Tuesday
LAST WEEK'S MID-TERM ELECTIONS
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LAST WEEK'S MID-TERM ELECTIONS OPENED
THE DOOR TO EXAMINE WHERE WE STAND
TEN MONTHS INTO OBAMA'S FIRST TERM
And it brought back a suggestion from more than a century
ago. Since 1872 Lewis Carroll's delightful story, "Through
the Looking Glass," has charmed generations of children
with its accounts of Alice wandering through Wonderland.
An important part of the story is the reciting of the poem,
"The Walrus and the Carpenter," including these thought
provoking lines: "The time has come, the Walrus said, to
speak of many things; of shoes ... and ships ... and sealing-
wax ... of cabbages and kings ..." In this year 2009 the time
has come "to speak of many things."
And perhaps the first "thing" to consider is the state of
American opinion, after 10 months of the Obama first term.
One way to do that is to review some of the most recent
national polls. Doing that at random produces some very
evident trends.
First, from a Gallup poll in mid-October, the president's
55% personal approval rating is higher than that reported
by other polls, most of which are closer to 50 percent.
However, it marks a major decline from Gallup's 78 percent
when Obama took office. One significant fact is that he has
lost ground with every group except liberal Democrats. It
becomes obvious that he has turned far to the left.
According to the latest Rasmussen Reports survey, 52%
of voters feel that America's best days are in the past. This
marks the highest level of voter pessimism in two years and
is up 13 points from when Obama was elected president.
Only 35% feel the nation's best days are still to come, down
13 points since his inauguration in January. Also from the
latest Rasmussen Reports, 58% of likely voters say it is at
least somewhat likely the next president of the United States
will be a Republican. That number has trended up by 14
points since he took office in January.
And from the economy standpoint, this fact is prominent,
that since Barack Obama was elected President he has
already increased our national debt at record levels by an
astounding $1,168,395,397,482 - higher than all the debt
combined over the previous 200 years of American history.
Consider also this one of those "things" - as Christians, we
are certainly not happy with the direction President Obama
and his administration is taking our nation. Yet in the election
of 2008, we are the ones who elected him. Of Born Again
Evangelicals, 26% voted for Democrats. Of Protestants,
overall, 45% voted for Democrats. Of Catholics, 64% voted
Democratic. And of Jews, 78% voted Democratic. (From
Pew Forum reports.) Should we rethink our voting in the 2010
and 2012 elections? Seems like a reasonable approach.
And what is the religious makeup of America which Obama
says is no longer a Christian nation? From 2007 Pew Forum
reports: Christian, 78.4%; Jewish, 1.7%; Muslim, 0.6%; of
Unaffiliated, 16.1% (Atheist 1.6%). And that other segment
of our population to which the Obama administration pays
such homage: 2.8% of males, and 1.4% of females claim to
be gay, lesbian or bisexual. Should we who represent such
a huge majority plan to vote for a new Congress in the 2010
elections, and begin to change the direction in which our
country is being moved? Seems like a reasonable approach.
But until the 2010 elections, instead of ridiculing and insulting
the present Obama administration and the present Congress
with jokes and cartoons, wouldn't it make more sense to
begin using the Capitol switchboard and start telling our
elected representatives how we want them to vote? Question:
have you ever made such a call, even once in the last year?
That phone number once again: 1-202-240-3121.
Remember: some of the promises (threats) Obama made in
his election campaign have not yet been accomplished --
the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and the enactment
of the Freedom of Choice Act, for example. And the
Senate hasn't yet finalized their version of the so-called
Health Insurance Reform bill. The Pelosi directed version
squeaked by in the House, but a final potentially disastrous
bill has not yet been settled. There is still time to tell your
two Senators how you want them to vote.
There is an old (but true) saying: "Figures don't lie, but
liars can figure." Last week we commented on VP Joe
Biden's manipulating the results of the billions of dollars
of "stimulus" money so as to indicate that 540,000 new
jobs had been created -- a figure that he rounded off at a
million. But now the actual employment figures have been
released, and the national unemployment rate has climbed
from 9.8% just a month ago to 10.2% for October and
with more than 15 million unemployed. That is the highest
unemployment rate since 1983 when President Reagan was
handed a 10.1% rate from Jimmy Carter.The "real" rate
of our unemployed is said to be 17.5% when those who
have given up seeking work are included in the calculations.
This is, of course, a bit different from the administration's
promised 8% top unemployment rate after their "stimulus"
funds had taken effect. One wonders if it will ever occur to
our leaders in Washington that what they are doing isn't
working, and may actually be damaging our economy?
The disastrous attack on Fort Hood, which we can't call
a "terrorist" attack because Obama's head of Homeland
Security, Janet Napolitano, has forbidden the use of that
word in favor of "man-caused disasters." Her exact words
on March 16, 2009 in an interview with Der Spiegel: "In my
speech, although I did not use the word "terrorism," I
referred to "man-caused" disasters. That is perhaps only
a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away
from the politics of fear ..." It's strange. When a Muslim
suicide bomber in Iraq or Afghanistan shouts "Allahu Akbar!"
(Allah is Great) and explodes his vehicle killing 4 - 7 - 9 or
more innocent people, that is accepted as a terrorist attack.
But when a Muslim member of the American armed forces
shouts "Allahu Akbar!" and kills 13 innocent people and
wounds 29 others, our president says we must not jump to
any hasty conclusion. His words: “We cannot fully know
what leads a man to do such a thing.” Apparently he sees
some sort of difference between what Muslims are doing
overseas and what this Muslim did right here in America.
Can he not understand that this is the same war and this is
the same enemy we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan?
At least it appears that Senator Joe Lieberman is planning to
order an intensive investigation, and not allow this attack to
be white-washed by "political correctness" into the oblivion
of a Muslim member of our armed forces made to feel
"uncomfortable" by others who did not like what Muslim
terrorists did on 9/11 and what they are doing in so many
parts of the world today. Senator Lieberman is also taking
a rational stand on the health care reform bill.
There will be further discussions about this tragic attack,
but by way of summary, Joseph Farah said it well, as he so
often does: "America is still mourning the murders of 13
soldiers at Fort Hood in what can only be characterized
as a vicious slaughter by a jihadist terrorist ..." We cannot
fail to recall Lincoln's words at Gettysburg, "that this nation
shall have a new birth of freedom."
Considering the few "things" we have discussed, and
those we haven't touched on, what can a Christian do to
change the present situation? Perhaps our first action might
be to demonstrate our firm conviction that we must restore
the moral standards which once were the basis for the role
of the US government. The late Jerry Falwell used "Moral
Majority" to bring about a refocusing of our convictions on
the historic Judeo-Christian principles which made America
the great nation it had always been. One commentator said
last week: "Christ’s disciples are to be a moral disinfectant
in a world where moral standards are low, constantly
changing or nonexistent." That may be a concise statement
of the responsibility that is ours.
Do you enjoy statistics? Consider these: in the 2008 election,
Barack Obama had 69.5 million votes against John McCain's
59.9 million votes. Result: a majority of less than 10 million
votes. Born again Evangelicals represent 26% of today's US
population, or more than 75 million. Just pause and think, or
use your imagination: what would happen if the 75 million of
us started living -- and voting -- like members of the family of
God? Because that is what we are.
Don't worry, we're not about to give up "one liners."
“If the liberals in Washington have their way, they will
forever change the relationship between the government
and ‘we the people.’" (Congressman Mike Pence)
"It's not about the President personally...the President's
policies are unpopular." (Governor Haley Barbour )
"The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who
spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits."
(Plutarch, Greek historian, 46-120 A.D.)
"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you
see what it costs when it's free!" (P.J.O'Rourke)
A most profound thought from a Founding Father:
"Government is instituted for the common good; for the
protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people;
and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one
man, family, or class of men; therefore, the people alone
have an incontestable, unalienable, and indefeasible right
to institute government; and to reform, alter, or totally
change the same, when their protection, safety, prosperity,
and happiness require it." -- John Adams, 1776
Or, as Abraham Lincoln expressed it:
"We, the people are the rightful masters of both Congress
and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to
overthrow men who pervert the Constitution."
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