‘It happens a lot:’ Tennessee lawmaker sipping chocolate syrup bottle makes waves
A Tennessee lawmaker managed to steal the spotlight from impeachment, the Iowa Caucuses and State of the Union preparations this week with his eyebrow-raising hydration strategy.
Reporter Natalie Allison, who covers state politics for The Tennessean in Nashville, shared a photo Monday (taken by photojournalist George Walker IV) capturing Rep. Kent Calfee drinking from a Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle.
The photo was shot while Calfee waited for the State of the State address to start.
A little bizarre?
Twitter thought so — but Allison said it’s not an uncommon sight, writing that he “often does” the same during the legislative session.
“It happens a lot,” she wrote in a follow-up tweet.
KHQ reports that “Calfee has represented District 32 since January 8, 2013.”
Reactions ran the gamut.
Some were horrified.
One person noticed the syrup bottle wasn’t the only item in Calfee’s hands.
Others expressed admiration.
Still others speculated about what was inside the bottle.
So, what’s in the bottle?
The Tennessean reports that it’s not chocolate or booze, as some speculated.
“It’s a repurposed syrup bottle that I drink my water out of,” Calfee said Tuesday, according to the newspaper. “I’m not going to buy a $25 or $35 or $45 water bottle that’s not worth what it costs because I’ll probably put it down and leave it somewhere.”
He added that he and his wife “recycle everything,” per The Tennessean, saying “I was fixing to put it in the plastic recycling one day at home, and I thought, shoot, I can put water in that.”
Calfee, a Republican from Kingston who represents Roane and Loudon counties, attended East Tennessee State University and serves on the Commerce, Utilities and Government Operations Committees in the Tennessee General Assembly.
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 1:52 PM with the headline "‘It happens a lot:’ Tennessee lawmaker sipping chocolate syrup bottle makes waves."
