Keyes for President
October 21, 2007
Those who followed last week's "Values Voter Summit" of the Family Research Council, which had invited Republican presidential candidates to address an audience of moral conservatives, might consider this —
Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani once said, "Most of [Bill] Clinton's policies are similar to most of mine." On another occasion, he highly praised the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, and offered up a citywide proclamation honoring the infamous racist eugenicist.
As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney used his executive power to unconstitutionally and unlawfully institute gay marriage; signed into law socialized medicine, complete with taxpayer-funded abortions; presided over the thorough implementation of the radical gay agenda in the public schools; and signed a permanent "assault" weapons ban.
John McCain and Fred Thompson spearheaded passage of the so-called "campaign finance reform" which was originally known as "McCain-Feingold-Thompson," the worst-ever attack on free political speech in American history.
All of these candidates have either an outright pro-abortion position or a Stephen A. Douglas-like position that puts states' rights ahead of the God-given — and therefore unalienable — rights to life and liberty.
What does this have to do with the Family Research Council's so-called "Values Voter Summit" that just concluded in our nation's capital? FRC gave each of these candidates the use of its platform. It gave each of them a photo-op receiving a standing ovation from a crowd identified as strongly pro-life and supportive of the God-ordained natural family. Was this intended to buttress the arguments of those who claim, for instance, that Rudy Giuliani has support from moral conservatives, despite his brazenly pro-abortion, pro-gay positions?
Now, you may ask, "Didn't they have to give pro-abortion candidates a platform, in the interest of fairness and balance?" No, they did not. One of the foundational principles of our republic is the right of free association. Nothing in the law requires that an organization surrender this freedom.
And if fairness and balance were what they wanted, why did they repeatedly refuse to invite one particular candidate: Dr. Alan Keyes? For decades, Dr. Keyes has boldly and courageously fought for everything the FRC claims to represent.
The contradictions get worse.
For weeks prior to the event — in advertising, and in the radio and television pronouncements of FRC leaders — FRC claimed that all the candidates in both parties were invited. This claim was patently false, since Dr. Keyes was excluded, and yet they refused to correct it even after its untruthfulness was pointed out to them repeatedly.
Keyes staffers, seeing the claims that "all" the candidates had been invited, even the Democrats, thought perhaps an invitation for Ambassador Keyes had been lost in the mail. It could happen. So, they contacted FRC organizers just to be sure there was no misunderstanding. To their surprise, no such misplaced invitation had ever been offered. And none was ever forthcoming.
The explanation given was that the event had been planned for months, that Keyes had entered the race too late, and that no slot in the speaking schedule could possibly be found for him. A shocking claim, considering the fact that Fred Thompson entered the race barely a week before Keyes, that Rudy Giuliani confirmed his attendance only days prior to the event, and that both were given every consideration. Also, throw in the fact that a long list of little-known pundits and organizational functionaries somehow merited large blocks of time in front of the C-SPAN cameras.
The repeated claim that this was some sort of a scheduling conflict doesn't stand up to the facts. Not only was Alan Keyes not allowed to speak, but his name was also left out of the straw poll conducted in association with the event. Yet Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden, and Christopher Dodd all merited inclusion.
Now, any organization can invite whomever they wish to events they sponsor. They can list anyone they want in their straw polls. But that's not really the point. What really matters is that Christian organizations have an obligation to the truth. By claiming an invitation was extended to all candidates, while excluding Dr. Keyes, organizers of the event gave a false impression. Among those who support their organization are many admirers of Dr. Keyes, people who would be outraged to know of his exclusion. At one point on Saturday, C-SPAN erroneously displayed a list that showed Dr. Keyes as a speaker at the event on the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 19. Did the organizers intentionally provide incorrect information, again in order to give their supporters a false impression of their treatment of Dr. Keyes? God knows the answers to these questions, and in the end His judgment will surely prevail.
So, what is a principled moral conservative to do? The same thing Alan Keyes has advised all along: Ignore the self-appointed gatekeepers in the media and in the political parties. Reject the corruption of our free and open political process by those who are aiming for a preordained result, before a single sovereign citizen has even cast a ballot. Help us restore an America that is of, by, and for the people.
If you haven't signed the Pledge for America's Revival, do it today. Then keep it. Work hard to spread the word and bring others into this critically important effort. This is the only way we're going to defeat the lies, deception, and corrupt manipulation of our political process. Stand up and take your country back.
October 21, 2007
Those who followed last week's "Values Voter Summit" of the Family Research Council, which had invited Republican presidential candidates to address an audience of moral conservatives, might consider this —
Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani once said, "Most of [Bill] Clinton's policies are similar to most of mine." On another occasion, he highly praised the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, and offered up a citywide proclamation honoring the infamous racist eugenicist.
As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney used his executive power to unconstitutionally and unlawfully institute gay marriage; signed into law socialized medicine, complete with taxpayer-funded abortions; presided over the thorough implementation of the radical gay agenda in the public schools; and signed a permanent "assault" weapons ban.
John McCain and Fred Thompson spearheaded passage of the so-called "campaign finance reform" which was originally known as "McCain-Feingold-Thompson," the worst-ever attack on free political speech in American history.
All of these candidates have either an outright pro-abortion position or a Stephen A. Douglas-like position that puts states' rights ahead of the God-given — and therefore unalienable — rights to life and liberty.
What does this have to do with the Family Research Council's so-called "Values Voter Summit" that just concluded in our nation's capital? FRC gave each of these candidates the use of its platform. It gave each of them a photo-op receiving a standing ovation from a crowd identified as strongly pro-life and supportive of the God-ordained natural family. Was this intended to buttress the arguments of those who claim, for instance, that Rudy Giuliani has support from moral conservatives, despite his brazenly pro-abortion, pro-gay positions?
Now, you may ask, "Didn't they have to give pro-abortion candidates a platform, in the interest of fairness and balance?" No, they did not. One of the foundational principles of our republic is the right of free association. Nothing in the law requires that an organization surrender this freedom.
And if fairness and balance were what they wanted, why did they repeatedly refuse to invite one particular candidate: Dr. Alan Keyes? For decades, Dr. Keyes has boldly and courageously fought for everything the FRC claims to represent.
The contradictions get worse.
For weeks prior to the event — in advertising, and in the radio and television pronouncements of FRC leaders — FRC claimed that all the candidates in both parties were invited. This claim was patently false, since Dr. Keyes was excluded, and yet they refused to correct it even after its untruthfulness was pointed out to them repeatedly.
Keyes staffers, seeing the claims that "all" the candidates had been invited, even the Democrats, thought perhaps an invitation for Ambassador Keyes had been lost in the mail. It could happen. So, they contacted FRC organizers just to be sure there was no misunderstanding. To their surprise, no such misplaced invitation had ever been offered. And none was ever forthcoming.
The explanation given was that the event had been planned for months, that Keyes had entered the race too late, and that no slot in the speaking schedule could possibly be found for him. A shocking claim, considering the fact that Fred Thompson entered the race barely a week before Keyes, that Rudy Giuliani confirmed his attendance only days prior to the event, and that both were given every consideration. Also, throw in the fact that a long list of little-known pundits and organizational functionaries somehow merited large blocks of time in front of the C-SPAN cameras.
The repeated claim that this was some sort of a scheduling conflict doesn't stand up to the facts. Not only was Alan Keyes not allowed to speak, but his name was also left out of the straw poll conducted in association with the event. Yet Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden, and Christopher Dodd all merited inclusion.
Now, any organization can invite whomever they wish to events they sponsor. They can list anyone they want in their straw polls. But that's not really the point. What really matters is that Christian organizations have an obligation to the truth. By claiming an invitation was extended to all candidates, while excluding Dr. Keyes, organizers of the event gave a false impression. Among those who support their organization are many admirers of Dr. Keyes, people who would be outraged to know of his exclusion. At one point on Saturday, C-SPAN erroneously displayed a list that showed Dr. Keyes as a speaker at the event on the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 19. Did the organizers intentionally provide incorrect information, again in order to give their supporters a false impression of their treatment of Dr. Keyes? God knows the answers to these questions, and in the end His judgment will surely prevail.
So, what is a principled moral conservative to do? The same thing Alan Keyes has advised all along: Ignore the self-appointed gatekeepers in the media and in the political parties. Reject the corruption of our free and open political process by those who are aiming for a preordained result, before a single sovereign citizen has even cast a ballot. Help us restore an America that is of, by, and for the people.
If you haven't signed the Pledge for America's Revival, do it today. Then keep it. Work hard to spread the word and bring others into this critically important effort. This is the only way we're going to defeat the lies, deception, and corrupt manipulation of our political process. Stand up and take your country back.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment