Virginia at the Crossroads! Voting and Fighting for Our Values on November 5
(See comprehensive Voting 2019 Family Foundation Action Voter Guides)
The Problem
“A house, a city, and a nation divided against itself will come to ruin; they shall not stand.” (Matt. 12:25)
“They have sowed the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind … because they have forgotten their Maker.” (Hosea 8:7,14)
“Without God, democracy will not and cannot endure. If we forget that we are One Nation under God, we will be a nation gone under.” (Ronald Reagan)
To Speak and to Fight
“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” (Thomas Jefferson)
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.”
(President Ronald Reagan)
Religion and Morality
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness.” (George Washington)
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (John Adams)
“Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes in vain.” (Ps. 127:1)
“When the righteous rule, the people rejoice. When the wicked rule, the people mourn.” (Prov. 29:2)
Shining the Light
“Live as Sons of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” (Phil. 2:15)
“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Jesus: Mt. 5:16)
The Values Voter
“Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” (John Jay, First Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court)
“If a candidate for public office does not understand that life begins at conception and will not commit to protect this life from that time forward, he or she does not deserve my trust and will not receive my vote.” (Rakazzi)
“If a candidate for public office does not understand that marriage is between only one man and one woman, he or she does not deserve my trust and will not receive my vote.” (Rakazzi)
“If a candidate for public office does not understand the importance of protecting our God-given and constitutionally protected rights of free speech and religious expression, he or she does not deserve my trust and will not receive my vote.” (Rakazzi)
* * * * *
A Critical Election on Tuesday, Nov. 5
As the quotes above suggest, we are a house, a city, and a nation divided because we have turned our backs on God in our culture and often in our own government.
Those divisions have deep roots, many of them reflected in Supreme Court decisions to take school sponsored prayer and Bible reading out of the public schools in the early 1960’s, to legalize abortion in 1973, and to approve same-sex marriage in 2015.
Each of these decisions has contributed to the moral disintegration of our culture, to the growing number and intensity of assaults on the Christian religion and beliefs, and to the breakdown of the family.
Against that background, it is clear that we are not only in a spiritual battle for the soul of America but also in a related political battle for control of our national destiny.
And that is why our next state-wide election, now just under two weeks away on Tuesday, Nov. 5, is so important. On that date, we will elect 40 Senators and 100 Delegates to represent us in the Virginia General Assembly when it convenes again in January.
The Party Divide – and Why It Matters
At the present time, the Assembly is almost evenly split with the Republicans having only a razor thin, one vote majority in both the Senate and the House. Moreover, the two parties are polarized on nearly all of the core “Family Values” issues that are so important to us and to the Commonwealth.
That is why every vote counts on Nov. 5. But how can we know which of the two parties, and which candidates, share these core values with us?
Fortunately, in addition to their own web sites and public statements, there are several objective, non-partisan tools and methods that can help us.
The Party Platforms: The first one is a comparison of the two party platforms which exposes a sharp contrast between them in their respective treatment of our core Judeo-Christian values and fundamental Constitutional principles. We will provide details of that contrast on our Crossroads radio program this coming weekend, including excerpts from each platform.
The Voter Report Card: The second tool is a Voter Report Card from The Family Foundation Action team in Richmond that shows how members of each party voted on these Family Values issues in recent years. These include matters of Life, Faith, Family, Freedom, Sexuality, Parental Authority, and Education as well as principles of limited government.
This Report, like the party platform comparison, is extremely useful in again showing the deep divide between Democrats and Republicans on these issues, and where each party stands on them.
To illustrate, only 25% of Democratic legislators voted for these core “Values” bills in the Assembly earlier this year. By contrast, 86% of Republicans, including nearly all of our Valley representatives, voted for these same bills. For details, go to http://www.familyfoundation.org/reportcards2019.
A Matter of Life and Death: Therefore, it is clear that a shift in power from a Republican to a Democratic majority on Nov. 5 would make a dramatic difference in the outcome of these bills. In some cases, it would affect the all-important issue of Sanctity of Life itself.
For example, a bill proposed earlier this year by Democratic Delegate Kathy Tran, and supported by her Democratic colleagues, would have removed nearly all limits on abortion that are currently in place. It would have allowed abortions at any stage of pregnancy, even during delivery.
That bill would have passed in a Democrat controlled House and Senate, and then been signed into law by our pro-abortion Governor. Thankfully, Republican members led by Valley Delegate Todd Gilbert were able to prevent its passage. There are many more similar examples.
One more thing. The election will also have an impact on how congressional and state legislative district lines will be redrawn after the 2020 Census. If either party is able to control both chambers as well as the governorship, it could redraw the current lines in ways that would expand their party’s voting power for the next decade. Go to the following links for more details.
Who Are the Candidates?
GO TO The Family Foundation List of Voter Guides by geographic area.
Predictably, these guides show a consistent pattern among all candidates that reflects their party affiliations and platforms. On the following weekend, Nov. 2 and 3, just before the election, we will also review in more detail the voting records of the two parties and of the candidates themselves, where available, including recorded interviews with one or more of the candidates.
These programs will air on WBTX (1470 AM and 102.1 FM) Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and again on Sunday at 7:30 a.m., followed by WSVA (550 AM and 92.1 FM) at 8:30, ESPN (1360 AM and 106.9 FM) at 9:00, and on WNLR (1150) at 11:30. You can also listen online by clicking on the Crossroad’s menu shown on our home page at www.valleyfamilyforum.org.
Working and Walking Together, We Can Make a Difference!
Thank You, for God and Country,
Dean
