New Stanek WND column, “Behind the scenes at FRC Briefing”
Saturday I attended a private meeting of conservative leaders during the Family Research Council Washington Briefing, a Salt Lake City II if you will, to discuss dilemmas we face with the 2008 presidential candidates.
Instructions were given not to speak to the media, and since I am the media, I took that to mean details discussed were off-the-record and, of course, I’ll honor that.
But speaking in generalities, two dilemmas were hashed….
Which Republican primary candidate should pro-lifers rally behind? What if Rudy Giuliani ends up the nominee?
Generalized outcomes of the meeting:Most in the room supported Mike Huckabee. A few important figures supported
Duncan Hunter.For many well-researched reasons, third-party chatter was laid to rest. It doesn’t seem Mitt Romney will be able to surmount the Mormon and flip-flop obstacles among pro-life leaders, at least in the primary. Giuliani was still anathema to everyone, despite his commendable attempt to reach out by speaking at the Briefing….
But what if conservatives cannot rally around one candidate, therefore dividing their vote, and winning Giuliani the primary? What if pro-lifers are faced with choosing between him or Hillary in the general?…
Continue reading my column today, “Behind the scenes at FRC Briefing,” on WorldNetDaily.com.
Oct.24, 2007 7:02 am |
Stanek columns |
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Sadly, this election is between Hitlery and the not-Hitlery… simple as that! The GOPer, in spite of the “warts”… who emerges as the nominee, will have my vote.
To paraphrase Forrest Gump… “stupid is as stupid does”… Hitlery knows she cannot win (50% negatives!) without a Ross Perot type third party candidate… how ironic if “values voters” throw their votes into a third party sewer… and elect, by default, the Hildebeast! Geez!!!! Was ANYTHING learned from ’92 & ’96???????
P.S. I would not be a bit surprised if the 3rd party candidate got lots of Chinese contributions!!!
Many were disappointed that the SCHIP expansion failed. Some say it was “welfare” for the middle class.
How do we feel about “welfare” for the wealthy?
Democrat controlled congress looks like it will approve over $100 billion in corporate welfare, exceeding the $92 billion of the last GOP controlled congress.This includes $500,000 towards a new Reds Stadium and $87 billion a year for agribusiness. Two thirds goes to the richest 10% of agribusiness. $1.4 billion to buy excess sugar equal to that imported from Mexico. And yes, there is much, much more!
Where is the “liberal” media?
According to Roll Call in the first half of 2007 business lobbyists gave “all or most of their cash to Democrat candidates”
“They’re getting their money’s worth.”
Wall Street Journal Tues,Oct 23 p.A18
RedNeck, if you think Hillary Clinton should be compared with Adolph Hitler, then you need to go do some reading and learn more about Adolph Hitler. Otherwise, quit it. Referring to her at “Hitler” only makes you look stupid and defeats your arguments before you get started.
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12205
Quin Hilyer has a solid piece on the deeply flawed Governor Huckabee, which follows a similar critique last week on his economic policies. He’s a RINO whose favorite weaknesses include open borders, tax increases, personal corruption, socialized health care.
He’s basically a pro-life Hillary. Sorry, there is more than one issue in a Presidential race.
“Sorry, there is more than one issue in a Presidential race.”
When one of the issues is whether or not you can kill people, then no, there is only one issue. God love you, Jerry.
Bobby, I agree.
I would support Hillary if she were prolife.
Jerry is correct RedNecko! IMHO, Ms. Clinton has far more in common with Al Capone/John Gotti than Hitler or Stalin! Of course understand it’s perfectly OK to call Pres. Bush Hitler!
Care bear,
I don’t hate Bush, I really don’t. He has helped the prolife movement. He really has and that is great.
However his tax cuts are too much.
If you have $100 million do you really need to save $2million on your taxes? If you have $2 million, does $2000 really make much difference?
Congress spends lots of money, both Reps and Dems. Since when were Reps ever against an open border? They like illegals as long as they are illegal. That way they work hard and don’t complain, business folks get rich and the Dems get blamed for the welfare spending.
His tax cuts are going to sink us, the born, the unborn, the fat, the thin, the good, the bad, the loose, the tight,…
Ron Paul
I have received many emails from Ron Paul supporters, including this one from John in response to my column today: I appreciate your contemplative remarks on this subject (presidential politics), and measured reaction (analytical vs. emotional). I thou…
I agree with Bobby. When the issue is whether or not over one million children will be killed, than it is THE issue to me.
Unfortunately, you are right in your assessment that Hillary Clinton is the “hold your nose” candidate who the Republican Party needs to “unite social conservatives”.
As for myself, I do not believe the line of succession that produced TWENTY YEARS of political rule by a Clinton or a Bush……is a political accident.
I Believe George H.W. Bush was determined not to make the same mistake as Ronald Reagan did, which was to leave in place a Vice President (himself) that could successfully succeed him in office. Instead, I believe George H.W’s selection of Dan Quayle as his Vice President was a deliberate ploy to create a political vacuum in the Republican ranks when his own political career ended. I believe he true intention was to preserve the succession of power in the Republican party for his own son.
I also believe it is no accident that George W. Bush will create a similar vacuum in the Republican ranks, because his own Vice President Dick Chaney will never seek the nomination.
This is precisely why President Bush appears so unconcerned about annoying the Republican base with policies (“comprehensive immigration reform”) or appointing numerous politicial cronies (Miers, Brown, Whitman, Gonzalez, etc. etc.) to critical positions throughout his presidency. Not one of his political appointees, especially those left in place, has used his position for political gain.
He does not care…because….the Bush family is quite willing to suffer (wait) 8 more years of a Clinton presidency…..before…..another Bush (Jeb?) is the nominee of the Republican party. Just think, TWENTY PLUS EIGHT, PLUS EIGHT AND WE WILL HAVE HAD 36 YEARS OF CLINTON BUSH RULE. (How old will Cheslea be by then?)
Trust me, after the nominee of the Republican Party is known, our president will do all he can in his remaining days to even further fracture the Republican party base supporters, either by actions taken or words spoken.
I do not blame either the Clinton or the Bush families for seeking to create political dynasties. I blame a gullible American people for allowing them to do it.
Hippie, agreed that gov’t spends money like crazy, regardless of which party is in power.
Bush’s tax cuts really are not that huge of a deal in the big picture of gov’t finances, though. We’re “sunk” in the long run, due to all that’s happened in the past, and that’d be true whether or not Bush Jr. got his tax cuts.
Doug
Here is the truth no one for Huckabee wants to talk about. If he had as wide of support you all claim he would have no problem raising the money needed to be Tier One. He hasn’t because he doesn’t.
The truth is he shouldn’t need as much support to raise the same dollars drawing from a group made up mostly of people who claim to not be tied to worldly things. Guess this is just another lie from the Huckabee side.
The fact is there is only one prize with several cadidates running for that prize. And interestingly enough there is only one candidate’s supporters trying to use threats and coersion to win the prize. I have not heard any other supporters saying “if so and so wins we will pull our support and hand the final prize to Hillary.” No. It is only the “values” people trying such dirty tactics.
Maybe that is the reason for the recent USATODAY front page article talking about the major backlash against Christianity, mainly in the 20-40 group, and the number one reason given? HYPOCRISY! And this is the perfect example.
Everyone is in the same game with the same rules. Yet it is your super-committed, worldly-things-mean-nothing-to-us, Huckabee supporters who cannot pry open their greedy fingers to support their Values Candidate.
The truth is everyone not in the Huckabee cheering section clearly sees the hypocrisy in this group.
Mike, your thoughts are valid re: penny-pinching Huckabee supporters.
To clarify, I’m not a Huckabee supporter, per se. I just reported in my column what I observed at the FRC Briefing.
By per se I mean if he were to win the nomination, I would support him.
Doug,
The economists felt the Bush tax cuts were particularly poorly timed. They came at a time when we really needed to go the other direction. The war in Iraq is the other major fund drain.
The tax cuts combined with the war are about $1 trillion.
Before that we were 2 trillion in the hole, now we are almost $9 trillion in the hole. So of course the tax cuts are not all of it.
I’m not a practicing Christian anymore and maybe shouldn’t ask. but wasn’t aggressive, corporate prayer and fasting discussed at your meeting?
From my days “in the fold” I remember that prayer is the strongest weapon a Christian has.
Corporate prayer (ala Jonah and Nineveh) has the greatest benefit. I was always frustrated by prayer for our country being proclaimed after the elections. AFTER! Insanity.
This particularly distressed me in the 90s. I knew the Bible well enough then to know that bj was cursing the LORD in his state of the union messages. I had read articles from a former high satanist priest, that those official national messages were carefully scripted and a satanist could recognize the imprecations. I thought that a little extereme until I recognized it myself.
Haven’t you researched Molech? Abortion is a religious sacrifice for [satan]. That blood is important to [satan] to keep our country in the mess it is in. Notice the confusion and rage. Mother Theresa discussed this in front of the pair, if I remember correctly.
We really need judgment. I realized this not too long before I fell out of favor. (I was too much into James 1, and probably too proud.)
I was watching a program on the Cuban missile crisis, and thought, “Oh, how I wish we had gone through that then. We would be in so much better condition today.” I think there is Scripture that backs this up, but I don’t remember the references.
I certainly sympathize with wanting pray to avert a crisis. I’ve done myself. But, sometimes
its better to get the discipline over with so our children can have a better life. I’m not talking about the “judgment” of poor leadership. I’m talking events like California burning. (Though, unless it brings repentance, it may be wasted.)
Also, why does no one ever talk about repentance for our country for allowing ourselves to be set up as an idol breaking the very first commandment. Ever since World War II, at least, maybe before, we have been looked to as the
savior. This was and is bad, BAD. We should have shouted, “No! No, we are a nation set up as an instrument of the LORD God. Please, please look to Him!”
This is the exact sin that has drained our treasury, now making us the tail and not the head, the borrower and not the lender.
We can’t allow h to lead our country, it will only heap on more judgment stored up for us. Not all our Presidents have been born again. I frankly don’t believe Bush is. (And why the slavish overlooking some grievous things he has done, such as to Israel. Aaron Klein could tell you about that.)
Huckabee has some deep flaws as well. Please look carefully at his record. I think any of the candidates, except Guiliani, would perform acceptably in office, at least during the first term. Christian pressure is what got us good Supreme Court justices, not deep personal conviction.
Again, my point, only, ONLY corporate prayer, ASAP and nonstop, is the answer to this dilemma.
PS. I know I have no standing, but for years I read the Bible twice a year, the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs four times a year. This is why I remember some of this. That imprecation I mentioned is from somewhere in Isaiah, where leaders figuratively spit in God’s face saying something like, “You destroy our sycamores and we will put up cedars.” I was aghast when this was said. We’re in deep doo, doo. We really are.
Mike,
you wrote
Everyone is in the same game with the same rules. Yet it is your super-committed, worldly-things-mean-nothing-to-us, Huckabee supporters who cannot pry open their greedy fingers to support their Values Candidate.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I think that some candidates benefit more from what is called the bandwagon effect. The rich get richer.People are more likely to support someone who is already leading.
The GOP field is not structured exactly like the DEM field.
Huckabee, I saw somewhere worked with a 90% democratic legislature which did a lot of good things for his state, I think Columbia (?) gave Arkansas an award for reducing child poverty the most of any state.
I wouldn’t call cooperating with DEMs to help kids hypocrisy.
I call it great.
But hey, I am a liberal.
GREAT article as always. Ironically, hubby and I were talking about this very thing last night over dinner. IF it were left that Gulianni and Hillary are the two candidates, what in the world does one do? Not vote?
You know from many of your Catholic friends that there are 5 non-negotiable issues that we can not faulter from. We CAN chose the lesser of the two evils. But what if the evils are equivelant? Do we then look at the other issues? Taxes, economics, education, etc.
Im hoping Fr Tom or Fr Frank address this because I know I am at a total loss as to how in the world I would apply the non-negotiables to two candidates that are equally ANTI-life. I mean do we know for sure which one would do LESS harm? I pray that others too are asking these same questions.
We are seeing now at the Federal level what we all fought in Illinois several years ago when it came to the governors race and for Sen. Fitzgerald’s seat. Haven’t we learned our lesson that it’s better to unite rather than divide? I can’t for the life of me understand why we are repeating the errors over again because Pro-life Organizations – whether they be Christian, Catholic or Jewish – can not stay on the same sheet of music. Again, we are all pinning against one another and where will it get us? The same place it got us in Illinois. More division. When will it end.
PS: We are expecting our 8th in June. We had our 7th son this past February. I do hope this is a girl… lol
It was not an award, just a report. Sorry, my mistake.
ARKids First program: record decreases in uninsured
We led the nation in the percentage decrease of uninsured citizens, in large part because of the passage four years ago of the ARKids First program, which is one of the nation
“PS: We are expecting our 8th in June. We had our 7th son this past February. I do hope this is a girl… lol”
Oh, Yvonne, amen, praise the Lord now and forever! Wonderful, wonderful. Are you going to find out the sex during the ultrasound? God love you and your family.
Things look bad, eh? I have been very disappointed at how President Bush has turned out. I voted for him in both elections, but as things are, I sometimes wonder how things would have turned out if one of “the other guys” had been elected. I think about how Clinton’s elections rallied the Conservatives, and how so many of us were lulled into a false sense of security by Bush.
From the get-go I knew G.W. was less than ideal, but fell into the trap that “a vote for a third-party candidate was a vote for Gore/Kerry.” One person I debated this with pointed out that a lesser of two evils is still evil. I think back of stories of heros in the Bible who stayed true to principle, even if it meant that things took a turn for the worse – and things wouldn’t always right themselves in the end, like in a Disney movie.
I think I’m with James Dobson on this one. If Giuliani were to get the GOP nomination, I would feel forced to “throw away my vote” on some third-party candidate who is pro-life and a strict constitutionist. I suppose that if Mike Huchabee were to be nominated, I could support him with some reservation – he seems unclear on some points of the Constitution. But I need to vote pro-life, even if it means that a hard-core pro-abortion president gets elected.
God help us next year.
Regarding your report of the 24th in WND, I have to wonder why Ron Paul seems to be being ignored by almost all of the conservative power brokers.
He is a 10 term congressman who has always voted and stood unequivocally pro-life, and is for ALL of the things conservatives and Christians believe that governing officials should/should not do.
His only point of disagreement with some is that he is against the Bibilcally unjustifiable war in Irag, which now has 70% of the public against it also.
He has $7 million of funding raised by grassroots efforts so far.
Yet with all this, his name is virtually ignored, even by reporting of such events as this one. You would do the public justice to
report his values and statements with respect to the pro-life issue. His website is http://www.ronpaul2008.com. The issues statements
can easily be found. Please do your part to make the issue of the Republican nomination a fair one. Thank you.
I agree that we face a big dilemma in the upcoming election.
I wrote a “letter to the editor” at WND when James Dobson came out with his position. I like James a lot and admire his courage. I agree with most of his stance, but holding out for a third party this late in the game would be like the way Ross Perot divided the votes propelling Wild Bill Clinton into the White House. There is no way he could have won on his own.
I mentioned how the conservatives need to find one of the current runners that most closely meets our wishes and back him to the hilt because a division would put miss Hillary into the White House, and she would probably sign FOCA into law first thing.
In my opinion not voting for the Republican nominee (hopefully one we want) would accomplish the very thing we are trying to avoid. Once FOCA becomes law it would not be changed, and we could really hang our heads in shame as everything accomplished since 1973 will be done away with.
It kind of reminds me of a Swedish saying that I heard; da furder ahead we go, da furder behinder we get.
Even though “he was given power to make war against the saints,” continue and be strengthened because lawlessness gets defeated.
P.S. My letter wasn’t published.
Don’t give up on a third party candidate. What happens if Huckabee does not win the nomination?
The Republican Party is toast now, they and apparently your group don’t see this. The only answer is a complete new beginning. The Consitutional Party is viable.. Y’all need to review and consider this avenue, not try to drive a broken down wagon with an old worn out horse.
I’m voting for whoever the Constitutional Party candidate is, or write Huckabee’s name in if there is none.
But I will not vote Republican… not anymore… and I have been voting for them since ’72. But now I am done with their broken promises and lies.
Great article today.
I for one have been praying for some time. I agree with Dr. Dobson, and I wrote and told him so. I will not vote for Rudy.
We are giving Clinton way to much credit. I do NOT fear her, because she has many problems and enemies within her own party, not to speak of all those she has trampled over the years. This is a golden opportunity for those she has used and then thrown under the bus to return the favor and vote against her.
Besides, great news, God is in control, not Clinton or anyone else.
Hippie: The economists felt the Bush tax cuts were particularly poorly timed. They came at a time when we really needed to go the other direction. The war in Iraq is the other major fund drain.
“Really needed to go the other direction” has been the last 40 years. Heck, there was no turning this deal around even in the time of Bush Sr. The war and the tax cuts are not that big a portion of gov’t expenditures, really. I agree that the tax cuts were not really needed, but to lay blame on them for gov’t red ink is missing most of the cause.
……
The tax cuts combined with the war are about $1 trillion.
Before that we were 2 trillion in the hole, now we are almost $9 trillion in the hole. So of course the tax cuts are not all of it.
Those figures don’t jive with reality. The $9 billion sounds like it takes some unfunded liabilities into account, while the $2 billion does not.
Doug
Doug,
Hard as it may be for any of us to say the word trillions in relation to debt. The numbers I gave are indeed trillions.
I don’t have figures anymore. I am quoting a group of congressmen calling themselves Blue Dog Democrats. They wrote a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal. Those numbers were the numbers from the letter to the editor.
They are trillions, not billions and they don’t include future debt.
There are two former governors running. Both pretty good.
Governors have good experience as executives.
Guiliani was a major. So he has exec. experience.
The rest are senators. They have no experience actually being in charge. US president is a huge exec. job.
Do you really want someone with no exec. experience?
We haven’t elected a senator to president since 1960.
They have all been former governors for almost 50 years.
Actually Giuliani was a mayor not major.
Sorry.
Giuliani was a major mayor.