Friday, February 26, 2010

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

Summit Aftermath

There is a growing consensus here in Washington, even among some in the liberal media, that conservatives did very well in yesterday’s seven-and-a-half-hour healthcare summit at the Blair House. In a setting that was supposed to favor Obama and his congressional allies, opponents of socialized medicine were able to make a strong case for basic conservative principles:

• Healthcare decisions should be made by doctors and patients, not government bureaucrats.
• We shouldn’t be raising taxes and increasing our deficit in this weak economy.
• We need tort reform to help stop healthcare inflation.
• Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize abortions.
• We need more free market competition among insurance companies.

Of course President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not back down. They believe in their left wing philosophy and continue to argue for radical changes that would transfer health care decisions to Washington D.C. bureaucrats, while increasing taxes to pay for it.

My instinct is that conservatives won the argument. In the last twelve months there has been a noticeable shift among the general public on how they look at Washington D.C. A new CNN opinion research poll this morning found that 56 percent of the public believes the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedom of ordinary citizens. Sixty-three percent of independents hold this view, as do 70 percent of Republicans. Only 33 percent of Democrats agreed.

In short, the public is in no mood to give Washington more power. President Obama should listen, but sadly it appears he will try to ram his proposal through Congress anyway.

Rangel’s Uncommon Nonsense

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, admitted yesterday that an ethics panel has accused him of accepting Caribbean trips from a corporation in violation of House rules. This is only the latest in a series of legal problems for Rangel, who is also currently under investigation for his financial dealings and alleged fundraising violations. As head of the committee that writes our tax laws, Rangel should know what the law states on all these matters.

Instead, the 40-year congressman is blaming his alleged crimes on his staff. At a news conference yesterday, he said, “I don’t want to be critical of the committee but common sense dictates that members of Congress should not be held responsible for what could be the wrongdoing or mistakes or errors of staff unless there’s reason to believe that member knew or should have known, and there is nothing in the record to indicate the latter.”

I want to hear from any readers who have been audited by the IRS, were found to have made a mistake, and successfully talked their way out of punishment. I’m guessing nobody has been able to do that. Taxpayers can even call a hotline and talk to an IRS employee who will answer any questions they have. But if the IRS employee’s advice is wrong, and the taxpayer is found to have violated the tax law, guess who gets punished? It’s not the IRS. Rangel clearly believes a different set of rules ought to apply to high-ranking politicians.

We were promised that the new Congress would clean up the culture of corruption endemic to Washington, D.C. But as the Rangel mess makes clear, anyone who thinks corruption comes from only one party is wrong.

Censoring The First Amendment

Two of our most cherished freedoms are found in the First Amendment – the freedom of speech and freedom of worship. In one recent move, the Obama administration assaulted both.

Four months ago, my good friend Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and a Marine veteran, was invited to speak at a prayer lunch at Andrews Air Force base. But the chaplain’s office recently rescinded the invitation. In a letter, the chaplain told Tony that he was being disinvited “due to statements posted on the Family Research Council Web site which are incompatible in our role as military members who serve our elected officials and our commander-in-chief.”

Whoa! Was FRC advocating the violent overthrow of the government? Not exactly. During President Obama’s recent State of the Union address, he called on Congress to repeal the ban on open homosexuality in the military. Perkins dared to express his opposition to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which is current law.

The Family Research Council has been around for a long time – I led the organization during the 1990s, when the last Democrat administration tried to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” FRC’s position today is the same as it was then. I find it hard to believe that the chaplain’s office was uninformed about where FRC stood. I can’t help but wonder if this disinvitation wasn’t ordered by hacks at the White House.

Speaking before congressional hearings in recent days, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey all expressed their opposition to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And, according to a recent survey by The Military Times, only 30% of active duty members support the president’s position.

But the real issue here isn’t the military’s policy or existing federal law. The bigger issue is the ongoing attempt by the intolerant Left to silence men and women of faith. Your freedom of speech and your freedom of worship are at stake, my friends. This is why it is so important for men and women of faith to be fully engaged in the public policy process.