The Amazing Herman Cain Money Machine

I’ve been raising funds for candidates, causes and institutions for more than 40 years.  I had the privilege of being Ronald Reagan’s fund raiser when he first ran for President in 1976.  I’ve raised money for half a dozen presidential campaigns, but my experience with the Herman Cain campaign, although it was cut short, was the most interesting and amazing program I have even participated in. 

Richard Norman worked for me for a number of years, doing a great job, first as a copywriter and account executive and later as Vice President of our creative team.  He is a smart and talented leader and when the folks at the Herman Cain campaign picked Richard to be their Finance Director, they made a very smart move.

I had talked with Herman Cain at CPAC in early February of 2011.  I told him that there were lots of candidates running, but he was the only one I wanted to raise money for.  He must have believed me because we signed a test mailing agreement with his campaign and on March 1.  Initially things moved fast.  I wrote a fund raising letter within a couple of weeks and submitted it to the campaign before the end of March.  After some delays, it went into the mail on June 6 and when the money began to pour in I knew that Herman Cain was a serious candidate indeed.  The final numbers were very similar to the results that we generated from our first mailing on behalf of Ronald Reagan.  To put it quite simply, the net revenue from just 50,000 prospects was more than $2.50 per name mailed!  It was a very exciting start to the fund raising program.

Unfortunately however, for various and sundry reasons, with the exception of some house appeals (with similarly phenomenal results) the fund raising effort moved forward very slowly.  In fact, I was about to throw in the towel until I received a call from Richard Norman in late October.  Richard, Mark Block (Cain’s campaign manager) and the candidate were about to land in Las Vegas for a Presidential Debate.  It was then that Richard informed me that he was now on the Cain campaign team as its Finance Director.  Being the gentleman that he always is, he invited me to participate in a meeting at a hotel in DC the following Friday (November 4) with the other members of the fund raising organization he was putting together.  What Richard accomplished in just one week was incredible.

Tammy Cali, President of Campaign Funding Direct, Bill Griffiths, CFO of the Eberle Communications Group, Mike Hiban, President of Omega List Company, and I planned to attend.  Unfortunately, Tammy became ill and was unable to participate.  The team that Richard assembled in such a short time was amazing for both its breadth fund raising mediums and its depth of experience.  In seven short days Richard had brought on board three telemarketing firms, one major gift organization, an expert on radio advertising, and a seasoned professional at raising funds via TV infomercials. In addition, of course, Eberle Associates as well as the Richard Norman Companyand ActiveEngagement a company run by his son, J.D. Norman, were represented.  Richard had put together a comprehensive team of fund raising professionals who were ready and willing to get up and running fast.  In fact, with marching orders from Richard, they did just that.  A short appearance at the meeting by Herman Cain simply increased the enthusiasm and determination of the entire fund raising aparatus.

Shortly thereafter serious money began rolling in to the campaign.  Rebecca Hagelin(Rebecca Hagelin Communications and Marketing) began running fund raising appeals on the Rush Limbaugh show, the Sean Hannity show, the Mark Levin Show and the Glenn Beck show that generated literally tens of thousands of donors to the Cain campaign overnight.  The live operator telemarketing efforts produced by Paul Wilson (Strategic Fundraising), and the artificial intelligence calls created by Gabe Joseph(ccAdvertising) provided similarly astounding results.  Stephen Clouse (Stephen Clouse and Associates), a pioneer in video based efforts targeting major donors was preparing a campaign and the DRTV (Direct Response TV) spots being created by Ron Guberman (Media Reactions) were in the production stage.  In one extended weekend the online effort produced by JD Norman brought in more than $1.2 million dollars.  And, as you might expect, the major donor results soared as did the direct mail efforts of the Richard Norman Company and of Eberle Associates.  By the first of December, in spite of unrelenting attacks and efforts to sidetrack the Cain Campaign, more than $13 million had been raised and the campaign was on track to bring in more than $30 million by the end of the year!

Unless something unexpected happened, Friends of Herman Cain was going to be in a position to match the other candidates dollar for dollar in spending on advertising, polling, getting people to caucuses, travel, etc.  And, contrary to the news media reports, the ground game in Iowa was better than the Romney campaign and the Perry campaign combined.  At that point, Newt had virtually nothing on the ground.  Cain was also moving up in New Hampshire and was 30 points ahead of Romney in South Carolina.

The fact is the Cain train was picking up steam and rolling down the tracks toward victory in Iowa, South Carolina and Florida.  The nomination was seemingly within Herman Cain’s grasp.  But I don’t have to tell you what happened.  You already know.

My stomach still churns when I think of the opportunity lost by Herman Cain and all his loyal supporters.  But the past is past.  Even though the Herman Cain fund raising effort was aborted before it could reach its zenith, it was an effort I’ll always remember.  My hat’s off to Richard Norman and the entire team he assembled.  My respect for Herman Cain is undiminished.  He treated his team and his vendors with respect and treated them honorably.  Commitments were met and bills were paid.  It is a good reflection on him as a man of great personal character and integrity.

“Unto Us a Child is Born…”

Are you ready for Christmas?  That’s a question you and I hear a lot this time of the year.  “I guess I’m ready” is my usual answer.  I know December 25th will soon be here.  We also hear the question asked, “What’s the real meaning of Christmas?”  The simple answer is that Christmas is about Jesus and God’s plan of salvation.  Just what is that plan?

After the fall of man, God immediately instituted his plan of salvation.  Throughout the Old Testament he reminded his followers of the coming of the Messiah.  So strong was the confidence of Adam and Eve that when she gave birth to their first son she said jubilantly, “I have gotten the man that the Lord promised” referring to the promise of the Messiah to come.  Of course, the Messiah had not yet come, but it was the promise of the Messiah that the people of the Old Testament believed in for their salvation.
Repeatedly throughout the Old Testament the prophets reminded the people of the coming of the Savior—the path that God chose for sinful, imperfect people like you and me to reach heaven.  

More than 500 years before the birth of Jesus the prophet Isaiah wrote, 

        “A child will be born to us.  A son will be given to us.  The
         government will rest on his shoulders.  He will be named: 
         Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince
         of Peace.” (9:6-7)

And then in fulfillment of that prophecy, as told in familiar Christmas story of Luke, 

        “At that time the Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the
        Roman Empire.  This was the first census taken while Quirinius
        was governor of Syria.  All the people went to register in the
        cities where their ancestors had lived.  

        So Joseph went from Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a Judean city
        called Bethlehem.  Joseph, a descendent of King David, went to
        Bethlehem because David had been born there.  Joseph went there
        to register with Mary.  She had been promised to him in marriage
        and was pregnant.

        While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her
        child.  She gave birth to her firstborn son.  She wrapped him in strips
        of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn’t any room
        for them in the inn.

        Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem.  They were taking
        turns watching their flock during the night.  An angel from the
        Lord suddenly appeared to them.  The glory of the Lord filled the
        area with light, and they were terrified.  The angel said to them,
        ‘Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill
         everyone with joy.  Today your Savior, Christ the Lord was born
        in David’s city.  This is how you will recognize him:  You will
        find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.’
        Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel.  They
        were praising God by saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
        and on earth peace to those who have his good will.’”

God sent his son for you and me so that we might have a path to heaven.  That was and is the depth of his love.  But Jesus’ role in our salvation wasn’t complete just because he was born in Bethlehem.

No, Jesus went on to live the perfect, sinless life that you and I are incapable of and then gave his life up on the cross for our sins.  And finally, the most important part, Jesus rose triumphant from the grave on Easter morning guaranteeing that you and I will rise again too if we only put our confidence and trust in Jesus.

It was and is God’s plan.  That’s what you and I celebrate at Christmas, the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s plan to take us to be with him in a perfect place where there is no anger, no hurt relationships, and no sorrow.  It’s a wonderful plan and the most amazing thing of all is that it is free, absolutely free.  All we have to do is to believe in Jesus.  Nothing else is needed.

My wife, Kathi, and I and our entire family wish you a truly joyous Christmas celebration and many, many blessings in the New Year.

Gingrich vs. Obama Early Thoughts

Guest Blog By: Mike Hiban

It’s never a given that presidential elections will be determined over policy questions.  The 20% undecided voting block that the candidates fight over can swing depending on how voters personally feel about the men that are running.  Three qualities that could be important in 2012 are personal life, intelligence and patriotism.   

The Democrats can’t believe their luck that they are getting to run against Gingrich.  “He would be the best thing to happen to the Democrats since Goldwater,” said Barney Frank in a parting shot on his way to retirement.  Remember that comment.  It’s going to become famous if Gingrich wins in a landslide.

Clearly the Democrats are looking forward to the contrast between Obama’s and Gingrich’s personal lives.  Barack Obama is a reliable family man in the Ward Cleaver/Cliff Huxtable mold. His credentials as a loyal husband and father can’t be challenged.  As a Dad he is a legend.  Despite being the most powerful man in the world, he’s dedicated enough to pitch in as assistant coach for Sasha’s basketball team.  Are you kidding me?  Never again will an American parent have an excuse for not pouring time into their children.  If Obama can do it, so can you.  Congrats, Barack, you put us all to shame.

The president needs to have his likeness chiseled on the Mount Rushmore of presidential family men.  Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Carter (lusting in one’s heart is no disqualification), John Tyler (15 kids), and Barack Obama.  

Gingrich’s failings as a husband are legendary.  While there are discrepancies concerning how his first divorce transpired and who initiated the process,it’s safe to say that Newt’s probably a very difficult man to be married to, and not the type of guy that you’d ever want your daughter to fall for.  Advice to the Gingrich campaign:  don’t let your candidate go on the Dr. Phil show.  It won’t be pretty.  

So Obama wins if the election is about personal life.  But what about intelligence?

Gingrich might just be the most intelligent presidential candidate we’ve ever had.  Not just in an egghead kind of way like Adlai Stevenson.   But also in a street smart way like Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt.  Newt has a master’s degree, a PHD from Tulane in European History and has written 24 books on a variety of topics including religion, history and energy policy.  Obama’s written two books on the same topic:  himself.  

Joe Biden got in trouble for claiming Obama was clean,articulate and intelligent.  He might be clean and he reads a mean teleprompter, but upon further review, he may not be so smart.  He won’t release his grades from college or a copy of his college thesis so it’s hard to tell.  But, think about it for a minute.  If your teenager refuses repeatedly to show you his report card, what kind of grades do you think he’s getting?

Obama did graduate Harvard Law so he’s no dummy.  But he’s probably not too much smarter than George W. Bush who graduated from Harvard’s legendary Business School.  Wouldn’t it be fun to sit the two of them down for an IQ test and see who gets a better score?  I’m betting on Barack, but by no more than 2-3 points.

If intellect is a factor in 2012, the White House has to be sweating out the battle between the geography professor and the young President who thinks we have 57 states.

What about patriotism? Shouldn’t it be a given that a president loves his country?  

Gingrich recently wrote a book called “A Nation like No Other: Newt Gingrich’s Manifesto of American Exceptionalism.”   Obama, on the other hand, when asked if he believed in American Exceptionalism said “I believe in American Exceptionalism just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British Exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek Exceptionalism.”    

Wow!  Let’s imagine somebody asking Obama if he loved Michelle.  “Sure, she’s a decent person.  But I’m sure Joe Biden and Bill Clinton have good things to say about their brides as well.”  When somebody is in love it’s obvious, and Obama clearly doesn’t love America.  

At this point you may be asking if I’m questioning Obama’s patriotism.  Yes I am!  Webster defines a patriot as, “a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.”  Obama has had chances since he took office to “vigorously defend” his country against “detractors”, how has he done?

When former Communist dictator Daniel Ortega slammed America for sixty minutes over the Bay of Pigs invasion, Obama’s response was “I’m grateful President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was three months old.”  While certainly the Bay of Pigs was not our finest hour as a nation, if Barack truly loved America he would have fought back a little harder.  How about putting the invasion in historical context by slamming Castro or the Soviet Union?  Or he could have taken on Ortega for the atrocities the Nicaraguan committed while in power.  Instead, all he could do was make it about Obama.  Let’s say your father has a drinking problem and somebody walks up to you and calls him a worthless alcoholic.  Are you going to respond by saying, “you are correct, sir, but I myself don’t drink.”  Love sometimes means defending the object of your affection even when they fall short.  Obama needs to learn to show a little love to the country that elected him. 

So in one corner we have Newt Gingrich:  the brilliant Jingoist with a history of philandering.  In the other corner we have Barack Obama:  the semi-intelligent family man who hates his country and loves himself.  Who will win?

America’s Luddite President

Over the past few weeks President Obama has, among other things, bemoaned the fact that we no longer have telephone operators, that we have ATM machines, and that the Internet was invented (Al Gore beware!).  Certainly this must qualify the President for the Luddite Award of the Year.  As you may recall, the Luddites were a 19th Century English political movement that turned violent and destroyed machines because they believed that they were destroying their jobs.  The Luddites were against progress of any sort and apparently Barack Obama is fully on board.

One can only hope that this is crass political rhetoric, because if the President does indeed believe that technical advancement kills jobs it is not only an embarrassment, but economic ignorance on a colossal scale.  In fact, it is hard to find a word to describe such an excursion from reality. 

On the basis of the President’s reasoning we should have scuttled the first wheel because it put the folks who built skids out of work.  We should have outlawed the first automobile because it put the buggy manufacturers out of work.  We should have grounded the first airplane because it made train travel obsolete.  In fact, trains should have been derailed because they ended jobs of moving freight by oxen and people by stagecoach.  Tractors should have been scrapped because they put donkeys and oxen out of work.

All of this is so silly.  The President should be embarrassed.  Does anyone really believe such nonsense?  Is this a measure of the low regard that the President and his advisors have of the American people?  Do they really think the American people are that stupid?  Or are they truly that ignorant?

All you have to do is to look around you to see that technical advances create jobs and make all of our lives better.  When government stifles technological advances it reduces the standard of living of all Americans.  Contrary to the ignorance of the Luddites, the industrial revolution raised the standard of living of the entire world.  Food production became abundant and diets became more healthful.  Luxuries became within the reach of average citizens.  Travel became faster, more comfortable and less expensive.  

It was, of course, of the miracle of the free market that made the industrial revolution possible.  It spread wealth among the people farther and wider than ever before.  The free market made it possible to rise from the most meager circumstances to become successful beyond your wildest dreams.  Prior to the free market, widespread food shortages were common, diseases killed tens of millions, and poverty gripped hundreds of millions around the globe.  Yes, the poor and impoverished are still with us because dictatorship still reigns around the globe, especially in the Third World.  Dictatorships and all centralized governments can only regulate misery.  They are the sole source of poverty and shortages in the world.

The idea that a few “enlightened” bureaucrats or politicians or a benevolent dictator can allocate goods and services better than the free market is a dangerous myth.  Centralized governments of all kinds can only ration goods and services.  When you kill off the miracle of the free market and the distribution of goods and services is driven by a few autocrats instead of by you and me, only misery ensues.  Obamacare is a good example of such silliness.  Socialized medicine brings to an end all efforts to develop new drugs or new techniques.  It is based on the false assumption that a powerful few can better distribute limited medical services than can the free market.  

When the Nazis (members of the National Socialist Party) took over in Germany all innovation in the private sector came to a screeching halt.  Nothing changed when the Soviet Socialists replaced the German socialists.  After Ronald Reagan brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union and Germany was reunited West Germans were given the opportunity to purchase manufacturing plants and facilities in the East.  Of course, those in West Germany were recipients of William Röpke’s “German Economic Miracle” (re-institution of a free economic market). When a neighbor of a friend of mine who lives in Germany visited a plant he was considering buying in East Germany he was shocked.  Nothing had changed since the Nazi’s took over in the 1930s.  The roads were awful, the telephone system antiquated, the sewage system inadequate, the water supply system out of date, the electrical systems dangerous—nothing had improved.  Everything was in total, absolute disrepair and East Germany was the “showcase” of the Soviet Union of Socialist Republics!  The situation in East Germany is indeed a showcase for socialist schemes like Obamacare.  In fact, the socialized medicine provided in East Germany was also of a 1930s variety.

Don’t folks who believe in this nonsense get away from their Marxist theories to study history?  Where has centralized government ever worked?  And please don’t tell me that this time it will be different.  No, before we ever listen to such silliness again you must provide empirical evidence of socialism/Marxism/ Fascism working just once in past history.  

Our president is clearly uninformed about simple economics—reality, not theory.  Nor does he apparently have any knowledge of human nature.  If he really believes that the advent of the internet, automated telephone switching, and ATMs destroy jobs he is an economic ignoramus.  But should I really be surprised?

I have observed over the years that liberals and fascists and Marxists have two common failings.  First, they have no confidence in the power of freedom for the average citizen.  They feel that if left to his or her own devices that the average person will make a mess of things.  Second, they work backwards.  They don’t start with facts and empirical evidence, but rather start with the answer they want and then try to make the facts fit their cockamamie solution.  It’s no wonder that they come up with such inanities as progress puts people out of work.  Instead of having an open mind to explore all the possibilities, including expanding individual human freedom as a means to address a problem, they are wedded to the idea that only a few elite can and should solve everyone else’s problems.  Liberals-Progressives-Luddites (is there a difference?) are the most closed minded, anti-intellectual movement to ever establish a foothold on American soil.  They deal in fantasy and ignore the truth of reality.  There is nothing intellectual about an ideology that always has the same solution to every problem—less freedom and more government control.

President Obama seems to be a nice family man.  He is youthful, handsome and stays in good shape physically.  He also is apparently clueless when it comes to understanding human nature or to understanding the marketplace.  He is a poster child for American liberalism.  In all of American history there never has been a more unqualified man to sit in the Oval office.  He has no real world experience.  He has never held a job that produced anything.  He has no understanding of economics.  He sees America through a distorted prism.
 
I believe it was Edmund Burke, the great English statesman who said, “People get the kind of government they deserve.”  If Americans really believe such nonsense as that ATM machines, automated telephone call switches, and the internet destroy jobs then they deserve Barack Obama.

Are You Threatened by Exxon?

Are You Threatened by Exxon?

Are you threatened by IBM?  Are you threatened by Apple?  Are you threatened by Coca Cola?  Are you threatened by Microsoft?  Are you threatened by any large or small corporation?  Do you fear them?  Are you afraid they will take away your freedom, or enslave you?  Of course not!

Big companies, medium sized companies, and small companies are operating in a free marketplace to the extent that government allows them to do so.  If you don’t like one company, you can use another that provides similar services or products.  If you don’t like Microsoft products, you can use Apple.  If you don’t like Coke, you can drink Pepsi.  If you don’t like Ford, you can drive a Toyota or a dozen other cars or trucks.  If you don’t like Exxon you can buy your gas somewhere else.

Companies must persuade individuals to buy or use their products.  There is no force involved.  If you don’t like one doctor, you can choose another.  If you don’t like one lawyer, you can hire another.  If you don’t like one barber, you can choose another.  It’s all part of the legacy freedom that you and I inherited from those who came before us.  No one gets up in the morning in fear that some company will limit their freedom.  No one wastes hours worrying about being enslaved by a company.  

No, in reality there are only two things to fear in life, government and God.  This thought is not original with me.  In fact, in a recent conversation with a good friend he recounted this observation from his father, “No one fears a business, but everyone should fear government.”

No business has ever enslaved someone, but government has done it repeatedly.  In fact, throughout human history government has enslaved men, women and children over and over again.  It is the natural tendency of government.  In the 18th century, the King of England encouraged the enslavement of African Americans because it made him personally wealthy.  Repeatedly early Americans—George Washington, Patrick Henry, et al sought to outlaw the importation of slaves, but every time it was vetoed by the King because it would have reduced his personal wealth.

Creation of the US Constitution involved a “compromise” on the issue of slavery.  Some have referred to it as the fatal flaw of the Constitution.  And indeed it was.  Less than one hundred years after ratification of the Constitution a bitter and bloody civil war was fought over the issue of slavery.  It was government and only government that made slavery possible.

In the 20th century slavery was widespread.  The greatest mass murderer of all time, Chairman Mao Zedong murdered more than 90 million Chinese as he enslaved an entire nation.  Flowing close behind was Russian Dictator Joseph Stalin who murdered more than 20 million.  And, of course, another all-powerful government maniac, Adolph Hitler and his National Socialist Party (NAZI) systematically killed upwards of 10 million.
Government is to be feared.  Government is always a threat to individual freedom.  Or as Thomas Jefferson put it, “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

This was the understanding of the founders of our nation.  From the very beginning of time until today the concentration of power into the hands of one or a very few in government is a threat to your freedom and indeed, to your life.  There is no difference between the would-be rulers of today and Mao, Stalin and Hitler, except opportunity.
Where did the founders understanding this truism come from?  They comprehended the very real threat of big, centralized government because they were students of history.  They knew that human nature never changes.  They knew that man always tends toward self-aggrandizement, toward control over the lives of others because they were also students of the Bible.  In fact, as previously noted, it was the original sin—to become like God.  That’s what the devil promised in the Garden of Eden.  God had told Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate from “…the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…” (Genesis 2:16).  But the devil said, “You certainly won’t die.  You’ll be like God…” (Genesis 3:4).

The founders knew what Isaiah meant when he said “Every word that passes through my lips is sinful (Isaiah 6:5).  They knew what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God’s glory.” (Romans 3:23).  They also knew that God is a just God, therefore violation of his will, sin, was something to be feared.  While government is something that can enslave you, rejection of God can mean permanent separation from God and his love.  And of course, it was his love and mercy, as foretold in Isaiah that the founders also trusted in, “The people who walk in darkness will see a bright light.  The light will shine on those who live in the land of death’s shadow.” (Isaiah 9:2).  And that light, of course, was Jesus, the promised Messiah.  

This was the orientation and the perspective of those who signed the Declaration of Independence and of those who crafted the United States Constitution.  When men and women quit fearing God nothing restrains them from their most base instincts.  A reduction in individual restraint erodes freedom and inevitably leads to larger and more powerful government that limits personal freedom.  When free men and women fear the wrath of God for disobeying his will and they simultaneously show their love to Him because he sent a Savior, freedom thrives.  When trust in God declines and trust in ever bigger government grows, the end result is always human slavery.

You and I have nothing to fear from Exxon or Microsoft or Coca Cola, but we do have something to fear from large, all-powerful government.  That is what the 2012 election is all about.  Shall we continue to be led down the road to bigger government and less freedom by President Barack Obama and company, or shall we return to the vision of our founders?  That’s the real choice of 2012, perhaps an irreversible one.

Who Will You Thank?

                     Who Will You Thank?
This week we’ll celebrate that very unique and wonderful American holiday, Thanksgiving.  Although the residents of the Virginia Colony actually celebrated a special day of thanks for their survival a few years earlier than the Pilgrims, it is the Pilgrims Thanksgiving celebration whose story is most often recounted.

Thanksgiving is, of course, a day known for its turkey dinners, football games and being with friends and family.  It’s recognized by everyone as a day to be truly thankful for all the blessings we have, but who are we thankful to?

Today our public schools teach our children to be thankful to the Indians who taught the Pilgrims about shell fish like oysters, about corn, about tomatoes, and even potatoes.   In fact, I am thankful that the peaceful Indians like Squanto were so helpful to the Pilgrims.  But is Thanksgiving about giving thanks to the Indians?

But who are you thankful to?  Who do you credit for all your blessings and who did the Pilgrims and our Forefathers credit for all their blessings?  Who do you believe is responsible for the blessings, the physical abundance of your life?  Yourself?Government?God?

Here is Massachusetts Governor William Bradford’s 1623 Thanksgiving proclamation…

        Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this
        year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat,
        peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables,
        and has made the forests to abound with game
        and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as
        he has protected us from the ravages of the savages,
        has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted
        us freedom to worship God according to the dictates
        of our own conscience.

        Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye
        Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do
        gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between
        the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday,
        November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand
        six hundred and twenty-three and the third year
        since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there
        to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye
        Almighty God for all His blessings.
Can any doubt that this proclamation of Thanksgiving was directed at any other party than the God of the Bible which the Governor and his fellow Pilgrims relied so heavily upon?

Moving along 166 years later to the Thanksgiving proclamation of our first President, General George Washington, to who did the Father of Our Country give thanks?

        WHEREAS, It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge
        the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will,
        to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore
        His protection and favor;

        WHEREAS, Both the houses of Congress have, by
        their joint committee, requested me "to recommend
        to the people of the United States a day of public
        thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by
        acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and
        signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording
        them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of
        government for their safety and happiness:"

        Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday,
        the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by
        the people of these States to the service of that great
        and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of
        all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that
        we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our
        sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and
        protection of the people of this country previous to
        their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold
        mercies and the favorable interpositions of His
        providence in the course and conclusion of the late
        war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and
        plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable
        and rational manner in which we have been enable to
        establish constitutions of government for our safety
        and happiness, and particularly the national one
        now lately instituted' for the civil and religious liberty
        with which we are blessed, and the means we have
        of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in
        general, for all the great and various favors which He
        has been pleased to confer upon us.

        And also that we may then unite in most humbly
        offering our prayers and supplications to the great
        Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon
        our national and other transgressions; to enable us all,
        whether in public or private stations, to perform our
        several and relative duties properly and punctually; to
        render our National Government a blessing to all the
        people by constantly being a Government of wise,
        just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully
        executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns
        and nations (especially such as have show kindness to us),
        and to bless them with good governments, peace,
        and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice
        of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science
         among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all
        mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He
        alone knows to be best.

Washington’s proclamation wasn’t about some vague God, but about the very personal and loving God of the Bible to whom Washington ascribed all power, glory and honor.  Washington was, after all, not just a certified parishioner of the state church in Virginia, but an active Vestryman who not only worshiped regularly, but also prayed regularly to the God of the Bible.

Only 15 years earlier, Washington, as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses supported a resolution in support of the beleaguered Massachusetts Colony calling for a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer which read…

        Being deeply impressed with apprehension of the
        great dangers, to be derived to British America, from
        the hostile Invasion of the City of Boston, in our Sister
        Colony of Massachusetts bay, whose commerce and
        harbour are, on the first Day of June next, to be
        stopped by an Armed force, deem it highly necessary
        that the said first day of June be set apart, by the
        members of this House as a day of Fasting, Humiliation,
        and Prayer, devoutly to implore the divine interposition,
        for averting the heavy Calamity which threatens
        destruction to our Civil Rights, and the Evils of civil
        War; to give us one heart and one Mind firmly to
        oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury to
        American Rights; and that the Minds of his Majesty
        and his Parliament, may be inspired from above with
        Wisdom, Moderation, and Justice, to remove from
        the loyal People of America all cause of danger,
        from a continued pursuit of Measures, pregnant with
        their ruin.

        Ordered, therefore that the Members of this House
        do attend in their Places, at the hour of Ten in the
        forenoon, on the said first day of June next, in Order
        to proceed with the Speaker, and the Mace, to the
        Church in this City, for the purposes aforesaid...
Now, let’s move forward in time another 74 years to Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of October 3, 1863…

        The year that is drawing towards its close, has
        been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and
        healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so
        constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget
        the source from which they come, others have
        been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature,
        that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even
        the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever
        watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst
        of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity,
        which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to
        invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has
        been preserved with all nations, order has been
        maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed,
        and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in
        the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre
        has been greatly contracted by the advancing
        armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions
        of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful
        industry to the national defence, have not arrested
        the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has
        enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the
        mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious
        metals, have yielded even more abundantly than
        heretofore. Population has steadily increased,
        notwithstanding the waste that has been made in
        the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the
        country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented
        strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance
        of years with large increase of freedom.

        No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal
        hand worked out these great things. They are the
        gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing
        with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless
        remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and
        proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and
        gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one
        voice by the whole American People.

        I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of
        the United States, and also those who are at sea and
        those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart
        and observe the last Thursday of November next, as
        a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent
        Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend
        to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly
        due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings,
        they do also, with humble penitence for our national
        perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender
        care all those who have become widows, orphans,
        mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in
        which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently
        implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal
        the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as
        may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full
        enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.
 Lest there be any doubt as to what God Lincoln was thanking, let us move back in time just a few months to March 30, 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln, at the request of the United States Senate set aside a day of fasting…

        And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of
        men, to own their dependence upon the overruling
        power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions,
        in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine
        repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to
        recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy
        Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations
        only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

        And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law,
        nations like individuals are subjected to punishments
        and chastisements in this world, may we not justly
        fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now
        desolates the land, may be but a punishment,
        inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the
        needful end of our national reformation as a whole
        People? We have been the recipients of the choicest
        bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these
        many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown
        in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation
        has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have
        forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in
        peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened
        us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness
        of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced
        by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
        Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become
        too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming
        and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God
        that made us!

        It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the
        offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to
        pray for clemency and forgiveness.

        Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and
        fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by
        this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday,
        the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national
        humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby
        request all the People to abstain, on that day, from
        their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their
        several places of public worship and their respective
        homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and
        devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties
        proper to that solemn occasion.

        All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then
        rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine
        teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be
        heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less
        than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration
        of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former
        happy condition of unity and peace.

Every presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving, right up until the present time has clearly identified the source of our blessings, the God of the heavens and the creator of the universe.  The following Thanksgiving Day Proclamation by President John F. Kennedy is particularly poignant…

        "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord."

        More than three centuries ago, the Pilgrims, after
        a year of hardship and peril, humbly and reverently
        set aside a special day upon which to give thanks to
        God for their preservation and for the good harvest
        from the virgin soil upon which they had labored.
        Grave and unknown dangers remained. Yet by their
        faith and by their toil they had survived the rigors of
        the harsh New England winter. Hence they paused in
        their labors to give thanks for the blessings that had
        been bestowed upon them by Divine Providence.

        This year, as the harvest draws near its close and the
        year approaches its end, awesome perils again remain
        to be faced. Yet we have, as in the past, ample reason
        to be thankful for the abundance of our blessings. We
        are grateful for the blessings of faith and health and
        strength and for the imperishable spiritual gifts of love
        and hope. We give thanks, too, for our freedom as a
        nation; for the strength of our arms and the faith of our
        friends; for the beliefs and confidence we share; for our
        determination to stand firmly for what we believe to be
        right and to resist mightily what we believe to be base;
        and for the heritage of liberty bequeathed by our
        ancestors which we are privileged to preserve for our
        children and our children's children.

        It is right that we should be grateful for the plenty
        amidst which we live; the productivity of our farms,
        the output of our factories, the skill of our artisans,
        and the ingenuity of our investors. But in the midst of
        our thanksgiving, let us not be unmindful of the plight
        of those in many parts of the world to whom hunger is
        no stranger and the plight of those millions more who
        live without the blessings of liberty and freedom...

        I urge all citizens to make this Thanksgiving not merely
        a holiday from their labors, but rather a day of
        contemplation. I ask the head of each family to recount
        to his children the story of the first New England
        thanksgiving, thus to impress upon future generations
        the heritage of this nation born in toil, in danger, in
        purpose, and in the conviction that right and justice and
        freedom can through man’s efforts persevere and
        come to fruition with the blessing of God.

        Let us observe this day with reverence and with prayer
        that will rekindle in us the will and show us the way not
        only to preserve our blessings, but also to extend them
        to the four corners of the earth. Let us by our example,
        as well as by our material aid, assist all peoples of all
        nations who are striving to achieve a better life in freedom.

Our nation has a rich heritage of faith and freedom.  In fact, it is freedom rooted in faith that has blessed our nation with abundance far, far above that of any nation on the face of the earth.  It is through faith that we understand the fallen state of man, his human frailties and his sinfulness.  It is through faith that we have confidence that God will bless us as long as we bend our knee and acknowledge Him as our creator and redeemer.  And it is through grace that our forefathers were granted the faith and the understanding to create a society that restricted the power of those in government to control our lives.  They were wise men whose goal was to secure freedom for themselves and those that followed.  For more than 200 years their “experiment” has proved to be successful.  May it continue to be so for our children and for their children.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Enjoy the good food, the football, family and friends as you give thanks for the blessings we enjoy as Americans.

A Scandal Worse than Watergate?

                    A Scandal Worse than Watergate?
I just finished reading Injustice, a recently released book by J. Christian Adams (copyright 2011, Regnery) that describes a widespread scandal in Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).  This is not a personal scandal like Watergate that consisted of a failure of character, and political machinations, but rather an officially supported undermining of the rule of law and of due process of law.  The threat posed by the Civil Rights Division not only undermines the rights of Americans of all colors, but also threatens the integrity of the entire electoral process, especially in 2012.

The scandal does not consist of incompetence, or laziness, or a lack of intellect, but has its roots in the rejection of honesty, integrity, adherence to the rule of law, and to the American tradition of equal justice under the law.  Essentially, it consists of those charged with law enforcement openly disregarding the law and in giving comfort and aid to individuals who are actively working to subvert the integrity of the electoral process.

This book is not written by some ideologue, nor are the facts it cites disputed by men and women who have fought long and valiantly to protect the rights of all Americans, especially black Americans.  In some cases the victims are men who risked their own lives to advance the cause of equal rights for African Americans in the 1960’s Civil Rights era.  These honest men and women understand that when you condone the undermining of the rights of any member of American society, you threaten the rights of all members of that society.  When the rule of law is forsaken and man puts himself above the lawbecause he “knows better than those who wrote the law” we have started down the certain road to despotism.  It is the rule of law that protects everyone and underpins our free society.  Without it, freedom will die.

I won’t try to reveal all the details of the Adams’ book.  In fact, I strongly encourage you to get a copy and read it.  Here, however, are a few tidbits taken directly from Injustice.

Adams documents repeated cases of attorneys in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice refusing to protect the rights of all voters, but instead openly discriminating against and making it harder for anyone but pro Democrat voters to get a fair shake.  One of the cases assigned to Adams was the New Black Panthers voter intimidation case in Philadelphia.  It was a cut and dried case captured on video by FOX News that was seen by millions of Americans.  When the militia dressed New Black Panthers did not respond to the legal efforts of DOJ, all that was needed to lock them up and put them in jail was to file for a summary judgment.  But that was vetoed by the Holder DOJ.  When the legal team at DOJ, including author Christian Adams was told to dismiss the case against the New Black Panthers, they were stunned…

                This was a blatant act of voter intimidation by a race-hate
                group that was caught on tape and seen by the whole nation,
                yet we were being ordered to do almost nothing about it.  At
                that moment it became clear to me that the people running the
                division under the Obama administration were irredeemably
                rotted and corrupt.  Our superiors had sided with thugs, and
                all we could do was silently look at each other; helpless and beaten.”

                “…I told a good man who was willing to stick his neck out
                to protect the right to vote that he could count on the DOJ. 
                And I was wrong.  After a lifetime fighting for civil rights,
                [Bartle] Bull deserved better from his government—and so
                did the American people.”
Bartle Bull is a veteran civil rights activist who has a long history of working for Democratic candidates including Charles Evers in Mississippi, Robert F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter.  He was outraged by the intimidation tactics of the New Black Panthers at the polls in Philadelphia in 2010.  Bull said to Adams…

                “Bobby Kennedy didn’t die so jackbooted thugs could stand
                out in front of the polls.”

                “Bull noted that in his forty years of involvement in politics
                and civil rights, he had ‘never encountered or heard of another
                 instance in the United States where armed and uniformed men
                blocked the entrance to a polling location.”
In a sworn statement by Bull in front of a Senatorial Committee he said…

                “To me, the presence and behavior of the two uniformed
                men was an outrageous affront to American democracy and
                the rights of voters to participate in an election without fear. 
                It would qualify as the most blatant form of voter intimidation
                I have encountered in my life in political campaigns in many
                states, even going back to the work I did in Mississippi in
                the 1960’s”

Attorney General Eric Holder was sanctimoniously outraged…

                “When you compare what people endured in the South in the
                60s to try to get the right to vote for African Americans, and
                to compare what people were subjected to there to what happened
                in Philadelphia…to describe it in those terms I think does a
                great disservice to people who put their lives on the line, who
                risked all, for my people.”
Adams responds…

                “It was a telling moment.  One might think the Attorney General
                of the United States would regard the entire American people as ‘
                his people.’  But no—for Holder, only one race of Americans is
                his people.”

According to Adams…

                “   the Civil Rights Division is now being utilized to energize
                the president’s political base and alter the electoral ground
                rules to benefit Obama’s campaign.”

The Voter intimidation case of the New Black Panthers on election day 2008 was dismissed by DOJ even though there was abundant evidence of their intimidation efforts at the polls.  In countless similar cases of black extremists threatening both black and white voters with physical harm, the Civil Rights Division of DOJ didn’t just turn a blind eye to their fraudulent activities, but in fact openly aided them in corrupting the integrity of the election process.  The result of turning a blind eye to these illegal activities is that they have continued and expanded in subsequent elections.  They will likely play a major factor in the outcome of the 2012 election.

Christian Adams fellow DOJ attorney, Chris Coates, has a long record of fighting for the rights of African Americans.  However, when he sought to also protect the rights of white Americans at the ballot box he was the subject of open hostility by radicalized lawyers in the Justice Department.  Here is an excerpt from the Adams’ book…

                “A Voting Section lawyer who entered the United States
                as an illegal alien, Luz Lopez-Ortiz, referred to Coats in
                a DOJ email as a ‘Klansman.’  For militants like Lopez-Ortiz,
                 enforcing the law equally was tantamount to joining a group
                of racist terrorists.”
When a blatant case of voter intimidation and vote fraud came to the attention of Chris Coats he was told by Voting Section attorney, Avner Shapiro…

                “I didn’t come to work in the Civil Rights Division at the
                Department of Justice to sue black people.”

Adams also explains how the balanced hiring of attorneys from a wide variety of viewpoints was scuttled once Eric Holder took charge as the Attorney General.

                “Under Eric Holder, if a candidate has not worked for a
                leftist activist group or otherwise demonstrated some affinity
                for the Left’s causes, he or she will not be hired at the Civil
                Rights Division—period.”

The new hires at DOJ weren’t just lawyers who believed in enforcing Civil Rights laws on a colorblind basis or even attorneys who had a long history of working on behalf of civil rights.  To the contrary, these new hires were men and women who had and have low regard for the law, the US Constitution, and for equal justice under the law.  Instead, they see their position as an opportunity to wield power to advance their radical agenda.  And it has often gotten them into trouble.

According to Adams’ book, the current Civil Rights Division of the current DOJ…

                “…has been sanctioned $4,107,595 for bringing frivolous
                cases or engaging in misconduct, none of which was assessed
                during the Bush administration.”
Requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (something that Eric Holder recently sought permission to lie about) were treated unequally at DOJ.  While responses to FOIA inquiries from any party they disagreed with regularly took six months or more for a response, their radical allies often received same day service.  According to Adams, high ranking DOJ political appointee…

                “…Julie Fernandes exploits FOIA requests to benefit
                Obama’s leftwing allies.  Specifically, sources say she
                instructs Voting Section staffers to inform leftwing groups
                about specific data from DOJ files that they might find useful
                in advancing their agenda.”
Contrary to some mainstream media reports, Adams documents that this kind of radical, off the reservation politicization of the DOJ has never taken place previously under any administration, Republican or Democrat that he worked under. 

What Adams describes is corruption at the highest levels of government with the full support of Attorney General Holder.  It apparently exists on an unprecedented scale with the goal of dishonestly affecting the outcome of the 2012 and future elections.  It’s what might be expected from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, but not in the United States of America.  The defenders of the law have become the law breakers according to Adams and they have the power and the will to provide comfort and assistance to their allies as well as the power to alter the outcome of the election process.

Buy this book!  Read this book.  Liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, if you are an honest person who believes in equal justice under the law you will be shocked.

Herman Cain

Herman Cain

First, for those of you who do not know, I am not a disinterested party when it comes to Herman Cain and his run for President of the United States.  I was an early fan and I am currently under contract with his campaign to raise money on his behalf.  I have also personally donated to his campaign on several occasions and I have volunteered to help get his name on the ballot in Virginia.

One of the first things that drew me to Herman Cain was his integrity and his character.  I was tired of politicians who claimed to be Reagan Republicans, but were willing to change their positions to personally advance themselves.  I wanted to support a man of principle like Ronald Reagan, not someone who you cannot trust when the chips are down.  That’s basically what I told Mr. Cain when I offered to raise funds on his behalf.  I believed that Herman Cain was a man of unquestioned integrity the day I met him and I still believe that today.  I have not been disappointed.  While other politicians I have worked with didn’t want to pay their bills, Herman Cain has run his campaign like a business, spending no more than the net revenue generated by the fund raising effort.  Such integrity is nearly unheard of in the political fund raising business and it gives testimony to his character and his honesty.

I do admit to being stunned when the first charges were levied against him for sexual harassment.  Although I felt that the charges could not be true, I had reservations.  Perhaps I was mistaken about Herman Cain’s integrity.

As I write this I just finished listening to his news conference after the vivid allegations of an alleged sexual attack by an alleged victim, Sharon Bialek.  Mr. Cain’s rebuttal of those charges was very persuasive, but I wasn’t there and neither were you.  So, how do we sift fact from fiction?  How can we borrow some of the wisdom of Solomon and discern the truth?  Evaluating people on the basis of God’s standards of conduct, primarily the Ten Commandments, is a good place to start.

I wish Ms. Bialek no ill or harm, but she has placed a very damming and unsubstantiated charge on the table.  It is in legal terms, hearsay, nothing more, nothing less.  This is not to say that the charges are not serious, but only to observe there is no evidence, pro or con, that the alleged sexual attack took place.  It is just an accusation that may be true or false.  There is no evidence, but only the word of Sharon Bialek versus the word of Herman Cain. 

Therefore the only basis with which you and I can judge her charge in the court of public opinion are the character traits of the two parties, their pattern of integrity or lack thereof, and their record of making moral and ethical choices.  There is no other legitimate basis upon which to judge the accusation made by Ms. Bailek against Herman Cain.  All else is just speculation.

You and I can never know for certain who is lying and who is telling the truth, but based on past actions and choices we can determine the likelihood of who is the liar and who is telling the truth.  Let’s take a look at the past of both individuals in terms of facts, to see who is most likely to have veracity in this situation, Herman Cain, or Sharon Bailek.

    Here are some facts about Ms. Bailek.   

• In less than 20 years she has held nine different positions.  Of course, lots of people move from job to job for various reasons.
• She has been terminated (fired) from at least one position for non-performance.  Some people get fired when they can’t do a job because it is simply a position for which they do not have the necessary skills.
• She has filed for personal bankruptcy on several occasions, being unable to pay her bills or meet her obligations.  Others have filed for bankruptcy, but rarely twice.
• In her verbal statement to the news media she alluded to the fact that she was living out of wedlock with her boyfriend in New Jersey, expressing no shame whatsoever for this adulterous relationship.  I realize that it is old fashioned to talk in these terms, but it’s not my personal standards that count, only God’s standards are important.
• Ms. Bialek filed a paternity lawsuit to force the man who she believed to be the father of her child to support her and the child.  Clearly the identity of the father was in doubt and thus the need for a lawsuit. 
• In court proceedings between Bialek’s current boyfriend/fiancé, Mark Harwood and his ex-wife, Patricia, Bialek was subpoenaed but failed to appear in September for a deposition regarding her finances.  Failure to appear for a subpoena is grounds for being held in contempt of court. Source: Chicago Tribune
• In her statement to the press she said she complained to Herman Cain about his alleged attack because she had a boyfriend in New Jersey.  That’s hardly a statement of shock or moral concern.
• She waited 14 years to bring up the alleged attack, only doing so after Herman Cain became a front runner for the Republican Presidential nomination.
• Admitting that she has no funds, she has hired a very high priced, high profile, Feminist attorney, Gloria Allred, who is a big donor to Democratic and liberal causes.
• No one has identified where the funds are coming from to pay Gloria Allred even though there is no possibility of a lawsuit against Herman Cain.

Thus far, on a strictly factual basis, these are all the facts we have in regard to the character and integrity of Sharon Bailek.  While I suspect that new facts will be divulged in the future, this is all we have to go on at the present time.

What about the character, integrity, and moral principles of Herman Cain?  What are the facts?

• Herman Cain was born into extreme poverty and spent his early years in the Atlanta, Georgia projects.
• Cain came from an intact, functional family where his mother worked as a domestic worker and his father held down three jobs to support his family.
• In spite of Cain’s impoverished background, and thanks to the hard work and values passed along to him by his father and mother, Herman Cain went to college, eventually receiving an MBA from Purdue University.
• Herman Cain was raised as a Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ.
• After getting his BS at Morehouse College in 1967, he married Gloria Etchison in 1968 and has been married to her for more than 43 years.  They have two children, Melanie and Vincent.
• Herman Cain steadily worked himself up the corporate ladder, facing and overcoming challenges along the way.
• At the age of 32 Cain joined the Pillsbury Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota where after hard work and many commendations and promotions he became a Vice President of that organization.
• After an extremely successful stint at a Pillsbury subsidiary, Burger King, Cain was given the opportunity to become President of Godfather’s Pizza based in Omaha, Nebraska, a struggling restaurant chain on the brink of bankruptcy.  In less than 15 months he turned that chain into a very profitable business and when presented the opportunity to purchase it, did so along with other key employees.
• While in Omaha he was appointed to the board of the Midwest Federal Reserve, eventually becoming a successful Chairman of that entity.
• After selling his interest in Godfather’s Pizza, Cain became President of the National Restaurant Association, turning that organization into a powerful voice for the restaurant industry.  Upon leaving NRA, he went on a motivational speakers tour and eventually became a talk show host in his native Atlanta, Georgia.
• Being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2006, he sought out the best medical care and put his faith in God that it would work out for the best in His sight.
• Herman Cain and his family have always been active Christians, working, praying and serving others through their church where he serves as an Associate Pastor.
• Until the recent charges of sexual harassment and a sexual attack, there has never been a hint of any kind that Herman Cain is a sexual predator even though he has held positions of authority and power for many decades.

Herman Cain would readily acknowledge that he is a sinner saved by the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ.  It’s not that Herman Cain or you and I aren’t capable of the worst kind of sins. As believers, we don’t condone such immoral behavior, but  always repent and ask God to forgive us.

King David of the Old Testament was one of the greatest leaders of all time.  But he committed adultery and murder.  When he was confronted by the prophet, Nathan, with his sin David said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Samuel 12:13)

During my lifetime I have seen high profile Christians exposed for their sin.  Christians are not exempt from being sinners, but the difference is that they repent and are forgiven by God as he promises.  All men (and women) sin daily, but to not understand that the violation of the Ten Commandments is always a sin and to publicly acknowledge living in sin with a man or woman not your husband or wife, shows that there is no repentance, there is no forgiveness.  In fact such public actions show contempt for the laws of God and for His moral standards.  It is a clear indication that there is no respect or commitment to any one of the Ten Commandments including the one forbidding the giving of false testimony against someone.

You and I have all violated every one of God’s Ten Commandments.  You say that you haven’t killed anyone, but God says that he that hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15).  You say that you haven’t committed adultery, but God says that he who looks at a woman with lust has committed adultery in his heart (Matthew 5:28).  There are no saints on this earth, only sinners (Romans 3:23).
The issue, of course, is not who is a sinner, Herman Cain or Sharon Bailek, but who is telling the truth.  Just what are the odds that someone who by her own admission has low or no regard for God’s moral standards is lying?  Just what are the odds that a man who reveres God’s laws and has been married for 43 years, living a circumspect life without a hint of sexual impropriety for decades is lying?  It’s possible, but does it stand to reason that it is likely?

A man getting entangled in the Devil’s web of non-marital, immoral sex usually starts early in life.  While that person may be successful in business, he develops a very well known reputation for being a skirt chaser.  Where is the evidence that Herman Cain has ever been a skirt chaser?

Looking at the facts only, it is evident to me that it is highly likely that Sharon Bialek is motivated by political considerations, and possibly by a financial payoff, not by telling the truth.  Who is lying and who is telling the truth between Herman Cain and Sharon Bialek?  I believe it would take a great deal of bias and prejudgment to conclude that Herman Cain is lying and Sharon Bialek is telling the truth.  One would have to suspend logic and reason to conclude that the attacks on Herman Cain are anything less than a carefully contrived political attack.

The real question is not whether these attacks are true or false, but rather who is paying for and orchestrating these scurrilous attacks?  That’s the question the media should be trying to answer, not if a man who has lived his life beyond reproach is a sexual predator.  Someone or some organization has to be paying the very large bill that has created this political maelstrom that is designed to take out Herman Cain as a presidential nominee.  Who is it?

High Tech Lynching

High Tech Lynching

“High Tech Lynching” was the way that Clarence Thomas described the venomous attacks on his character by the establishment Democratic Party and their allies in the so-called mainstream media.  It was an accurate description of the attacks orchestrated against him by the Democratic Party apparatus. They were in a full-blown panic.  They executed a character assassination like one never seen before.  It was driven not by any concern for truth or accuracy, but by a fear that the elevation of a black conservative to the high bench would mortally wound the Democratic Party. 

Today the Democratic Party is an embarrassment to its name.  It’s not the Party of Harry Truman or John F. Kennedy.  This noble old political party has been captured and subverted by far left ideologues that previously populated the fringes of American politics.  The interlopers come from the Socialist Party of Norman Thomas and the Communist Party of Gus Hall.  Their base has its roots in the violent Weather Underground of Barack Obama’s good friend, Bill Ayers and his wife, Bernadette Dohrn.  Ayers, as you may recall, helped to launch Barack Obama’s political career after he was released from prison for his bombing of the Capitol Building (he was released on a technicality).  Ayers still brags about the bombing and has expressed his regret that it wasn’t more successful.  Bernadette Dorn is known as a Red diaper baby because she is the daughter of Communist Party members Bernard and Dorothy Dohrn.  It is not unfair to characterize people like Ayers and Dohrn as the core of today’s Democratic Party.  Sadly, today’s Democratic Party is a far left fringe political party that is dedicated to undermining and replacing the principles of America’s founders—a limited government of laws designed to minimize governmental intervention into the lives of American citizens and to maximize the individual freedom of its citizens. 

The words “High Tech Lynching” can also be aptly used to describe the current frenzied attack on Republican front runner, Herman Cain.  The success of Herman Cain and his possible election as President of the United States threatens to drive a terminal stake into the heart of the Democratic Party Plantation.  Democrat operatives know that the only way to maintain political control over millions of black Americans living in poverty is to keep them in poverty.  It is one of the most cynical, heartless political strategies ever undertaken by a major political party.  These operatives of the Democratic machine understand that they must have nearly monolithic control of the black vote in order to maintain political power.  In fact, without it, there is no future to the Democratic Party.  As long as they can control those African Americans living in poverty through hand outs and outrageous lies, they can keep winning elections.

They and their black Congressional overseers are willing to sacrifice the welfare and future of their loyal followers in order to continue their manipulation of them on Election Day.  No act is too low to be undertaken to keep them on the Democratic Plantation—lies, threats, payoffs—the betrayal is complete and devastating.  The results are in plain sight for all to see—70% drop out rates in high schools, 16% unemployment rate, and a future filled with misery and without hope.  This is the manifestation of more than a half century of cynical manipulation and abuse by the Democratic Party political bosses.

This fear, this panic by the Democratic Party bosses is the sole and only reason for the attempted “High Tech Lynching” of Herman Cain.  The Democratic Party fears Herman Cain more than any other candidate for President of the United States.  Just as they made up unfounded and unconfirmed lies to destroy Justice Clarence Thomas, they have begun a vicious smear campaign against Herman Cain.  They know a Cain election would spell the end of today’s Democratic Party.  They know and fear that it would also be the beginning of a true post racial society in America, one that would feature racial harmony, instead of the racial division that is currently encouraged by Democratic leaders.  While Obama and the Democratic Party seek to divide the races, Herman Cain would not only open the doors to black prosperity, but also promote racial harmony.  It’s a political formula that doesn’t work to the advantage of the Democratic Party.

I predict the attempted “High Tech Lynching” of Herman Cain will not only fail, but will result in an unprecedented backlash that will add momentum to his drive to the White House.  Moreover, Cain will not only win the Republican nomination for President and defeat President Barack Obama, he will shatter the monolithic control the Democratic Party has exercised over the black community once and for all time.  Mass political desertion from the Democratic Plantation will spell the political end of today’s Democratic Party.  The liberal establishment has already witnessed the mass exodus of the black intelligentsia from their ranks.  Walter Williams, Shelby Steele, Thomas Sowell, Carol Swain, along with scores of other college professors and PhDs left the Democratic Plantation long ago.  That horse already left the barn.  It was only a matter of time until black political leaders rose to the forefront of the Republican Party and sped away from the Democratic Plantation. 

The late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. often quoted the words of the famous Negro Spiritual, Free at Last, by J.W. Work.  The words of that spiritual remind all of us the true source of our freedom, no matter our race or ethnic origin…

Free at last, free at last
I thank God I'm free at last
Free at last, free at last
I thank God I'm free at last

Way down yonder in the graveyard walk
I thank God I'm free at last
Me and my Jesus going to meet and talk
I thank God I'm free at last

On my knees when the light pass'd by
I thank God I'm free at last
Tho't my soul would rise and fly
I thank God I'm free at last

Some of these mornings, bright and fair
I thank God I'm free at last
Goin' meet King Jesus in the air
I thank God I'm free at last