Will We “Vote for Principle” or Choose to “Just Win Baby!”

Is everyone else’s mailbox getting stuffed with as many campaign mailers as what I’ve received this year? At the beginning of the election season I was tossing some of the mailers in the garbage, but then I decided to start a collection. I now have a pile of over 40 mailers on the table, 14 of which are for a single candidate, and it’s not over yet.

Last week, I was about to comment that the incumbent Republican U.S. House candidate was sending me a mailer every day, but this week I have to update that as they’ve picked up the pace and I actually received two mailers the same day. I can’t imagine how much money it takes to so saturate a Congressional district with advertising. I’m sure it’s well beyond what ordinary citizens and mere voters can comprehend.

While counting up the mailers for the incumbent Congressional candidate, it occurred to me to look at the “paid for by” section. To my surprise, all but one was paid for by the state Republican Party. The other one was from the NRA.

I haven’t made a habit of looking at sponsor ID in the past, but I really can’t remember ever receiving campaign mailers paid for by the Republican Party. Continue reading “Will We “Vote for Principle” or Choose to “Just Win Baby!””

Is the Lord Building This House or Is It Just Us Laboring in Vain?

When the Constitutional Convention of 1787 found itself in gridlock, Benjamin Franklin urged his fellow delegates that daily prayers should be made “imploring the assistance of Heaven.” Franklin observed that:

We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that “except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.[Psalm 127:1] I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel . . .

The popularity of such religious sentiment may have waned in recent years, but the truth of God’s word, and the veracity of Mr. Franklin’s statement, remain unchanged. Labor expended on any house that is not of the Lord’s building is wasted effort that will not produce the desired results. Continue reading “Is the Lord Building This House or Is It Just Us Laboring in Vain?”

The Hypocrisy of the Right

It seems to be a popular notion among the conservative right to think that hypocrisy is the exclusive domain of the liberal left. However, in recent years I have become increasingly aware of the presence of hypocrisy infecting the political right and I find it quite disturbing.

Hypocrisy is subtle and beguiling. Like the Pharisees of old, you can fall into hypocrisy without even realizing it – being blind to your own gradual departure from the righteous standard while still calling yourself an enlightened guide to the blind. I believe the Christian-conservative-right would do well to take a reality check and ask God to show us any places where we have let this insidious disease creep in and influence us to engage in practices that do not align with what we preach.

The Moral High Ground

An October 11 article by Jim Jamitis at RedState illustrates at least one manifestation of this malady and its debilitating effect. Jamitis describes the embarrassment one is inclined to feel for former Trump campaign manager turned Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, when she criticizes Hillary Clinton for being too slow to respond to, and too tepid in her condemnation of, the sexual misdeeds of Harvey Weinstein. It wasn’t that long ago that Conway herself, “flippantly dismissed her boss’s accusers and his own sexually deviant braggadocio.” Jamitis went on to explain that he opposed Trump’s nomination because, “by supporting him, people were throwing away their future credibility when being critical of Democrats on character issues.” Continue reading “The Hypocrisy of the Right”

A Tale of Two Surveys (Are the Parties Conning Us?)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, depending whether you were receiving the “Republican 2017 Congressional District Census,” or the “Official 2017 Democratic Party Survey”; whether your party had just achieved victory, or suffered defeat; whether your party was in power, trying to defend the country against the forces of evil, or was out of power, trying to take the country back from the forces of evil. Whichever survey you received, one thing was certain: The country could only be saved if you “send us your money!”

But perhaps I should back up to start at the beginning of the story.

I’ve been receiving gimmick fundraising letters from the Republican Party for a long time. I mean, a really, really long time – like decades; and that is despite the fact that I’ve never in my life been an actual member of, nor donated to, the Republican Party. But that hasn’t stopped the republicans from sending me mailings, sometimes with a membership card, and at other times, an official survey seeking to discover the views of the “party faithful,” so that the new congress can set their agenda based on the opinions of some guy in Spokane Valley who isn’t even a member of the party.

However, I had never really thought about what kind of fundraising schemes the Democratic Party might be employing to extract funds from their target donors. Well, I recently found out when a friend shared a letter with me that he had received from the Democratic Party. Like me, and my non-association with the Republican Party, this friend has nothing to do with the Democratic Party. I don’t know what caused them to include him in their most recent mailing, but I’m glad they did, as it gave me a chance to compare the tactics of the two parties side by side.

What I discovered is that the similarities between the two mailings are just too great to ignore. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Surveys (Are the Parties Conning Us?)”

The Candidate They Don’t Want You to Know About

the-candidate-295pAs the pundits pontificate, the politicians bluster and blather, and the American public eagerly awaits the opening of Presidential debate season, there are only two things missing from American Presidential politics: 1) A news media willing to ask the real questions that address America’s moral condition, the candidate’s guiding principles, and the rule of law under the U.S. Constitution; and, 2) Candidates who comprehend America’s moral condition, possess guiding principles, and understand the rule of law under the U.S. Constitution.

There actually is a Presidential candidate in the race who does comprehend America’s moral condition, has guiding principles, and understands the rule of law under the U.S. Constitution. However, it appears the dominant media does not want the American public to find out about him. While Trump gets by far the most media coverage, Hillary less, and third party candidates receive minimal attention, only Darrell Castle of the Constitution Party has received “zero coverage” by ABC, CBS and NBC. Castle also just happens to be the only candidate in the race who is basing his policies on a Christian worldview, the principles of liberty through limited government and adherence to the U.S. Constitution. You don’t suppose there could be a connection there? Continue reading “The Candidate They Don’t Want You to Know About”

Republican Endorsements

Republican EndorsementsA couple years ago, while reading an article about some internal strife in my state’s Republican Party, I was surprised to read that, “the state GOP has a policy of not endorsing one Republican over another.” I had noticed that this seemed to be the party’s practice, but didn’t know it was an actual policy.

You see, in my view, it is the duty of a political party to select it’s own candidates, or at least to inform the voting public, and party supporters, as to which candidates actually meet with the party’s approval, and, it is hoped, conform to its platform. This is especially important in a state like mine, where anyone can have their name placed on the ballot as “Prefers Republican Party,” or any other party for that matter, including the occasional fictitious party name. It seems to me that if a party desires to maintain an appearance of actually standing for something, it would want to make sure it is being represented by candidates who adhere to certain values. Nevertheless, it appears the Republican Party would rather be represented by, and be defined by, anyone under the sun who places their name on the ballot and gets enough votes to win.

You can understand my surprise when, a few days ago, I receive an email from my state’s Republican Party chairman directing people to a list of candidates to vote for in the primary election. No, I’m not a member of the R party and never have been, but they insist on sending me mail and email anyway, and even the occasional membership card, which I quickly dispose of.

But wait, I thought my state’s Republican Party didn’t give endorsements, so what’s with this list of candidates to vote for? Continue reading “Republican Endorsements”

The Real State of the Union

Darrell-Cynthia-195p.jpgMy friend, Darrell Castle, producer of the weekly Castle Report, was recently interviewed on the Home Front program with former state representative, Cynthia Davis. Their conversation began with a review of some of the key events and issues of the past year that are most effecting our lives. It’s a good interview and worth taking the time to listen to.

However, it was in the later portion of the interview that Cynthia and Darrell brought out what I believe to be some particularly profound insights that reveal the true state of our union and of the Christian and conservative right. What I hear is the story of a people who have placed partisan loyalty ahead of guiding principles, put more trust in man, money and political power than in simply doing what is right and appear to have lost the will to correct the course.

I don’t say these things to be negative. I am actually a very positive, faith oriented person. However, there is a time when it is better to be confronted with the unpleasant truth than to go on in ignorance, or to continue in a state of denial, thinking that if we do more of the same, somehow this time it will turn out better.

Please listen to the interview here (or below), then prayerfully and soberly consider the message and what it says about the real state of our nation.

Wrong-Way Republicans

Wrong Way 295pThe Conservative Right seems to operate from a general assumption that things keep getting worse because liberals are in power and democrats win all the elections. However, I got curious and did a little research on the topic. I discovered that over the past 20 years, republicans have held 57% of the control of our federal government – 68% if you add in the Supreme Court – that’s a 68/32 split in favor of the republicans. Among the union states, the elephant party holds complete control (legislature and governor) of nearly half the states (23) – more than three times as many as the dreaded donkeys (7). It turns out that America is overwhelmingly republican-controlled.

So why hasn’t so much as one unconstitutional federal agency or program been abolished, or defunded, or even had its funding reduced, or at least not had its funding increased? And why haven’t any of the states begun to dismantle their social welfare programs, eliminate regulatory bureaucracies, significantly reduce taxes or implement anything remotely resembling what was once known as the conservative agenda? Continue reading “Wrong-Way Republicans”

What if the Republicans Nominate a Conservative?

The following was written on behalf of the Constitution Party National Committee to address a question that has often been posed regarding the fielding of a Presidential candidate.

ShockThe question has been raised in the past, and I’m sure it will come up again, as to what the Constitution Party would do should the Republican Party choose a “true conservative” (ie, constitutional) Presidential nominee. Would the Constitution Party still field a Presidential candidate, and if so, why?

The Constitution Party does not have an official policy on this matter, i.e. a resolution or a clause in the party constitution or bylaws. So far this has not been a problem and with each passing election cycle it appears less likely to ever be a problem.

As a state party chairman, I can say that it has been the practice of our state affiliate to avoid running a Constitution Party candidate in opposition to a constitutionally sound incumbent whose performance in office comports with our platform. However, in cases of a constitutionally sound candidate who is not an incumbent, we view the ballot as belonging equally to all candidates and parties. We feel no compulsion to drop out of a race just because some people think that a candidate with a different party initial after his name is more likely to win. Continue reading “What if the Republicans Nominate a Conservative?”

Nothing’s Gonna Change

No Change - 350

The day after last week’s election, when I started hearing the reports of a “Great Republican Victory” – not only in D.C., but across the land and even in my own state – my first reaction was, “nothing’s gonna change.” That night, I spoke with my friend, former Missouri State Representative turned podcaster, Cynthia Davis, and her comment to me was (I paraphrase), “nothing’s gonna change.” The next day I read the weekly column of liberty movement leader and patriot pastor, my friend Chuck Baldwin, and his take on the election was, “nothing’s gonna change.” Yesterday, 2004 Constitution Party Presidential candidate, Michael Peroutka, published his weekly video commentary in which he subtly prompts the astute observer to realize that, “nothing’s gonna change.”

Is this just sour grapes on my part? Are my friends and I all a bunch of negative Nellies? After all, aren’t we supposed to give a person (or party) a chance to prove themselves before we judge them? Continue reading “Nothing’s Gonna Change”