Date: November 4, 2004
From: Jerry Falwell
THE LEFT THREW ITS BEST PUNCH... AND FAILED.
Tuesday's re-election of President George W. Bush and the election of a number of new conservative lawmakers across the nation astonished liberal newsmen, pundits and handlers who, hours earlier, had believed allegedly rigged exit polls and were confidently whispering that a new mandate was going to sweep the nation.
So what happened? After more than 25 years since I formed the Moral Majority and began mobilizing evangelicals to participate in the political process, I actually realized the fruit of my labors nationwide as Macel and I watched the election returns into the early hours of Wednesday. I could not hold back the tears of joy. Hour by hour, we observed a "slam dunk" as the Church of Jesus Christ made the difference in initiating the return of this nation to moral sanity and the Judeo-Christian ethic.
The so-called political experts had forgotten to count a significant voting bloc, namely the millions of evangelical voters who went to the polls in droves to "vote Christian." Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Chris Matthews started Tuesday night with the firm belief they were presiding over the demise of social conservatism in America.
I'm not suggesting that we elected a bunch of fire-and-brimstone evangelists to office this week, but Christians collectively determined which candidates most closely held ideals that parallel our own biblically-based moral values and we went to the polls to support those candidates.
I believe evangelical Christians are about 33 percent of the electorate today and are as powerful a voting bloc as there is in this nation. The so-called mainstream media will never give the proper credit for what we accomplished this week, but the fact is that evangelical Christians joined together in spirit at polls across this nation and are the reason a record 115 million persons actually voted. This was the most exciting day politically since the same day in 1980 when we first arose to sweepingly elect President Reagan to the Oval Office.
I saw this coming weeks before the election and tried to hearten believers through my columns by recounting the incredible energy I witnessed among Christians in my many trips across the country. There was a palpable vigor among believers who could hardly wait to charge to the polls on Tuesday. Thousands of pastors were stirring their congregations to distinguish the issues, know the combatants and be geared up to vote.
And boy, were they!
This mass evangelical turnout was also largely responsible for the passage of all 11 marriage initiatives that passed by vast margins on Tuesday. It is more apparent now than ever that the nation wants its leaders to define marriage as a unique bond between one man and one woman. This is not discrimination; it is simply mandating what civilization has held true for many centuries. We must prevent activist judges in our federal courts from redefining marriage so that it corresponds with ever-changing social sentiment.
My good friend, Dr. D. James Kennedy, president of Coral Ridge Ministries, responded to Tuesday's election: "Despite the conventional political wisdom that moral concerns are a drag on a political ticket, it was values that energized voters, lifted turnout among evangelicals and Catholics, and led to substantial GOP pickups in the House and Senate. The voters have delivered a moral mandate."
We should all feel a sense of accomplishment and thankfulness to God for blessing our efforts. We must never forget that people of faith in this country, joined by political and fiscal conservatives, successfully withstood Hollywood, Springsteen, Affleck, Baldwin, the Dixie Chicks (now called the French Hens by some), billionaire George Soros and his ilk, all the 527s, most of the national print and broadcast media, the gays and lesbians, the abortionists, the entire liberal establishment... and about $2 billion of hate-inspired media and campaign expenditures.
The left threw its best punch and George Bush and social conservatism are alive and well. To God be all the glory!
"If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (II Chronicles 7:14).
That verse is more powerful than any exit poll. And it will sustain us against any rising political tide that seeks to counter biblical morality, if we remain true to that verse's unique guidelines.
Now that we have acted, we cannot rest for long.
The left is already disparaging this obvious voter mandate.
Abortion-rights proponents are in hysterical overdrive mode to decry President Bush's re-election. NARAL; Pro-Choice America and other militant abortion-rights groups are telling the president that they will not tolerate a U.S. Supreme Court nominee who is not one of their abortion-on-demand puppets. Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, hoping to be the next chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has today warned President Bush not to nominate any pro-life Supreme Court justices who might possibly overturn Roe v. Wade. No sooner is obstructionist Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) defeated than Sen. Specter announces he will replace him in blocking the confirmation of good justices.
Our work never ends.
The bottom line is that we must continue to diligently pray for President Bush, his cabinet and all elected leaders in America, as the Bible compels us in I Timothy 2:1-3. To elect these men and women to office without supporting them in daily prayer would be an act of abject abandonment. Let us commit to continuing Tuesday's mandate by keeping our nation, our leaders and the peace of Jerusalem at the forefront of our prayers and efforts.