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What Now For The GOP?
With Mitt Romney dropping out of the Presidential contest, many are wondering how the race will play out over the next few weeks. Where will the Romney votes go? Will those conservative and values votes go to Huckabee or McCain? Or Paul? If Huckabee or Paul, can they win in November? Can McCain win in November?
How much will last night's endorsement of Huckabee by Dr. James Dobson change the dynamics of the race?
How will the constant attack on McCain, and Huckabee to some degree, by Limbaugh and a number of other talk radio hosts affect the outcome of the Presidential race?
Will it ensure the election of Clinton or Obama--or both?
Will Ron Paul pick up momentum?
Today, no one knows for sure. I certainly don't.
However, there are a few things I am certain about.
I spoke to John McCain personally about some of my own concerns a few months ago.
I asked him, one on one, "Senator, do you feel you fully understand the core social issues that are important to people of faith and evangelicals, and if so, are there any of them that you would be unable to fully support as President?"
He said he did feel he understood our issues because he believed them himself and attended a church (North Phoenix Baptist Church) that teaches and preaches those values. He said he would have one difference with us and that would be in regard to embryonic stem cell research. I told him that would be a problem.
I do know that Senator Sam Brownback, a committed pro-life Senator, has been walking Senator McCain through the understanding of how that conflicts with the sanctity of life. I don't personally know where they are in that process.
I am absolutely certain that Mike Huckabee fully supports and would do so as President all the important social issues that are bed rock important to people of faith.
I do not know a great deal about Paul, except that he has some interesting ideas and has not, so far, gotten enough traction to realistically contend for the nomination.
I do know that nearly twice as many Democrats are voting in the primaries as are Republicans.
My friend Bob Williams sent me a sample of what is happening in that regard.
California: 3,759,422 Democrats
2,126,338 Republicans
N.J. 1,114,322 Democrats
558,007 Republicans
N.Y. 1,745,791 Democrats
604,266 Republicans
While this is just a sampling, at that rate it won't matter who the Republicans nominate. That performance will ensure a victory by Clinton or Obama. Or both.
To quote my friend, "We got creamed."
One final thing I am certain about. God cares about these matters. I believe God has blessed America and America has been a blessing to people all around the world. I've been there and seen the hospitals, feeding ministries, schools and a thousand other blessings that have come from the blessing and prosperity of America.
I am also certain that "The steps of the righteous are ordered of the Lord." If people of faith will commit themselves to much prayer and then action, we will see God's Will expressed through the lives of individuals.
Who would be the best President?
Who can win in November?
This is a time for prayer and action.
May God bless and lead you as you participate in the most important election in our lifetime. One that will set the course for decades, perhaps generations to come.
___________________
Gary Randall
President
Faith & Freedom
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8 Comments:
RE: (McCain) said he would have one difference with us and that would be in regard to embryonic stem cell research.
Seems like McCain’s “straight talk” isn’t as straight as he’d like us to think. Either that or Gary is deluding himself because he desperately wants to believe Republican party candidates need evangelicals to win the party’s nomination.
Stem cell research is hardly the only area evangelicals and McCain diverge. Judging from Gary’s posts, McCain is to Gary as a fish is to an apple. McCain is practically a “Hillary/Obama light” when you consider his positions and past actions:
* McCain opposes a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
* McCain was one of the “Gang of 14” who averted a Senate battle over whether filibusters could be used against Bush’s judicial nominees.
* McCain supports a path of citizenship for illegal immigrants.
* McCain twice voted against President Bush’s tax cuts.
* McCain supports aggressive action against global warming and frequently criticizes Bush over the issue.
* McCain supports campaign finance reform.
* McCain called televangelists Jerry Fallwell and Pat Robertson “agents of intolerance.”
* McCain supports abortion in instances of rape or incest.
* McCain supports stem-cell research, as mentioned above.
* McCain would be "comfortable" with a gay president.
* McCain doesn't support laws against Spanish language and culture.
* McCain believes Hollywood should voluntarily self-censor sex and violence.
McCain’s primary victories are built on moderate voters – not evangelical Christians. He cannot afford to anger or lose them, especially since his positions are already so close to the Democratic candidates, and moderates and the entire populous are overwhelmingly leaning left these days after the failed Bush presidency.
However, expect McCain to pay lip service to the religious right over the next seven months in an attempt to win their votes (I’m against flag burning!). He needs as many voters as he can get, considering how popular the Democratic candidates are. He can’t go anymore left than he is without running into Hillary/Obama so he’ll throw a few bones to the right to get into office, but not so much to anger the moderates who make up his base.
I'm a gay man who supports equal marriage rights, and I like McCain. Never thought I'd actually like the Republican nominee, but here we are.
Tony
'I'm a gay man who supports equal marriage rights'
Hey, I too am a happy guy who supports equal marriage rights. Any single man should have equal rights to marry any single woman and vice versa. I'm even in support of homosexual men being free to marry whatever woman they want, even including a homosexual woman! Yes, everyone should have equal rights to marry someone of the opposite sex, regardless of race, religion, sexual preference, etc. Yeah for freedom!
Anonymous at 12:06...
Interesting. I never thought about it that way. So the best way to strengthen marriage is to encourage opposite-sex marriages between two people who cannot and do no love each other?
So, I'm sure you will have no problem encouraging your daughter to show support for opposite-sex-only marriage by stepping up to the plate and marrying a gay man! Your daughter no doubt holds the same commitment to opposite-sex-only marriage you do, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind being with someone who cannot and does not love her -- all in an effort to keep things opposite-sex.
And perhaps you can further the cause of opposite-sex marriage only by marrying a lesbian, who could never truly love you. The marriage would be empty and loveless, but who cares?! That’s not what marriage is about. You could both go to separate bars on weekends. It's not the best thing for the kids you have together, of course, but at least it's opposite-gender, which is the most important thing.
Because, after all, marriage isn't about choosing someone you can and do and promise to love, or about committing to them through thick and thin, or about lifelong companionship and support, about providing a loving home for your children, or any of those sappy things.
Marriage is nothing more than being different genders. Period. End of story.
Do I follow you?
Tony in Seattle
we are voting for Governor Mike Huckabeee we would not vote for John mccain
Today's big Kansas Caucus win reaffirms that we are working hard for the nomination.
I'm delighted that the good people of Kansas honored me with their vote. They, like people in 26 other states who were not part of Super Tuesday, deserve to have their voice heard -- and I am grateful for their support.
The voters of Kansas spoke today and said loudly and clearly that I am the authentic conservative in the race.
It was a big win that would not have been possible without your support. Over 1,500 Rangers made 28,000 calls into Kansas contacting supporters and turning them out to vote. Thank you!
Now lets turn our focus towards the Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia as we head into the Potomac primaries on Tuesday.
Here is what I need from you this afternoon:
1. Make lists of everyone you know in these states and send them an email asking them to vote for our campaign. If they are undecided please tell them to visit our campaign website to learn more about the issues we are fighting for and the kind of grassroots team we have assembled.
If you don't know anyone living in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia please email or phone people you know nationwide that support my campaign and ask them to get more involved. We need more volunteers, new contributors, and new supporters. Friends contacting friends and convincing them to participate is the secret to our success.
2. If you are a Ranger please email your friends and family and ask them to contribute towards the amount you pledged to raise. If you have already raised what you pledged, please consider boosting your goal. Rangers helped raise over $168,000 since Tuesday, but to compete effectively, over the next days we will need to double and triple that amount.
If you aren't a Ranger please consider signing up today.
3. Make an immediate contribution of $25 or more today. I'm headed into a meeting with my campaign team now to review our resources and determine just what we need to propel our efforts in these next key states. I'll drop you a note later today with a summary of our discussion. In the meantime, if at all possible, please make an immediate contribution today.
Our win today in Kansas was important. We are stronger, faster and most important, we are together.
With deep gratitude,
Mike Huckabee
a vote for Governor mike Huckabee is worth your vote
Gary,
You mention the values of "people of faith". This statement is arrogant (not a very good value) - there are many people of faith, such as myself, that find the certain of the values that you espouse to be repugnant (at best). Other than arrogance, perhaps simply your dictitorial desire to control and suppress other citizens is the most repugnant of all.
You also referenced "WE got creamed" regarding the Republican loss. Why is someone whose citizenship is supposed to be in heaven (Phil 3:20, etc.) identifying with a political party?
Sincerely,
Greg
Nope, I never said they shouldn't love each other. Of course, that's a requirement (at least it should be) for marriage, but just as you point out that it would be stupid to leave out something important like love, so too, is it stupid to leave out other important ingredients in a healthy marriage. i.e. that one is male and one is female.
People who are gay (as well as those who aren't) can feel free to love whoever they so desire. They can even have sex with their friend whom they love. They can commit their life to them. They can even get legal rights which they may desire. ... They can call it whatever they want, but it's not marriage.
If love is so important, and that's what this issue is truly about (which I don't believe), can people who chose to live that way NOT be satisfied with their loving, caring, sexually satisfying relationships without calling it marriage?
The truth is, it's not about the relationships or the love (other than maybe self love and desiring societal acceptance); it's about trying to transform society to accept this lifestyle as a normal and harmless lifestyle so they can feel better about something that, in all likelihood, they know in their heart is neither natural nor right.
As you point out (indirectly), marriage IS a lot more than just different genders, it's love and trust too, but we can't forget, it's ALSO different genders. If you cut out the fact that marriage IS different genders, then that's just as foolish as cutting out love from marriage as you alluded to in your post. Thanks for your time. :-)
I heard a song on the radio and the words went something like this :
"I am not afraid of your bible . I am not afraind of you churches .
I am not afraid of you temples.
I am not afrid of ect, on & on.
What I am afraid of is what you will in the name of your God."
The WTCs attacker on 9/11 believed that they were doing God's (Allah's) will.
Huckabee scares me because I don't know what God is going to tell him to do.
Anonymous at 7:00 pm ...
RE: If you cut out the fact that marriage IS different genders, then that's just as foolish as cutting out love from marriage as you alluded to in your post.
That marriage is only between a man and a woman might be the dictionary definition of marriage, or the legal definition in many places, or a requirement of marriage from the standpoint of whatever religion you follow, but you are not being honest when you say you believe that having opposite genders is just as important as other factors (such as love) in forming or maintaining a civil marriage.
Think of it this way: After love fades from a marriage for whatever reason, and the desire of commitment and monogamy is long gone, do these two people ever say “at least we have our different genders”? Of course not. Without love, marriage, and commitment, the marriage is all but dead.
What you are doing is taking the ONLY aspect of marriage that a gay couple cannot fulfill – being opposite genders – and elevating it to the highest importance, all in an effort to keep gays out. All of a sudden, marriage is mostly about gender. Millions of gays can and do fulfill every other aspect of marriage – love, commitment, monogamy, raising children. But if you don’t pass the gender test, forget it. Gender trumps all.
In your effort to “protect” marriage, you are actually arguing that marriage is less than what it is. You denigrate the most important aspects of marriage by pretending it’s all or mostly an opposite-gender test. You devalue it by diminishing its importance as a vessel for a couple’s love and commitment.
What makes marriage most important to society is it forms a stable place for two people to build and protect their family. The more families that marry, the better it is for society. The more gay families marry and don’t simply “shack up,” the better is it for our communities and society, too – and that includes you.
RE: If love is so important, and that's what this issue is truly about (which I don't believe), can people who chose to live that way NOT be satisfied with their loving, caring, sexually satisfying relationships without calling it marriage?
Of course we can be happy without marriage. But the real question is, why should we have to when you do not?
Tony in Seattle
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