The recent Southern ice storm exposed a clear split between local response and political responsibility, with Nashville’s recovery lagging and city leadership facing sharp criticism for communication failures and decisions about outside help.

The Democratic Party often says it “believe[s] the science” on climate and every headline that follows, but I have one big question for any Democrat in elected office: Why are you guys the only ones shocked when “climate” happens? Last week a massive ice storm moved through the South, hitting Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Virginia among other places. Meteorologists warned of a large system for days, yet the chaos that followed was still striking to watch.

The storm left broad damage that looked like a tornado or hurricane flattened wide areas, only made worse by heavy ice. The hardest-hit portions of Tennessee were in the western and middle regions, with Nashville suffering heavily because of its population size. Other states saw deeper ice accumulation, but the spotlight landed on Nashville because its recovery has lagged behind.

Outside linemen have been heroes through the crisis, putting in 14+ hour days to restore power and going where they can to help people who’ve been without electricity for days. First responders and utility crews are pushing through brutal shifts to reconnect homes and clear hazards. Those workers deserve credit regardless of where the political finger-pointing lands.

I remember long outages from my own childhood in rural Tennessee, a week without power back in 1994, and I get why recovery can drag when infrastructure is thin and crews are stretched. But Nashville is not a remote farm; it is a dense, urban center with large systems and resources. The rest of the state has moved faster under the governor’s guidance, which makes Nashville’s slow pace stand out even more.

Locals have noticed the difference in urgency and effectiveness. The people in the rest of Tennessee see steady recovery efforts while Nashville’s response still looks confused and defensive. That perception matters politically because it colors how residents judge who actually runs the city and who is accountable when things go wrong.

Nashville and its electric utility, Nashville Electric Service, are run by local officials who are Democrats. Tennessee overall is deep red, but Nashville and Memphis lean the other way, and the people in charge of the city’s power and public messaging fall squarely into that local mix. When the city acts surprised by a storm that meteorologists forecast, voters see it as either incompetence or misplaced priorities.

At first, city leaders accused critics of spreading misinformation after reports that union linemen were turned away. Local media confirmed it by receiving emails showing that linemen willing to help were being turned away. Soon after, separate communication failures followed as the utility and the mayor’s office diverged on messaging and responsibility.

The split became public as the utility and the mayor began holding separate press briefings and shifting blame onto each other. That disconnect looks worse because the mayor oversees the board that runs NES. “The five members of that board are appointed by the mayor’s office and confirmed by the Metro Nashville Council. According to the board’s member roster, three of the five current members were appointed to their five-year terms before [Mayor Freddie O’Connell] was elected mayor.”

Who ran the city before O’Connell? Democrat John Cooper, who is also the brother of former Democrat Congressman Jim Cooper. The local Democratic infrastructure placed people in those roles, set the budgets, and shaped the response strategy. When a city-owned utility and its overseers argue in public, responsibility becomes clear to voters even if officials try to muddy the facts.

It’s gotten so bad that for blasting the city’s response. That moment isn’t just about one storm; it echoes previous failures in other Democrat-run areas during crises. Whether it’s wildfires or floods, the pattern of poor communication and defensive politics follows a consistent thread that voters notice.

You can put a pin on your shirt and say you believe climate science, but storms of all kinds are part of life and leadership means being ready for them. Disaster response is fundamentally a pass-or-fail test for elected officials, and Republicans like Ron DeSantis and Tennessee’s Bill Lee have built reputations on clear, decisive responses in emergencies. When leaders act fast and communicate well, the political fallout is smaller; when they do not, the consequences are tangible and lasting.

Democrats in Nashville have a narrow territory they’re expected to manage, and right now that territory looks neglected. That failure opens political questions about whether the people who run the city truly care for the places they claim to represent. Examples like Aftyn Behn going viral for saying she hated Nashville do not help the image that local Democrats are deeply invested in fixing problems when they arise.

Nashville does not need parallel press events or blame games. It needs leadership that coordinates response, accepts accountability, and focuses on getting people back to normal. When officials prioritize optics over outcomes, voters take note and the political cost can be steep.

https://x.com/JoshPateCFB/status/2017040659111104899?s=20