Unapologetically Conservative

  • Shift of Focus
    If you read this blog with any regularity and if you've read the blog disclaimer, you've probably noticed two things.  First, I am a Christian.  Second, I have slowed my blogging efforts considerably of late.  These two facts are related.  If you read my personal blog, www.jondelamarter.blogspot.com, you know that I have been struggling for some time to become established in my faith.  Deep consideration of recent national/world events combined with my own pursuit of Christ have formed a confluence of thought.  It seemed that the deeper I probed the problems that trouble our nation, the more they were a reflection of the things that trouble a sinful heart, namely mine.  I have spent countless hours studying our early history, trying to grasp what the Founding Fathers were trying to accomplish here, trying desperately to ascertain the fullness of truth to which we as a nation must return.  In my foolishness and naivete, I discovered what the Fathers knew; that no form of government, no nation, no people can survive past the second or third generation without God - period.  I found repeated quotations from Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, , and most frequently and notably from the great John Adams which freely and unabashedly acknowledged our complete dependence upon Providence for our very existence as a nation.  The Fathers were not unaware of the existence of the moral depravity of man.  Indeed, the form of government they put in place fully acknowledges it and for this reason, strikes a delicate balance between liberty and constraint.  

    And so, amidst all of my learning, I have reached the grand conclusion of all of this.  Without a genuine revival in which large numbers of Americans seek Jesus the Christ, this Grand Experiment - our Democratic Republic, is doomed to failure.  Even now, the writing is on the wall.  Those who walk the halls of Washington, are by majority devoid of godliness.  They are, however, a reflection of the society which they so ably reflect.  It's time to stop criticizing our leaders and start producing new leadership in this country.  It's time to start telling ourselves and our children the truth about America.  It's time to start raising up men and women who love God, who love the truth, and have no greater ambition than the pursuit of both.  It's time to make America one nation under God once again.  

    Shift of Focus
    In the course of all of this, I have discovered the glorious truth for which I have searched for so long.  It is very simple, as truth so frequently is.  The hope of America is the hope of my soul.  It is Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  Yeah, it's really that simple.  I have been incredibly blessed in recent days by the gift of a dear friend, Mark Sherman.  On a recent visit, Mark gave me a copy of C.J. Mahaney's wonderful book, Living The Cross Centered Life.  
    I would encourage you to get your hands on a copy and read it for yourself.  I have just this week finished reading it for the second time.  Right after starting to read the book the first time, I found another book by the same author entitled simply Humility.  
    The two books could easily have been chapters in the same volume.  Between the pages of both books, I found the beautiful, simple truths of the love of our Heavenly Father and the unfathomable gift of His Son, Jesus.  Don't misunderstand me; I was already a Believer.  These books, however, brought so many elements of my confusion into the sharpest of focus.  In short, I discovered that I have been trapped by a form of legalism, trying to impress God with how good I could be.  You may imagine the devestating effects of my sinful failures upon such a relationship.  How incredibly liberating to discover that He wasn't really that impressed by my "goodness" and that what He really wanted me to discover was that I have no goodness or strength outside of Him.  I have discovered the Christ of the cross, a man of great sorrow, acquainted with grief.  For too long I have hid my face from Him.  I have thought in my sinful confusion that I was not good enough for Him, that I must somehow "get better" before my repentance could be believable and genuine.  But that's not what I hear the Father saying to me now.  I hear Him saying "My Son died so that you can be one of My own.  Don't fear me."  I have discovered a freedom I have never known.  In that freedom, I have discovered a new passion.  My overwhelming desire, seeemingly day and night, is to know Him better, to seek His perfect will for my life.  His Word tells me that before He slung the stars into the galaxies, before He spoke light into existence, He knew my name and he knew the plans He had for me.  Do you realize how humbling that simple thought is?  How could I not desire to spend the best of my time with a Father such as this?  

    And so, my friends, I have shifted my focus.  I have by no means stopped caring about America, about our political situation.  I have, however, started focusing on the "root cause" of all of this.  America's best and only hope lies in the building of Christian men and women, the building of the Church, and it's irresistable influence for good upon society and government.  Therefore, I am resolved to get the horse before the cart and pursue personal godliness ahead of a human solution.  As a result, I will not be posting as regularly to this blog, the beginning of which you have already observed.  I hope to share more of my pursuit of Christ on my personal blog (www.jondelamarter.blogspot.com) as I have time.  In the meantime, I recommend you to Jesus the Christ, our only and best hope.  

    In His Grip,

    Jon

    2 Chronicles 7:14 (New International Version)

    if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land



  • Capital Prayer Alert
    Tuesday, February 24, 2009

    To: Friends & Supporters of Campaign for Working Families

    From: Carol Bauer     

    Gary Said...As you know, my wife, Carol, prepares a prayer alert about once a month. We hope you will share Carol’s writing with your friends and fellow worshippers. Thank you for taking an interest in her monthly devotion. The regular “End of Day” report will follow later this afternoon. – Gary 

    Capital Prayer Alert 

    There are seasons in our lives when life circumstances demand a more precise focus. I suspect we are in one of those seasons. On a typical day we can get caught up in the daily list of things to do -- meetings to attend, phone calls to return, projects to oversee, errands to run, family to care for, dinner, laundry, etc. The list goes on, and these are the responsibilities that frame our daily living. They give structure to our day, and we are blessed by the relationships tied to each item on our personal “to do” list. 

    In this season it is the economic and political circumstances facing our country and the world that define our days. There is an uneasiness about the times. The ebb and flow of our daily lives has been replaced by a hard turn to look head on at difficult circumstances much bigger than each of us. A struggling new administration lurches from one crisis to another. An emboldened Congress seizes the opportunity and acts at breakneck speed to enact a breathtakingly large “economic stimulus” bill. We all tune in to daily updates on the steep, fast decline in the stock market and calculate our personal losses. Worries abound as we mull the look of the country we will pass on to our children. 

    What does this mean for men and women of faith? It strikes me that now is the time to deepen our faith, to water its roots, to nurture it as never before, to give it room and space to grow. These are the days when we can and must live out the faith we have been professing all along. Circumstances demand that we reevaluate our priorities to determine what is really most important to us and then live each day accordingly. 

    As we strengthen our daily walk with the Living Lord, we are also called to make a difference in shaping our country’s future. The United States has faced dark and difficult times before, and we have come out stronger thanks to the will, commitment and sacrifice of everyday citizens. Those elected to lead us at the national, state and local levels do so at the behest of those who vote. 

    Are you frustrated by the direction our leaders are taking us? Then speak up through the means of communication most comfortable to you -- email, letters, phone calls, letters to the editor, call-ins to talk radio, etc. Contribute to Gary’s work at Campaign for Working Families. It feels more natural to get politically involved during a campaign season. But, with widespread use of the Internet and talk radio, and the ability to communicate quickly through email and text messages, it really does seem like the campaign for the future of our country is underway right now, like it or not. 

    One final thought... I encourage you to enlist others who share your concerns and priorities. There’s strength in numbers and accountability. We all can get gloomy about the current economic circumstances and talk endlessly about the negative impact on our family. Or, we can proactively take these circumstances that prompt us to grow our faith, deepen its impact on our everyday lives, expand our influence on those elected to lead and reach out to friends, neighbors, other parents, co-workers and fellow worshippers prompting them to join us. This will be the lasting legacy we leave our children. 

    Pray for our nation’s leaders -- the President, Vice President, Members of Congress and the Supreme Court. Ask God to steady their hands, calm their hearts and open their eyes to the ripple effects of each decision they make and priority they set. Pray that God would grant them wisdom beyond their own worldview and experience. Instill in their hearts a desire to encourage, uplift and draw us together where common ground can be found. Pray that all in positions of leadership would be steered toward respectful dialogue based on facts and policy initiatives. 

    Thank God for a country where “We the People” elect our leaders. Praise Him for guiding us in earlier times of turmoil and despair. Call on Him to calm our anxious hearts while opening our eyes to what we can do to deepen our faith. Pray that He will show each of us where we can have an impact and prompt us to make time to do just that. Turn us away from despair and thoughts of retreat. Ask God for opportunities to talk with our families about our dependence on Him in times of joy and trial. Quicken our desire to make a difference for our country’s future. 

    Please remember to keep those serving our country in the military in your prayers during these times of challenge.     


  • Gary Said... (2-25-09)
    Tuesday, February 24, 2009

    To: Friends & Supporters

    From: Gary L. Bauer     

    Obama’s State Of The Union Address 

    President Barack Obama will give his first State of the Union Address tonight before a joint session of Congress. In the speech, he is expected to lay out his priorities for the government and the course on which he intends to steer our ship of state. In recent days the administration has sent plenty of signals that it intends to take a hard lurch to the Left. 

    The economy is obviously the dominant issue in the nation today, and the president’s address will undoubtedly focus on economic issues. But as we reported yesterday, Big Media has already spilled the beans. There is no mystery regarding Obama’s plans. The Washington Post told us that Obama’s initial budget blueprint calls for “raising taxes on business and the wealthy and … slashing spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

    I’ll speak to some economic issues in the next item, but let me address the notion of slashing defense spending. President Obama is making budgetary plans based on assumptions that few find reasonable. While the situation in Iraq has dramatically improved, we are sending thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan. How will that fight go? 

    There was a report last week in the New York Times that Iran probably has enough uranium to make one nuclear weapon this year. Earlier this month, it put a communications satellite into orbit. Many security experts believe that launch had more to do with testing its missile technology than its communications satellites. Obama appears to be betting on the benevolence of the mullahs in Tehran in deciding to cut back on national defense right now. 

    Here’s an additional thought. Every military man in America knows that after years of war and deployments in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, our military needs billions of dollars to rebuild, refurbish and resupply. But that’s not a priority in the president’s budget. Such short-sighted thinking could leave us vulnerable to our enemies. 

    More On The Summit 

    When you turn on the TV and see the White House is hosting a “Fiscal Responsibility Summit,” it might give you a warm and fuzzy feeling of good government looking out for you. But those of us who have been in Washington for a while are familiar with the phrase “personnel is policy.” So, I thought I’d give you some insight on the folks we saw going into that White House summit on “fiscal responsibility.” 

    While there were a few token conservatives for “window dressing,” there were twice as many representatives from leftwing think tanks. Big Labor unions, which are constantly arguing for more Big Government benefits and bailouts, outnumbered business interests. And can anyone tell me what the Feminist Majority, the Human Rights Campaign (the largest homosexual rights group) and La Raza have to do with “fiscal responsibility”? Trust me, friends, the only agenda on the minds of most folks in that room was how to get their hands on your money! 

    The point of this “summit” was to trumpet the administration’s plans to cut the $1.2 trillion deficit down to $500 billion in four years. Let’s work through the math on that: $1.2 trillion - $500 billion = $700 billion. How much was that so-called “stimulus” package again? Oh, right -- $787 billion, without interest. 

    So, by my calculations, we’d be ahead by nearly $100 billion if we had not just spent all that “stimulus” money. Of course, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office essentially said the same thing when it warned that the Obama/Reid/Pelosi “porkulus” bill would actually hurt long-term economic growth. 

    The thought of Barack Obama and this crowd of socialists, after just ramming through the trillion-dollar “porkulus” bill, lecturing America on “fiscal responsibility” is absurd. It’s like the town drunk going on an unbelievable drinking binge on Friday, only to send out invitations on Monday to a seminar he’s hosting on responsible consumption. 

    But that’s the “logic” we get when liberal Democrats are in charge, and here’s another example. On Saturday, the New York Times reported this fact about Obama’s carbon cap-and-trade tax scheme: 

    “On energy policy, Mr. Obama’s budget will show new revenues by 2012 from his proposal to require companies to buy permits from the government for greenhouse gas emissions above a certain cap. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the permits would raise up to $300 billion a year by 2020. Since companies would pass their costs on to customers, Mr. Obama would have the government use most of the revenues for relief to families to offset higher utility bills and related expenses. The remaining revenues would cover his proposals for $15 billion a year in spending and tax incentives to develop alternative energy.”
    If the goal is to raise $15 billion for spending on alternative energy, why is the administration proposing a tax 20 times larger than the revenue it is seeking to generate? The answer is right there and it has nothing to do with alternative energy. It’s all part of Obama’s plan to “spread the wealth around,” as he admitted to Joe the Plumber. Once this massive new tax has been imposed on utility companies, Obama plans to “redistribute” 95% of it back to families he deems worthy of “relief.” 

    Why should the government tax $300 billion out of the economy only to give back $285 billion of it? There is zero logic to this, but that’s socialism for you. The government is going to take money from the hard-working productive citizens (via higher utility bills) and “redistribute” it to favored classes. All the while Barack Obama and Al Gore will tell you this is being done for the good of the planet. 

    Not a Tingle, But A Cramp 

    If you’re frustrated by what the liberal Democrats are doing to our country, you’re not alone. Perhaps you saw the “Trader’s Tea Party,” the instant YouTube hit of CNBC’s Rick Santelli express his outrage at Obama’s mortgage bailout plan. According to a new Rasmussen poll, 76% of Americans are unwilling to pay higher taxes to help pay for someone else’s mortgage, and only 49% of Democrats support Obama’s plan to bailout bad mortgages. 

    Maybe you’ve noticed that the stock market is down. Well, that would be an understatement. Yesterday, the markets fell to a ten-year low. While they have recovered some today, the turbulence of recent weeks is no surprise given the big spending, high tax, anti-growth policies of this administration. Now even liberals are starting to get angry. 

    During the presidential campaign the media were in the tank for Obama. No one better displayed that fact than MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, who said that just listening to Obama gave him a tingle “going up my leg.” After the election, Matthews declared that it was his job -- as a journalist -- to make sure the Obama Administration succeeded. But now it seems Chris Matthews has got a cramp in his leg. 

    On Hardball last night, Matthews said he was “angry” with Obama’s performance so far, and he and his guests savaged the administration’s performance and lashed into Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. You can watch a clip of the show here. 


  • John Adams
    Saturday I finally finished reading Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough's excellent biography, John Adams.  Wow!  If you love America and admire true greatness, you simply must read this book.  I cannot possibly say enough in praise of Mr. McCullough's excellent biography.  
    We hear so much now adays, particularly from Liberals, about "bipartisanship".  I propose that we instead consider John Adams approach - nonpartisanship.  Seldom popular, but always true to principle.  Would to God that the halls of Washington were filled with such statesmen.  


  • Gary Said... (2-20-09)
    Friday, February 20, 2009

    To: Friends & Supporters

    From: Gary L. Bauer     

    Obama’s War On Reality 

    Obama is at it again – attempting to make reality conform to his radical ideology. Earlier this week, the New York Times and theWashington Post reported that the administration is moving to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant. If you think you are paying a lot for electricity and other consumer goods now, just wait. 

    The first step in the agenda targets coal-fired electricity plants, which generate half of the country’s electricity. Coal also happens to be one resource, along with natural gas, that our nation has in abundance, and yet our government is taking steps to put it off limits. 

    During the campaign, candidate Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle that he wants to impose a carbon cap and trade tax scheme, “So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.” 

    What about all the “green jobs” and alternative energy solutions President Obama promised? You may recall that President Obama has promised to create five million jobs by spending $150 billion on renewable energy sources, like wind, solar, and biofuels. He has also promised to impose a new federal mandate requiring that all utilities generate 25% of our electricity from “clean sources.” 

    Writing in today’s Wall Street Journal, Max Schulz of the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Energy Policy and the Environment, exposes the fraud that has been foisted upon the American taxpayers. Here’s an excerpt of his column: 

    “There’s an unavoidable problem with renewable-energy technologies: From an economic standpoint, they’re big losers. …The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in early 2008 that the government subsidizes solar energy at $24.34 per megawatt-hour (MWh) and wind power at $23.37 per MWh. Yet even with decades of these massive handouts, as well as numerous state-level mandates for utilities to use green power, wind and solar energy contribute less than 1% of our nation’s electricity. 

    “Compare the subsidies to renewables with those extended to natural gas (25 cents per MWh in subsidies), coal (44 cents), hydroelectricity (67 cents), and nuclear power ($1.59). These are the energy sources (along with oil, which undergirds transportation) that do the heavy lifting in our energy economy. 

    “The alternative technologies at the heart of Mr. Obama’s plan, relying on mandates and far greater handouts, will inevitably raise energy prices -- and high power prices are job killers.”
    No serious nation would ever punish its citizens by taking its natural resources off the table. But liberals do it here all the time. President Obama is now acting on his promise to bankrupt the coal industry, and the Democrats’ oil embargo against America is another example. 

    Consider the case of California. The Democrat-dominated legislature there just struck a deal to pass a budget with billions in new tax hikes to close a $40 billion deficit created by liberal Big Government spending. The Golden State could go a long way toward easing its deficits and raising new revenue if only it would tap the “black gold” that lies off shore. But the liberal politicians would rather drill your wallet than drill for oil. 

    Whether it’s manipulating the free market, believing they can reason with Holocaust-denying dictators or thinking they can ignore the demands of our carbon-based economy, liberals seem to believe that government has the power to defy reality. It doesn’t, but that won’t stop the Left from trying to stick us with the bill when its Big Government fantasies fail. Just one more way in which elections have consequences. 

    Conservatives Fighting Back! 

    Every day I get complaints from folks who don’t think Republicans are fighting hard enough on Capitol Hill and messages asking, “Why aren’t they doing more?” I spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill, meeting with members of Congress and pro-family leaders, and I can tell you for a fact that they are doing everything they can. For example, every single House Republican voted against the trillion-dollar “porkulus” bill, as did 93% of Senate Republicans. 

    In Tuesday’s report, I warned you about Obama’s abortion blitz – forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions worldwide, committing your tax dollars to life-destroying embryonic stem cell research, etc. Now, here’s what Big Media won’t tell you. 

    Pro-life conservatives in the House, led by CWF-endorsed Rep. Jim Jordon of Ohio, are lining up support to defend the Hyde Amendment and other pro-life initiatives that prevent taxpayer money from subsidizing abortions here in the United States. So far, 150 Republicans and 21 Democrats have signed a letter pledging to support pro-life amendments, like the Hyde Amendment, in spending bills. 

    TAKE ACTION: Please go to www.cwfpac.com to send a message to your elected representatives opposing public funding of abortion. 

    Here’s more good news. In yesterday’s report, I warned you that the Left will try to restore, in some form, the “Fairness Doctrine,” which conservatives often call the “Censorship Doctrine,” in order to silence conservative talk and Christian radio. Conservative Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and John Thune (R-SD), both CWF-endorsed candidates, are vowing to force a vote next week on the Broadcaster Freedom Act, which would prevent the FCC from reimposing the “Censorship Doctrine.” 

    In a statement released yesterday, Senator DeMint sought to take full advantage of President Obama’s stated opposition to the “Fairness Doctrine,” saying, “I’m glad President Obama finally confirmed his opposition to the Fairness Doctrine, which attacks the right of free speech on talk radio, but many Democrats in Congress are still pushing it. …now is the time for Congress to take a stand against this kind of censorship. I intend to seek a vote on this amendment next week so every senator is on record: Do you support free speech or do you want to silence voices you disagree with?” 

    CWF will score that vote on our online Congressional Scorecard at www.cwfpac.com. 

    Media Notice 

    Good news, friends! The listener response to the Bauer & Rose Sirius XM radio show has been tremendous. As a result, the show will be re-aired Sunday evenings from 7:00-9:00 PM ET. Please tune in at America Right on XM channel 166 or Sirius Patriot at channel 144. 

    And don’t forget to check out my weekly Human Events column. This week, I write about Obama’s bailout of bad science – taxpayer funding of life-destroying embryonic stem cell research. You can read the column online at www.humanevents.com. Thank you. 

    Just in case you missed it, here’s another article to read and share with your friends and family members, Analysis: Democrats self-destructing over ethics. 


  • Gary Said... (2-19-09)
    Thursday, February 19, 2009

    To: Friends & Supporters

    From: Gary L. Bauer     

    S.O.S. – STOP OBAMA’S SOCIALISM! 

    My friends, you are not alone! More and more Americans are waking up and realizing what is happening to our great country. This morning there was a near revolt on the floor of the Chicago stock exchange. If you haven’t seen it yet, you have to watch this video. 

    But wait, there’s more… When Obama went to Arizona yesterday to announce his latest bailout plan, $275 billion for subprime mortgages, press reports indicate that he was greeted by 500 to 600 protestors, some with signs reading, “Don’t tread on me,” “I’ll keep my freedom! You keep the change!” and “B.O. smells and so does Socialism.” (Unapologetically Conservative Comment:  If the "B.O. smells" comment was intended or interpreted as a racial epithet, it is vehemently opposed by this blogger.  Mr. Obama was created in the likeness and image of God, as were we all.)  A new poll released by Rasmussen Reports today finds that only 38% of Americans support this latest bailout. 

    I don’t know about you, but I am encouraged by these developments. People are upset by the direction Obama and the Democrat-dominated Congress are taking us and they are fighting back! I was also very encouraged by the response to yesterday’s appeal for funds. Thank you to everyone who stepped up to the plate and made an investment in this work. 

    If you have not contributed yet, please watch that video above and take action by going to www.cwfpac.com to make the most generous gift you can to help us take back Congress in 2010, just as we did in 1994. In the meantime, GOP conservatives are already being attacked in a TV and radio ad blitz in their districts. We must defend them! 

    Don’t Believe Everything You Read 

    After repeatedly dodging questions for weeks, the White House finally issued a statement yesterday regarding the Orwellian “Fairness Doctrine.” According to a White House spokesman, President Obama “does not believe the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated.” Don’t believe it. 

    Obama’s views are not as straightforward as the White House suggests. On the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov you can find the following statement regarding media ownership: 

    “Encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum.”
    All the politically correct buzz words are there, and the last clause is the kicker. Many on the Left argue that the “public interest obligations of broadcasters” requires them to devote considerable time to local issues. In other words, local radio stations need to thoroughly cover every meeting of the city zoning commission. I’m sure the location of the next sewer line or traffic light is of paramount interest to you. 

    Don’t be fooled, my friends. The Obama White House won’t call it “The Fairness Doctrine,” but some reincarnation of it is coming soon. And it is being done in order to shut down the one medium of information that the Left does not yet control. 

    Beyond efforts to “hush Rush,” it is a clear threat to religious liberty as well. Seeing how the militant homosexual movement has reacted to the passage of Proposition 8 in California, does anyone doubt that it would hesitate to demand equal time to “balance,” say, Dr. Dobson’s daily Focus on the Family broadcasts? 

    The totalitarian impulse of the Left is very real and the assurances of White House spokesmen about President Obama’s position do not reassure me. Nor should you believe them. 

    The Fairness Doctrine was the creation of bureaucratic regulation at the FCC, not legislation. And it could just as easily be reinstituted without a vote in Congress. Created in 1949, it took almost four decades to roll back, and today liberals like Nancy Pelosi and Bill Clinton are calling for its return. Just one more example of the many ways in which elections have consequences. 


    Pelosi vs. The Pontiff 

    Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Rome this week and was granted a brief audience with Pope Benedict. Presumably she was paying attention to the Pontiff when he spoke, but the dueling press releases issued by the Speaker’s office and the Vatican cast some doubt on that assumption. 

    In her statement, Pelosi said, “I had the opportunity to praise the Church's leadership in fighting poverty, hunger, and global warming, as well as the Holy Father's dedication to religious freedom and his upcoming trip and message to Israel." 

    The Vatican’s statement said, “His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.” 

    Sadly, the Speaker from San Francisco needs a tutorial in the teaching of her own Catholic faith. You may recall that last year she completely misrepresented the Church’s position on when life begins. More recently, she attempted to justify spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on contraception in the so-called “stimulus” bill, because “family planning services reduce cost.” They reduce costs by reducing people! 


  • Black Tuesday - or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Big Brother"
    President Obama's signing of the trillion dollar stimulus package yesterday is of such portent that I scarcely know how to express my anguish.  No blog post can capture the depth of concern I bear.  My friends, I wonder how many of us really, truly comprehend what is happening to our country.  This is beyond partisanship, beyond rhetoric, beyond belief.  Unless God intervenes, we will shortly seal what FDR started so many decades ago.  We will become a completely socialist nation; we're well on our way.  All economic implications aside, do we really understand what this means for our freedom?  American Socialist and perpetual presidential candidate Norman Thomas certainly understood this slippery slope.  His famous quote bears repeating here:

    "The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." - Norman Thomas

    Need more proof?  How about this recent Newsweek cover article.  I doubt very seriously
     that anyone will mistake Newsweek for a conservative publication.  
    The article makes the case that George W. Bush gave us a mighty shove down this path; I wish I could disagree.  

    Mark my words.  Mr. Obama will not only further the cause of socialism with all ardor, he will do so from a position of executive power greatly expanded under the last administration.  The damage done to our Constitution by Mr. Bush may only be beginning to rear it's ugly head.  Pray that that tortured document may be restored to it's proper place of authority and that the flame of freedom will once again burn brightly over this great nation. 


  • Gary Said... (2-17-09)
    Tuesday, February 17, 2009

    To: Friends & Supporters

    From: Gary L. Bauer     

    One Trillion Dollars In 28 Days 

    President Barack Obama is flying to Colorado today for a signing ceremony for the so-called “stimulus” bill. He has been in office for only 28 days and already he has put the taxpayers on the hook for more than one trillion dollars in new Big Government spending. 

    With interest, the total cost of the Democrats’ spending bill will be roughly $1.3 trillion over the next ten years. That’s why the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office warned that the Democrats’ “stimulus” bill will very likely hurt long-term economic growth. 

    This morning, I had numerous emails in my inbox from angry conservatives, frustrated by the three Senate Republicans – Arlen Specter (PA), Olympia Snowe (ME) and Susan Collins (ME) – who voted for the bill. At the risk of alienating a few good folks, I’d like to make a few observations. 

    Out of 219 Republicans serving in Congress, 216 of them voted against the Democrats’ trillion-dollar spending bill, while 304 out of 312 congressional Democrats voted for it. That’s 98.6% of Republicans against it and 97.4% of Democrats for it. In my view, three Senate Republicans are not the problem. Our problem is 304 Democrats. (Click here to see how your elected members of Congress voted.) 

    Not one Senate Democrat voted against this bill. Not one! Every single Senate Democrat lined up behind Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Rather than obsessing about the two percent of congressional Republicans who broke ranks, our outrage should be directed at the 97% of Democrats who voted to expand Big Government by one trillion dollars. 

    As I reported to you last week, Democrats and their leftwing allies are already running ads targeting conservative Republicans who did the right thing by voting against this bill. Now some conservative groups are raising money to defeat the three Republicans who broke ranks and voted for it. The Left is targeting Republicans, and some conservatives are targeting Republicans too. Democrats must be laughing at us, while we form another circular firing squad and help them elect more liberal Democrats to Congress! 

    I’m as frustrated as anyone by Specter, Snowe and Collins. But as long as conservatives remain a minority on Capitol Hill, we will lose votes. Specter, Snowe and Collins would have been irrelevant if Mitch McConnell, rather than Harry Reid, were Majority Leader and setting the agenda with 57 Republican votes. Strategically, it makes little sense to me to spend our limited resources trying to recapture the majority by focusing on two percent of the problem. 

    This political action committee is committed to electing more pro-family, pro-life, pro-free enterprise conservatives to Congress. With your support, I will do that by targeting the resources we raise against liberal Democrats, especially those Democrats in conservative states like Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, etc., who voted for Obama’s bailout of Big Government. 

    Obama’s Abortion Blitz 

    As I just noted, Barack Obama has been in office less than one month. In that time, he has launched a pro-abortion blitz against the values of millions of Americans. He has ordered tax dollars to pay for abortions worldwide. He has made it clear that his judges will be pro-abortion. Now Fox News is reporting that he will issue an executive order within days forcing taxpayers to subsidize life-destroying embryonic stem cell research. 

    The aggressiveness of Obama’s anti-life agenda is ironic given that new research suggests that as many as 25% to 30% of people who identify as pro-life voted for Obama. This is particularly true of younger evangelical voters, who voted in larger numbers for Obama than they did for Al Gore or John Kerry. 

    Many are writing to me and asking how can we stop this? How can we win elections? Well, I know many of you also wrote to me during the campaign to tell me how discouraged you were that a son or daughter, niece or nephew, was supporting Obama. 

    In the days ahead, I strongly encourage you to re-engage your children and family members in this debate. Don’t say “I told you so,” but ask them if they are rethinking their vote in view of how aggressively Obama is promoting abortion and the destruction of human life.

    TAKE ACTION: Pro-life groups are gearing up for a major battle with Congress and the administration in the days and weeks ahead. Now that the bailout of Big Government has passed, we are expecting the administration will try to bailout the abortion industry. Please go to www.cwfpac.com to send a message to your elected representatives opposing public funding of abortion. 

    A Shocking Irony 

    Late last week a disturbing story broke in New York when Muzzammil Hassan was arrested for murder. According to various reports, Hassan beheaded his wife, Aasiya, after she filed for divorce. Her divorce attorneys stated that her claim was based on “cruel and inhumane treatment” and numerous violent altercations with her husband during their eight-year marriage. A week prior to her death, she had obtained a restraining order against Muzzammil Hassan that forced him out of their house. 

    But the disturbing irony in this case is that Muzzammil Hassan ran a television station, Bridges TV, devoted to building “bridges of friendship and understanding” by portraying a positive, peaceful view of Islam to American audiences. Hassan once complained that “The level of ignorance regarding Muslims and Islam is very high in the United States.” 

    Some Muslim groups are trying to portray this incident as just another example of domestic violence, but not everyone is buying it. The president of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women called the beheading, “a terroristic version of honor killing, murder rooted in cultural notions about women’s subordination to men.” I’m glad at least one feminist is speaking up. 

    Over a year ago, I wrote in this daily report about how some Islamic clerics actually teach young Muslim men the “proper” way to beat their wives by comparing women to “camels and donkeys.” As shocking as that is, the same ideology compares Christians and Jews to monkeys and pigs, turns its children into bombs, turns airplanes into weapons of mass destruction, vows to “wipe Israel off the map” and refers to the United States as “the great Satan.” 

    The level of ignorance regarding the threat of Islamofascism is indeed high. Sadly, as we have seen in recent days, from the closing of GITMO to dismissing charges against the mastermind of the USS Cole bombing, it now reaches to the highest levels of public office. 

    I will do everything I can to expose that ignorance and to educate our public policy makers about the need to defend our values. 


  • You Gotta Love It
    Tired of being insulted by the "No Weapons Allowed On Premises" signs hanging in the window of many establishments these days?  I sometimes wonder if the owner really is a left-wing liberal or simply trying to appeal to left-wing liberals.  Well, here's an uber cool alternative.  Click HERE for details.  


  • Gary Said... (2-13-09)
    Friday, February 13, 2009

    To: Friends & Supporters

    From: Gary L. Bauer     

    “A Bridge Too Far” 

    Yesterday, New Hampshire’s Republican Senator Judd Gregg stunned the Washington establishment by withdrawing his nomination to be Secretary of Commerce. His withdrawal is yet another major setback for the Obama Administration and a revealing glimpse into just how liberal it really is. 

    While many Republicans were disappointed that Gregg accepted the president’s offer to join his Cabinet, they took some solace in the hope that it was a positive sign the administration was willing to accept some conservative, pro-business recommendations from the fiscally conservative senator. 

    But after a few days in discussions with the administration over critical issues like the census and the so-called “stimulus” bill, Gregg began to have doubts and second thoughts. Yesterday, he told reporters, “For me, I just realized as these issues started to come at us and they started to crystallize, that it really wasn’t a good fit. ...Bottom line is this was simply a bridge too far for me.” 

    As is often the case, the Republican Gregg tried to be a gentleman about his withdrawal, saying, “The president asked me to do it. I said yes. That was my mistake, not his. The fault lies with me. I may have embarrassed myself, but hopefully not [the president].” 

    And, as is often the case, the Democrats are not behaving so gentlemanly and immediately went on the attack. One aide said the White House had been “blindsided.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and others suggested Gregg had aggressively campaigned for the job. But the statements do not add up. Gregg said he never sought it, and other press reports indicate that Harry Reid recommended Gregg to Rahm Emanuel. 

    At the end of the day, this episode is just another example of the tremendous disarray in this White House during its first 20 plus days on the job. First they close GITMO with no plan of what do with the terrorists still there. Then they have multiple nominees with tax problems. They allowing Pelosi and Reid to dictate the terms of the “stimulus” bill, which grotesquely morphs into a massive spending bill that is short on real economic stimulus. The Obama Administration seems to be stumbling from one setback to the next. 

    The Census 

    Now, let me say something about the census, because it is related to Gregg’s decision not to join this administration. The media hasn’t focused on this yet, but it is a big issue you will hear a lot about in the days ahead. 

    One of the Commerce Department’s most important functions is to oversee the census that takes place every ten years. The census is used primarily to allocate the number of congressional representatives for each state in the House of Representatives (which determines votes in the Electoral College), and it is also used to determine the funding formulas for most federal programs that send tax dollars back to the states. 

    For obvious reasons, this is a highly sensitive political issue, and for that very reason this job has always been entrusted to the career civil servants in the Commerce Department. But after Gregg was announced as Commerce Secretary, the Obama team yanked the census out of the Commerce Department and decided that we should trust it to the tender mercies of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. 

    For those of you who may not know, Rahm Emanuel is a brass-knuckles, hyper-partisan operative from, of course, Chicago. He was one of Bill Clinton’s key “fixers,” and served as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006, when many good conservatives were smeared with disgusting negative attack ads. 

    We were told that the census was moved from the Commerce Department because we just couldn’t trust the Republican Judd Gregg to handle it properly. Well, I don’t know anyone in Washington who questions Judd Gregg’s integrity. I think his statements above speak volumes about the man. The same cannot be said about Emanuel, and there are well-known stories about his vindictiveness that would send chills down your spine. 

    The decision by the Obama team to pull the census out of Commerce and give it to Rahm Emanuel is extraordinarily revealing of the hardball, partisan tactics these folks are willing to use in order to make sure our side never wins another election. If the administration does not reverse itself on the census, Republican leaders are threatening to go to court. But it’s no wonder that Judd Gregg felt like he couldn’t be a “team player” in this crowd. 


    What Will YOU Do? 

    This example, among the many policy disasters I mentioned yesterday, is just one more reason why it is so important for good folks like you to step up and support this political action committee as generously as you can. I am not giving up, but I can’t do this alone. I need your help! 

    Right now, leftwing groups allied with the White House are running attack ads against dozens of conservative Republicans who did the right thing on the trillion-dollar “porkulus” spending bill. We are at least 20 months away from the 2010 elections and already the Left is on the attack! By the way, the final bill was released late last night. It is now over 1,000 pages, and one Democrat senator admitted, “I don’t think anyone will have the chance to [read the entire bill].” 

    If you haven’t given up in the good fight for our values, then please join me today by making an investment right now. Go to our secured website at www.cwfpac.com and make a gift of any amount, whatever you can afford -- $10, $25, $50. No gift is too small and every dollar quickly adds up. 

    Please help us defend the pro-family, pro-life conservatives in Congress who are unapologetically fighting for our values! Help us defeat the pro-abortion liberals who are undermining our values, spending us into oblivion and gutting our national defense. Go towww.cwfpac.com and invest in the conservative comeback in 2010!