Put a Tennessee conservative behind a podium and odds are good that, at some point, he or she will throw a dig at the incurable liberal urge to misuse tax dollars. That hypocrisy was laid bare when Tennessean reporterVivian Jones landed the scoop of the year with a series of stories on Gov. Bill Lee’s 2023 luxury trip to France and Italy — the governor’s political branding as a prudent businessman only added to the embarrassment. While Lee’s office defended the trip as a “strategic international trade mission,” taxpayers footed the $117,000 bill while state officials and their spouses enjoyed Michelin-reviewed restaurants and luxury hotels.
