Nashville News Blog

The legislature's new Republican majority has yet to meet a single day, and already the Christian Right is making threats. "Values Issues Should Get Top Billing," is the headline of the latest message to evangelicals from David Fowler of the Family Action Council of Tennessee:

... [T]hose who say the Republicans need to concentrate on the budget, education, and jobs correctly note that these need to be priorities…. too. But to assume that the legislature is only limited to dealing with two or three issues is nonsense. Values voters just won’t buy that should the Republicans ignore their issues and concerns.

In fact, Republicans should move SJR 127 and some of the other issues early in the next session in order to be able to concentrate fully on economic issues once the revenue numbers come out in late April. Moving these issues early does not mean Republicans don’t care about the other issues or that these issues are their only priority. No, it will show that they want to be able to focus fully on the economic issues once the revenue picture is clear and they know what they have to work with. Republicans getting these “social issues” off the table when budgetary work is limited due to the absence of revenue numbers is showing that when it’s time to work on the budget, it will be the priority.

It's not so much SJR127 or gun bills that might cause trouble for Republicans with moderates and independents. It's "some of the other issues" that Fowler doesn't detail. How about Stacey Campfield's bills to force women to look at ultrasounds of their fetuses before abortions? Or to obtain death certificates for their fetuses after abortions? Legislation to force the teaching of creationism in public schools might not go over so well, either. The list goes on.