LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 04, 2005
HOUSE AND SENATE IN SESSION
THE PRESIDENCY
HOME RUN
President George W Bush's State of the Union Address is being widely applauded by social conservative leaders because he made it clear his Administration would continue to stand for traditional marriage and promote the pro-life cause. There was no ambiguity when the President said, "Because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation of society, it should not be redefined by activist judges. For the good of families, children, and society, I support a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage." The President also hit a home run with the pro-life movement when he said, "Because a society is measured by how it treats the weak and vulnerable, we must strive to build a culture of life. To build a culture of life, we must also ensure that scientific advances always serve human dignity, not take advantage of some lives for the benefit of others. We should all be able to agree on some clear standards. I will work with Congress to ensure that human embryos are not created for experimentation or grown for body parts, and that human life is never bought and sold as a commodity. America will continue to lead the world in medical research that is ambitious, aggressive, and always ethical." In case you missed the President's State of the Union Address there were actual cat calls and insults hurled at the President from the Democrat side of the aisle that embarrassed our Republic worldwide. Those Democrat elected officials who booed the President want respect for the offices they hold, but apparently have no respect for the office of the Presidency.
IRAQ
There have been very few of our Presidents who have actually changed world history. George Washington was one--he founded this nation and changed the world forever. Woodrow Wilson was another. His creation of the League of Nations and his deliberate sinking of more than half our navy led to more wars. Ronald Reagan dramatically changed the world by changing the nation's policy from one of containing communism to one of confronting it. There were others as well, but not that many. Now we have President George W. Bush who has entered that small club by bringing about perhaps some of the greatest change in the world in decades and perhaps the most change in the Middle East in centuries. The Bush plan to turn the despotic Arab states into democratic nations is bearing fruit. The elections in Iraq must have every despot from Syria to Saudi Arabia quivering in their boots. Regardless of what the New York Times and the Washington Post have to say about George W. Bush today, history will rate him as a President who brought change not only to Washington, DC but to the world. Oh how the European "world leaders" must hate this man for doing what they had neither the desire nor the courage to do.
JUDGES
It is about to hit the fan. President George W. Bush is about to re-nominate judges that former Senator Tom Daschle and the Democrats managed to block with filibusters in the last two sessions of Congress. This time Majority Leader Bill Frist is prepared to force through a "majority" rule which will allow a simple majority to stop a filibuster on Administration appointments. (The 2/3 rule would still apply to legislation filibusters.) While this will be cheered by conservative groups around the nation, it must be understood that the Democrats can and will shut down the Senate with procedural moves once it is done and there will be no votes of any kind on anything. Democrats will likely add dozens of amendments to every bill and virtually every committee will be shut down. Nothing will happen in the Senate for weeks and perhaps months. In 1994 when the government shut down, the Republicans gave in just days before the Democrats were prepared to surrender. Who will give in first this time? It would only take a couple of defecting liberal Republican Senators to destroy what Senator Frist will be trying to do as Majority Leader to reform the Senate. Time frame for the shut down? I see late March or early April after Bush judicial appointments are blocked and Senator Frist fires the first shot.
FAITH
The final poll taken on preferences of voters in the 2004 Presidential election indicate that 82% of atheists voted for Senator John Kerry and 88% of evangelicals voted for George W. Bush. The poll taken by Pew Forum for the University of Akron also shows that Bush also received 72% of the vote of Traditionalist Catholics (Those who actually go to church). At the National Prayer Breakfast this past week the President humbly reflected: "Through fellowship and prayer, we acknowledge that all power is temporary, and must ultimately answer to His purposes. And we know that affirming this truth is particularly appropriate in the heart of a capital built upon the promise of self-government."
THE SENATE
PRIMERO PARA EL SENADO
For the first time in the 216 year history of the Senate a Senator spoke in other than English on the Senate floor. Freshman Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) spoke three sentences of Spanish during his first ever floor speech in which he promoted the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General, calling him "uno de nosotros." (One of us.) He continued in Spanish that Gonzales represents "...all of our hopes and dreams for our children." The Senate stenographer was so stunned she stopped typing. Martinez translated to English as he spoke. He is the first Cuban immigrant to be elected to the Senate. Despite the support of every major Hispanic organization in the United States liberal Democrats in the Senate were still trying to block the Gonzales confirmation right up to the last minute. Some of the remarks made by liberal Democrats bordered on outrage as they actually accused him of supporting torture. In the end he was confirmed by a 60 to 36 vote. AND: Republican congressman Henry Bonilla may run for the seat of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, if she steps aside to run for governor of Texas next year. Bonilla would probably win that race joining Martinez in the Senate. (SIDE NOTE: The political action committee of which I am the chairman has a long history of backing minority social conservative candidates. GING-PAC has helped fund black and Hispanic candidates from Florida to California.)
THE HOUSE
Members of the conservative wing of the Republicans in the House, the Republican Study Committee, are on a retreat to plan strategy. As a result, not much of interest to social conservatives happened this week in the House.
INTERNATIONAL
SAUDI'S
As the Saudi royal family battles Islamic extremists in the streets of their capital, Riyad, they still continue to pay for the spread of fanatical Islamic hate. Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom has released a report which examined more than 200 mosques in the United States and found that documents used to teach Muslims advocated hatred for Christians and Jews and denounced democracy as un-Islamic. All the literature, funded by the Saudi government, called for the elimination of the nation of Israel. The Saudi royals just don't get it ... the Wahhabi extremism they finance is the problem and until they move their nation and their people away from this insane belief system, terror throughout the world and in their own backyard will continue.
MOROCCO
For the last year or so I have mentioned the attempts of King Mohammed VI to modernize and secularize the nation of Morocco. Hotels in Casa Blanca, Morocco have been bombed by Wahhabi extremists who fear this moderate nation's version of Islam could spread to other Islamic areas of the world. This organization is still part of a group attempting to hold a Christian music festival in Morocco in May with the assistance of the Moroccan government. If this is successful it will be the first time ever that a Christian concert has been held in a Muslim nation. Tonight I will have dinner with the Minister of Islamic Affairs from Morocco and the Ambassador of that nation. Please pray that progress will continue to be made and that other Muslim nations will see and follow the progress in Morocco.
HOLY LAND SOAP
A limited number of the handmade bars of olive oil soap from the Holy Land are still available at www.rfcstore.com. Please see the announcement on shipping charges below.
STAFF REDUCED
The Religious Freedom Coalition has begun February with a forced reduction in staff. We are in urgent need of your help. Tax deductible contributions to the work of the RFC can be made at: http://www.rfcnet.org/donate.html. You can also help the Religious Freedom Coalition by patronizing our Internet store at www.rfcstore.com or our Spread the Word store which has thousands of Christian books and tapes. You can even help by renting Christians DVDs!
FREE SHIPPING TO END
Our proprietary Internet store at www.rfcstore.com has offered free shipping on all purchases of $20.00 or more for many years. Unfortunately, because of rising shipping and other costs this is no longer possible. At noon on Monday, February 7, 2005 our system will be changed to have progressive shipping and handling charges like most other Internet stores. To take advantage of free shipping, orders must be placed before noon on the 7th. Buy a patriotic tie for President's Day! To see our full selection of patriotic ties click here .
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Religious Freedom Coalition, P.O. Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013. Phone: (202) 543-0300
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