In our blog, read about the political and cultural issues affecting Tennesseans written from a conservative perspective. Commentaries are typically written by David Fowler, an attorney who served in the Tennessee state Senate for 12 years before joining FACT as President.
What Bad Politicking Tells Us About the Politicians We Need
Jul 29, 2022 by David Fowler
I believe one state legislative primary is a microcosm of the dilemma voters face during Republican primaries and provides insight into what is most needed among those we elect. The one I have in mind is that between Senator Jack Johnson and Gary Hum...
Evaluating Candidates For The Most Influential Office In State Government
Jul 22, 2022 by David Fowler
The next attorney general for our state will soon be selected by the justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court. I would submit that it is the most influential position in state government. And only one person whose name is being bandied about that I th...
How to Evaluate ‘Insider’ vs. ‘Outsider’ Legislative Candidates
Jul 15, 2022 by David Fowler
Early voting for state legislative primaries (and county general elections) starts today. There are some Republican primaries in which the incumbent faces a challenger. Having been the out-of-nowhere challenger to a 26-year incumbent Repub...
Pro-lifers Need the Unvarnished Truth About the Dobbs Decision
Jul 8, 2022 by David Fowler
Conservatives applauded Justice Samuel Alito’s recent opinion in the Dobbs case holding that there was no “right to abortion” in the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause and reversing the holding in Roe v. ...
Don’t Overlook the Real Conversation Among the Justices in Dobbs
Jul 1, 2022 by David Fowler
The reversal of Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court last Friday is certainly cause for rejoicing among those who are pro-life. And I do rejoice. But a profound conversation is lurking below the surface in the opinions of the vari...
How to Evaluate Republican Candidates for the State Legislature
Jun 24, 2022 by David Fowler
With campaign mailers now flooding my mailbox, I couldn’t help but think back twenty-eight years to my first political race. I was running for the Tennessee Senate in a Republican primary against a 26-year incumbent. I learned then that endorse...
The Pride That Pervades Me and Evangelicalism
Jun 17, 2022 by David Fowler
It is “Pride Month” for those who believe in the LGBTQ community’s understanding of human identity and dignity. Many in the conservative evangelical community who know what the Bible says about pride condemn even the concept of cele...
The Southern Baptist Sex Abuse Scandal and Me.
Jun 10, 2022 by David Fowler
I spent most of my first 22 years in Southern Baptist Churches. Thereafter, I have been joined to other protestant churches. So, when sexual wrongs—dare we call them sins anymore? —and their cover up were exposed within the ranks of those...
Will SCOTUS ‘Abort’ All of Us?
May 19, 2022 by David Fowler
Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked abortion decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization seems to have put many pro-life policy advocates in a rush to enact newer, stricter laws prohibiting doctors from performing abortio...
A Final, Most Grievous Aspect of the Leaked Dobbs Opinion
May 18, 2022 by David Fowler
I am delighted that the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to reverse its abortion precedents, Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The opinion does a great job dismantling the faulty historical analysis employed in Roe&nbs...
Commentary