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Tennessee Political Humor: Some of These Jokes You Voted for

A Funny Thing Happened
By Diane Ballard, Tennessee Alumnus Magazine

The story goes that two members of the Tennessee General Assembly partied too hearty one night and were rescued by a friend, a penitentiary guard who took them to the safety of the big house to sleep it off.

Upon awakening, one says incredulously to the other, “Do you remember being put in here?”

“Whew,” the other answers, “I don’t even remember having a trial.”

Stories about colorful political characters are oft-repeated, but seldom written. It took two political characters themselves to have the idea for a book of nothing but jokes and tall tales from Volunteer state politics—Tennessee Political Humor (subtitled “some of these jokes you voted for”).

Cotton Ivy ( Knoxville ’54), former legislator and state commissioner and well-known humorist, and Roy Herron (Martin ’75), state senator, attorney, and a former minister, wrote the book “because we know what a blessing humor can be.” UT Press, generally recognized for more serious works, published the book, though not without the scholarly accompaniment of notes that corroborate each chapter.

Thoroughly bipartisan and purged of epithets, Tennessee Political Humor still manages to make you smile. And the cast of characters guarantees name recognition—Howard Baker, Ned McWherter, Davy Crockett, Al Gore (Sr. and Jr.), Lamar Alexander, and many more.