Media Misrepresents Santorum - and what else is new?
I suppose if you really want to see the so called mainstream (or is it mean-stream) media go into apoplexy, Republican voters ought to really make sure Rick Santorum wins on Tuesday. Not that Romney supporters would want that, but think about it. The media asks Santorum about speeches he made years ago at a Catholic college and then complains that all he talks about is contraception. And they are the ones complaining that all the Republican candidates are incompetent. Well perhaps the media is the incompetent character in this year's political battle.
As you all know I support Rick. I have known him for many years and of all the candidates, I think he is the best match up against Obama. Here are my reasons - and not necessarily in any particular order.
1. Rick can attack Obama on ObamaCare. Lets be blunt. Romney has this one hanging on his neck. And he won't admit that he was wrong. Rick can pummel Obama on the 2000 pages of regulations, exemptions, mandates, etc. Poll after poll reminds us that this is a winning issue for Republicans.
2.Rick is a staunch friend of Israel and hte current crisis is expected to escalate over the summer. In fact watch for a contrived "crisis" to give the president 'stature" and for the media to blow it out of proportion. But Rick Santorum has the knowledge and experience while senator to neutralize to a great extent the president's incumbent advantage.
3. The economy. Rick's background and his Midwestern steel town roots give him credibility and connect him with Middle America. He won election in a purple/blue state many times and when people get to know him, they like him. If America can get to know this father of seven who has a daughter with special needs, they will better understand his loving embrace of his Catholic faith. Most people will respect that he actually lives what he believes.
4. His faith will attract Catholics and in the end they will support him over a person who is attacking their Church. It is one thing for Catholics to complain about their church, but it is another thing for someone outside the tribe to stick their nose into family matters and to dictate compliance when it violates rights of conscience and religious liberty. Obama did this with the HHS mandate. an here is the thing - while many have heard about it, most do not know how onerous it truly is to people of conscience. Religious liberty - in the face of the Obama threat ought to galvanize Catholic and evangelical voters. And a further note: because of Rick's leadership in the pro-life movement, many evangelicals are very comfortable with him - He could actually unite evangelicals and Catholics - something McCain could not do in 08. Again he will have something in common with Latino voters as well. and he would do well to remind Hispanic voters that in Mexico's history, there have been dictators who attacked the church and the people who were believers.
5. His economic ideas resonate with people becsue there is an awful lot of common sense involved. His discussion about creating wealth by making things is something that working people understand. His budget proposals show real cuts in spending not just illusory one. That cost cutting approach will attract Independents and Ron Paul supporters.
6. His wife and family. Never under-estimate the value of a good wife and family to give any politician a human side. Rick has this in spades. I have noticed a tremendous humility when discussing his daughter's situation. If he can get that message out, any so-called gender gap will disappear. Women are looking for someone who will protect and defend them. At the same time thy want someone who has values and respects women. Clearing up the distortions is important - though not as important as gas prices and general inflation. Women want someone who understands their every day issues, whether it be work, school or home related.
7. His views on school choice and returning school control to local communities plays well among Latinos especially those who want to see better opportunities in poor neighborhoods.
More later.
ARIZONA RIGHT TO LIFE ENDORSES RICK SANTORUM
Arizona Right to Life has endorsed Rick Santorum for President. Arizona Right to Life PAC issued its statement of support for the former Pennsylvania Senator.
Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Right to Life Political Action
Committee (AZRTL PAC) today announced its endorsement of Rick Santorum
in the Republican presidential primary. AZRTL PAC endorsed Rick Santorum
based on his strong pro-life record and his leadership over the years.
Santorum authored the law banning partial-birth abortions, as well as
the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, providing appropriate care for
infants who survive an abortion. He was a member of the Congressional
Coalition on Adoption, and also sponsored legislation related to end of
life issues. He continues to be an outspoken opponent of federal funding
of abortion. The AZRTL PAC considered Santorum’s support of these
priority issues in deciding to endorse him.
“There are few who are as articulate and passionate on life issues as Senator Santorum,” said Michelle Clements, president of Arizona Right to Life. “He
not only voted the right way, he talks about the dignity and value of
every human life whenever he has the opportunity, and he lives out those
values in his own personal life. We are grateful for his leadership and
proud to endorse him.”
AZRTL PAC acknowledges that all the Republican presidential
candidates have declared they are pro-life, and that other candidates
have strong pro-life voting records. Arizona Right to Life commends them
for their support and defense of life.
“The one person we know is unapologetically pro-choice, even
supporting partial-birth abortion and federal funding of abortion, is
President Barack Obama,” said Clements. “This is a
critically important election, and we take comfort in knowing that the
Republican nominee will take a strong position in contrast to President
Obama who is the only pro-choice candidate.”
“We encourage Arizonans to support Rick Santorum in the Republican presidential primary election Tuesday, February 28.”
For nearly 40 years Arizona Right to Life has been committed to
articulating and protecting the right to life of all human beings, born
and unborn. Our passion is reaching the next generation for LIFE. For
more information visit www.azrtl.org. Find us on Facebook.com/AZRTL or follow us at Twitter.com/AZRTL.
I am pleased to see the effort and also applaud the comments made tonight at the rally by AZRTL president Michelle Clements, conservative leader, Cathi Herrod, and former GOP gubernatorial candidate, Len Munsil who all reminded everyone why Santorum was such a logical choice for Arizona.
I endorse Rick Santorum for President
His message is clear. His concern for the dignity of life is genuine and proven. He has the ability to challenge the current president on all the major issues, especially Obama-care. He has impressed me with his ability to stay on message and to meet the people where they are. Rick Santorum has earned my vote and i encourage you to support his candidacy for president.
There are those who do not believe he can defeat Barak Obama. I disagree. Not only can Rick Santorum defeat Barak Obama but he can remind people what it is that made America great. He can draw out of ourselves the notion that we can meet the challenges of today and make this land a better place for our children.
Santorum will not just float fuzzy promises of "hope" and "change." He will identify what we as a nation must do at the local level to turn things around. He will encourage lively debate on what edification should look like in the next twenty years. He will ask how can we compete with the world if our energy policy is handcuffed by radical environmental regulations that prevent us from marshaling our natural resources. And he will show us what reducing the size of government really means.
Finally he frustrates the liberal talking heads of the media. he smiles and explains himself in ways the average Joe can understand. He is not afraid to say things that people understand but that the media thinks is politically incorrect. In fact the more he is attacked by the mainstream media, the more the average voter thinks he must be on to something.
So lets support this happy warrior, someone who actually believes in something and lets take back our country and re-build it for our children.
American People's Support for Santorum is Real.
The reaction by the media and the Washington establishment has been comical. They do not understand how Santorum is gaining or even surpassing Mitt Romney in the latest polls. They did not understand his winning in Missouri, Minnesota, nd Colorado. They are confused. The Republican establishment tried to make Monday a "Mitt " day by showcasing his visit to Arizona and reminding everyone that he won the CPAC poll and the Maine caucuses. Fair enough. But the Michigan numbers deflate the
story. And as the press
writes more about Santorum, the public gets the idea that this fellow could be the one who could beat Barak Obama. The latest polls throughout the country show Santorum beating Romney in Michigan and in
Tennessee.
The National Review has written that Gingrich should step aside.
All this means is that Santorum will be put under the magnifying glass by everyone. But his handling of the talking heads this weekend produced no gaffes and some great one liners. He is comfortable being who he is. And he smiles. That is a good thing.
He should continue to take the high road in the primary process concentrating his verbal arsenal on the true target - Barak Obama. - and pointing out to the American people that we do not need a dictator in the White House. We need a leader who acknowledges the real liberties of the average American citizen, who wants to give everyone opportunities in their daily struggle and fundamentally respects their right to life.
Forgetting History - A warning
So it is late and here am I up, instead of being in bed and asleep, going through the news and reading about various issues when I come across an article referenced in an
blog that catches my attention. The headline reads "
Academics Call for Killing People to Harvest Their Organs.
The blog explains that an
article in the Journal of Medical Ethics makes no distinction between death and those persons totally disabled. The author argues that the totally disabled should be killed in order to harvest their organs.
I had an immediate flashback to numerous conversations many years ago with Doctors Josef and Carolyn Gerster, M.D. about Josef's experiences in Nazi Germany while growing up. Dr. Carolyn mentioned a
book written in the 1920s that set the stage for the killing of medically dependent and disabled children and later adults. This indoctrination of the medical profession to consider that some lives were devoid of value was the precursor of the atrocities committed by the Third Reich. Robert Lipton later wrote a book called
The Nazi Doctors documenting the history in Germany of medical killing and the psychology of genocide.
As Dr. Gerster would articulate in her talks and lectures, the disposal of the Hippocratic Oath in Germany mirrored what happened in the U.S. after the legalization of abortion. Indeed the editorial in California Medicine in September 1970 made the haunting statement that
The process of eroding the old ethic and substituting the new has already
begun. It may be seen most clearly in changing attitudes toward human abortion.
In defiance of the long held Western ethic of intrinsic and equal value for
every human life regardless of its stage, condition, or status, abortion is
becoming accepted by society as moral, right, and even necessary. It is worth
noting that this shift in public attitude has affected the churches, the laws,
and public policy rather than the reverse. Since the old ethic has not yet been
fully displaced it has been necessary to separate the idea of abortion from the
idea of killing, which continues to be socially abhorrent. The result has been a
curious avoidance of the scientific fact, which everyone really knows, that
human life begins at conception and is continuous whether intra- or
extra-uterine until death. The very considerable semantic gymnastics which are
required to rationalize abortion as anything but taking a human life would be
ludicrous if they were not often put forth under socially impeccable auspices.
It is suggested that this schizophrenic sort of subterfuge is necessary because
while a new ethic is being accepted the old one has not yet been rejected.
Connecting the dots does not require a master's degree in mathematics. Wesley J. Smith wrote about it on Friday in
The Daily Caller. He points out that we must expose this thought process to the general public
Sunlight is the great disinfectant. Most people will oppose killing for
organs. Thus, the best way to prevent this dark agenda from ever
becoming the legal public policy is to expose it in popular media every
time it is proposed.
He was hopeful that as long as the American public is aware of this effort, they will not go along with it. I do not know if my concerns rest with the people's awareness of the plan or the efforts by the federal government to slide this in with all of the other destructive actions that it is taking with "health care.". After all. remember the panic the Obama Administration and the mainstream media had when Sarah Palin referred to the 'death panels' that would be set up to figure out when it was time for Grandma to make her final exit.
Combine these past concerns raised but never adequately addressed with the current controversy over forcing individual Americans and religious institutions violate their religious consciences.
What we gain from this examination is just another example of why this administration must not get a second term. No person who values freedom can support this open assault on religious liberties. The fact that this article was even published in an academic journal is scary. People who have a utilitarian world view will not allow believers to exist. They cannot tolerate any view but their own. One sees the extent of their toleration in their attack on the Catholic Church. One sees their mind set in their effort to define what is and is not "church or religious activity." Their total disregard of the First Amendment is brazen. Yet with the cover of heir media friends, the administration is able to create false scenarios and lie to the American people in order to deceive them. Lets not mince words. Back in the 1960s the media attacked the Catholic bishops in order to marginalize them on the subject of birth control. They succeeded and certain liberal bishops in the U.S. have cow-towed to the left's agenda ever since. Again in the 1970s the press painted opposition to abortion as a religious issue, appealing to a bias and prejudice against Catholics, in order to keep Protestants and Evangelicals from seeing it as a human rights issue. Fortunately that changed and the collaboration among men and women of different faith backgrounds has created a true ecumenical movement in the nation. But once again the game plan is similar. Marginalize and divide.
Whether it is the subject of abortion or concern for those at the end of life, without a consistent ethic that values all human beings, we as a nation are no different from previous generations who sought to justify the killing of human beings for their own purpose. Articles such as the one referenced above must be condemned as a totally wrong. People who espouse such thoughts must be rejected by the body politic. There is no room in politics or academia for anyone who thinks it is permissible to kill an innocent person. Such thinking was responsible for a world war and mass murder on two continents killing almost a 100 million people. It cannot be presented as an acceptable philosophy now or ever.
Rick Santorum - Can he unite the Republican party to defeat Obama?
Rick Santorum's stunning victories in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado have vaulted his campaign into the limelight and has got the establishment in DC scratching theri heads. After all Santorum's victories were not produced by spending millions of dollars and his head to head match up with Romney spoke volumes about the fact that a strong majority of the GOP has not settled upon the "inevitability" of a Romney candidacy. In fact the energy surrounding Santorum seems quite organic nad not something produced at all by the campaign. People throughout the country like this guy and they are clamoring to show their support in ways that are outstripping the ability of the campaign to respond.
This could actually be a very good thing in the short run. The campaign will have to get a handle on the surge and direct the energy lest it be lsot. but it tells me that there are those who have decided that the Gingrich candidacy is over, that the Romney candidacy carried too much baggage and that Republican voters actually want to win in November.
After Florida it was explained by all the experts that it was all over but fro the shouting - Team Romney had clearly shown itself the superior machine. It attacked Gingrich when it needed to and won Florida decisively. But although Gingrich was badly damaged, and the media had been talking that this was a two man race, Santorum was still in play. The press figured that after the "beauty" contests, it would be Mitt's to lose. Well, after Tuesday, Santorum has now won four states to Mitt's three and Gingrich's one.
The pundits still suggest that after Super Tuesday Mitt will be back on top. But there is much in the details that would question such conclusion. Every analysis of the Romney candidacy must recognize his weakness in attacking Obama Care, one of the strongest areas of national dislike toward this administration. The average American voter wants it repealed. How can they be sure that Romney, who presided over a state version, has the fortitude to see repeal through.
Santorum has been waging a campaign against Obama and has focused on reminding voters that he has the best chance of defeating the president in November. Obama cannot play the 1% card against Santorum. In light of the Obama administration's attack on religious liberties and the Catholic church, Santorum's support by Evangelicals positions him as a Catholic to unite two important religious voting blocks who have not traditionally voted side by side. Santorum's strong unwavering pro-life position and his defense of traditional marriage also scores him points over Romney, who recent "conversion" to the pro-life cause has not won over many of the long time veteran of either effort.
Finally some see the media's vicious attacks on Santorum reminiscent of the attacks on Reagan, both in 1976 and 1980. One can sense that the media is scared of Santorum and hence the almost insane effort to marginalize him .But the voter sees a different fellow. They see a devoted family man and father. They see a solid hard working politician who has rolled up his sleeves and gone out to actually talk tot the average American voter. They can identify with his speeches that talk about honor, hard work and tradition. They hear him say that he believes that our rights come from god and they agree with him.
In the end, the voter can identify with Rick Santorum as someone who actually believes and lives what he says. And when he tells the voters that he believes in America and he believes in them, they know he is being genuine. For Rick Santorum his words are not empty rhetoric - they are a clarion call to make America that shining city on the hill - the last best hope of mankind.
Obama Throws Down the Gauntlet
President Obama's decision to allow Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to issue mandates that violate the religious liberties of the Catholic Church and Catholic hospitals and colleges - not to mention the 75 million Catholics living in this nation has served to bring out into the open once again the anti-Catholic bias of this administration and to remind Catholic voters what is at state in the November general elections.
This mandate which has produced a firestorm of criticism from both the left and the right would require Catholic institutions as well as Catholic owned businesses to offer contraception, abortion and sterilization to their employees. Failure to do so would violate the law and subject the company, institution or person to fines.
Even liberals are upset about he callous manner in which the Obama administration went about this attack on the freedom of religion. Obama apologists just as E.J. Dionne have expressed their disappointment in recent
columns.http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/obamas-breach-of-faith-over-contraceptive-ruling/2012/01/29/gIQAY7V5aQ_story.html
Others have pointed out the unconstitutional nature of the mandate and argue that this is just another example of the onerous tentacles of government overreach.
In Phoenix a week ago Sunday, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted requested that a
letter be read at all masses.
As of this weekend, over 153 bishops have spoken or acted in some way in opposition to the mandate.
Peggy Noonan in her column in the wall Street Journal noted that this could be the unspoken issue of the November campaign.
The catholic bishops cannot sit on their hands on this one. their general timidity and attempts in the past to cozy up to the left leaning politicians have only hurt the Church and the faithful. It is time to stand up for religious liberty, freedom of conscience and the right to life for all persons. they can start by publicly excommunicating all those "Catholic" politicians who carry water for the pro-abortion industry. this includes Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. If the purpose of excommunication is to wake up someone and bring them back to the grace of God, then now is the time if we truly care about their souls. Every catholic politician who acts to harm the unborn child and women must publicly recant their pro-abortion position. No Catholic should ever knowingly vote for support a pro-abortion candidate.
Now is the time to stand up for life and against tyranny.
Santorum gets some good news?
Here is an interesting bit of news. A new
Rasmussen poll shows Rick Santorum beating Barak Obama. (h/t
The Deacon's Bench.) Quoting Rasmussen
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll
for Saturday shows that 26% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of
the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty
percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval
Index rating of -14 (see trends).
In
a potential Election 2012 matchup, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick
Santorum is at 45% while President Obama earns 44%. This is the first
time in any poll that Santorum has led the president. Several other GOP
challengers have led the president a single time in the polls including
Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich. Each man briefly held the
lead while they were surging in the polls, only to fall quickly. It
remains to be seen what will happen to Santorum’s support.
Santorum
gets 78% of the Republican vote and leads by ten among those not
affiliated with either major party. President Obama get 83% of the
Democratic vote in that matchup. Santorum leads by 16 points among men
but trails by 12 among women. As is typically the case in all matchups,
the president leads among those under 40 while the GOP hopeful leads
among those who are over 40.
Now what is very unusual is that when i first checked the Rasmussen site, I read the quote referenced above. I then made the link. Five minutes later, when I was about to leave this post and was doing a final check, the paragraph quoted was removed from the Rasmussen article.
So here is an interesting question: Is there a concerted effort by the media to just ignore Santorum? do they think that because he is not polling strong enough, he is out of it and therefore it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy? Or is it more that there is more excitement in a two man race? With this poll the argument that Santorum is not "electable" goes out the window. But if the story disappears.....
Lessons from the Komen Controversy
Having been traveling this past week, I have had time to consider the events surrounding the Susan G. Komen controversy and the lessons it teaches all of us about the power of the media, the influence of Planned Parenthood and how critical it is that the pro-life movement help defeat Barak Obama in November in order to stop Obamacare.
I don't think that I need to rehash what happened with Komen. The breast cancer research foundation had no idea its announcement was going to put it in the cross-hairs of the media' s sights as it was attacked relentlessly by Planned Parenthood's minions. And the viciousness of the assault was stunning to even those who knew of Planned Parenthood's history of taking no prisoners.
Various bloggers have been following and commenting on the while mess.
Jill Stanek's well respected blog had this to say: "Everyone now knows how ruthless Planned Parenthood is, willing to destroy SGK and the work it does in retaliation."
Christianity Today had and interesting
take on the events pointing out what some may call the law of unintended consequences. After all now everyone knows that Komen gave to Planned Parenthood.The article also reminded its reader that everyone now knows that Planned Parenthood never provided mammograms. It merely referred for the service. Finally the article noted that any pretense of media objectivity has all but disappeared when addressing the abortion issue. Now those of us active in the pro-life movement already knew this. but I cannot tell you how many times I had to explain that the media hs an innate bias against the pro-life movement - and especially at the national level.
But here is the rest of the story.
The stakes are high in this battle with the world's largest abortion provider. It is about money, power and advancing its agenda. It ties in with the Obama Administration's recent declaration against Catholic institutions and the arrogance of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who thinks that she can dictate to the Catholic Church and her believers how to think and how to act when it comes to matters relating to human sexuality.
So here are the lessons.
1. Do not underestimate their power and influence.
2. Be prepared for the assault against everything when PP is attacked in the future.
3. Planned Parenthood is vulnerable - especially when it cannot control the message.
4. We need to continue to pound Planned Parenthood on their vulnerabilities which includes their messaging in the media.
5. As one of the articles stated, everyone now knows that Planned Parenthood is in the abortion business.
6. Everyone also now knows that Planned Parenthood plays rough when it is out to destroy an entity.
Planned Parenthood's expectations are that when Obama gets another term, PP will be in for the kill. The mega abortion centers being build in strategic location of this killing centers is designed to facilitate the patient's arrival and to maximize the revenues.PP will be charging the government for the abortions performed and that means more money going into its coffers.
We in the pro-life movement must continue to build our grassroots support so that our impact economically, politically and socially will be felt sooner than later. If we continue to tar PP with the abortion/sterilization albatross, then more agencies will agree not to fund them. We must continue to call on Rep. Sterns to hold congressional hearings. Nothing could be more germane than to expose the waster of taxpayer funds as well as exposing this organization as the homicidal entity it is.
Finally keep it all in prayer.
