Friday, May 16, 2014
From: Gary L. Bauer
BREAKING NEWS: VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel resigned this afternoon. The American Legion had demanded Petzel’s resignation last week.
Fighting For Our Values
All day yesterday I attended a strategy meeting of leaders representing every segment of the conservative movement — values issues, economic conservatives, libertarians, foreign policy conservatives and Tea Party leaders. These meetings are held several times a year, and the ground rules are that the deliberations, for obvious reasons, are off-the-record and not to be shared with the media.
Nevertheless, the Washington Post had a front page story this morning about the meeting. Fortunately it did not report details of what was said. But since the Post has reported that the meeting took place, I am comfortable letting you know that I was participating on behalf of those of you who support our work.
I will not violate the guidelines of the meeting. But I can tell you that in a larger gathering of conservatives that will take place this weekend, there is widespread concern about the continued drift away from the sanctity of life, the defense of normal marriage, religious liberty and the other issues that motivate millions of Americans.
The reason for this concern is obvious. In fact, the Washington Post quoted a political operative who is one of those advocating for a retreat from values issues.
“What’s clear is that we ought to be focusing on economic security for the future, not divisive social issues. That’s how we lost several key Senate races last cycle,” the consultant told the Post.
Sometimes I think political operatives in D.C. are living in an alternative universe. No Senate candidate won or lost because he built an entire campaign on abortion or marriage. A few seats were lost because some candidates did a terrible job explaining their pro-life views.
As far as running campaigns on economic security, that was the entire theme of President Romney’s campaign. Whoops, that’s right — he didn’t win. That was the theme of President McCain’s campaign. Oh right. He didn’t win either.
These “professionals” are leaving the entire values playing field to the left. If candidates don’t talk about values and don’t expose the left’s extremism on abortion, marriage and religious liberty, then they are ignoring millions of Americans who care about those issues.
The public is being told that values means supporting “marriage equality.” In other words, throwing out thousands of years of history, deeply held religious values and common sense. The media tell us that “pro-life” means a “war on women.”
And what about that economic agenda these consultants tell candidates to focus on? I saw polling yesterday that once again confirms everything I have seen over the last five years. For example, voters were asked which party they trusted most to help the middle class. (By the way, most Americans believe they are middle class.) By a 20-point margin, (52% to 32%) voters chose the Democrats.
How can that be if Republicans are talking non-stop about economic security? Where is the disconnect? The problem is that the GOP’s ideas are often presented in ways that allow the left and the media to frame the debate. They get to say, “We are on the side of struggling families. But Republicans want to make sure billionaires don’t pay a dollar more in taxes. We want to protect your Social Security check, but they want to cut it.”
In spite of all the talk about the country being against conservatives on values, the latest Rasmussen poll finds the country is evenly divided on the meaning of marriage. But the latest Rasmussen poll finds that 51% of adults support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, while just 39% does not.
Fifty-eight percent of the country believes abortion ought to be restricted. Most oppose taxpayer funding and late-term abortions. Less than 30% of the public agrees with the left’s abortion-on-demand position.
My point is simply this: Values issues are not nearly as divisive as many consultants seem to think. Yet elements of their economic agenda are a hard sell.
Speaking Of Religious Liberty…
Yesterday I reported on the Benham brothers, who lost a TV show due to their conservative evangelical faith. Today there is news that SunTrust Bank is now refusing to deal with their real estate company, revoking their “preferred broker” status.
In response to this latest assault on their faith, David Benham said, “Keeping us off television wasn’t enough, now this agenda to silence wants us out of the marketplace. As Americans we find ourselves at a crossroads and are forced with a decision to either stand up or sit down. Evidently, SunTrust’s longstanding commitment to diversity must not include our historic Christian values.”
SunTrust needs to hear from you — especially if you bank with them. If SunTrust doesn’t want to work with men and women of faith who believe in the right to life and the biblical view of marriage, I suggest those folks oblige them and take their accounts elsewhere.
You can contact the bank on Facebook or call 1-800-786-8787.
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