LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - WEEK ENDING JANUARY 20, 2006
HOUSE IN RECESS / SENATE IN RECESS
MEDIA ALERT
On Monday, January 23, 2006 I will be in the TV studios of Daystar in Bedford, Texas (near Dallas). Daystar's Celebration will air live at 11:00 AM Central Time. I will also tape one or two programs for the Joni Show at the same studio. Those in the area wishing to be a part of the audience may call 866.525.7400 for more information. On Tuesday I will be on the Point of View Show which is broadcast live on hundreds of stations nationwide. The show airs for two hours beginning at 1:00 PM Central Time.
THE HOUSE
LEADERSHIP BATTLE
I was just shocked when some of my good friends in the conservative movement sent out e-mail blasts urging that Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ) be elected to the position of Majority Leader now that Tom DeLay has stepped down permanently from that post. While Shadegg is a good conservative and former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, he is notably absent from meetings held by social conservatives. No one on the staff of the Religious Freedom Coalition can recall a single time that he has attended one of the weekly Values Action Team meetings.
I have never seen him at a working meeting of social conservatives on Capitol Hill and I have virtually no access to him at all. On the other hand, I meet with acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-MO) almost weekly. Most weeks that Congress is in session I see him more than once. He regularly attends various social conservative functions in Washington, DC outside of legislative circles. When the Jack Abramoff scandal of the misuse of funds associated with Indian gambling arose, Roy Blunt had no fears at all of being tainted because he accepts no contributions at all from "gaming" interests.
Roy Blunt's other challenger to the position of Majority Leader is Congressman John Boehner (R-OH). Astonishingly I have never met Congressman Boehner. He has never to my knowledge attended any social conservative activities on the Hill. This is yet another reason why I strongly back Roy Blunt in his bid to become permanent Majority Leader when the election is held on February 2nd. While I cannot prove it, I believe Boehner was recruited by Speaker Dennis Hastert in order to get rid of Blunt who is the last remaining Christian social conservative in the top leadership tier.
THE REAL PROBLEM
The media and many in the Republican Party itself say there is a leadership problem in the House. Unfortunately, no one seems brave enough to point out the real problem. The problem is the reclusive Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert. When Newt Gingrich was Speaker he was everywhere in public. He publicly supported returning prayer to our schools and was a pro-life advocate. He appeared at several rallies and news conferences I arranged on behalf of the Religious Freedom Coalition.
Dennis Hastert hides in his office and only appears for big bucks fund raising events. Hastert is not a social conservative and has always been friendly to the overtly gay group, Log Cabin Republicans. He even traveled to Arizona to support the only admitted homosexual Republican, Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), even though Kolbe did not need fund raising assistance. When Tom DeLay first stepped aside as Majority Leader it was Hastert who tried to replace him with a social liberal, Congressman David Dreier (R-CA). Several gay organizations have "outed" Dreier, who is single, as a homosexual. Mike Rogers, a former development director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, gave Dreier the "Roy Cohn Award, in recognition of 24 years of working against gay and lesbian rights while living as a gay man yourself." Rogers is pummeling Dreier with almost daily blog revelations to expose him because of the GOP led same-sex marriage ban.
Everyone is calling for a "house cleaning" of Republican leadership, but all fear to point the broom toward the real problem which is the dictatorial leadership of Dennis Hastert. I would really like to see Roy Blunt replace Speaker Dennis Hastert rather than replacing Tom DeLay. Above all Dennis Hastert is as vindictive as he is secretive and reclusive, and this is why many people in Washington DC will hide from me for weeks to come because of my honest and forthcoming comments about him here. (A longer version of my tirade can be found at www.gingpac.org )
THE SENATE
THE ALITO HEARINGS
Last week I was actually out of the country during the Samual Alito confirmation hearings and had to participate in media and other events by very unreliable means of communication. My daughter, Katie V. Murray, attended most of the leadership meetings for me and that is why her name appeared so often in last week's update. Katie is a sophomore in a pretty tough engineering program at Virginia Tech and fortunately for me she was on break from the school last week. She and others from the Religious Freedom Coalition and the Religious Freedom Action Coalition did a great job in representing us on the Hill last week! It was a real thrill for me to see all those red T-shirts worn by the pro-Alito volunteers because they were obtained by our sister organization, the Religious Freedom Action Coalition. To see photos of some of the events please go to www.rfcaction.org . You can help the RFAC work for the Alito nomination by contributing online or sending a check to RFAC, PO Box 77237, Washington, DC 20013
RFC PROGRAMS
THE ATHEIST LAWSUIT AND THE PLEDGE
Please help by mailing a completed petition today to support the Pledge Protection Act of 2005. To view or print out copies of our petition click here. Our petition is in response to atheist Michael Newdow, who sued to remove "under God" from the Pledge. You can also help protect "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag by placing a "One Nation Under God" bumper sticker on your car. The bumper sticker pictured will be sent to anyone donating any amount to the Religious Freedom Coalition over the Internet. Click here to give a gift.
IT'S BACK!
For several years the Religious Freedom Coalition has offered 100% olive oil soap handmade by Christian families in Samaria. The men of these families are converts from Islam and have been accused of being "collaborators" with Israel. As a result they have death warrants against them and cannot return to their villages. Please order a few bars of Peace Soap to help these persecuted Christians. Your church can also offer the soap for sale and send the proceeds to the Religious Freedom Coalition. The soap is available to individuals for just $3.95 per bar! To learn more about this handmade olive oil soap click here or on the image.
Every time you use GOODSEARCH.COM powered by Yahoo your favorite charity or non-profit organization receives a contribution. The more searches you use GOODSEARCH for the more funds your favorite organization gets. The Religious Freedom Coalition is listed at GOODSEARCH. If you choose the RFC as your favorite and search from GOODSEARCH we will receive a check from them monthly. You can change the designation at any time to any number of organizations you may wish to support. So far we have earned about $6.00!
William J. Murray, Chairman
Religious Freedom Coalition , PO Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013 - (202) 543-0300
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Religious Freedom Coalition * Copyright - 2006