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David Fowler
President
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November 5, 2008
You made a difference!
While Tennessee’s value voters may find their issues given short shrift in Congress over the next two years, they spoke loudly when it comes to state legislative politics. With control of the state House and Senate being vested in Republicans for the first time since Reconstruction, it appears that Tennesseans will have a pro-life, pro-family Speaker in both chambers.
This is not to say there are no pro-life, pro-family Democrats, but for decades pro-life and pro-family policies have faced tough sledding in the Tennessee House under the socially liberal leadership of House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh (D-Covington). And the difference that the values held by a Speaker makes became even more apparent when Senator Ron Ramsey became Speaker of the Senate. And enough Tennesseans must have noticed that difference: assuming Republicans will vote for one of their own for Speaker, Speaker Naifeh’s days of structuring subcommittees and committees so as to kill pro-life legislation and Senate Joint Resolution 127, in particular, are numbered.
How Could Such a Historic and Dramatic Shift Occur?
First, there has been much prayer taking place in Tennessee over the last few years. But I have never seen as many calls to prayer and prayer gatherings in my years in the public squares as I saw this year.
Second, more voters were more informed. For example, thousands of you responded this past session to our emails asking you to contact legislators about passage of SJR 127. More people became more aware of what is going on as Bobbie Patray of Eagle Forum and I crossed this state talking about the issue to every newspaper reporter we could find and interviewing on any radio station that would talk to us. In October, tens of thousands of Tennesseans got mail and emails from The Family Action Council of Tennessee about our voter guide. In October, literally thousands of them visited the website in search of information about the candidates.
In that regard, it is interesting to note that in those races where one candidate responded to our legislative survey and the other did not, the candidate who responded won a majority of the time. In fact, in the five key races in the state Senate targeted by Democrats and Republicans alike (challenges to Senators Black, Tracy and Williams and the open seats won by Rep. Gresham and Ken Yager), all five winners answered the survey but none of the losers did. And in the seven key House races with open seats that were hotly contested, five of the winners answered the survey, but none of their opponents did.
You are making a difference. You are telling candidates “I want to know where you stand so answer the surveys.” You are letting them know that you are watching what is going on when you respond to our Action Alerts. You have said “No longer will politics stop a pro-life majority in the legislature from having SJR 127 heard on the Senate Floor.”
You made a difference. But now is no time to rest. Session will convene in two short months and those who now control must know that we will insist that they govern according to the values of those who put them in office. They must know that we expect them to do what, in their survey responses, they said they would do. Working together, we can continue to make a difference in Tennessee.
Spread the word – in Tennessee value voters can rise up and make a difference!
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Tennessee Bucks National Trend; Historic Changes in State Legislature
