The White House greeting card shows no signs of Christmas, either in words or in the artist's rendering of a fireplace scene that focuses on Bo the dog.
For background, read Obama Declares He's Christian, Again and also read Is Obama Christian? Few Think So: Poll as well as Obama Wants Catholic Vote but Dem Platform Anathema
-- From "Sarah Palin criticizes Obama holiday card -- and the dog" by David Ng, Los Angeles Times 12/21/11
The card . . . was created for the Obama family by L.A. artist and designer Mark Matuszak. It features an image of Bo, the Obama family dog, in front of a fireplace in the White House library with a poinsettia and other decorations. The card, which makes no direct mention of Christmas and doesn't feature a Christmas tree, states: "From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season."
[Sarah] Palin told Fox News that she found it "odd" that the card emphasizes the dog instead of traditions like "family, faith and freedom." She also said that Americans are able to appreciate "American foundational values illustrated and displayed on Christmas cards and on a Christmas tree."
In the past, White House cards have varied in terms of a secular versus a Christian approach. . . .
The Obama family has also preferred a more secular approach. Last year's holiday card featured an image of a White House covered with snow, with the following greeting: "May your holiday be filled with all the simple gifts of the season, and may your new year be blessed with health and happiness."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Why does it not mention Christmas? Palin fury at Obamas' 'holiday' card that doesn't even have a Christmas tree (but at least Bo's on it)" by Michael Zennie, UK Daily Mail 12/22/11
The card makes no mention of Christmas and instead wishes: 'From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season.'
She also pointed to an ornament on the Obamas' 2009 Christmas tree that included the face of Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong.
'People had to ask that it be removed because it was offensive,' the former governor of Alaska told the Fox News and Commentary program.
In 2009, the Obamas' first White House Christmas card came under fire because it did not mention Christmas, either.
Instead, it simply featured a gold presidential seal with a wreath and 'Seasons Greetings.'
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Obama Prioritizes Gay Rights, NOT Religious Freedom
UPDATE 12/24/11 - Obama says "God" and "Christmas" in address, reacting to criticism (video):
Showing posts with label Palin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palin. Show all posts
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Can an Evangelical Woman be President? (Bachmann)
The below series of articles in the Washington Post presents the consternation of liberals and the mainstream media regarding feminism vs. conservatism vs. the "submissive evangelical woman," as they strive to paint Michele Bachmann as a hypocrite for claiming to exhibit all three.
For background, read Michele Bachmann Exposed as Christian by Liberals and also read Media Prepare Anti-Christian Campaign for 2012 as well as ABC News Scrutinizes Faith of GOP Candidates
UPDATE 8/12/11: ABC News interprets Bible on "submissive wives"
-- From "Michele Bachmann: Biblical submission and servant leadership" by Janice Shaw Crouse, Washington Post 7/29/11
Few biblical passages cause more confusion than Ephesians 5:21-33 that calls for wives to submit to husbands. It is bad enough that the secular world misconstrues those verses to envision Stepford wives; it is even worse when they try to fit Christian leaders into their distortions of the biblical principle of submission. Michele Bachmann, who has served notably as a United States congresswoman and is currently a presidential candidate, is now under scrutiny regarding how she could, as a Christian president, balance submission and leadership.
In the context of women in leadership, it is important to note that biblical submission is about harmony and well-being within the home and the relationship between a husband and a wife . . .
. . . Michele Bachmann and numerous other outstanding female leaders have found ways to “do it all” and they are thriving as they successfully juggle the competing demands of home and career. Many of them, like Congresswoman Bachmann, are evangelical Christians who are leading within the framework of biblical principles in an attitude of “servant leadership.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Evangelical women rise as new ‘feminists’" by Lisa Miller, Washington Post 7/28/11
Now, in a reversal, some conservative Christian women are tentatively claiming the feminist label for themselves. In the reframing, feminism has nothing to do with a woman’s right to choose an abortion or with government programs for the poor.
Instead, a “feminist” is a fiscally conservative, pro-life butt-kicker in public, a cooperative helpmate at home, and a Christian wife and mother, above all. Rep. Michele Bachmann is Exhibit A. With her relentless attacks on big government and a widely circulated 2006 video in which she credits her professional success to the submission of her will to Jesus and her husband, Bachmann represents “a new definition of feminism,” says Stephen Bannon, director of “Fire From the Heartland,” a 2010 movie about the female leaders of the Tea Party.
Last year, Sarah Palin connected herself with feminists in a speech — not the kind who loaf about “in the faculty lounge at some East Coast women’s college,” as she put it, but a gun-toting, self-reliant, pro-life Christian woman who credits her gender as the source of her power. Bachmann hasn’t gone so far, but in “Fire from the Heartland,” she talks about why women should engage in the political process. “Women feel it in our gut and in our heart — and that sense is coming over us that something is terribly wrong,” she says.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Michele Bachmann reflects a changing conservative Christianity" by Marie Griffith, Washington Post 7/29/11
“The Lord says: Be submissive, wives. You are to be submissive to your husbands,” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told a church audience in 2006. By all accounts, she means this and lives it. Which raises the question: Can a President Bachmann balance female submission with the power necessary to lead the United States of America?
To her many fans, the answer will seem obvious: of course she can. As a matter of fact, balancing subservience with authority is something that evangelical Christian women have been working on for a very long time. . . .
So long as they pay lip service to wifely submission--and so long as they balance feminine beauty with steel force--women like Michele Bachmann are now thoroughly accepted as public authorities in extremely conservative Christian circles. . . .
Success for Bachmann will depend in part on how shrewdly she balances the conflicted ideals of femininity and female toughness, compliance and resilience, vulnerability and strength, that have long permeated American culture. . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 8/11/11: Sarah Palin & Michele Bachmann are 'the women only a man could love,' said 60s feminist Gloria Steinem
Also read Conservative Female Candidates Don't Count as Women as well as 'Pro-life Feminist' Candidates Storm Congress plus just one more Conservative Feminists Crash Liberals' Party
For background, read Michele Bachmann Exposed as Christian by Liberals and also read Media Prepare Anti-Christian Campaign for 2012 as well as ABC News Scrutinizes Faith of GOP Candidates
UPDATE 8/12/11: ABC News interprets Bible on "submissive wives"
-- From "Michele Bachmann: Biblical submission and servant leadership" by Janice Shaw Crouse, Washington Post 7/29/11
Few biblical passages cause more confusion than Ephesians 5:21-33 that calls for wives to submit to husbands. It is bad enough that the secular world misconstrues those verses to envision Stepford wives; it is even worse when they try to fit Christian leaders into their distortions of the biblical principle of submission. Michele Bachmann, who has served notably as a United States congresswoman and is currently a presidential candidate, is now under scrutiny regarding how she could, as a Christian president, balance submission and leadership.
In the context of women in leadership, it is important to note that biblical submission is about harmony and well-being within the home and the relationship between a husband and a wife . . .
. . . Michele Bachmann and numerous other outstanding female leaders have found ways to “do it all” and they are thriving as they successfully juggle the competing demands of home and career. Many of them, like Congresswoman Bachmann, are evangelical Christians who are leading within the framework of biblical principles in an attitude of “servant leadership.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Evangelical women rise as new ‘feminists’" by Lisa Miller, Washington Post 7/28/11
Now, in a reversal, some conservative Christian women are tentatively claiming the feminist label for themselves. In the reframing, feminism has nothing to do with a woman’s right to choose an abortion or with government programs for the poor.
Instead, a “feminist” is a fiscally conservative, pro-life butt-kicker in public, a cooperative helpmate at home, and a Christian wife and mother, above all. Rep. Michele Bachmann is Exhibit A. With her relentless attacks on big government and a widely circulated 2006 video in which she credits her professional success to the submission of her will to Jesus and her husband, Bachmann represents “a new definition of feminism,” says Stephen Bannon, director of “Fire From the Heartland,” a 2010 movie about the female leaders of the Tea Party.
Last year, Sarah Palin connected herself with feminists in a speech — not the kind who loaf about “in the faculty lounge at some East Coast women’s college,” as she put it, but a gun-toting, self-reliant, pro-life Christian woman who credits her gender as the source of her power. Bachmann hasn’t gone so far, but in “Fire from the Heartland,” she talks about why women should engage in the political process. “Women feel it in our gut and in our heart — and that sense is coming over us that something is terribly wrong,” she says.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Michele Bachmann reflects a changing conservative Christianity" by Marie Griffith, Washington Post 7/29/11
“The Lord says: Be submissive, wives. You are to be submissive to your husbands,” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told a church audience in 2006. By all accounts, she means this and lives it. Which raises the question: Can a President Bachmann balance female submission with the power necessary to lead the United States of America?
To her many fans, the answer will seem obvious: of course she can. As a matter of fact, balancing subservience with authority is something that evangelical Christian women have been working on for a very long time. . . .
So long as they pay lip service to wifely submission--and so long as they balance feminine beauty with steel force--women like Michele Bachmann are now thoroughly accepted as public authorities in extremely conservative Christian circles. . . .
Success for Bachmann will depend in part on how shrewdly she balances the conflicted ideals of femininity and female toughness, compliance and resilience, vulnerability and strength, that have long permeated American culture. . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 8/11/11: Sarah Palin & Michele Bachmann are 'the women only a man could love,' said 60s feminist Gloria Steinem
Also read Conservative Female Candidates Don't Count as Women as well as 'Pro-life Feminist' Candidates Storm Congress plus just one more Conservative Feminists Crash Liberals' Party
Monday, April 04, 2011
Defund Abortionists, Say All Pres. Candidates
The liberal media appear stunned by the solid GOP support to defund Planned Parenthood, despite the media drumbeat that Americans don't care about social issues like abortion.
For background, read America Hinges on Defunding Planned Parenthood, and also read 'Culture War' Suddenly Erupts, Says Liberal Media
-- From "Anti-abortion group touts 2012-ers on Planned Parenthood" by Andy Barr, Politico 4/4/11
Looking to show off its influence over the 2012 field early in the game, the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List sent out an email Monday putting each of the leading GOP presidential contenders on record in support of pulling federal funds for Planned Parenthood.
Sarah Palin, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee and Tim Pawlenty each provided statements to the group, while the rest of the field was able to point to previous comments making their positions clear.
Leaders of SBA List have indicated several times to POLITICO that they intend to play a major role in the 2012 campaign — starting with the group’s sponsoring of one of the few RNC candidate forums ahead of Reince Priebus’s election as chairman in January.
Responding to the Republicans who provided statements to SBA List, Planned Parenthood spokesperson Tait Sye attacked the GOP for backing a “misguided proposal.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Potential GOP Presidential Contenders: Defund Planned Parenthood" by Laura Bassett, Huffington Post 4/4/11
Other potential big-name presidential contenders, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), have also expressed their support for defunding Planned Parenthood in recent months.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.), a breast cancer survivor and women's health advocate, said in a conference call on Monday that the recent GOP attacks on Planned Parenthood are politically driven.
Planned Parenthood "is facing unparalleled and purely political attacks under the guise of deficit reduction," she said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Pres. Candidates: Abortion & Marriage Top Issues
For background, read America Hinges on Defunding Planned Parenthood, and also read 'Culture War' Suddenly Erupts, Says Liberal Media
-- From "Anti-abortion group touts 2012-ers on Planned Parenthood" by Andy Barr, Politico 4/4/11
Looking to show off its influence over the 2012 field early in the game, the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List sent out an email Monday putting each of the leading GOP presidential contenders on record in support of pulling federal funds for Planned Parenthood.
Sarah Palin, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee and Tim Pawlenty each provided statements to the group, while the rest of the field was able to point to previous comments making their positions clear.
Leaders of SBA List have indicated several times to POLITICO that they intend to play a major role in the 2012 campaign — starting with the group’s sponsoring of one of the few RNC candidate forums ahead of Reince Priebus’s election as chairman in January.
Responding to the Republicans who provided statements to SBA List, Planned Parenthood spokesperson Tait Sye attacked the GOP for backing a “misguided proposal.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Potential GOP Presidential Contenders: Defund Planned Parenthood" by Laura Bassett, Huffington Post 4/4/11
Other potential big-name presidential contenders, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), have also expressed their support for defunding Planned Parenthood in recent months.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.), a breast cancer survivor and women's health advocate, said in a conference call on Monday that the recent GOP attacks on Planned Parenthood are politically driven.
Planned Parenthood "is facing unparalleled and purely political attacks under the guise of deficit reduction," she said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Pres. Candidates: Abortion & Marriage Top Issues
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Evangelicals' Choices for President (Hint: NOT Obama)
A new survey by the Barna Group shows that more Bible-believing Christians (as opposed to liberal "christians") favor GOP Mike Huckabee for president in 2012, while 94% of evangelicals consider Barack Obama unfavorably.
UPDATE 8/6/11: Texas-sized Prayers to God - Gov. Perry
UPDATE 7/29/11: Michele Bachmann Exposed as Christian by Liberals
UPDATE 5/21/11: Herman Cain: Christian Tea Party Candidate
-- From "Mike Huckabee Holds Strong Lead Among Conservative Christian Bloc" by David Gibson, Religion Reporter, Politics Daily 3/4/11
Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor, is strongest among evangelical Christians -- the 7 percent of the population that Barna defines by the strictest criteria of traditional faith and biblical literalism -- with an 88 percent favorable rating, followed by former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, with a 79 percent favorable ranking.
The field tails off considerably from there among evangelicals, with Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney -- who are widely expected to be among the first to throw their hats in the ring -- clocking 57 and 56 percent favorability ratings, respectively.
President Obama registers a meager 6 percent approval rating among this group, and an eye-opening 94 percent unfavorability rating.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Poll: Evangelicals have high views of Huckabee, low of Obama" by Michael Foust, Associate Editor, Baptist Press 3/4/11
The fact that [Huckabee] leads among evangelicals is no surprise -- he rode the wave of evangelical support in 2008 to a second-place primary finish -- but it does show that his base of support has not eroded.
Huckabee has led in several major polls examining Republicans' preference for the 2012 nomination:
-- A Gallup Poll of 1,326 Republican voters and Republican-leaning independents showed Huckabee at 18 percent, Romney and Palin at 16 percent each and Gingrich at 9 percent.
-- A Winthrop Poll of only Southern state voters listed Huckabee at 20 percent, Gingrich at 11 percent, Palin at 10 percent, Chris Christie at 8 percent and Romney at 7 percent. The poll surveyed 825 adults Feb. 21-27.
-- An NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll of 282 GOP voters Feb. 24-28 showed Huckabee leading with 25 percent, followed by Romney (21 percent), Gingrich (13 percent) and Palin (12 percent).
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Christian Preferences for 2012 Republican Nomination" by The Barna Group 3/3/11
In the most recent presidential elections, the faith communities of America have played a major role in electing presidents and other important public figures. Breaking down the survey data by more than a dozen religious segments regularly tracked by The Barna Group, the numbers take on yet a different contour. For instance, among evangelical Christians – the 7% of the population who are most concerned about moral issues (among other considerations) and are most involved in religious activity – the favorites are clearly Mr. Huckabee (88% favorable, 11% unfavorable) and Mrs. Palin (79% favorable, 21% unfavorable). There is less warmth directed towards Mr. Gingrich (57% - 37%), Mr. Romney (56% - 29%) and Mr. Paul (51% - 26%).
A larger religious segment – and a pivotal group in the last three elections and a group that is considerably less conservative than its evangelical subset – are born again Christians. Currently, the best favorability numbers from this group have been earned by Mr. Huckabee (58% favorable, 27% unfavorable) and Mr. Romney (49% - 33%). Mrs. Palin is somewhat less popular among born again adults (53% - 45%), while Mr. Gingrich struggles with this group (43% - 47%). Dr. Paul is generally viewed favorably by born agains, but is less well-known among them (39% - 31%).
Those who are from non-Christian faith communities generally like President Obama. His favorability rating among them is 61% positive, 38% negative. In contrast, not a single Republican potential candidate has a favorability rating that is more positive than negative among this faith audience: Gingrich (20% - 67%), Huckabee (30% - 59%), Palin (17% - 80%), Paul (31% - 53%), Romney (35% - 54%).
To read the entire survey results, CLICK HERE.
From "Huck tops Sarah in Fox poll" by Andy Barr, Politico 3/4/11
Sarah Palin . . . The former Alaska governor places third in a new Gallup poll out Friday of regular Fox News viewers’ choice for president.
Her 13 percent among regular Fox watchers ties her with Newt Gingrich and places her behind Mike Huckabee's 18 percent, and Mitt Romney's 17 percent.
“Given that viewership of the channel is common among Republicans, Fox News provides a unique opportunity for possible Republican candidates to raise their profile and increase their potential support,” wrote Gallup’s
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 8/6/11: Texas-sized Prayers to God - Gov. Perry
UPDATE 7/29/11: Michele Bachmann Exposed as Christian by Liberals
UPDATE 5/21/11: Herman Cain: Christian Tea Party Candidate
-- From "Mike Huckabee Holds Strong Lead Among Conservative Christian Bloc" by David Gibson, Religion Reporter, Politics Daily 3/4/11
Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor, is strongest among evangelical Christians -- the 7 percent of the population that Barna defines by the strictest criteria of traditional faith and biblical literalism -- with an 88 percent favorable rating, followed by former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, with a 79 percent favorable ranking.
The field tails off considerably from there among evangelicals, with Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney -- who are widely expected to be among the first to throw their hats in the ring -- clocking 57 and 56 percent favorability ratings, respectively.
President Obama registers a meager 6 percent approval rating among this group, and an eye-opening 94 percent unfavorability rating.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Poll: Evangelicals have high views of Huckabee, low of Obama" by Michael Foust, Associate Editor, Baptist Press 3/4/11
The fact that [Huckabee] leads among evangelicals is no surprise -- he rode the wave of evangelical support in 2008 to a second-place primary finish -- but it does show that his base of support has not eroded.
Huckabee has led in several major polls examining Republicans' preference for the 2012 nomination:
-- A Gallup Poll of 1,326 Republican voters and Republican-leaning independents showed Huckabee at 18 percent, Romney and Palin at 16 percent each and Gingrich at 9 percent.
-- A Winthrop Poll of only Southern state voters listed Huckabee at 20 percent, Gingrich at 11 percent, Palin at 10 percent, Chris Christie at 8 percent and Romney at 7 percent. The poll surveyed 825 adults Feb. 21-27.
-- An NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll of 282 GOP voters Feb. 24-28 showed Huckabee leading with 25 percent, followed by Romney (21 percent), Gingrich (13 percent) and Palin (12 percent).
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Christian Preferences for 2012 Republican Nomination" by The Barna Group 3/3/11
In the most recent presidential elections, the faith communities of America have played a major role in electing presidents and other important public figures. Breaking down the survey data by more than a dozen religious segments regularly tracked by The Barna Group, the numbers take on yet a different contour. For instance, among evangelical Christians – the 7% of the population who are most concerned about moral issues (among other considerations) and are most involved in religious activity – the favorites are clearly Mr. Huckabee (88% favorable, 11% unfavorable) and Mrs. Palin (79% favorable, 21% unfavorable). There is less warmth directed towards Mr. Gingrich (57% - 37%), Mr. Romney (56% - 29%) and Mr. Paul (51% - 26%).
A larger religious segment – and a pivotal group in the last three elections and a group that is considerably less conservative than its evangelical subset – are born again Christians. Currently, the best favorability numbers from this group have been earned by Mr. Huckabee (58% favorable, 27% unfavorable) and Mr. Romney (49% - 33%). Mrs. Palin is somewhat less popular among born again adults (53% - 45%), while Mr. Gingrich struggles with this group (43% - 47%). Dr. Paul is generally viewed favorably by born agains, but is less well-known among them (39% - 31%).
Those who are from non-Christian faith communities generally like President Obama. His favorability rating among them is 61% positive, 38% negative. In contrast, not a single Republican potential candidate has a favorability rating that is more positive than negative among this faith audience: Gingrich (20% - 67%), Huckabee (30% - 59%), Palin (17% - 80%), Paul (31% - 53%), Romney (35% - 54%).
To read the entire survey results, CLICK HERE.
From "Huck tops Sarah in Fox poll" by Andy Barr, Politico 3/4/11
Sarah Palin . . . The former Alaska governor places third in a new Gallup poll out Friday of regular Fox News viewers’ choice for president.
Her 13 percent among regular Fox watchers ties her with Newt Gingrich and places her behind Mike Huckabee's 18 percent, and Mitt Romney's 17 percent.
“Given that viewership of the channel is common among Republicans, Fox News provides a unique opportunity for possible Republican candidates to raise their profile and increase their potential support,” wrote Gallup’s
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Who Cares About Same-Sex Marriage Anymore?
Where'd the Christians go? It seems they've left the "sleeping Jonah" (The Church) behind, in favor of the Tea Party movement.
UPDATE 3/27/11: Same-sex marriage no longer such a divisive political issue
-- From "Gay Marriage Seems to Wane as Conservative Issue" by Michael D. Shear and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times 2/24/11
President Obama’s decision to abandon his legal support for the Defense of Marriage Act has generated only mild rebukes from the Republicans hoping to succeed him in 2012, evidence of a shifting political climate in which social issues are being crowded out by economic concerns.
In the hours [after Obama's decision], Sarah Palin’s Facebook site was silent. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was close-mouthed. Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, released a Web video — on the labor union protests in Wisconsin — and waited a day before issuing a marriage statement saying he was “disappointed.”
Others, like Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, took their time weighing in, and then did so only in the most tepid terms. “The Justice Department is supposed to defend our laws,” Mr. Barbour said.
Asked if Mitch Daniels, the Republican governor of Indiana and a possible presidential candidate, had commented on the marriage decision, a spokeswoman said that he “hasn’t, and with other things we have going on here right now, he has no plans.”
The sharpest reaction came from Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, in an interview here during a stop to promote his new book, who called the administration’s decision “utterly inexplicable.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "2012: Gay marriage no longer a potent political issue?" posted at MSNBC.com 2/25/11
SANTORUM: “Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said Thursday in Iowa that President Obama’s decision to instruct his administration not to prosecute violations of the federal ban on same-sex marriage would ignite the issue in the 2012 Republican presidential campaign,” the Des Moines Register writes.
HUCKABEE: “Mike Huckabee thinks all the early evidence suggests he, not the former Massachusetts governor [Mitt Romney], is the Republican Party’s presidential front-runner,” National Journal writes of an interview with the former governor.
PALIN: Republican activists in key conservative early primary states are turning on Sarah Palin, McClatchy writes. “At a recent gathering in South Carolina, the site of a crucial early presidential primary next year, party activists said the former Alaska governor didn't have the experience, the knowledge of issues or the ability to get beyond folksy slang and bumper-sticker generalities that they think is needed to win and govern.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Gay Marriage Decision May Not Hurt Obama or Help the Religious Right" by David Gibson, Religion Reporter, Politics Daily 2/25/11
Even among evangelicals and other conservatives, opposition [to same-sex 'marriage'] is eroding, especially among a younger generation that doesn't see anything all that wrong with gay and lesbian couples.
Mike Huckabee, a possible 2012 presidential candidate who is far and away the front runner among Republican voters when it comes to social issues and moral values, this week conceded that reality. The former Baptist pastor noted that younger evangelicals have shown an "alarming" trend toward acceptance of homosexual relationships that could complicate political prospects for a candidate like himself who sees gay marriage as a moral threat on par with abortion.
As authors Robert Putnam and David Campbell write in their sweeping new study of faith in the United States, "American Grace," given these trends "homosexuality will become less attractive as a wedge issue in politics and will likely cease to be a potent issue at all." If anything, homosexuality is becoming a dividing line within the Republican Party rather than between Republicans and Democrats, as shown by the boycott of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference by some groups of social conservatives (and not others) over the presence of the conservative gay organization, GOProud.
White evangelicals who form the core of the Republican right (and the tea party movement) remain the most opposed to gay marriage. . . .
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
Unlike abortion, gay marriage is not the automatic winner for the [political] right that it was as recently as the 1990s when Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act . . .For background read, Obama 'Throws Marriage Under the Bus' and also read Tea Party Movement vs. 'Gay Agenda Tea Party'
UPDATE 3/27/11: Same-sex marriage no longer such a divisive political issue
-- From "Gay Marriage Seems to Wane as Conservative Issue" by Michael D. Shear and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times 2/24/11
President Obama’s decision to abandon his legal support for the Defense of Marriage Act has generated only mild rebukes from the Republicans hoping to succeed him in 2012, evidence of a shifting political climate in which social issues are being crowded out by economic concerns.
In the hours [after Obama's decision], Sarah Palin’s Facebook site was silent. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was close-mouthed. Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, released a Web video — on the labor union protests in Wisconsin — and waited a day before issuing a marriage statement saying he was “disappointed.”
Others, like Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, took their time weighing in, and then did so only in the most tepid terms. “The Justice Department is supposed to defend our laws,” Mr. Barbour said.
Asked if Mitch Daniels, the Republican governor of Indiana and a possible presidential candidate, had commented on the marriage decision, a spokeswoman said that he “hasn’t, and with other things we have going on here right now, he has no plans.”
The sharpest reaction came from Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, in an interview here during a stop to promote his new book, who called the administration’s decision “utterly inexplicable.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "2012: Gay marriage no longer a potent political issue?" posted at MSNBC.com 2/25/11
SANTORUM: “Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said Thursday in Iowa that President Obama’s decision to instruct his administration not to prosecute violations of the federal ban on same-sex marriage would ignite the issue in the 2012 Republican presidential campaign,” the Des Moines Register writes.
HUCKABEE: “Mike Huckabee thinks all the early evidence suggests he, not the former Massachusetts governor [Mitt Romney], is the Republican Party’s presidential front-runner,” National Journal writes of an interview with the former governor.
PALIN: Republican activists in key conservative early primary states are turning on Sarah Palin, McClatchy writes. “At a recent gathering in South Carolina, the site of a crucial early presidential primary next year, party activists said the former Alaska governor didn't have the experience, the knowledge of issues or the ability to get beyond folksy slang and bumper-sticker generalities that they think is needed to win and govern.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Gay Marriage Decision May Not Hurt Obama or Help the Religious Right" by David Gibson, Religion Reporter, Politics Daily 2/25/11
Even among evangelicals and other conservatives, opposition [to same-sex 'marriage'] is eroding, especially among a younger generation that doesn't see anything all that wrong with gay and lesbian couples.
Mike Huckabee, a possible 2012 presidential candidate who is far and away the front runner among Republican voters when it comes to social issues and moral values, this week conceded that reality. The former Baptist pastor noted that younger evangelicals have shown an "alarming" trend toward acceptance of homosexual relationships that could complicate political prospects for a candidate like himself who sees gay marriage as a moral threat on par with abortion.
As authors Robert Putnam and David Campbell write in their sweeping new study of faith in the United States, "American Grace," given these trends "homosexuality will become less attractive as a wedge issue in politics and will likely cease to be a potent issue at all." If anything, homosexuality is becoming a dividing line within the Republican Party rather than between Republicans and Democrats, as shown by the boycott of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference by some groups of social conservatives (and not others) over the presence of the conservative gay organization, GOProud.
White evangelicals who form the core of the Republican right (and the tea party movement) remain the most opposed to gay marriage. . . .
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Blamed for Tucson Killings, Christians Pray
After the mainstream media and other liberal politicians spent several days blaming the Tea Party for the mass killing in Tucson, Tea Party leaders call for prayer.
-- From "Guest Spot: Tea partyers call for prayer, not blame, after Arizona shootings" by Mary and Bob Meyer, cofounders of the Suffolk County 9-12 group, posted at Riverhead News-Review 1/11/11
The Suffolk County 9-12 Project joins all citizens in condemning the horrific attack, allegedly committed by Jared Loughner, in Tucson, Ariz., in which six innocent victims were killed and 19 were wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, at a constituent event on Saturday.
Suffolk County 9-12 Project is a tea party organization that believes in achieving our goals through peaceful means and engaging the citizenry in the political process. We by no means condone acts of violence in any way, shape or form. We are committed to the rule of law, upholding the Constitution and promoting limited government.
We mourn the loss of life and those who were wounded in this senseless tragedy and act of violence. Our thoughts and heartfelt prayers go out to Ms. Giffords, as well as to the massacre victims . . .
We call on our elected officials to refrain from using a senseless tragedy as a platform to propagate their own political agenda. In a time of crisis and mourning, certain leaders have been assigning blame to specific groups and individuals in a shameless and reprehensible attempt to gain stature for their position. We, at the Suffolk County 9-12 Project reject that kind of political posturing. . . .
We urge all tea party patriots and citizens to pray for the victims and their families during this difficult time.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "We're Arizona shooting victims too, says Tea Party co-founder" by Chris McGreal in Tucson, U.K. Guardian 1/11/11
. . . Trent Humphries says there is another innocent victim left by Jared Lee Loughner's killing of six people and wounding of 14 others in his assassination attempt against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. It is his Tea Party movement and, more particularly, his family. The killings, he says, are evolving into a conspiracy to destroy his organisation and silence criticism of the government.
The local sheriff, Clarence Dupnik, quickly pointed the finger at talk radio and . . . Tea Party supporters in Arizona . . .
Humphries is having none of it. "A lot have taken as gospel that the sheriff says that this was caused by talk radio, by Tea Party extremists, that that must be the case. I think it's done a lot of damage. It's given people the idea that somebody like my wife and I caused this murder. There's no evidence. And there's no evidence Sarah Palin caused this murder," he said. "The Democrats are using this opportunity to bludgeon their opponents. People don't want to hear that it was just some stupid, evil act that had no bearing in rationality. They want it to make sense."
There's no doubt that some people are blaming Humphries directly. He accuses the sheriff of prompting a string of accusatory emails. One said: "You people are responsible for the murder of a child, a judge and seven other innocents today. May you rot in hell."
Another accuser wrote: "It's time to change your message of hate. If not, get out of politics because the American people are not going to take it any longer. We want our country back."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Massacre, followed by libel" by Charles Krauthammer, posted at Washington Post 1/11/11
The charge: The Tucson massacre is a consequence of the "climate of hate" created by Sarah Palin, the Tea Party, Glenn Beck, Obamacare opponents and sundry other liberal betes noires.
The verdict: Rarely in American political discourse has there been a charge so reckless, so scurrilous and so unsupported by evidence.
Not only is there no evidence that Loughner was impelled to violence by any of those upon whom Paul Krugman, Keith Olbermann, the New York Times, the Tucson sheriff and other rabid partisans are fixated. There is no evidence that he was responding to anything, political or otherwise, outside of his own head.
Finally, the charge that the metaphors used by Palin and others were inciting violence is ridiculous. Everyone uses warlike metaphors in describing politics. When Barack Obama said at a 2008 fundraiser in Philadelphia, "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun," he was hardly inciting violence.
To read the entire column above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Guest Spot: Tea partyers call for prayer, not blame, after Arizona shootings" by Mary and Bob Meyer, cofounders of the Suffolk County 9-12 group, posted at Riverhead News-Review 1/11/11
The Suffolk County 9-12 Project joins all citizens in condemning the horrific attack, allegedly committed by Jared Loughner, in Tucson, Ariz., in which six innocent victims were killed and 19 were wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, at a constituent event on Saturday.
Suffolk County 9-12 Project is a tea party organization that believes in achieving our goals through peaceful means and engaging the citizenry in the political process. We by no means condone acts of violence in any way, shape or form. We are committed to the rule of law, upholding the Constitution and promoting limited government.
We mourn the loss of life and those who were wounded in this senseless tragedy and act of violence. Our thoughts and heartfelt prayers go out to Ms. Giffords, as well as to the massacre victims . . .
We call on our elected officials to refrain from using a senseless tragedy as a platform to propagate their own political agenda. In a time of crisis and mourning, certain leaders have been assigning blame to specific groups and individuals in a shameless and reprehensible attempt to gain stature for their position. We, at the Suffolk County 9-12 Project reject that kind of political posturing. . . .
We urge all tea party patriots and citizens to pray for the victims and their families during this difficult time.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "We're Arizona shooting victims too, says Tea Party co-founder" by Chris McGreal in Tucson, U.K. Guardian 1/11/11
. . . Trent Humphries says there is another innocent victim left by Jared Lee Loughner's killing of six people and wounding of 14 others in his assassination attempt against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. It is his Tea Party movement and, more particularly, his family. The killings, he says, are evolving into a conspiracy to destroy his organisation and silence criticism of the government.
The local sheriff, Clarence Dupnik, quickly pointed the finger at talk radio and . . . Tea Party supporters in Arizona . . .
Humphries is having none of it. "A lot have taken as gospel that the sheriff says that this was caused by talk radio, by Tea Party extremists, that that must be the case. I think it's done a lot of damage. It's given people the idea that somebody like my wife and I caused this murder. There's no evidence. And there's no evidence Sarah Palin caused this murder," he said. "The Democrats are using this opportunity to bludgeon their opponents. People don't want to hear that it was just some stupid, evil act that had no bearing in rationality. They want it to make sense."
There's no doubt that some people are blaming Humphries directly. He accuses the sheriff of prompting a string of accusatory emails. One said: "You people are responsible for the murder of a child, a judge and seven other innocents today. May you rot in hell."
Another accuser wrote: "It's time to change your message of hate. If not, get out of politics because the American people are not going to take it any longer. We want our country back."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Massacre, followed by libel" by Charles Krauthammer, posted at Washington Post 1/11/11
The charge: The Tucson massacre is a consequence of the "climate of hate" created by Sarah Palin, the Tea Party, Glenn Beck, Obamacare opponents and sundry other liberal betes noires.
The verdict: Rarely in American political discourse has there been a charge so reckless, so scurrilous and so unsupported by evidence.
Not only is there no evidence that Loughner was impelled to violence by any of those upon whom Paul Krugman, Keith Olbermann, the New York Times, the Tucson sheriff and other rabid partisans are fixated. There is no evidence that he was responding to anything, political or otherwise, outside of his own head.
Finally, the charge that the metaphors used by Palin and others were inciting violence is ridiculous. Everyone uses warlike metaphors in describing politics. When Barack Obama said at a 2008 fundraiser in Philadelphia, "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun," he was hardly inciting violence.
To read the entire column above, CLICK HERE.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Abortion Targeting Blacks: Exposed in Media Campaign
Heroic Media, a pro-life advertising firm favored by Sarah Palin, has effectively communicated the pro-life message in its home town of Austin, Texas (including billboards highlighting the disproportionately high rate of abortion of African-Americans), now plans to expand it's advertising across America and beyond.
-- From "Anti-abortion ads target black women" by Erin Cargile, Austin News 12/22/10
The smiling face of an African American boy is displayed high above traffic on Interstate 35. Drivers heading south can see the billboard near Eighth Street.
The sign reads, "The most dangerous place for some children is in the womb," and directs drivers to check out more information on a website .
It is part of a nationwide anti-abortion media campaign put together by the Austin-based pro-life nonprofit organization, Heroic Media. Television commercials have been running, too, that reach out to black women and blast Planned Parenthood, which offers abortions.
That piece of information is typed on another website along with the controversial message that was banned from billboards in a number of U.S. cities. The sign had a silhouette of a pregnant woman next to the words, "The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Austin group targets African Americans, likens abortion to ‘genocide’" by Patrick Brendel, The American Independent 12/15/10
“Genocide is a strong word, but it’s almost like that,” said Brian Follett, founder of Heroic Media, a faith-based anti-abortion organization created in April 2004 as the Majella Society. Using celebrity speakers such as Sarah Palin and polished advertising via billboard, TV and the Internet, Heroic’s mission is to reduce the number of abortions by referring women to “crisis pregnancy resource centers,” charities (usually faith-based) that counsel pregnant women against abortion.
. . . as the organization branches out beyond heavily Hispanic Texas cities into urban areas nationwide, Heroic has begun tailoring its ads to African Americans, and in north Florida at least, aiming them directly at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data for 2006, African Americans have abortions at about three times the rate as whites, though both populations have seen a comparable decline in the procedures since 1990. In 2006, African American women had 459 abortions per 1,000 live births, while whites had 162 abortions per 1,000 live births.
When Planned Parenthood opened its new Houston headquarters recently, some critics accused the organization of intentially placing the facility near minority neighborhoods. [Rochelle Tofoya, Houston spokesperson for Planned Parenthood] said, rather, that the facility was strategically located on the busy I-45 corridor to allow clients easy access to the clinic.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Austin anti-abortion group plans international expansion" by Patrick Brendel, The American Independent 12/20/10
[Heroic Media] founder, Brian Follett, says he plans to set up regional branches across the U.S. and in Latin America. He also wants his organization to evolve from marketing such centers to establishing its own facilities in major urban areas such as Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Heroic’s 2011 budget is about $5 million, Follett said. His goal is to grow into an organization with an annual budget of $30 million-$50 million within the next five years, he said. By comparison, the total net assets of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates in 2008 was more than $1 billion.
He said Heroic has gained support because its campaigns are effective, pointing to a 24 percent drop in the abortion ratio (number of abortions divided by live births) in the Austin area from 2003-2008.
Sarah Wheat, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood in Austin, attributed the decline to state legislation passed in 2003 and 2005 that established a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion, required parental consent before a teenager can have an abortion, and instituted severe restrictions on abortions after 16 weeks beyond conception.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Palin Headlines Heroic Media’s Inaugural Event" by Chad Simpson, MetroCatholic 11/11/10
Heroic Media made its presence known last night in Dallas in a big way by treating pro-lifers to an evening of anecdotal-laced personal testimonies and words of encouragement from some of Texas’ and the nation’s most influential pro-life leaders. . . .
The audience was treated to [Sarah] Palin’s edearing tales of family life in Wasilla, Alaska . . . While Sarah’s charisma filled the room, it was the personal testimony of Heroic Media’s Maureen McHenry that really touched me the most. . . .
While Heroic Media’s pro-life television, billboard, and social media campaign’s in Austin, where it is headquartered, have reduced the abortion ratio by 24% in only five years, the abortion rate in Dallas has risen by 19% over the same period. . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Countering Planned Parenthood Eugenics via Billboards
Georgia Abortion Legislation to Protect Black Babies
Pro-life Movement Exploiting Blacks: New York Times
Abortion in America: Black Genocide
Racism Alive and Well at Planned Parenthood
YouTube Censors Criticism of Planned Parenthood following D.C. Media Focus
-- From "Anti-abortion ads target black women" by Erin Cargile, Austin News 12/22/10
The smiling face of an African American boy is displayed high above traffic on Interstate 35. Drivers heading south can see the billboard near Eighth Street.
The sign reads, "The most dangerous place for some children is in the womb," and directs drivers to check out more information on a website .
It is part of a nationwide anti-abortion media campaign put together by the Austin-based pro-life nonprofit organization, Heroic Media. Television commercials have been running, too, that reach out to black women and blast Planned Parenthood, which offers abortions.
That piece of information is typed on another website along with the controversial message that was banned from billboards in a number of U.S. cities. The sign had a silhouette of a pregnant woman next to the words, "The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Austin group targets African Americans, likens abortion to ‘genocide’" by Patrick Brendel, The American Independent 12/15/10
“Genocide is a strong word, but it’s almost like that,” said Brian Follett, founder of Heroic Media, a faith-based anti-abortion organization created in April 2004 as the Majella Society. Using celebrity speakers such as Sarah Palin and polished advertising via billboard, TV and the Internet, Heroic’s mission is to reduce the number of abortions by referring women to “crisis pregnancy resource centers,” charities (usually faith-based) that counsel pregnant women against abortion.
. . . as the organization branches out beyond heavily Hispanic Texas cities into urban areas nationwide, Heroic has begun tailoring its ads to African Americans, and in north Florida at least, aiming them directly at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data for 2006, African Americans have abortions at about three times the rate as whites, though both populations have seen a comparable decline in the procedures since 1990. In 2006, African American women had 459 abortions per 1,000 live births, while whites had 162 abortions per 1,000 live births.
When Planned Parenthood opened its new Houston headquarters recently, some critics accused the organization of intentially placing the facility near minority neighborhoods. [Rochelle Tofoya, Houston spokesperson for Planned Parenthood] said, rather, that the facility was strategically located on the busy I-45 corridor to allow clients easy access to the clinic.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Austin anti-abortion group plans international expansion" by Patrick Brendel, The American Independent 12/20/10
[Heroic Media] founder, Brian Follett, says he plans to set up regional branches across the U.S. and in Latin America. He also wants his organization to evolve from marketing such centers to establishing its own facilities in major urban areas such as Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Heroic’s 2011 budget is about $5 million, Follett said. His goal is to grow into an organization with an annual budget of $30 million-$50 million within the next five years, he said. By comparison, the total net assets of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates in 2008 was more than $1 billion.
He said Heroic has gained support because its campaigns are effective, pointing to a 24 percent drop in the abortion ratio (number of abortions divided by live births) in the Austin area from 2003-2008.
Sarah Wheat, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood in Austin, attributed the decline to state legislation passed in 2003 and 2005 that established a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion, required parental consent before a teenager can have an abortion, and instituted severe restrictions on abortions after 16 weeks beyond conception.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Palin Headlines Heroic Media’s Inaugural Event" by Chad Simpson, MetroCatholic 11/11/10
Heroic Media made its presence known last night in Dallas in a big way by treating pro-lifers to an evening of anecdotal-laced personal testimonies and words of encouragement from some of Texas’ and the nation’s most influential pro-life leaders. . . .
The audience was treated to [Sarah] Palin’s edearing tales of family life in Wasilla, Alaska . . . While Sarah’s charisma filled the room, it was the personal testimony of Heroic Media’s Maureen McHenry that really touched me the most. . . .
While Heroic Media’s pro-life television, billboard, and social media campaign’s in Austin, where it is headquartered, have reduced the abortion ratio by 24% in only five years, the abortion rate in Dallas has risen by 19% over the same period. . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Countering Planned Parenthood Eugenics via Billboards
Georgia Abortion Legislation to Protect Black Babies
Pro-life Movement Exploiting Blacks: New York Times
Abortion in America: Black Genocide
Racism Alive and Well at Planned Parenthood
YouTube Censors Criticism of Planned Parenthood following D.C. Media Focus
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Liberals Fear God has Anointed Sarah Palin
Even atheists believe in God sometimes. It's no wonder why Sarah Palin stirs hatred among those who hate God, but why do so many liberals hate her? What they hate most is that the more they hate her, the more able she becomes.
Sarah Palin speaks in Des Moines, Iowa 9/17/10
-- From "Is Palin’s Rise Part of God’s Plan?" by Michael Joseph Gross, Vanity Fair 9/17/10
Sarah Palin has often suggested that she believes her rise to power is divinely ordained. She is, moreover, the only contemporary American politician whose admirers openly describe her as a modern-day version of a biblical character.
On the main pro-Palin blog, Conservatives4Palin, many postings contemplate Palin’s resemblance to Queen Esther, the eponymous hero of a short book in the Hebrew Bible. And Palin herself encourages the analogy. This past April, for instance, she told a Christian group in Louisville, Kentucky, that she often reads the book of Esther to her daughter Piper at bedtime.
A 2008 e-mail obtained exclusively by Vanity Fair, which appears in [the full article] (with its original spelling and punctuation), offers the clearest evidence yet made public of how seriously Palin and her advisers take this analogy. The e-mail was written by Lou Engle, a right-wing pastor and political activist who founded a movement known as the Call, which has coordinated widespread prayer and fasting to protest health-care reform and same-sex marriage.
To read the entire article, including the referenced E-mail, CLICK HERE.
Sarah Palin speaks in Des Moines, Iowa 9/17/10
-- From "Is Palin’s Rise Part of God’s Plan?" by Michael Joseph Gross, Vanity Fair 9/17/10
Sarah Palin has often suggested that she believes her rise to power is divinely ordained. She is, moreover, the only contemporary American politician whose admirers openly describe her as a modern-day version of a biblical character.
On the main pro-Palin blog, Conservatives4Palin, many postings contemplate Palin’s resemblance to Queen Esther, the eponymous hero of a short book in the Hebrew Bible. And Palin herself encourages the analogy. This past April, for instance, she told a Christian group in Louisville, Kentucky, that she often reads the book of Esther to her daughter Piper at bedtime.
A 2008 e-mail obtained exclusively by Vanity Fair, which appears in [the full article] (with its original spelling and punctuation), offers the clearest evidence yet made public of how seriously Palin and her advisers take this analogy. The e-mail was written by Lou Engle, a right-wing pastor and political activist who founded a movement known as the Call, which has coordinated widespread prayer and fasting to protest health-care reform and same-sex marriage.
To read the entire article, including the referenced E-mail, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
GOP Ignores Social Conservatives at Own Peril
Christine O'Donnell's Republican primary win for the U.S. Senate in Delaware has, once again, demonstrated that such an outspoken pro-life, socially conservative, Christian candidate is a typical attraction for Tea Party supporters.
". . . it is a mistake for party leaders to run from cultural issues as well as ignore the large gap between the values of left-wing Obama elitists and conservative Middle America."
Commentary - No Mere Marriage of Convenience: Uniting Social and Economic Conservatives
UPDATE 9/16/10: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) fundraising for homosexualist Log Cabin Republicans
-- From "Social conservatives stay in fray" by Ralph Z. Hallow, Washington Times 9/14/10
Fairbanks [Alaska] lawyer Joe Miller received money and support from tea party activists and former Gov. Sarah Palin in his stunning upset of Sen. Lisa Murkowski in last month's GOP Senate primary in Alaska. But Mr. Miller also credited the fact that an abortion-related parental-consent measure was on the ballot, drawing social conservatives to the polls.
Recent court rulings calling into question the stem-cell policy and the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays serving in the military could make both sleeper issues in close races this fall.
"Yes, I believe there has been a disturbing silence by some leaders in the GOP concerning social issues," said Steve Scheffler, an RNC member from Iowa.
Social conservatives have shown the muscle to put the GOP over the top in past elections - or to sink the party's hopes by staying home. During the past 30 years, social conservatives have shown increasing political activism, largely siding with the one major party that unequivocally opposes abortion and same-sex marriage in its platform.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also, click headlines below for related, previous articles:
Will GOP Call 'Truce' in Culture War?
GOP Avoids Same-sex 'Marriage' Issue
Same-sex 'Marriage' Favored by GOP Leaders
Abortion is Election Issue with Some Candidates
Unlike GOP, Palin Touts Pro-life
". . . it is a mistake for party leaders to run from cultural issues as well as ignore the large gap between the values of left-wing Obama elitists and conservative Middle America."
Commentary - No Mere Marriage of Convenience: Uniting Social and Economic Conservatives
UPDATE 9/16/10: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) fundraising for homosexualist Log Cabin Republicans
-- From "Social conservatives stay in fray" by Ralph Z. Hallow, Washington Times 9/14/10
Fairbanks [Alaska] lawyer Joe Miller received money and support from tea party activists and former Gov. Sarah Palin in his stunning upset of Sen. Lisa Murkowski in last month's GOP Senate primary in Alaska. But Mr. Miller also credited the fact that an abortion-related parental-consent measure was on the ballot, drawing social conservatives to the polls.
Recent court rulings calling into question the stem-cell policy and the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays serving in the military could make both sleeper issues in close races this fall.
"Yes, I believe there has been a disturbing silence by some leaders in the GOP concerning social issues," said Steve Scheffler, an RNC member from Iowa.
Social conservatives have shown the muscle to put the GOP over the top in past elections - or to sink the party's hopes by staying home. During the past 30 years, social conservatives have shown increasing political activism, largely siding with the one major party that unequivocally opposes abortion and same-sex marriage in its platform.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also, click headlines below for related, previous articles:
Will GOP Call 'Truce' in Culture War?
GOP Avoids Same-sex 'Marriage' Issue
Same-sex 'Marriage' Favored by GOP Leaders
Abortion is Election Issue with Some Candidates
Unlike GOP, Palin Touts Pro-life
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Glenn Beck: Find Faith in God, ANY God
Speaking before thousands in Anchorage last night, Sarah Palin introduced Glen Beck as having inspired millions to “know why we are an exceptional nation, know why we never have to apologize for being Americans.”
-- From "Palin, Beck Tell Alaskans Complacency Growing Since Sept. 11" by John McCormick, Bloomberg 9/12/10
Fox News commentator Glenn Beck and Tea Party heroine Sarah Palin told an audience yesterday in Alaska that the U.S. has grown complacent about protecting itself since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Anchorage event, on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, came two weeks after Beck and Palin appeared together at the “Restoring Honor” rally on the National Mall in Washington, where they urged hundreds of thousands gathered there to embrace traditional American values.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck appear together in Anchorage" by Sean Cockerham, Anchorage Daily News 9/12/10
Beck spoke until after 11 p.m. He talked about history and the founding fathers. He called on people to find faith in God, any God, even if they find it on a mountaintop, and to have hope and charity. At one point he appeared to tear up, a trademark.
Beck prowled the stage, at turns sounding like a motivational speaker or a revivalist preacher. He said that individuals need to fill the breach and restore what he said has been lost in the nation throughout the years.
“We’re in trouble, the country is coming apart at the seams. And it’s not about the next election, it’s not about Barack Obama. It is about the fundamental values and principles that have been vanishing from our nation for a very long time. And the principles and values are easy to restore,” he said.
Palin walked through the crowd . . . One person asked her about the "mainstream media."
"The mainstream media has obviously a biased agenda against common-sense conservatives. That's no secret," Palin replied. "And we just happen to represent a lot of common-sense conservatives. And they just don't like it. So they make things up."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Palin, Beck Tell Alaskans Complacency Growing Since Sept. 11" by John McCormick, Bloomberg 9/12/10
Fox News commentator Glenn Beck and Tea Party heroine Sarah Palin told an audience yesterday in Alaska that the U.S. has grown complacent about protecting itself since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Anchorage event, on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, came two weeks after Beck and Palin appeared together at the “Restoring Honor” rally on the National Mall in Washington, where they urged hundreds of thousands gathered there to embrace traditional American values.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck appear together in Anchorage" by Sean Cockerham, Anchorage Daily News 9/12/10
Beck spoke until after 11 p.m. He talked about history and the founding fathers. He called on people to find faith in God, any God, even if they find it on a mountaintop, and to have hope and charity. At one point he appeared to tear up, a trademark.
Beck prowled the stage, at turns sounding like a motivational speaker or a revivalist preacher. He said that individuals need to fill the breach and restore what he said has been lost in the nation throughout the years.
“We’re in trouble, the country is coming apart at the seams. And it’s not about the next election, it’s not about Barack Obama. It is about the fundamental values and principles that have been vanishing from our nation for a very long time. And the principles and values are easy to restore,” he said.
Palin walked through the crowd . . . One person asked her about the "mainstream media."
"The mainstream media has obviously a biased agenda against common-sense conservatives. That's no secret," Palin replied. "And we just happen to represent a lot of common-sense conservatives. And they just don't like it. So they make things up."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Conservative Female Candidates Don't Count as Women
As demonstrated in the two articles below, to the media, only liberal females holding public office are considered for gender diversity.
"With this fall's midterm elections, the number of women serving in Congress could drop for the first time in a generation — a twist on a political season many had dubbed 'the year of the woman.'"
-- From "Sarah Palin effect sees record number of women stand as Republican candidates" by Alex Spillius in Washington, London Telegraph 8/29/10
Often controversial, outspoken and resolutely Right-wing, Republican women are beginning to overhaul the image of the [Republican] party.
After its heavy losses in 2008 to the Democrats, the Grand Old Party was written off as too male, too old and too out of touch.
Success at the polls in US Congressional elections on Nov 2 would also lift the overall number of women in American national politics . . .
A record 140 women have competed in Republican primaries for the House of Representatives and the Senate this year, almost double the number in 2008. Once the primaries are completed in mid-September, the final tally of female candidates is also set to exceed previous levels, according to party officials.
Mrs Palin and others, like Michele Bachmann and Marsha Blackburn, both relative newcomers to the House of Representatives, have provided role models for conservative women that didn't use to exist, she said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Women in Washington, your seats are at risk" by Lisa Mascaro, Tribune Washington Bureau posted at Los Angeles Times 8/29/10
Women now hold 90 seats in Congress: 69 are Democrats and 21 are Republicans. After the November election, Congress could end up with as many as 10 fewer female members, prognosticators now say, the first backslide in the uninterrupted march of women to Washington since 1978.
Many of the vulnerable Democratic women this fall first arrived on the waves of the 2006 and 2008 elections, but now face tough odds in districts that have since soured on the party in power and on President Obama's agenda.
The fortunes of women in Congress have ebbed and flowed . . .
Women made mostly steady gains through the election of President Kennedy in 1960, when 20 women held office in Congress, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
But two years later, the midterm elections, which are often unkind to the party in power, saw the number of women dip to 14. It was not until President Carter's election in 1976 that the number of women returned to 20.
The gains came mostly on the Democratic side of the aisle, as women who had made their way through elected positions on school boards, city councils and state legislatures jumped to Congress.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
"With this fall's midterm elections, the number of women serving in Congress could drop for the first time in a generation — a twist on a political season many had dubbed 'the year of the woman.'"
-- From "Sarah Palin effect sees record number of women stand as Republican candidates" by Alex Spillius in Washington, London Telegraph 8/29/10
Often controversial, outspoken and resolutely Right-wing, Republican women are beginning to overhaul the image of the [Republican] party.
After its heavy losses in 2008 to the Democrats, the Grand Old Party was written off as too male, too old and too out of touch.
Success at the polls in US Congressional elections on Nov 2 would also lift the overall number of women in American national politics . . .
A record 140 women have competed in Republican primaries for the House of Representatives and the Senate this year, almost double the number in 2008. Once the primaries are completed in mid-September, the final tally of female candidates is also set to exceed previous levels, according to party officials.
Mrs Palin and others, like Michele Bachmann and Marsha Blackburn, both relative newcomers to the House of Representatives, have provided role models for conservative women that didn't use to exist, she said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Women in Washington, your seats are at risk" by Lisa Mascaro, Tribune Washington Bureau posted at Los Angeles Times 8/29/10
Women now hold 90 seats in Congress: 69 are Democrats and 21 are Republicans. After the November election, Congress could end up with as many as 10 fewer female members, prognosticators now say, the first backslide in the uninterrupted march of women to Washington since 1978.
Many of the vulnerable Democratic women this fall first arrived on the waves of the 2006 and 2008 elections, but now face tough odds in districts that have since soured on the party in power and on President Obama's agenda.
The fortunes of women in Congress have ebbed and flowed . . .
Women made mostly steady gains through the election of President Kennedy in 1960, when 20 women held office in Congress, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
But two years later, the midterm elections, which are often unkind to the party in power, saw the number of women dip to 14. It was not until President Carter's election in 1976 that the number of women returned to 20.
The gains came mostly on the Democratic side of the aisle, as women who had made their way through elected positions on school boards, city councils and state legislatures jumped to Congress.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Unlike GOP, Palin Touts Pro-life
While so many Republicans avoid the pro-life party platform this year, Sarah Palin doesn't hesitate to speak the pro-life message, and call down politicians who do not.
-- From "Palin criticizes Obama, Fla. gov on abortion" by Brendan Farrington, Associated Press 8/27/10
Sarah Palin called President Barack Obama the most pro-abortion president ever Thursday and mocked Florida's governor for claiming to be pro-life after vetoing a bill that would have required women to get ultrasounds before having the procedure.
"Unfortunately your Republican governor," Palin began before pausing. "I don't know if he wants to be one or is a Republican anymore."
After the crowd booed, she continued.
"Your governor, he decided to veto this pro-life bill," she said before drawing laughs by sarcastically pointing out that Crist still calls himself pro-life. "He forgot that when [it] comes protecting the sanctity of life actions speak louder than words."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sarah Palin Says Obama Most Pro-Abortion President, Bashes Charlie Crist" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 8/27/10
Palin said the ObamaCare health care plan Obama and his Democratic allies passed would lead to more abortions because of abortion funding it contains.
"The biggest advance of the abortion industry in America is the passage of Obamacare," Palin said, according to an AP report. "Elective abortions have nothing to do with health care. It's about ending lives, not saving lives."
Obama, by many accounts, has become the most aggressive president in promoting the pro-abortion agenda and he has compiled a lengthy record funding abortions with taxpayer dollars both domestically and abroad.
During the speech for Heroic Media, a pro-life group that relies on billboards, television ads and the Internet, Palin touched on the typical personal topics she does in many of her stump speeches, such as the birth of her mentally disabled son Trig.
Palin also said the experience of having a daughter with a teenage pregnancy helped strengthen her own pro-life views.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Palin criticizes Obama, Fla. gov on abortion" by Brendan Farrington, Associated Press 8/27/10
Sarah Palin called President Barack Obama the most pro-abortion president ever Thursday and mocked Florida's governor for claiming to be pro-life after vetoing a bill that would have required women to get ultrasounds before having the procedure.
"Unfortunately your Republican governor," Palin began before pausing. "I don't know if he wants to be one or is a Republican anymore."
After the crowd booed, she continued.
"Your governor, he decided to veto this pro-life bill," she said before drawing laughs by sarcastically pointing out that Crist still calls himself pro-life. "He forgot that when [it] comes protecting the sanctity of life actions speak louder than words."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sarah Palin Says Obama Most Pro-Abortion President, Bashes Charlie Crist" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 8/27/10
Palin said the ObamaCare health care plan Obama and his Democratic allies passed would lead to more abortions because of abortion funding it contains.
"The biggest advance of the abortion industry in America is the passage of Obamacare," Palin said, according to an AP report. "Elective abortions have nothing to do with health care. It's about ending lives, not saving lives."
Obama, by many accounts, has become the most aggressive president in promoting the pro-abortion agenda and he has compiled a lengthy record funding abortions with taxpayer dollars both domestically and abroad.
During the speech for Heroic Media, a pro-life group that relies on billboards, television ads and the Internet, Palin touched on the typical personal topics she does in many of her stump speeches, such as the birth of her mentally disabled son Trig.
Palin also said the experience of having a daughter with a teenage pregnancy helped strengthen her own pro-life views.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Christians Flood D.C. to Restore America
Perhaps a million Americans gathered in the mall for an event the mainstream media barely mentioned in advance. Talk show host Glenn Beck led what might be called the largest worship service in Washington D.C. for many years.
Only extended video of the speakers can portray the essence (see bottom); accounts by the mainstream media do not cover the Judeo-Christian nature of the event.
-- From "Beck, Palin tell thousands to 'restore America'" by Philip Rucker, Amy Goldstein and Krissah Thompson, Washington Post 8/28/10
A sea of people rallied on the hallowed steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday as conservative commentator Glenn Beck and other heroes of the "tea party" movement honored Americans serving in the military and delivered stirring calls to turn the nation back to God and to protect the traditional values that they said make the country exceptional.
Claiming the legacy of the nation's Founding Fathers and repeatedly evoking civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., Beck, Sarah Palin and other speakers at the "Restoring Honor" rally exhorted a sprawling and overwhelmingly white crowd to concentrate not on the history that has scarred the nation but instead on what makes it "good."
Beck's rally has been billed as a peaceful and non-political "re-dedication" of the traditional honor and values of the nation. Beck, a Fox News host, has developed a national following by assailing President Obama and Democrats, and he warned Saturday that "our children could be slaves to debt." But he insisted that the rally "has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with God, turning our faith back to the values and principles that made us great."
King's niece Alveda King addressed Beck's rally with a plea for prayer "in the public squares of America and in our schools." Referencing her "Uncle Martin," King called for national unity by repeatedly declaring "I have a dream."
A dense assembly, which contained few young people, stretched from the Lincoln Memorial past the reflecting pool to the World War II Memorial and spilled onto the grounds of the Washington Monument. The crowd was not visibly angry. Rather, people said they had come to express their fear that the country is at a perilous moment.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "In Washington, a Call for Religious Rebirth" by Kate Zernike And Carl Hulse, New York Times 8/28/10
. . . while Tea Party activists and other conservatives have generally focused on fiscal issues and steered clear of social themes this year, Mr. Beck, in speeches Friday and Saturday, imbued his remarks with references to God and a need for a religious revival.
Mr. Beck was followed by Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor. She said that she had been asked, in keeping with the theme of the day, to focus not on politics, but to speak as the mother of a soldier.
On Friday night, Mr. Beck made a surprise visit to a convention that FreedomWorks, a Tea Party umbrella group, held for its activists. He was greeted by a thunderous welcome from a crowd of about 1,600 in Constitution Hall.
Still, the political overtones were unmistakable. Several candidates addressed the Friday crowd, and people could get signs and other campaign paraphernalia for Tea Party-backed candidates.
Marco Rubio, the Republican nominee for Senate in Florida, told the crowd, via a video-taped video message, that he would fight for a balanced budget amendment. Rand Paul, the Republican nominee for Senate in Kentucky, made the same pledge, adding that he believed in term limits, and in requiring Congress, before passing any bill, to cite the specific passage in the Constitution that gives the federal government the power to enact such legislation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
To view video of the entire event (or selected speakers), CLICK HERE.
Only extended video of the speakers can portray the essence (see bottom); accounts by the mainstream media do not cover the Judeo-Christian nature of the event.
-- From "Beck, Palin tell thousands to 'restore America'" by Philip Rucker, Amy Goldstein and Krissah Thompson, Washington Post 8/28/10
A sea of people rallied on the hallowed steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday as conservative commentator Glenn Beck and other heroes of the "tea party" movement honored Americans serving in the military and delivered stirring calls to turn the nation back to God and to protect the traditional values that they said make the country exceptional.
Claiming the legacy of the nation's Founding Fathers and repeatedly evoking civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., Beck, Sarah Palin and other speakers at the "Restoring Honor" rally exhorted a sprawling and overwhelmingly white crowd to concentrate not on the history that has scarred the nation but instead on what makes it "good."
Beck's rally has been billed as a peaceful and non-political "re-dedication" of the traditional honor and values of the nation. Beck, a Fox News host, has developed a national following by assailing President Obama and Democrats, and he warned Saturday that "our children could be slaves to debt." But he insisted that the rally "has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with God, turning our faith back to the values and principles that made us great."
King's niece Alveda King addressed Beck's rally with a plea for prayer "in the public squares of America and in our schools." Referencing her "Uncle Martin," King called for national unity by repeatedly declaring "I have a dream."
A dense assembly, which contained few young people, stretched from the Lincoln Memorial past the reflecting pool to the World War II Memorial and spilled onto the grounds of the Washington Monument. The crowd was not visibly angry. Rather, people said they had come to express their fear that the country is at a perilous moment.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "In Washington, a Call for Religious Rebirth" by Kate Zernike And Carl Hulse, New York Times 8/28/10
. . . while Tea Party activists and other conservatives have generally focused on fiscal issues and steered clear of social themes this year, Mr. Beck, in speeches Friday and Saturday, imbued his remarks with references to God and a need for a religious revival.
Mr. Beck was followed by Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor. She said that she had been asked, in keeping with the theme of the day, to focus not on politics, but to speak as the mother of a soldier.
On Friday night, Mr. Beck made a surprise visit to a convention that FreedomWorks, a Tea Party umbrella group, held for its activists. He was greeted by a thunderous welcome from a crowd of about 1,600 in Constitution Hall.
Still, the political overtones were unmistakable. Several candidates addressed the Friday crowd, and people could get signs and other campaign paraphernalia for Tea Party-backed candidates.
Marco Rubio, the Republican nominee for Senate in Florida, told the crowd, via a video-taped video message, that he would fight for a balanced budget amendment. Rand Paul, the Republican nominee for Senate in Kentucky, made the same pledge, adding that he believed in term limits, and in requiring Congress, before passing any bill, to cite the specific passage in the Constitution that gives the federal government the power to enact such legislation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
To view video of the entire event (or selected speakers), CLICK HERE.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Abortionists Mock Sarah Palin's Mama Grizzlies
Pro-abortion feminist fundraising organization, EMILY's List, attacks Sara Palin's brand of feminism and candidate endorsements.
-- From "Women's groups spar on Palin" by Joseph Weber, The Washington Times 8/17/10
The 25-year-old group has launched a "Sarah Doesn't Speak for Me" interactive website on which visitors can "share personal stories ... learn the truth about Palin's endorsed candidates ... and support progressive candidates."
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the [pro-life] Susan B. Anthony List, said . . . every round of Palin criticism by liberals or the mainstream media has resulted in a surge in memberships to her group's "Team Sarah" website.
Mrs. Palin also called President Obama "the most pro-abortion president" in U.S. history and that his health care overhaul plan has resulted in a "mom-awakening," because "moms kind of know when something's wrong."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Palin claims a 'cackle of rads' has hijacked the term 'feminist'" by Elise Viebeck, The Hill 8/18/10
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) preceded her endorsement of six more female candidates Tuesday with a tweet that asked, "Who hijacked term: 'feminist'?"
She answered: "A cackle of rads who want 2 crucify other women w/whom they disagree on a singular issue; it's ironic (& passé)."
The tweet appeared to be addressing liberal women's campaign group Emily List . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Women's groups spar on Palin" by Joseph Weber, The Washington Times 8/17/10
The 25-year-old group has launched a "Sarah Doesn't Speak for Me" interactive website on which visitors can "share personal stories ... learn the truth about Palin's endorsed candidates ... and support progressive candidates."
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the [pro-life] Susan B. Anthony List, said . . . every round of Palin criticism by liberals or the mainstream media has resulted in a surge in memberships to her group's "Team Sarah" website.
Mrs. Palin also called President Obama "the most pro-abortion president" in U.S. history and that his health care overhaul plan has resulted in a "mom-awakening," because "moms kind of know when something's wrong."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Palin claims a 'cackle of rads' has hijacked the term 'feminist'" by Elise Viebeck, The Hill 8/18/10
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) preceded her endorsement of six more female candidates Tuesday with a tweet that asked, "Who hijacked term: 'feminist'?"
She answered: "A cackle of rads who want 2 crucify other women w/whom they disagree on a singular issue; it's ironic (& passé)."
The tweet appeared to be addressing liberal women's campaign group Emily List . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Conservative Feminists Crash Liberals' Party
As a field of conservative women swept recent elections across America, liberal feminists find themselves trapped by the success of equality for women -- women very much unlike themselves.-- From "Women candidates showcase new vision of feminism" by Karen Heller, Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist 6/16/10
This year, Republicans are fielding a healthy roster of women running for higher office. That's some measure of success, even if this wasn't what the movement's founders envisioned.
[Sarah] Palin has, as others have noted, repeatedly "dropped the F-bomb" - feminism. In a May speech to the Susan B. Anthony List, the right's response to Emily's List, Palin invoked "an emerging, conservative, feminist agenda," rattling old-school activists with her unwavering opposition to abortion rights, a bedrock of the conservative movement since its infancy in the 1970s.
Critics are livid, but this large field of female GOP candidates challenges the assumption that feminism only finds adherents on the left.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "No Mystique About Feminism" by Ross Douthat, New York Times 6/13/10
When historians set out to date the moment when the women’s movement of the 1970s officially consolidated its gains, they could do worse than settle on last Tuesday’s primaries.
It was a day when most of the major races featured female candidates, and all the major female candidates won. . . . Conservative Republicans endorsed by Sarah Palin, in many cases. Which generated a certain amount of angst in the liberal commentariat about What It All Meant For Feminism.
“Do you still cheer,” Slate’s Sara Libby wondered of Whitman’s and Carly Fiorina’s California victories, “if the [glass] ceiling is crashed by two conservative businesswomen?” On “Good Morning America,” Tina Brown fretted that “it almost feels as if all these women winning are kind of a blow to feminism.” Writing in The Daily Beast, Linda Hirshman declared that support for abortion rights and Obamacare were litmus tests for true feminism, as opposed to the “selfish” variety that triumphed on Tuesday.
The question of whether conservative women get to be feminists is an interesting and important one. But it has obscured a deeper truth: Whether or not Palin or Fiorina or Haley can legitimately claim the label feminist, their rise is a testament to the overall triumph of the women’s movement.
What Tuesday’s results demonstrated, convincingly, is that America is now a country where social conservatives are as comfortable as liberals with the idea of women in high office.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tea Party & Engaging The Culture War
Everyone knows that Americans rooting for the Tea Party movement tend toward the pro-life/pro-family/pro-marriage side of the hot button social issues, but establishment conservative leaders insist on coaching the Tea Party to steer clear to avoid typical liberal criticism, such as the first article below.
On the other hand, there's Congressman Mike Pence who disagrees, saying the movement is about "going back to the source of our greatness, which is our character, our faith, our belief in limited government.”
-- From "Culture war rages on in 2010 election, with female soldiers" by Susan Jacoby, posted at Washington Post 6/13/10
Ramesh Ponnuru, a senior editor at National Review, hailed this election as the year of the pro-life woman. "These women will make it easier for pro-lifers to discuss the issue in the terms we want to discuss it," she writes, "as a plea for justice for a vulnerable group."
. . . Mainstream journalists have taken great pains over the past year to distinguish between the Christian right and the Tea Party . . . though, there is a huge overlap between the Christian right and the tea party movement, between the Republican Party and the Tea Party. One of the signature achievements of the Christian right over the past 30 years has been to meld traditional anti-tax and anti-government positions with support for government intervention on behalf of the morality articulated by conservative Christians.
. . . Sarah Palin, the Tea Party's Red Queen, is the personification of the two strands in right-wing thought and politics.
. . . Born-again right-wing women like [former HP CEO, and now GOP Senate candidate from California, Carly] Fiorina, who was actually born in 1954, and Palin, born in 1964, are just young enough to have benefited from all of the opportunities that the feminist movement fought so hard to open to all women in the 1970s, without having had to contribute anything. The anti-government ideology of these women is particularly hypocritical, since they would be nowhere without the anti-sex discrimination laws that opened doors in education, employment and business to women of their generations.
. . . These right-wing women politicians are anti-feminists who have benefited personally from feminism. Now they are allying themselves with the Good Old Boys of right-wing religion and right-wing economics and calling themselves pro-life and "free market" feminists. And right-wing male blowhards, whose mouths are more accustomed to saying "feminazi" than "feminist," are eager to anoint these women as standbearers for the cause of Bible-based government intervention in Americans' private lives and government neglect of the public good.
Those atheists who are also libertarian conservatives ought to think about everything inside the package if they like the glittery anti-government wrapping enveloping Tea Party/Republican candidates this year. Whether that candidate has an XX or an XY chromosomal structure, he or she is equally beholden to people who want to make their morality the law of the land. These women, like their male counterparts, are opportunists with no shame. Let's give them a big shout-out for defining equal opportunity down!
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Tea Party Movement Shouldn't Focus Only on Fiscal Conservatism, It’s Also About Traditional Morality, Congressman Says" by Penny Starr, CNSNews Senior Staff Writer 6/17/10
The Tea Party movement and its grassroots political activists are defined by loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, limited government and individual liberty -- not social issues such as abortion. That's what one analyst argued at a gathering of conservatives in Washington on Wednesday.
Journalist and author Jonah Goldberg said the movement should avoid cultural issues such as abortion if it is to have continued success.
A conservative congressman, however, disagreed.
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the chairman of the House Republican Conference, said people are also drawn to the Tea Party movement because it embraces traditional American morality, including the sanctity of life and the traditional definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
“One last thought to leave you with,” Pence said in his concluding remarks: “This is something I’ve said around the country at many Tea Party gatherings and grassroots gatherings. And it needs to be said, and that is, that what’s animating this authentic American movement is that our present crisis is not just economic and fiscal. It’s moral in nature.
“At the root of these times, I believe there are millions of Americans who see, in Washington, D.C., and on Wall Street, people in positions of authority walking away from the timeless principles of honesty, integrity, an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay,” Pence said.
“I’ve talked to people in this movement that our leaders need to recognize that public policy alone will not cure what ails this country,” Pence said. “It’s going to take public virtue and a return to the institutions that nourish the character of the nation and reaffirm our commitment to the sanctity of life, the sanctity of traditional marriage, and to the importance of religion in every day life is also quietly central to this movement around the country.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
On the other hand, there's Congressman Mike Pence who disagrees, saying the movement is about "going back to the source of our greatness, which is our character, our faith, our belief in limited government.”
-- From "Culture war rages on in 2010 election, with female soldiers" by Susan Jacoby, posted at Washington Post 6/13/10
Ramesh Ponnuru, a senior editor at National Review, hailed this election as the year of the pro-life woman. "These women will make it easier for pro-lifers to discuss the issue in the terms we want to discuss it," she writes, "as a plea for justice for a vulnerable group."
. . . Mainstream journalists have taken great pains over the past year to distinguish between the Christian right and the Tea Party . . . though, there is a huge overlap between the Christian right and the tea party movement, between the Republican Party and the Tea Party. One of the signature achievements of the Christian right over the past 30 years has been to meld traditional anti-tax and anti-government positions with support for government intervention on behalf of the morality articulated by conservative Christians.
. . . Sarah Palin, the Tea Party's Red Queen, is the personification of the two strands in right-wing thought and politics.
. . . Born-again right-wing women like [former HP CEO, and now GOP Senate candidate from California, Carly] Fiorina, who was actually born in 1954, and Palin, born in 1964, are just young enough to have benefited from all of the opportunities that the feminist movement fought so hard to open to all women in the 1970s, without having had to contribute anything. The anti-government ideology of these women is particularly hypocritical, since they would be nowhere without the anti-sex discrimination laws that opened doors in education, employment and business to women of their generations.
. . . These right-wing women politicians are anti-feminists who have benefited personally from feminism. Now they are allying themselves with the Good Old Boys of right-wing religion and right-wing economics and calling themselves pro-life and "free market" feminists. And right-wing male blowhards, whose mouths are more accustomed to saying "feminazi" than "feminist," are eager to anoint these women as standbearers for the cause of Bible-based government intervention in Americans' private lives and government neglect of the public good.
Those atheists who are also libertarian conservatives ought to think about everything inside the package if they like the glittery anti-government wrapping enveloping Tea Party/Republican candidates this year. Whether that candidate has an XX or an XY chromosomal structure, he or she is equally beholden to people who want to make their morality the law of the land. These women, like their male counterparts, are opportunists with no shame. Let's give them a big shout-out for defining equal opportunity down!
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Tea Party Movement Shouldn't Focus Only on Fiscal Conservatism, It’s Also About Traditional Morality, Congressman Says" by Penny Starr, CNSNews Senior Staff Writer 6/17/10
The Tea Party movement and its grassroots political activists are defined by loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, limited government and individual liberty -- not social issues such as abortion. That's what one analyst argued at a gathering of conservatives in Washington on Wednesday.
Journalist and author Jonah Goldberg said the movement should avoid cultural issues such as abortion if it is to have continued success.
A conservative congressman, however, disagreed.
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the chairman of the House Republican Conference, said people are also drawn to the Tea Party movement because it embraces traditional American morality, including the sanctity of life and the traditional definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
“One last thought to leave you with,” Pence said in his concluding remarks: “This is something I’ve said around the country at many Tea Party gatherings and grassroots gatherings. And it needs to be said, and that is, that what’s animating this authentic American movement is that our present crisis is not just economic and fiscal. It’s moral in nature.
“At the root of these times, I believe there are millions of Americans who see, in Washington, D.C., and on Wall Street, people in positions of authority walking away from the timeless principles of honesty, integrity, an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay,” Pence said.
“I’ve talked to people in this movement that our leaders need to recognize that public policy alone will not cure what ails this country,” Pence said. “It’s going to take public virtue and a return to the institutions that nourish the character of the nation and reaffirm our commitment to the sanctity of life, the sanctity of traditional marriage, and to the importance of religion in every day life is also quietly central to this movement around the country.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sarah Palin Redefines Feminism -- it's Christian: Newsweek Magazine
“You hate to say it, but mainstream feminism has had an antireligious bias for a really long time.”
To white evangelical women, Sarah Palin is a modern-day prophet, preaching God, flag, and family—while remaking the religious right in her own image.
UPDATE 6/15/10: Article author Lisa Miller interview
-- From "Saint Sarah" by Lisa Miller, Newsweek 6/11/10
To millions of women, Palin’s authenticity makes her a sister in arms—“Sisters!” she called out in Washington, as if at a revival—a beautiful, fearless, principled fighter who shares their struggles. To a smaller number, she is a prophet, ordained by God for a special role in the cosmic battle against the forces of evil. A 2009 profile in the Christian magazine Charisma compared Palin to the Old Testament’s Queen Esther, who saved her people, in this case the Jews, from annihilation.
Palin has been antagonizing women on the left of late by describing herself as a “feminist,” a word she uses to mean the righteous, Mama Bear anger that wells up when one of her children is attacked in the press or her values are brought into question. But while leftist critics continue to shred Palin as a cynical, shallow, ill-informed opportunist, and new polls show her unpopularity rating to be at an all-time high—53 percent—Palin is now playing to her strengths. Even if she never again seeks elected office, her pro-woman rallying cry, articulated in the evangelical vernacular, together with the potent pro-life example of her own family, puts Palin in a position to reshape and reinvigorate the religious right, one of the most powerful forces in American politics. The Christian right is now poised to become a women’s movement—and Sarah Palin is its earthy Jerry Falwell.
With her new faith-based message, Palin gathers up the Christian women that traditional feminism has left behind. . . . Hers is a “mom of faith” movement, a “mom uprising.”
. . . The women who follow Palin will fight against Roe—and support adoption and prenatal health clinics—but they aren't generally focused on birth control, sex education, or gender discrimination. They shrug at the agonies of the overeducated moms who feel forced to choose between work and family (no one had to do that on the farm), and they refute the idea that to succeed in the world a woman must look and act like a man.
. . . These [female] Christians seek a power that allows them to formally acquiesce to male authority and conservative theology, even as they assume increasingly visible roles in their families, their churches, their communities, and the world.
. . . Christian women have long puzzled in their Bible study groups over how she does it, and in Palin they finally have an example—not just for themselves, but for their daughters.
. . . Public Christian prayer makes many Americans squeamish, but in evangelical circles it is the air they breathe. Christian women pray for each other, their families, and their leaders, not just in church but in casual groups, online, and in private all the time.
To read this entire account of a Christian woman, seemingly written by an outsider, CLICK HERE.
To white evangelical women, Sarah Palin is a modern-day prophet, preaching God, flag, and family—while remaking the religious right in her own image.
UPDATE 6/15/10: Article author Lisa Miller interview
-- From "Saint Sarah" by Lisa Miller, Newsweek 6/11/10
To millions of women, Palin’s authenticity makes her a sister in arms—“Sisters!” she called out in Washington, as if at a revival—a beautiful, fearless, principled fighter who shares their struggles. To a smaller number, she is a prophet, ordained by God for a special role in the cosmic battle against the forces of evil. A 2009 profile in the Christian magazine Charisma compared Palin to the Old Testament’s Queen Esther, who saved her people, in this case the Jews, from annihilation.
Palin has been antagonizing women on the left of late by describing herself as a “feminist,” a word she uses to mean the righteous, Mama Bear anger that wells up when one of her children is attacked in the press or her values are brought into question. But while leftist critics continue to shred Palin as a cynical, shallow, ill-informed opportunist, and new polls show her unpopularity rating to be at an all-time high—53 percent—Palin is now playing to her strengths. Even if she never again seeks elected office, her pro-woman rallying cry, articulated in the evangelical vernacular, together with the potent pro-life example of her own family, puts Palin in a position to reshape and reinvigorate the religious right, one of the most powerful forces in American politics. The Christian right is now poised to become a women’s movement—and Sarah Palin is its earthy Jerry Falwell.
With her new faith-based message, Palin gathers up the Christian women that traditional feminism has left behind. . . . Hers is a “mom of faith” movement, a “mom uprising.”
. . . The women who follow Palin will fight against Roe—and support adoption and prenatal health clinics—but they aren't generally focused on birth control, sex education, or gender discrimination. They shrug at the agonies of the overeducated moms who feel forced to choose between work and family (no one had to do that on the farm), and they refute the idea that to succeed in the world a woman must look and act like a man.
. . . These [female] Christians seek a power that allows them to formally acquiesce to male authority and conservative theology, even as they assume increasingly visible roles in their families, their churches, their communities, and the world.
. . . Christian women have long puzzled in their Bible study groups over how she does it, and in Palin they finally have an example—not just for themselves, but for their daughters.
. . . Public Christian prayer makes many Americans squeamish, but in evangelical circles it is the air they breathe. Christian women pray for each other, their families, and their leaders, not just in church but in casual groups, online, and in private all the time.
To read this entire account of a Christian woman, seemingly written by an outsider, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
ABC News Goes Anti-Palin & Anti-Christian re: American History
Everywhere you look, the mainstream media ignorantly repeats the liberal talking points recently heard in the Texas school textbook controversy. Here's today's ABC News report; below is a rebuttal to Chicago Tribune bias.
-- From "Sarah Palin's 'Christian Nation' Remarks Spark Debate" by Teddy Davis And Matt Loffman, ABC News 4/20/10
Is America a Christian nation?
Sarah Palin said on Friday that it's "mind-boggling" to suggest otherwise.
Palin spoke Friday evening to 16,000 evangelical Christian women at the Women of Joy conference in Louisville, Ky. Speaking about the separation of church and state, Palin said that the founding fathers of the United States were "true believers" and that George Washington "saw faith in God as basic to life."
But two groups dedicated to the separation of church and state are now speaking out against her, arguing that she is misreading the founders' intent.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. history includes our faith" by Laurie Higgins, Illinois Family Institute, writing in Chicago Tribune 4/8/10
University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone recently wrote an op-ed titled "The crazy imaginings of the Texas Board of Education," which sought to warn an unsuspecting America that there is "a coterie of Christian evangelicals who are attempting to infiltrate our educational system to brainwash our youth." His fretful missive was prompted by the Texas Board of Education's efforts to restore balance to the teaching of American history after decades of successful "progressive" efforts to erase from history and the minds of children the place of Christianity in the founding of America.
The Chicago Tribune decided to publish this piece on Easter. I can only ask: Really — on Easter Sunday?
It has become so commonplace to read denigrating comments about Christians that the offensiveness of such comments barely registers on our tolerance meters.
Stone's apparent concern for historical accuracy might be more credible had he included these quotations:
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Sarah Palin's 'Christian Nation' Remarks Spark Debate" by Teddy Davis And Matt Loffman, ABC News 4/20/10
Is America a Christian nation?
Sarah Palin said on Friday that it's "mind-boggling" to suggest otherwise.
Palin spoke Friday evening to 16,000 evangelical Christian women at the Women of Joy conference in Louisville, Ky. Speaking about the separation of church and state, Palin said that the founding fathers of the United States were "true believers" and that George Washington "saw faith in God as basic to life."
But two groups dedicated to the separation of church and state are now speaking out against her, arguing that she is misreading the founders' intent.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. history includes our faith" by Laurie Higgins, Illinois Family Institute, writing in Chicago Tribune 4/8/10
University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone recently wrote an op-ed titled "The crazy imaginings of the Texas Board of Education," which sought to warn an unsuspecting America that there is "a coterie of Christian evangelicals who are attempting to infiltrate our educational system to brainwash our youth." His fretful missive was prompted by the Texas Board of Education's efforts to restore balance to the teaching of American history after decades of successful "progressive" efforts to erase from history and the minds of children the place of Christianity in the founding of America.
The Chicago Tribune decided to publish this piece on Easter. I can only ask: Really — on Easter Sunday?
It has become so commonplace to read denigrating comments about Christians that the offensiveness of such comments barely registers on our tolerance meters.
Stone's apparent concern for historical accuracy might be more credible had he included these quotations:
"The fundamental truths reported in the four gospels as from the lips of Jesus Christ … are settled and fixed moral precepts with me."— Abraham Lincoln
— John Jay, co-author of the Federalist Papers; first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
"Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian Nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers. "
— Benjamin Franklin
"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proof I see of this truth that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it.' I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Media Dismiss the Divine Regarding Sarah Palin
News analyst posits: Either Sarah Palin is lucky, she's savvy, or she's been blessed by God.News analyst conclusion: Since it can't be about God, it must be luck.
-- From "Is Sarah Palin Lucky or Savvy?" by Marc Ambinder, CBS News 2/11/10
How is it best to interpret Sarah Palin's re-emergence onto the political scene -- and its implication for the 2012 presidential race?
Palin herself has said she is following the blueprint that God has laid down for her; her political pathway is being lit by lamps supplied by the divine. Interpreting the diety is above my pay grade, so we're left with asking whether Palin is lucky -- in which case she will find herself in a precarious position when the hard campaigning really starts -- or she is savvy, in which case she has a chance to win the Republican nomination.
The case for luck is simple: the tea-party movement happens to the slice of the American electorate that she talks to -- middle-to-lower class white exurbanites over the age of 30. Folks who feel economic dislocation and blame it on intrusion, either by immigrants, diversity or Washington; folks who distrust elite wisdom and are attracted to people who like to spit in the eye of people who condescend to them.
Given how clear Palin's message is – Obama & Washington = bad / your values = good, and given how fascinated the whole country is with her -- anything she says is going to receive significant attention. The flame burns white hot now -- and the argument from luck suggests that Palin is at the apex of her power.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Palin's Special Child Threatens Abortionists
. . . her decision to carry to term her Down syndrome child established a special relationship with anti-abortion activists, and now . . . the leading figure of the anti-abortion movement.
-- From "Palin, anti-abortion star" by Ben Smith, Politico 12/4/09
. . . the most striking evidence of her son’s impact has been Palin’s book tour promoting her memoir, “Going Rogue.” As she descends from her tour bus or private jet to meet her fans, 19-month-old Trig has been a conspicuous presence — and generated a huge response. “There’s a lot of people who come through the line to see Trig instead of to see her,” says Jason Recher, a campaign aide who remained close to Palin and is now accompanying her on her book tour.
And those people, says Greg Mueller, a veteran anti-abortion political operative and former spokesman for Pat Buchanan, are getting a powerful message. “She’s going out there as a pro-life woman to say that there’s great joy in special-needs kids — and that we shouldn’t be aborting them.”
Though the anti-abortion movement remains strong and deeply rooted on the right, the recent conservative resurgence has been driven by anti-government sentiment — not by the abortion battle. Palin’s own ability to infuriate and delight often has more to do with her notions of patriotism and her views of the White House than with her place in the abortion wars. But Trig is part of what makes Palin so singular among conservative leaders.
Palin’s increased focus on abortion rights, an aide said, was driven by the passionate response to Trig during the final days of John McCain's presidential campaign.
[Abortionists'] antipathy to her is based on the belief that she should have had an abortion rather than bearing her son.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Palin, anti-abortion star" by Ben Smith, Politico 12/4/09
. . . the most striking evidence of her son’s impact has been Palin’s book tour promoting her memoir, “Going Rogue.” As she descends from her tour bus or private jet to meet her fans, 19-month-old Trig has been a conspicuous presence — and generated a huge response. “There’s a lot of people who come through the line to see Trig instead of to see her,” says Jason Recher, a campaign aide who remained close to Palin and is now accompanying her on her book tour.
And those people, says Greg Mueller, a veteran anti-abortion political operative and former spokesman for Pat Buchanan, are getting a powerful message. “She’s going out there as a pro-life woman to say that there’s great joy in special-needs kids — and that we shouldn’t be aborting them.”
Though the anti-abortion movement remains strong and deeply rooted on the right, the recent conservative resurgence has been driven by anti-government sentiment — not by the abortion battle. Palin’s own ability to infuriate and delight often has more to do with her notions of patriotism and her views of the White House than with her place in the abortion wars. But Trig is part of what makes Palin so singular among conservative leaders.
Palin’s increased focus on abortion rights, an aide said, was driven by the passionate response to Trig during the final days of John McCain's presidential campaign.
[Abortionists'] antipathy to her is based on the belief that she should have had an abortion rather than bearing her son.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
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