Good legislation should bring clarity and not confusion.
Governors sometimes have a hard time jumping up on a table and yelling the loudest because they've actually been there. They realize it's difficult to govern in a split environment.
Men and women motivated by faith have every right and obligation to bring their belief and commitment to the public debate. However, that is very different from the governmental establishment of religion that our founders warned against and our constitution prohibits.
Although Senate Bill 1556 has received attention for its perceived focus, my job is to look at the actual substance of the legislation.
If we believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then we shouldn't be recognizing it only as a book of historical and economic significance.
I join a lot of others who say, as someone who is a first time candidate, you have to realize that words matter, and the things you say have a lot broader impact, and I join those who are thinking that we hope that now that Trump is the Republican nominee there's a shift toward a more thoughtful approach to how and what you communicate.
Doing something about infrastructure is something I would like to see while I'm governor.
We need to have people who are talking about, 'Here's exactly what I would do differently.' That's what's important as we go vote.
I want to emphasize that character in our leaders does matter.
At the end of the day, I think the most conservative principle there is, is giving people a dollar worth of value for a dollar worth of tax paid.
I think people are tired of just, this kind of continuous conflict. They want to see principled problem-solving.
If we are recognizing the Bible as a sacred text, then we are violating the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Tennessee by designating it as the official state book.
To say that because of someone's heritage or their ethnicity that they are unable to provide fair judgement is just wrong. It's just not how the judicial system works in our country and not how it ever can work.
My job as governor is different from the legislators. They represent their districts. I have to represent all 6.6 million Tennesseans and come to the best decisions I can.
I don't know how you talk about the founding of America, and what became of the United States, without talking about religious doctrine.
I personally wonder... regardless of whether you're a religious person or not, everybody comes into every conversation with a particular worldview and things that you believe are right or wrong. The question is can you counsel from a totally non-value-based position?
Lawyers don't serve everyone... Lawyers right now can say, 'I'm not the person to help you on that issue; I don't agree with what you're trying to do;' and they can turn down that person, and they can go somewhere else.
The nation is trying to catch up with a rapidly changing world.
In general, everybody should admit the world is changing really fast, and it's hard for the conversations to keep up. I mean, it's hard to remember now, but when Barack Obama ran for president, he was against gay marriage.
Obviously, we have a political season in the United States, and there's always different winds that blow on that.
