WCC PAC claims to be grassroots—but their national PAC ties, top-down tactics, and silence on local First Amendment issues reveal a different truth. Real grassroots efforts don’t come with million-dollar consultants and performative patriotism.
By TruthWire News
Williamson County Conservatives board member Kimberly Calcote recently published a glowing editorial declaring herself a leader in the county's only true "grassroots conservative Republican group." But the claims in her commentary—and the actions of the group she represents—deserve a much closer look.
Let's start with the basics: What is a grassroots movement?
Grassroots movements begin with everyday citizens. They are local, bottom-up, and driven by the people—not national PACs, political consultants, or the establishment class. Grassroots groups knock doors, recruit candidates, and advance policy based on community needs—not a handful of figures who are desperately clinging to power and relevance.
The Money Trail
Despite branding themselves as grassroots, the WCC PAC and its candidates have benefitted from significant outside spending and institutional support. One of their major political benefactors is Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a national organization backed by billionaires with deep political influence. AFP’s involvement in Tennessee Republican primaries—through ad buys, door-knocking, and targeted mailers—distorts the notion that WCC PAC is locally driven.
True grassroots doesn’t come with out-of-state talking points and a seven-figure checkbook. The influence of AFP and similar groups—who are closely aligned with old-guard, Bush-era political operatives—signals a return to establishment priorities dressed up in MAGA language. It’s political cosplay, not genuine populism.
Adding to the illusion is the influence of Ward Baker—a longtime political consultant for figures like Jack Johnson, Marsha Blackburn, and Jake McCalmon. Baker is a master of crafting establishment victories while branding them as conservative wins. He’s been the strategist behind some of the most powerful Republican operatives in both Nashville and Washington. If your “grassroots” effort enjoys the guidance and protection of Ward Baker, you’re not exactly the outsider in the room. You’re the room.
MAGA in Name, Bush-Era in Practice
Calcote lauds central figures like Jack Johnson, Lee Reeves, and Jake McCalmon, calling their legislative efforts a defense of “our right to vote.” But, to be clear: the policies produced, defended, and imposed on Tennesseans by these lawmakers don’t resemble America First populism—they echo Bush-era politics of centralized control, corporatism, and managed outcomes.
Johnson and Reeves’ bill, SB0855/HB0799, now law, stripped county GOPs of their right to hold conventions—replacing it with state-mandated open primaries. This is not grassroots empowerment. It’s top-down control that hands influence over to Democrats and independents who have no allegiance to the Republican platform. If that’s your idea of election integrity, you’re not defending Republican voters—you’re disenfranchising them. And the $8 million dollars handed over after the bill passed without a fiscal note means every taxpayer in Tennessee will be covering the cost.
Ignoring First Amendment Violations in Our Own Backyard
While Calcote waxes poetic about conservative values and constitutional rights, her group has been conspicuously silent about serious First Amendment concerns here in Williamson County.
For instance, Franklin Pride—held in a public taxpayer-funded park—prohibited attendees from wearing political or faith-based gear that conflicted with their mission, while city officials and Franklin police enforced the exclusion policy. TruthWire News submitted detailed questions to the city asking whether such enforcement violates constitutional protections for free speech in public forums.
Silence from the city. Silence from WCC.
The WCC’s silence is unsurprising when you consider that the campaign consultant for Lee Reeves, a central figure in their movement, is none other than Franklin Alderman Bev Burger—a public official who has never raised concern over the Pride permit’s blatant First Amendment conflicts. With political interests so tightly intertwined, don’t expect WCC to challenge the actions of Franklin’s BOMA. They share the same establishment DNA.
Apparently, constitutional defense only applies when it’s politically convenient.
Here’s why the WCC won’t touch stories like this: confronting them would shatter the carefully crafted myth that Williamson County is a stronghold of conservative values. To acknowledge the problem would be to admit that their chosen champions—Jack Johnson, Lee Reeves, and the like—have failed to act in any meaningful way. It would peel back the layers of the polished branding and reveal what’s really underneath: a stage-managed performance of patriotism that lacks any real conviction.
The Real Grassroots Are Watching
The WCC PAC claims to represent the grassroots. But the actual grassroots are the ones asking hard questions, uncovering the facts, and refusing to go along with performative politics.
TruthWire has reported extensively on issues that establishment Republicans and their PACs want to avoid—from the forced removal of caucuses in SB0855, to the use of taxpayer dollars to fund sex reassignment surgeries in Williamson County employee healthcare plans, to parental rights being ignored in schools.
Those aren’t fringe issues. Those are the kitchen table concerns of real conservative families—and WCC leadership hasn’t lifted a finger to address them.
What happens when the myth of conservative leadership in Williamson County doesn’t survive the spotlight? The WCC stays silent on issues like these because acknowledging them would mean admitting that this county isn’t the liberty-loving paradise they sell—it’s a well-packaged illusion. To speak up would force them to answer why their political darlings—Jack Johnson, Lee Reeves, and the rest—have done nothing to fix it. That truth is inconvenient. It reveals that the “freedom” they champion is little more than a marketing gimmick—hollow, performative, and designed to keep voters docile. But when conservative voters start asking hard questions, the red, white, and blue facade starts to crack.
Conclusion: Labels Don’t Equal Legitimacy
Grassroots isn’t a label you slap on a press release or an op-ed. It’s earned. And it looks nothing like what Calcote and her organization have done.
When you ally with national PACs, praise politicians who vote to strip local party rights, operate under the protection of establishment consultants like Ward Baker, and stay silent on blatant constitutional violations in your own backyard, you lose the right to call yourself a grassroots leader.
The people of Williamson County are awake. And they’re watching.
— TruthWire News
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