Or does he believe that one debates policy with terrorists?) Jarring cluelessness especially after yesterday.
September 11, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Update: Van Epps adds cable buy (Fox + ESPN) and pro-Van Epps PAC with begins airing on ch 2, 4, 5 plus cable (Fox + Newsmax). The PAC buy includes a spot during each of next two Titans game, each costing a cool 21 large.
September 11, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Thanks @axios.com for adding a link to the full document to the story.

www.axios.com/local/nashvi...
September 11, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Hey @axios.com Nashville if you have obtained this document why doesn't your story link to it? Reporting on it is short form and sketchy. Let's see the full document.
September 9, 2025 at 5:38 PM
CD7 ad watch: FCC filings show GOPers Reeves and Van Epps airing 30 sec spots on Ch 2, 4, 5. Bulso doing Fox and Newsmax on cable in Williamson. Reeves and Bulso buying 99.7 radio. Dem filings: zilch. Mitchell email-blasted a 30-sec spot today but no buy yet.
September 9, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Not sure the Dolly musical, workshopping at Belmont to a pretty good amount of local plaudits, is getting the sort of advance buzz in the NY theater press that it might have wished for.

nypost.com/2025/08/23/e...
nypost.com
August 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Bruce Barry
Gerrymandering has got to stop. You can see how it has completely f@#ked up politics in TN. Here's a good commentary from @tennesseelookout.com
How the Texas-California redistricting brawl relates to Tennessee • Tennessee Lookout
A gerrymandered 7th Congressional District in Tennessee has opened the door for 18 candidates and Democrats hope to pick up a seat.
tennesseelookout.com
August 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
The Texas-California rhubarb over redistricting has me pondering our own congressional gerrymandered madness here in Nashville, and the upcoming CD-7 special election. My latest column up today at @tennesseelookout.com.

tennesseelookout.com/2025/08/26/h...
How the Texas-California redistricting brawl relates to Tennessee • Tennessee Lookout
A gerrymandered 7th Congressional District in Tennessee has opened the door for 18 candidates and Democrats hope to pick up a seat.
tennesseelookout.com
August 26, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Nashville needs to decide what it wants to be when it grows up. My latest column up today at @tennesseelookout.com.

tennesseelookout.com/2025/07/11/n...
Nashville is a city on the move but running in place • Tennessee Lookout
Columnist Bruce Barry writes that Nashville appears to be growing by some measures, but feels stagnant for locals.
tennesseelookout.com
July 11, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Big haul for @tennesseelookout.com in Tennessee Press Association awards. Happy to be a small piece...

tennesseelookout.com/briefs/tenne...
Tennessee Lookout claims 14 awards in Tennessee Press Association contest  • Tennessee Lookout
The Tennessee Lookout took home 14 awards in the 2025 University of Tennessee - Tennessee Press Association contest.
tennesseelookout.com
July 2, 2025 at 9:40 PM
"Ryan was abandoned by the same people who were supposed to protect the university." A sad and disappointing outcome for my alma mater UVa, whose Board of Visitors compromised principle in favor of capitulation. Color me one disgusted wahoo.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/o...
Opinion | What the University of Virginia Should Have Done
www.nytimes.com
June 30, 2025 at 5:42 PM
"Top headline" @thetennesean.bsky.social feeds is an advance preview of something that happened yesterday. Some days I can't believe I pay actual money to subscribe to this stupefying level of incompetence. Come to think of it most days.
June 6, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Outrage at ICE operations on Nashville streets is understandable, but Dems wishing to return to power must also say what they would do differently to abate unauthorized immigration (which voters are clearly demanding). My latest column at @tennesseelookout.com.

tennesseelookout.com/2025/05/29/m...
Moving beyond moral indignation on Tennessee immigration enforcement • Tennessee Lookout
Columnist Bruce Barry writes that moral indignation over President Donald Trump's immigration policies isn't enough, as solutions are needed.
tennesseelookout.com
May 30, 2025 at 5:40 PM