comMITTed to Romney!

Kudos to FOX NEWS for giving coverage to yesterday’s Palm Sunday demonstration on the campus of Notre Dame University. Correct me if I am wrong, because I rarely tune into any of the broadcasts of the Old Media, but I am highly doubtful that they are giving any air time to the protests against the scheduled speech by President Obama at ND’s commencement ceremony on May 17.

~~John Cronin~~

Share on Facebook

Share This

This post is in response to several requests from our regular readers to keep them in the loop regarding upcoming demonstrations on the campus of the University of Notre Dame against the planned appearance of President Obama to deliver the commencement address on May 17.

~~John Cronin~~

[Editor's Note: Signatures on the petition at WWW.NOTREDAMESCANDAL.COM are over 235,000]

Events

Please Note: Events will be added as they are finalized
March 31 - May 17

Nightly Rosary

Please join us at the Grotto every night at 9:30 pm to pray the rosary for the conversion of Barack Obama, greater respect for life, and the Catholic Identity of Our Lady’s university.

5 April
Palm Sunday Prayer Rally

The coalition has announced plans for its first official demonstration, a prayerful rally to be held in front of the University’s Main Building at 2:00 p.m. after the noon Palm Sunday Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on April 5, 2009. We invite all those who share our concerns to support our efforts by joining in this respectful display.

 More information
 Official Press Release

Ongoing

Red Envelope Day, Notre Dame Edition

We will be delivering red envelopes to Fr. Jenkins, stating:
“Fr. Jenkins, This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion.
It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.
This envelope was going to be sent to President Obama on March 31st. However, as he is scheduled to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from Notre Dame on May 17th, we ask that you deliver it to him on our behalf at that time.”

Share on Facebook

Share This

Hat Tip to regular DaveinLouisiana for the head’s up on Pat Buchanan’s fine article.

~~John Cronin~~

March 31, 2009

By Patrick Buchanan

By inviting Barack Obama to deliver the commencement address and receive
an honorary degree at Notre Dame, the Rev. John Jenkins has polarized
the Catholic community nationwide — and raised a question. What does it
mean to be a Catholic university in post-Christian America?

Are there truths about faith and morality that are closed to debate at
Notre Dame? Or is Notre Dame like London’s Hyde Park, where all ideas
and all advocates get a hearing?

To Catholics, abortion is the killing of an unborn child, a premeditated
breach of God’s Commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” The case is closed
for all time. Any who participate in an abortion are excommunicated.
Catholic politicians from Nancy Pelosi to Joe Biden who support a
“woman’s right to choose” have been denounced from pulpits and denied
Communion.

Obama, however, is the most pro-abortion president ever. On his third
day in office, by executive order, he repealed the Bush prohibition
against using tax dollars to fund agencies abroad that perform
abortions.

He supports partial-birth abortion, where a baby’s soft skull is sliced
open with scissors in the birth canal and its brains sucked out to ease
its passage, a procedure Sen. Pat Moynihan said “comes as close to
infanticide as anything I have seen in our judiciary.”

In the Illinois legislature, Obama helped block the Born Alive Infant
Protection Act, a bill to save the lives of infant survivors of
abortion. He voted to allow doctors and nurses to let these tiny babies
die of neglect and be tossed out with the medical waste.

Barack is committed to signing the Freedom of Choice Act, which would
repeal every federal and state restriction on abortion. He has smoothed
the path for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Notre Dame, a university that teaches that all innocent human life is
sacred, will thus honor a leader determined to ensure that a woman’s
right to destroy her unborn child in the womb remains unrestricted.

There is thus a direct clash between what Notre Dame professes to stand
for and what Notre Dame is doing.

Says Ralph McInerny, a philosophy professor since 1955: “By inviting
Barack Obama to be the 2009 commencement speaker, Notre Dame has
forfeited its right to call itself a Catholic University. … (T)his is
a deliberate thumbing of the collective nose at the Roman Catholic
Church to which Notre Dame purports to be faithful.

“Faithful? Tell it to Julian the Apostate.”

McInerny calls Father Jenkins’ invitation to Obama worse than the “usual
effort of the university to get into warm contact with the power figures
of the day. It is an unequivocal abandonment of any pretense at being a
Catholic university.”

An honorary degree, writes Catholic author George Weigel, is a statement
that here is a man we should admire and emulate. But how can a Catholic
university say that about a man who means to appoint Supreme Court
justices who will keep constitutional and legal the systematic slaughter
of the unborn that has taken 50 million lives in 35 years?

Can Father Jenkins not see the contradiction here that renders Notre
Dame a morally incoherent institution?

Diocesan Bishop John D’Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend has told Father
Jenkins he will not be attending commencement because of Obama’s support
of embryonic stem cell research.

Said the bishop, “While claiming to separate policies from science,
(Obama) has in fact separated science from ethics and has brought the
American government, for the first time in history, into supporting
direct destruction of innocent human life.”

Pope Benedict has yet to be heard from. But on his visit to the United
States, he declared that any appeal to academic freedom “to justify
positions that contradict the faith and teaching of the church would
obstruct or even betray the university’s identity and mission.”

Does not honoring the most visible pro-abortion advocate in America
“betray the identity and mission” of Notre Dame?

Father Jenkins says the invitation “should not be taken as condoning or
endorsing his positions on specific issues regarding the protection of
human life.”

But what Notre Dame is saying with this invitation is that Obama’s 100
percent support for policies and programs that bring death to more than
a million unborn children every year is no disqualification to being
honored by a university dedicated to Our Lady who carried to term the
Son of God.

Chris Carrington, a political science major, regards the opposition to
Obama’s appearance as un-Catholic: “To not allow someone here because of
their beliefs would seem a little hypocritical and contradictory to what
the mission of the university and church should be.”

The obtuse Carrington has stumbled on the relevant question: Is Notre
Dame still a repository, teacher and exemplar of eternal truths about
God and Man, right and wrong, whose mission is to convey and defend
those truths in a hostile world?

Or has Notre Dame joined the secularists in their endless scavenger hunt
to seek and find truth in the marketplace of ideas?

Share on Facebook

Share This

News that President Obama will be Notre Dame commencement speaker ignites widespread expressions of outrage

California Catholic Daily

South Bend, Indiana, Mar 21, 2009 / (CNA) – Catholic and pro-life organizations have responded to the announcement that the University of Notre Dame, one of the oldest and most prominent Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States, has invited President Barack Obama to deliver a commencement address.

The University of Notre Dame announced on Friday afternoon that President Obama will be the main speaker and the recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree at the University’s 164th University Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m., May 17, in the Joyce Center on campus.

According to the Notre Dame press release, “Mr. Obama will be the ninth U.S. president to be awarded an honorary degree by the University and the sixth to be the Commencement speaker.”

In response to the announcement, the Cardinal Newman Society launched a website, www.NotreDameScandal.com, including an online petition to Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins, CSC.

“It is an outrage and a scandal that ‘Our Lady’s University,’ one of the premier Catholic universities in the United States, would bestow such an honor on President Obama given his clear support for policies and laws that directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage,” the petition reads.

Less than an hour after the petition was posted, it already counted the support of high-profile Catholics such as Philip F. Lawler, director of the Catholic Culture Project, Fr. C. J. McCloskey III, and Thomas N. Peters, blogger for the American Papist.

Patrick J. Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society, also faxed a letter to Bishop John D’Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, requesting his intervention.

Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League’s national director Joe Scheidler – himself a Notre Dame graduate — called on Fr. John Jenkins to withdraw the invitation to Obama. “Over the first two months of his administration, Barack Obama has established himself as the most pro-abortion president in U.S. history,” Scheidler said. “My alma mater should not be providing a platform for this president.”

“Starting from his first week in office, President Obama has enacted a string of executive orders, appointments and policy decisions that contradict Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life – a teaching that Notre Dame is supposed to uphold,” he added.

Scheidler is also calling on concerned Catholics, especially Notre Dame alumni, to contact Fr. Jenkins and urge him to withdraw the Obama invitation.

“Father Jenkins cannot expect pro-life Catholics to stand back and allow the most pro-abortion president in U.S. history to make a mockery of Notre Dame’s Catholic identity,” Scheidler said.

Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) told CNA, “The U.S. Bishops are very clear: pro-abortion speakers should not be given platforms or honors by Catholic institutions. Barack Obama is the most pro-abortion president in our history. One wishes that a venerable institution such as Notre Dame could remain stronger on important points of the faith.”

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed Obama’s commencement address at Notre Dame. The address in South Bend was one of three Gibbs mentioned. Obama also plans to speak to graduates at Arizona State University on May 13 and at U.S. Naval Academy on May 22.

According to Catholic analyst Deal Hudson, “Notre Dame knows this is going to create a firestorm – why else issue a press release late on Friday afternoon? Perhaps they are imitating the example of their presidential honoree who has been bringing in the weekends with one pro-abortion announcement after another.”

“Need I list the reasons why this is a terrible idea? Need I state the obvious reasons why this will feel like a body-blow to millions of Catholics across the country and around the world?” Hudson asked. He noted that the U.S. bishops’ document “Catholics in Political Life” (2004) states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

“No statements or press releases will undo what Notre Dame’s position in the eyes of the world is in response: ‘Doesn’t matter.’ We’ve got THE ONE. So much for the One to whom the school’s namesake gave birth,” wrote National Review columnist Kathryn Jean Lopez. “At Notre Dame, the administration there just made a choice. They took a giant step away from their identity as ‘Catholic.’ They rather be of this world than the one they supposedly exist to bring people toward.”

On May 17, Notre Dame will confer degrees on approximately 2,000 undergraduates, 420 MBA students and 200 Notre Dame Law School students

Share on Facebook

Share This

Ten years ago, when my son Pat was 13 years old, I gave him a copy of the late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen’s ( 1895-1979 ) wonderful book: WAY TO HAPPINESS. About a week ago, Pat did a major cleaning and rearranging of his room as he prepares to enter the spring semester at Webster University. He also is working very hard on his physical fitness regimen so that he will be in top condition when he leaves for USMC OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL in Quantico, Virginia this summer.

Pat gave back to me a couple of books that he has already read and one of them was Bishop Sheen’s book. This is a Cronin tradition, what we call the Cronin Lending Library. We pass good books back and forth between ourselves every few years and it is a great way to revisit books that we haven’t read for years. This is why I now have WAY TO HAPPINESS back on my bookshelves and in a while my sister will probably have it on hers.

As in all great books, although this one was first published in 1953, it is just as fresh as today’s headlines. Like many Catholics, I grew up listening to Bishop Sheen. He was the most popular television personality of his day. Very interestingly, he had an extraordinarily high percentage of Jewish people amongst his television audience.

I remember most of all his vibrant personality. He was a highly educated man and not only that, but he had a gift of insight that allowed him to get to the core of an issue. He once said that he read and studied for 20 hours a week in preparation for his half hour show. Right before he would go on the air live, he would spend time in prayer and meditation, what he called THE HOLY HOUR. During this time of prayer, he would ask the Holy Spirit to guide him in his presentation, to inspire his thoughts and to direct him into those areas that would most benefit his audience.

The excerpt that I am going to use for this article is a chapter that is only four pages long, but that was one of Bishop Sheen’s many gifts. He could pack more real information into four pages than some authors do in a 275 page book.

~~John Cronin~~

By: Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

Way To Happiness

Recently a woman at a forum asked an important politician this question: “Why is it that our political leaders never speak of blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice, but only of how much they will give the farmers and the manufacturers and the labor unions if they are elected?” The politician answering quoted another politician, but it seems as if he missed the deep significance of the woman’s question. Actually, she was a spokesman of a large segment of the American people who know enough about history and psychology to know that no nation, as no individual, ever achieves anything worth while except through sacrifice and self-denial.

Toynbee pointed out that sixteen out of nineteen civilizations which have decayed from the beginning of history to the present, have rotted from within; only three fell to attacks from without. Very often an attack from the outside solidifies a nation and strengthens it’s moral fiber. Lincoln once said he never feared that America would be conquered from without, but that it might fall from within. Lenin once said that America would collapse by spending itself to death, an eventuality that is not too distant with a national debt of a little less than three hundred billion dollars.

Was Walter Whitman speaking of our age as well as his own when he wrote: “Society in these days is cankered, crude, superstitious and rotten….The great cities reek with respectable as well as non-respectable robbery and scoundrels. In fashionable life, flippancy, tepid amours, weak infidelities, small aims, or no aims at all, only to kill time….It is as if we were somehow endowed with a vast and thoroughly appointed body, but then left with little or no soul.”

Whitman’s worry was in the woman’s mind for she was disturbed about our indifference, tepidity and moral apathy. If there is anything that is becoming clear in our national life, it is that so called progressive education is extremely unprogressive. Juvenal delinquency, crime, racketeering, political scandals—–all these illegitimate children are dropped on the doorstep of an educational theory that denied a distinction between right and wrong and assumed that self-restraint was identical with the destruction of personality. Every instinct and impulse in either a child or an adult, does not, if left to itself, necessarily produce good results. Man has a hunting instinct which is good when directed to deer in season, but bad when directed to the police in season or out of season. The disrespect for authority which is the outgrowth of the stupidity that every individual is his own determinant of right and wrong has now become an epidemic of lawlessness.

Some day our educators will awaken to several basic facts about youth: (1) Youth has an intellect and a will. The intellect is the source of his knowledge; the will, the source of his decisions. If his choices are wrong, the youth will be wrong regardless of how much he knows. (2) Education through the communication of knowledge does not necessarily make a good man; it can conceivably make learned devils instead of stupid devils. (3) Education is successful when it trains the mind to see the right targets, and disciplines the will to choose them rather than the wrong targets.

At present two currents manifest themselves in our American way of life: one is the direction of a great development of moral character both in individuals and in the nation; the other is toward the surrender of morality and responsibility through a socialist state in which there will be no morality but state-morality, no conscience but state-conscience. Of the two the first is by far the stronger, though neither politics nor economics has seen it. Some of our educators are turning away from the spoiled child psychology, in which the child was called progressive if he did whatever he wanted; now the return is toward doing a little bit of thinking and working in order to wrest us out of our juvenile delinquency and moral flabbiness.

Youth particularly is yearning for something hard; it no longer believes it’s teachers who say that good or evil is a point of view and it makes no difference in which you believe. They now want to believe that something is so evil that we ought to fight against it, and something is so good that we ought, if necessary, to steel and discipline ourselves and even die to defend it. This latent power of blood and sweat and tears in our American youth will be captured within the next generation by one of the other forces: either by some political crackpot who will turn that desire for sacrifice into something like Nazism, Fascism or Communism, or by our leaders, political, educational and moral who will first show self-discipline and moral courage in their own lives and thus give an example to others.

The greatest responsibility falls on religious leaders whose message ought to be the message the woman wanted from politicians—–the clarion call to restraint on evil influences and the showing forth of altruism and love of God.

Share on Facebook

Share This

I have reprinted the text of an email I received yesterday from the campaign of Sarah Steelman who is running for Governor of Missouri. I have reproduced the email here, not so much as a campaign function, but with the thought in mind that this blog site gives me the opportunity to post material that is rarely seen in the MSM. I felt Sarah’s words were so meaningful that they should be shared with our readers.

~~John Cronin~~

Dear Friends,

On this last Sunday before the election I wanted to take a minute to discuss some of the values issues that are so important to me, and so important to many of you. I was prompted to write by a comment at a stop on the tour from a gentleman who said just remember who is in charge and pointed up. And I told him that whatever we do here whether in our jobs or for our families or in our lives it should be based on those things eternal because that is what is lasting.

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1, “Now FAITH is the substance of things HOPED for, the evidence of things unseen.” Our founding fathers had tremendous faith and they relied on God to guide them through the birth of our nation. They had a vision of this great country of ours. They believed that as long as we restricted the power of government allowing people to be free to pursue their hearts and their dreams that this nation would flourish.

As you all know, Ronald Reagan, inspired me as he did many of you. I am reminded of his description of American in his State of Union speech in 1988:

“Well, these ideas were part of a larger notion - a vision, if you will, of America herself - an America not only rich in opportunity for the individual but an America, too, of strong families and vibrant neighborhoods, an America whose divergent but harmonizing communities were a reflection of a deeper community of values - the value of work, of family, of religion - and of the love of freedom that God places in each of us and whose defense He has entrusted in a special way to this nation.

All of this was made possible by an idea I spoke of when Mr. Gorbachev was here - the belief that the most exciting revolution ever known to humankind began with three simple words: “We the People” - the revolutionary notion that the people grant government its rights, and not the other way around.”

That is the kind of America I believe in - where the power is in the hands of the people.

The choices our leaders make matter because it reflects our values as a people. As a Christian, I believe that God gives each and everyone of us life and a purpose. That is why we must protect and respect life from the unborn to the sick and elderly. Every single life, in God’s eyes has infinite value. Family is the cornerstone of our society and it starts with honoring marriage. That’s why I wrote the amendment to our constitution defining marriage between one man and one woman. And it’s why I will always fight for smaller government, so that the real power rests where it should, with you and your family.

But most importantly, we fight for the reasons our founders fought. For our God-given rights to life, to liberty, and to pursue those destinies that He places in all of our hearts. We fight so that this beautiful state and nation we love, under God, will stand strong — so that our children and our children’s’ children may know even greater blessings than we have known. So that they can be all God creates them to be. Those things are eternal.

And finally, God asks us to put others first, to love your neighbor as yourself, to walk the extra mile, to do more than what is expected. As a believer, that is what is asked of us, and that is what I will always strive for no matter what job I do.

Tonight I want to thank you for your support and humbly ask for your prayers for my family. Tomorrow we put in our final day of campaigning before Tuesday’s primary. Thank you for your support and your willingness to fight for the principles of conservatism and the values we hold dear.

Your friend,

Sarah

Paid for by Friends of Steelman, Stephen Gaunt, Treasurer

Share on Facebook

Share This

Though I provide analysis below, I do not suggest I have answers to the questions I raise. But I do raise questions that I think are of critical importance and consideration; not just to this current presidential contest, but more importantly to America. These are questions I think nobody wants to discuss (see photo below).

Tonight (1/29), I have heard the term “lick their wounds” several times. That is not at all how I feel about the loss in Florida. It is fair to say, I believe, that America as a nation, has matured in its history to a point in which a woman or a black man can be elected President by a majority of both sexes and a majority of those of the white or black races. I believe that America has come of age to the point that the bigotry we call sexism and racism, though still engrained in some people, has been marginalized.

What about the bigotry of religious intolerance? In an enlightened age, it is known by all that bigotry of any kind is not acceptable. In this modern day, we don’t generally hear statements of bigotry in common language in ways that were pervasive as recent as the 1950s and 1960s. Religious bigotry was even out in the open at that time as evidenced by evangelical ministers that routinely and publicly denounced the idea that Americans might vote for a Catholic. Today, bigotry of any kind, as a matter of common discussion in mixed company, is simply unacceptable in today’s diverse age. As a result, we do not hear public discussion about religious bigotry. Does that mean that this form of bigotry has also been marginalized to the point America can elect a Mormon? I do not believe it has. In fact, I think it is still pervasive, if now private.

In the states in which GMR won the Silver, by how much did he miss the Gold? Usually around 5%, maybe 10%. Today, he missed the Gold by 6% in a very large state. Since I began to seriously pay attention to presidential politics for 2008 back in 2006, I have seen poll results showing that a fair number of Americans are unwilling to ever vote for a Mormon; anywhere from about 20% of those surveyed to 40% recently. Since I have always concluded that America has matured to the point at which religious intolerance has been effectively marginalized, I more or less dismissed those poll numbers as based on simple ignorance, not bigotry.

Then, as the early state caucuses and primaries became history, I started to see a trend that I saw repeated today in Florida. It is fair to say that a majority of Americans do not find McCain acceptable as President as evidenced by his votes of 35% compared to 65% to all others. But to understand whether bigotry is at work against MR specifically, we need to drill down into the numbers. Is it not also fair to say that the most conservative voters of all would not be generally attracted to McCain, who is a well-known liberal Republican, or at least a Republican that cannot be trusted?

[In order to keep this commentary from becoming longer than it is, I use only the initials of candidates’ first and last names and any time there is a number, it represents a percentage]

In Florida, among evangelicals, the votes were JM(30), MR(29), MH(29). We can conclude that the 29 who voted for MR are not bigots. My presumption is that the reason MH’s 29 did not go to JM is because they consider him way too liberal to represent their values and principles. But if MH were not in the race, would all 29 go to MR? As you think about that answer, if they would not all go to MR, why would any significant portion of them go to JM? Incidentally, as MH keeps smiling and telling the world he can be the nominee, he knows he cannot. He won exactly 4 of all non-evangelical votes; that is par for the course for him. Since day one in Iowa, there has never been broad support for MH. Why does he stay in the race?

White evangelicals voted this way: MH(31), MR(31), JM(28). I think it is fair to say that those who voted for JM would be the more moderate or less orthodox evangelicals, simply because they could have chosen an orthodox evangelical in MH, and they did not. If true, and MH were not in the race, would MH’s 31 go to JM or MR and why? Why would an orthodox evangelical vote for the more liberal, twice married, untrustworthy Republican when they have MR, whose values and principles are much closer to theirs by comparison?

Of voters who think abortion should be illegal, the votes were MR(35), JM(29), MH (21). These are very conservative voters. We know 35 are not bigots and since MR won the majority here, we know that a very high percentage of voters know him to be strong pro-life. If MH were not in the race, would most of his 21 go to MR or JM and why? Of voters who think abortion should always be illegal, the votes were MH(32), MR(30), and JM(26). These voters are even more conservative overall. If MH were not in the race, would most of his 32 go to the more conservative candidate MR? If they would not, why not? Why would more than a handful go to JM instead of MR? Could bigotry influence their decision to go to JM?

Voters that identified themselves as very conservative were MR(44), JM(21), MH(20). It is well known by now that MR is the most conservative of both JM and MH. That being the case, if MH were not in the race, would his ‘very conservative’ voters go to the known, more conservative MR or to the less conservative, more liberal JM? And why? Could bigotry influence their decision to go to JM?

Over at Evangelicals for Mitt, both Steven Muscatello and Nancy French think MH should do “the honorable thing” and drop out. Read their excellent arguments here and here. But think of the context of my rhetorical questions above and consider this. If RG could so easily see the vanity of continuing the race, knowing he could never win, why can MH not see it? Or is it that he sees it and has ulterior motives? Think of the irony. RG, the person many have derided as ethically challenged, drops out seeing the reality; there are no ulterior motives really. MH, whose supporters consider the most ethical and upstanding man in the race, who would consider himself the most humble among them all, plans to “win the nomination” to quote him. Right. And pigs will fly for the first time in February. We now have resounding proof that MH cannot garner more than 10% of all non-evangelical votes and he has only nearly received 40% of all evangelical votes in one state. Clearly, he has no broad support, unlike GWB did as an evangelical. So, his decision to stay in the race is based on what? Ego? Vanity? Love of the sport? Is he lying to us when he says he is not running for Pastor in Chief? Or does he want to influence his voters away from MR and if so, why?

As many at this site have shown, MH revealed his stripes when he let slip his rhetorical Jesus/brother question in an interview. He also ardently campaigned in Salt Lake City to save the Mormons there from hell at the evangelical convention.

My opinion is that the frequent citing of 20 to 40 percent of all Americans unwilling to vote for a Mormon for President, the bigots are at the low end of the range. I may be naïve, but I do not believe that 40% of all Americans are religious bigots. Now, we know that when MR loses the Gold, the margin of loss is only 5% to 10%. That margin of difference is well below the 20% conservative estimate. Where are those 20% or so aligned? Are they divided among RG, MH, and JM? Are they mostly with MH or JM?

My conclusion is that the margin of victory that JM has enjoyed in any state, is a direct correlation to the reported bigotry still pervasive in America. If so, how does MR overcome this obvious bigotry, to win? These less than 20% “unwilling voters” are currently aligned with RG, JM, and MH, in some unknown mix. But knowing this does not help, does it? By definition, if they are bigots, MR will never be their choice. It cannot be argued that all 20% of these “unwilling” voters are in JM’s camp. Yet, it is he that is the beneficiary of their unwillingness to ever vote for MR. And clearly not all of the supporters left in RG’s and MH’s camp are bigots; but some are. So it is fair to say that if both RG and MH were not in the race, a fair number of their non-bigoted supporters would back the most conservative candidate in the race — MR. And why are the voters not following Rush Limbaugh’s advice to not vote for JM and MH?

So again, what is the motivation of MH to remain in a race he knows he cannot and will not win? Is his primary motivation to steer as many evangelicals to the Protestant JM, away from MR? If so, is that reason enough to not drop out of the race?

I think this issue is the 900-pound gorilla in the room with which nobody wants to make eye contact.

~ Vic

[Source of exit poll information above: CNN Politics]
.
.
.
NOTE: Any comment left at this post that is primarily religious based or which contains vitriol, is antagonistic, or generally obnoxious, will be deleted without notice. Please set a standard of discussion that is productive and illuminating. If you have religious opinions, please leave them out of the discussion at this post.

.

Share on Facebook

Share This

In the last few days, I have been reading most of the comments that many of you been leaving in this blog. First of, I wish to thank all of you who have done so; even those who presently disagree with the authors of this site or with Governor Romney himself. Those of us who strive to bring truth to the surface as we attempt to enlighten, are grateful.

Many of the comments are by new visitors. I have read comments by those who have served Fred Thompson well. Many are from Ron Paul supporters. Others, though they may not state their allegiance, may presently support Governor Huckabee, Mayor Giuliani, or Senator McCain. Many of you are contemplating support of Governor Romney. My concern is that many are stating they are afraid that if he is elected President, he will “revert to his liberal past” or words to that effect.

With complete respect, I offer some information. First, many comments mention that Gov. Romney is a privileged man with a privileged upbringing; the inference being that he is out of touch with the average man and woman. Those who struggle day to day to provide for their families. I will save what I would like to write here for another future post. Suffice to say that Governor Romney has spent thousands of hours in silent service (one-on-one) of children, women, and men with struggles many of us will never know (crying with them; praying with them; helping them).   That, as a lay leader in his church over many years.   If you want to get a glimpse of the real man, click here —-> MESSED UP HAIR
(keep in mind that Governor Romney has never mentioned this, nor has he ever mentioned personal service rendered to others; unlike Mike Huckabee who has done so many times).

It is simply false that GMR has ever been liberal in any way. Even the label “pro-choice”, to which GMR admitted, is misleading because his actions, his behavior, his decisions have always been on the side of life. Why am I writing this to you at 2:00 in the morning instead of sleeping? Because too many good, strong conservatives have bitten into the hook of the liberal MSM (hook, line, and sinker) to simply accept the flip/flop label altogether without doing any primary research. I must admit I did too in 2006 before I conducted my own primary research. Don’t make a fatal mistake. Conduct your own, personal, primary research on the man and you will find what I did. That he has always been a consistent conservative.

Proof? Look at this simple flyer to contrast GMR’s positions to that of Senator Kennedy as GMR ran against him in the 90s. Click here ——-> THE REAL ROMNEY (remember, this campaign flyer showing Governor Romney’s positions, is from 1994)

But don’t take my word for it or even the content of this flyer that has been around for years. Please conduct your own research. It takes time, but you will discover, as I did, that the truth about the man is altogether different than what the MSM and Governor Romney’s competitors want you to swallow without thinking.

One good place to start is the following site. Click here —–> Encyclopedia Mittanica maintained by our own Mike Laub.

Lastly, for those of you who are just now discovering Governor Romney and wish to get different perspectives from those who have conducted extensive research into the man, the statesman, the husband/father, the volunteer, click here ——> WHY ROMNEY? (be sure to scroll down; there are dozens of entries)

~ Vic

Share on Facebook

Share This

In the last month, traffic to this blog site has doubled, more or less. To all of you who have visited this site, THANK YOU! And to all those who contribute as writers, THANK YOU.

For a couple of weeks now, I have been thinking of all the new visitors coming to the site to learn about Governor Romney. Many of us have been studying him for well over a year and we know all about him, his life, his career, his family.

But many of you are new to Gov. Romney and know nothing about him. His speech last month in College Station, Texas was a turning point in his campaign for the presidency, much as a similar speech was for JFK in 1960. Arguably, this speech by Gov. Romney will go down in history as one of the great statesman speeches of all time in this great nation of America. Indeed, many political experts and pundits, including Chris Matthews opined that this speech was the single best political speech they had heard in decades.

I still run into supporters of Governor Romney who still have never heard this speech. This speech is worth the time it takes to watch it. Please do if you have not seen it yet.

I was fortunate to attend this speech. It was an event I will never forget. It was a deeply emotional speech; emotions I observed among many not of the faith of Gov. Romney.
.
.

.
.
~ Vic

Share on Facebook

Share This

Some pictures are worth more than a thousand words!

Is it not true that, as Americans, just about every person alive who can vote would not hesitate one second (so they say) to vote for a black man or a woman for President? That this country has progressed over the decades to the point where racial bigotry and gender discrimination are considered relics of the past? We know that both forms of bigotry still exist, but to a much smaller degree than in years past. And yet, religious intolerance, one of the great evils that drove people to found this nation, is still the most conspicuous, insidious, and unspeakable forms of bigotry that pervades this nation!

If you don’t believe me, get a copy of ARTICLE VI — The Movie and tell me I am wrong.

There are still millions in this great nation who are religious bigots beyond comprehension — sorry to say.
.
.

Artwork by Michael Ramirez — Courtesy of IBD Editorials

Share on Facebook

Share This

For many weeks now, I have been saying that all the candidates are out of money except Governor Romney. Giuliani, McCain, and Huckabee are all effectively running on fumes right now. All of them have barely enough money to get some ads up in Florida, except Huckabee. After Florida, then what?

But the bigger question is why is Huckabee staying in the race at all? Almost his entire support is the narrow base of evangelical voters. But of them, he struggles to garner 50% of all evangelical votes and cannot even break 10% of all non-evangelical voters. His support is far, far from anything called broad-based. His support is about as narrow as one can get. This Sunday, he will probably continue to keep it narrow by giving a “non-political” sermon (or two, or three, or four) for a hefty fee of $25,000 each, “sacred funds” that, oh by the way, go into his political coffers. That is really a great way to broaden your support!

One last editorial comment before we see these great excerpts. Did any of you catch Huckabee’s reply to the South Carolina flag dispute the other day? He said something to the effect, “If someone came into my state of Arkansas and told me what to do with our state flag, I would tell them where to stick the flag pole!”, and he said it with a broad smile and a laugh. When he wants to be the Baptist minister, he knows how to turn on the humble charm. When he wants to play the shrewd, crass politician, he can easily change course in his language. Language unbecoming any minister of Jesus Christ.

Why are not more Americans able to see through the facade we call Mike Huckabee?

Anyway, check out these quotes. Why is Huckabee still running in this race? Who is he kidding? By staying in the race with such a narrow support base, he is just exploiting those few supporters who are willing to give him money, either directly into his political coffers, or by dropping it in their Sunday church plate.

FLORIDA PRIMARY — Huckabee skimps on Florida for Georgia — Posted on Mon, Jan. 21, 2008 — BY MARC CAPUTO — mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com

“No television commercials. A small and hastily arranged Florida rally. No clear travel schedule. Mike Huckabee is running the most unorthodox campaign of the major Republican candidates. While his opponents blanketed Florida — the biggest primary yet — on Monday, he opened and closed the day in another state, Georgia. … Political observers and Huckabee’s political opponents say it’s all proof that he’s writing off Florida, where he’s not scheduled to campaign Tuesday and where his opponents appear to be out-fighting and out-spending him. Some even speculate that he’s now running for a vice-presidency slot. But Huckabee said reports of his political death are as exaggerated as they are old. ‘’We plan no Mickey Mouse operation in Florida,’’ he said. But he also noted that ‘’no one’’ will have the race ‘wrapped up’ in Florida.”

Or what about this next quote? Apparently, some of Huckabee’s most ardent supporters have finally seen the light with this man:

Washington Prowler — Huckabee Broke — By The Prowler — Published 1/22/2008 12:08:32 AM

“Less than a month after a huge upset victory, and promises that fundraising would be ramped up, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is asking his senior staff to keep working for him without pay, while lower level campaign staff are seeing their salaries cut dramatically or eliminated altogether. ‘The goal is to get a leaner, meaner campaign structure moving into Super Tuesday,’ says a senior campaign adviser. But many of those being asked to take the cut are refusing, and walking away, leaving the campaign with holes to fill. ‘The money simply hasn’t come in at the rate that we expected,’ says the aide. ‘Florida is a $7 million commitment that we can’t meet, and if we did, that leaves us exposed for Super Tuesday, where we have a lot of states and a lot media buys. We had to make tough decisions.’”

Hopefully, as Huckabee continues to barely get 35% of the evangelical vote and hardly any of the non-evangelical vote, somebody will tap him on the shoulder and tell him the truth. In my opinion though, Huckabee’s ego, greatly enlarged by his Iowa evangelical win, will not allow him to quit the race.

~ Vic

Share on Facebook

Share This

This is really getting old. It deeply sickens me to see Huckabee using God in this way. The IRS should so be on this. There is just absolute NO WAY that Romney could ever (would he ever do it in the first place) get away with something so haughty as this. It doesn’t matter that he wasn’t discussing politics here. He obviously wouldn’t be doing this if he wasn’t running for President. Wonder if Romney, McCain, Thompson, or Giuliani were given invites to do the same? I highly doubt it. I appreciate those evangelicals supporting Romney and going against the grain of bigotry, but those that use the vitriol that Huckabee and his minions have are a disgrace in which our country was founded.

Share on Facebook

Share This

Hugh Hewitt is the Executive Producer of a new documentary, the trailer of which you may have seen a few weeks ago. The first time I saw the trailer was December 6th. Well, it is finally premiering nationwide (see other locations by clicking CONTINUE READING at the bottom of this post)

Want to attend the premiere? For free? This post is intended promote the film in the Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside metropolitan areas. See details and RSVP information below the poster of the film.

The date of the California premiere is Monday, January 14, 2008 — Newport Beach, CA

Check-in Begins at 6:00 p.m. — Show Time is 7:00 p.m.

— See trailer and RSVP details below —

Hugh Hewitt will be at this showing next Monday. I plan to attend with my wife (she knows I like a cheap date!). This afternoon (1/10), I was told the theater hold about 500 people and they have received 200 RSVPs.

Southern California Premiere:

Regency Lido Theatre
3459 Via Lido
Newport Beach, CA 92651

RSVP Required by telephone (M-F, 8-5): 949-296-1520 or via email: rsvpoc@outsideeyes.com

Information: Click here —–> ABOUT THE MOVIE

Watch the Trailer: Click here ——-> TRAILER

This one time viewing in California, next Monday, is free of charge (in fact, all premiere locations are free).

OTHER PREMIERE LOCATIONS: The film is also being shown in these cities on various dates: New York, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Shreveport, and Salt Lake City. For more information for these cities, click CONTINUE READING just below.

~ Vic

More »

Share on Facebook

Share This

This morning, U.S. Senator Jim Talent sat down with me to express why he is such an ardent supporter of Governor Romney. A couple of things caught my attention as we began and I started asking questions related to Mike Huckabee. Senator Talent is a Evangelical Christian and is one of the strongest national leaders in promoting pro-life issues. His official title is Chairman, Domestic Policy Task Force – Mitt Romney for President, Inc. The interview was at the Romney Iowa Caucuses Headquarters in Des, Moines.

Press Release at the time Senator Talent joined Mitt Romney’s team

Senator Talent’s Wikipedia Description

The interview was conducted in a large, open space in what is effectively an office building among several tables and dozens of people making calls to get the vote out. After five minutes, about six volunteers joined us and actually helped me conduct the interview. How you ask? Well, I do not know short-hand, so first, their brief interruptions served to allow me time to better write my notes, and second, they had a couple of great questions that added to the interview!

Q: Why Romney and not other candidates such as Huckabee?

“Governor Romney is the only candidate with the whole package necessary to defeat the Democrats in the general election. The others do not have what it takes including Giuliani, Huckabee, McCain, or Thompson.

None of the other candidates are as effectively pro-life as Governor Romney. All you have to do is look at what he did as governor of Massachusetts. Nobody fought harder in the protection of traditional marriage than Governor Romney and nobody was more effective in fighting for life at the early stages than Governor Romney. Regardless of any of the candidates’ positions in the pro-life agenda, Governor Romney is the only one that will be the strong, effective pro-life leader. He is the only one who will serve the pro-life agenda in a truly effective way.

Governor Romney is the only Republican candidate who can accomplish all of three of the following:
• Unify and mobilize the entire the Republican Party.
• Articulate an incredibly powerful message around 1) strong national defense, 2) strong families, and 3) a strong economy.
• Reach out to and connect with the center of America.

Governor Romney is the only true, comprehensive conservative among all the Republican candidates.

Q: Why Governor Romney over Huckabee?

I like to ask the simple question, “What would happen if Mike Huckabee were to be the Republican nominee?”

Think about Hillary Clinton deciding to run to the right of Huckabee on crime and taxes. Clinton could easily challenge Huckabee on any number of issues and run to the right on his past. Crime for example: Huckabee pardoned or commuted the sentences of 1,033 felons. On taxes, Huckabee raised taxes on the middle class.

As a person who has run several campaigns myself and who has run a couple of very tough campaigns, I know how important it is to have adequate resources. Mitt Romney is the only Republican candidate who has the resources to wage a long, tough, national campaign against the Democrats; all the other Republican candidates are underfunded and do not have the necessary resources.

Governor Romney has the executive management skill of all candidates and his campaign is the best run campaign of all.

Anybody who has ever met Mitt Romney knows him as a very open and genuine person. It is very touching when he is with his family.

Governor Romney is the only Republican who will make many good things happen and prevent bad things from happening.

Neither McCain nor Huckabee can mobilize all conservatives of our nation. Neither has a strong record on tax cuts. Republicans will not be able to win the general election without a strong stand on illegal immigration and Mitt Romney is the only candidate who is strong in this critical issue.

I have been a strong pro-life advocate my whole life. Certainly, we should scrutinize the pro-life position of any leader that has converted from a pro-choice position. Those of us who are national leaders (James Bopp, Jr. and Jay Seculow) in the pro-life movement have performed that scrutiny of Governor Romney and know him to be absolutely committed to the pro-life agenda in every way. He is the strongest pro-life candidate running today.

This is important. The Massachusetts Citizens for Life do not give out their highest award to just anybody and they gave theirs to Governor Romney for his tireless work in Massachusetts for life issues!

Stayed tuned for more news from Iowa. I have been working all day, but based on the buzz around me and what I have seen here today, there is a lot going on FOR Governor Romney. There are lots of really cheerful, enthusiastic volunteers all around, coming and going. I have been around very organized projects my entire career. Nothing compares to this though.

Ann Romney stopped in and went around and met many volunteers along with Mary Romney (Craig’s wife I think) and her son. Scott Romney, Mitt’s brother also stopped in and gave a little update along with Senator Talent accompanied by cheers. Apparently tonight there is a rally for supporters. When you get a chance, look for updates from Jason Bonham over at My Man Mitt who is embedded with Governor Romney’s press corp as they fly around Iowa. I had dinner with Jason last night and he was pretty excited about today.

~ Vic

Share on Facebook

Share This

PLEASE KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK IN IOWA!

This will be my last posting of this CALL TO ACTION.  Please do as much as you can to follow the blogs below and to post comments wherever you can.  Be sure to check Iowans for Romney often (see below).    I hope to bring you real time posts from Iowa with photographs.  I will be there Jan 1st to Jan 4th.

Let’s keep working very hard for Governor Romney.

———– PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW ————————

YOU ARE ALL MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

CALL TO ACTION — At every comment you leave, enter this URL: www.EvangelicalsForMitt.org — From this point forward, if we all leave that URL at every comment we leave, especially any and all that are about Huckabee, we will have tremendous influence!

The purpose of course is to educate and illuminate others; never use vitriol of any kind. You may not realize it now, but you can greatly influence voters in Iowa by your thoughtful, intelligent comments that are pro-Romney and facts that show the true record of Huckabee. Below this are other things you can do to leverage this information across America. According to our resident Iowa expert, Jeff Fuller, these are five of the most prominent and influential political blogs in Iowa right now (by clicking each blog name, you will be taken to the blog) —

Don’t forget to leave this URL at every blog post from now on: www.EvangelicalsForMitt.org:

CYCLONE CONSERVATIVES

THE CAUCUS COOLER

IOWA LIKES MIKE

THE REAL SPORER

THE CORN BELTWAY BOYS (pro-Giuliani)

.
.
.
TODAY’S FEATURED ARTICLE is from the Des Moines Register ——> “Huckabee willing to buck his party while keeping folksy demeanor” — This article is so slanted and biased to Huckabee, it is almost sappy. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go to this article and leave comments. The people of Iowa need to be awakened to the truth of this man. Please leave a comment. This article is the longest and most slanted article for Huckabee I have seen; the writer is obviously choosing to ignore all the truth.
.
.
.
VIRAL ACTION — You and I can be tremendously effective in our influence if we leverage this information by getting it out to our family members and friends who would like to be involved in any grassroots effort to help Governor Romney. They may not take the time to visit this blog or they may not be as politically immersed as the rest of us junkies. How to get them to help? It is very simple. All you do is the following:

1) Open a blank email page and place in the subject line something like: “IMPORTANT: Your Help Needed in Iowa”
2) Click on the above title of this blog post. Doing so will open the post into its own, separate web page, apart from all other posts.
3) After doing #2, simply copy the URL of this post into the body of the email page you started in #1.
4) Add a brief, personal request in your email to visit that URL (this post) and to help influence voters in Iowa. Ask them also to forward your request to their contacts.
5) Attach as many email addresses as you wish in the “To” or “Bcc” box (I prefer “Bcc” for privacy) and send it out each time you see this post.

NOTE: Please be most respectful in your comment and try to represent Governor Romney in the way he would behave. That said, use active language to show why you support Gov. Romney and how you might have changed from another candidate to now support Mitt. Every Romney supporter I have met is intelligent and knowledgeable; let’s use these to influence Iowans.

If every one of us does this each time we see this posted request: a) go to one blog and leave one comment, and b) email to all our Romney-friendly-friends, this message will take on a viral nature that will definitely reach tens of thousands of grassroots volunteers from Maine to Hawaii, Americans abroad, and in US military installations worldwide. If you will take out five minutes every time you see this message and do this, we will have a tremendous collective impact on the Iowa Caucus.

Also, please visit IOWANS FOR ROMNEY often leading up to January 3rd for other specific information on how you can influence voters in Iowa.

PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME OTHERS WILL TAKE ACTION — PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW

And THANK YOU!

~ Vic

Help Governor Romney get his message out — PLEASE CONTRIBUTE NOW, HERE

“But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think…”

— Lord Byron, English poet (1788-1824), from Don Juan, Canto III

Share on Facebook

Share This