Poll aggregation website FiveThirtyEight said that U.S. Reps Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) and Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) are “Far-Right Obstructionists.”
“In a Congress largely defined by Republicans’ struggle to govern in harmony with their far-right flank, it’s no surprise that a cluster of hardline, obstructionist conservatives emerged as a cohesive voting cluster,” FiveThirtyEight said.
“The Far-Right Obstructionists cluster is made up of 39 members who are part of, or tend to be closely aligned with, the Freedom Caucus, including notable rabble-rousing Trump acolytes like Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who led the charge on ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s threatening the same fate for Speaker Mike Johnson,” according to the publication.
FiveThirtyEight made clusters of “Moderate Republicans,” “Compromise Conservatives,” “Old Guard Republicans,” “Far-Right Establishment,” and “Far-Right Obstructionists.”
According to FiveThirtyEight, the main policy positions that categorize an elected Republican as a “Far-Right Obstructionist” include refusing to vote for more taxpayer funding for Ukraine, promoting school choice legislation, voting to defund the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), voting for a Gaetz resolution to remove American troops from Somalia and stripping funding for international aid programs.
“I keep my word. Everyone runs on the issues I vote on every day, but a lot of members only vote that way during election season,” Rep. Burchett told The Tennessee Star on Tuesday. “I’m just consistent. All that compromise has gotten us is $35 trillion in debt.”
Ogles is battling primary challenger and Metro Council Member Courtney Johnston, who appears to have support from major Democrats in the state.
Johnston was scheduled to attend a fundraiser hosted by Margaret Urbine and George Uribe, supporters of far-left State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville). When The Star obtained an invitation to that fundraiser and questioned Uribe and Johnston, both denied the event ever took place.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on X/Twitter.
Photo “Andy Ogles” by Andy Ogles.
