Bredesen may have just officially lost his race in TN. It's been a tight race for awhile. Some polls have him up. Some down. He was within the margin of error. This will likely keep democrats in TN at home or they'll just skip his name at the booth.
Nothing about this statement will win him Republican votes.
This is paternalism. This is being in an abusive relationship. Democratic voters in TN have just been told to shut up and fall in line, or don't vote and suffer the consequences of a Republican senator. So deal with accepting some sexist and racist conservative policies or deal with ALL sexists and racist conservative policies.