The Election

Well, I hereby resign as a prognosticator of any election results.  My forecast (as well as those of Michael Barone and Dick Morris) was as far away from being accurate as the North is from the South.  I did not see the outcome of the presidential race coming. 

Folks, we still have a very divided nation and frankly, some very weird election results.  The popular vote count as of November 7, 2012 was Obama 58,720,700 (50.1%) to Romney 56,145,950 (48.4%).  Obama was way down from his 2008 vote count of 69,456,897 and Romney was way down from John McCain's total 2008 vote count of 59,934,814.  In fact, as you can see, had Romney gotten as many votes as John McCain, he would have won the popular vote. 

The US House of Representatives is virtually unchanged with the Republicans guaranteed a 35 to 40 seat majority.  The Republicans slipped in the Senate, where the Democrats now have a 10 seat majority.  In the state house races, the Republicans have reached a milestone.  The GOP now has 30 out of 50 state governors!  This is a very big and a very important accomplishment.

The weirdness did not end there.  In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker added enough seats in the State House of Representatives to regain a majority there.  Reporting on the results of state legislature races in other states is unavailable at this time.  However, the mixed results clearly indicate that the United States is a very divided nation.

What the results do not show is that the conservative principles of limited government, a balanced budget, and adherence to the Constitution are not a winning political message.  Republican moderates like Mitt Romney will always struggle in a national election.  The last Republican to win a large majority was Ronald Reagan, who not only won convincingly in 1980, but overwhelmingly in 1984.  Reagan didn't couch his conservative views in muddled words. 

The conservative message is not an amalgamation of messages, some for one special interest group, another for a different interest group.  It is one message for all Americans, regardless of race, ethnic background, or geography.  It is a simple message.  We believe in freedom and opportunity for all Americans.  We don't believe in special privileges for one group over another.  We don't believe that those in government can or should pick winners and losers in the marketplace.  We don't want government to run our lives by telling us through regulations or taxes what kind of car to drive, what kind of light bulb to buy, how electricity is to be generated, or what size Coke we can drink.  That's not freedom, that's a loss of freedom.

Conservatives do not believe that Americans are stupid and need to be told how to live their lives, how to spend their money, or how to raise their children.  We believe that Americans are smart enough to make their own choices when it comes to health care, toilet paper, bananas, clothing, roller skates, and everything else in their lives. 

If you love nanny government and are willing to accept less freedom, please move to one of the soft tyranny socialist states of Europe.  Conservatives have the quaint idea that the United States Constitution means exactly what it says.  If you don't like it, don't pretend it's some sort of "living document" that can be interpreted in any way you like.  If you want to change it, then go through the process stipulated by the Constitution to do so.  If you can't make that work, don't cheat and fabricate some sort of interpretation that would cause the Founders to roll over in their graves.

As conservatives, we believe that one of the primary roles of the president is to keep us safe and to preserve our national sovereignty.  That role is specifically enumerated in the Constitution.  We expect our nation to be strong enough militarily to scare off any threat from abroad.  We don't like or support military adventurism, but that doesn't mean we want to sacrifice our military strength.  The Reagan doctrine was peace through strength.  That is the only way to peace.

Americans are historically a moral people.  As conservatives, we understand and believe what Founder John Adams said…

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

That same sentiment was echoed by Benjamin Franklin…

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.  As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."

And by Patrick Henry…

"Bad men cannot make good citizens.  It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.  A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom.  No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."

And finally, George Washington…

"Human rights can only be assured among a virtuous people.  The general government… can never be in danger of degenerating into a monarchy, an oligarchy, an aristocracy, or any despotic or oppressive form so long as there is any virtue in the body of the people."

Of course, the religion that all of these men were referring to was the Christian religion.  Their heritage and ours is that of the Pilgrims who came to America for the purpose of religious freedom and who strove to create "a shining city on a hill."

The essential understanding of our Founding Fathers was of human nature.  They understood that man by nature is sinful.  It is only when he becomes a forgiven child of God that he can do good works and love his neighbor.  This understanding of human nature is the cornerstone of all of our founding documents. 

The Founders made every effort to curb the power of men so that the citizens of America could live in freedom.  They created a government of checks and balances, and they intentionally limited the power of government over its citizens.  They understood that freedom can only exist when men (and women) exercise self-restraint.  And they knew that self-restraint springs from faith in God.  Freedom is a product of faith.  It is not itself a virtue, it is an outgrowth of a virtuous society.

The challenge for you and I today is not to win the next election.  It is to promote and encourage spiritual renewal in our land—without spiritual renewal, virtue dies, and with it, our freedom.

This is not the darkest hour of our Republic.  To believe that would be very arrogant.

The darkest hour undoubtedly existed at the very foundation point of our nation.  When the Founders signed the Declaration of Independence and pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to the new nation, they knew that they were signing their own death warrant.  At that instant they went from being loyal English citizens, to being traitors.  It was not something they did lightly, and the price they paid was heavy.

At Valley Forge, George Washington saw the chance for victory slipping away.  All seemed lost.  His troops were starving, enlistments were ending, desertion was rampant, shelter and clothing were practically non-existent that brutal winter.  Meanwhile, the British were well-fed, well-clothed, and sleeping comfortably in warm beds. 

If Washington failed, he would hang.  So would the others.

Washington versus what was then the world's most powerful army was like Gideon versus the Midianites.  There was really no logical chance that he could be successful.

This is how the website, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com describes the situation and what Washington decided to do…

"During the night of December 25, Washington led his troops across the ice-swollen Delaware about 9 miles north of Trenton.  The weather was horrendous and the river treacherous.  Raging winds combined with snow, sleet and rain to produce almost impossible conditions.  To add to the difficulties, a significant number of Washington's force marched through the snow without shoes.

The next morning they attacked to the south, taking the Hessian garrison by surprise and over-running the town.  After fierce fighting, and the loss of their commander, the Hessians surrendered.

Washington's victory was complete but his situation precarious.  The violent weather continued - making a strike towards Princeton problematic. Washington and his commanding officers decided to retrace their steps across the Delaware taking their Hessian prisoners with them.

The news of the American victory spread rapidly through the colonies reinvigorating the failing spirit of the Revolution.  The battle's outcome also gave Washington and his officers the confidence to mount another campaign. On December 30 they again crossed the Delaware, attacked and won another victory at Trenton on January 2, and then pushed on to Princeton defeating the British there on January 3.

Although not apparent at the time, these battles were a decisive turning point in the Revolution.  The victories pulled the languishing Revolution out of the depths of despair, galvanized colonial support, shocked the British and convinced potential allies such as France, Holland and Spain, that the Continental Army was a force to be reckoned with."

God was certainly with Washington.  He will be with us if we continue the fight.

Millions of babies have been murdered.  Immorality is broadcast to millions each night over our televisions.  God's standards of decent behavior have been replaced by human cravings for immoral behavior.  Today's America is not the America of our Founders or the America of just a few decades ago.  It is not the America that you and I grew up in.

But God doesn't care about the odds.  All he cares about is our faithfulness to him.

We are more than a remnant.  Each year our nation sends out more than 140,000 missionaries around the globe.  We publish more Bibles, more religious tracts, and broadcast the Christian message to millions each week.  A higher percent of Americans go to church each week than in any other industrialized nation in the world.  God is not dead.

God will not abandon us if we place our trust in Him.  He still governs the course of all nations (Psalms 47:8), including ours.  If we have the faith of our Fathers, we will preserve the Republic.

May God continue to bless the United States of America!