The End Of Day Report

End Of Day Report

2012-02-10T17:19:00.001-08:00

Friday, February 10, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

Obama Announces Compromise

Amid a growing backlash against a perceived assault on religious liberty, President Barack Obama announced today that his administration would not compel religious institutions to pay for medical services that they find morally objectionable. Instead, insurance companies will be forced to cover those costs.

According to a White House statement, "The policy also ensures that if a woman works for a religious employer with objections to providing contraceptive services as part of its health plan, the religious employer will not be required to provide contraception coverage, but her insurance company will be required to offer contraceptive care free of charge."

In response, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said "While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve judgment on the details until we have them." So far it appears as though Planned Parenthood is satisfied.

But this much is certain: Everyone is going to pay more for health insurance. There is no such thing as a "free lunch." Every ObamaCare mandate comes with a cost, and the costs for these "free services" will simply be built into the price of every premium.

Mandate Went Beyond Contraception

My friends, this controversy is a prime example of why men and women of faith must be engaged in the public policy debates of our day. At first glance it might appear as though this issue was just about contraception and only impacted Catholics. That is wrong.

Thankfully, religious leaders of all faiths spoke up loudly and clearly. Statements of concern came from the nation's Catholic leaders, Jewish leaders, Southern Baptist leaders, the National Association of Evangelicals, as well as other faiths and denominations.

Today's Wall Street Journal carries an excellent op-ed by Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, and Rabbi Soloveichik, director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University.

And Pastor Rick Warren, a man not given to inflammatory rhetoric, tweeted the following messages this week: "I'm not a Catholic but I stand in 100% solidarity with my brothers & sisters to practice their belief against [government] pressure." "I'd go to jail rather than cave in to a government mandate that violates what God commands us to do. Would you? Acts 5:29."

Please continue to share these reports with friends and family members. And encourage your pastor or rabbi to speak up on issues important to family, faith and freedom.

Where Will Canada's Oil Go?

This morning I read a headline that raised my hopes: "Canada [Prime Minister] Vows To Ensure Key Oil Pipeline Is Built." As you may recall, Canada has been trying to build the Keystone XL pipeline to bring Canadian tar sands oil to our Gulf Coast refineries for several years now. It is a great plan to help create jobs and lessen America's dependence on oil from hostile regimes in the Middle East. But the administration has repeatedly blocked the project.

Unfortunately, the article wasn't about the Keystone pipeline. So what pipeline is Harper vowing build? Here's an excerpt of the Reuters article:

"Canada's prime minister on Friday made his strongest comments yet in support of a proposed pipeline from oil-rich Alberta to the Pacific coast… [to] allow Canada to send tankers of crude to China and reduce reliance on the U.S. market. …

"Harper stepped up talk of oil sales to China in the wake of a U.S. decision last month to block TransCanada Corp's proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf Coast of the United States. …'We have abundant supplies of virtually every form of energy. And you know, we want to sell our energy to people who want to buy our energy -- it's that simple,' Harper told a business dinner in Guangzhou."
In December President Obama's former National Security Advisor, Gen. Jim Jones, told reporters:
"If we get to the point where we cannot bring ourselves to do what is in our national interest, then we are clearly in a period of decline… A nation that fails to secure the energy its citizens and its economic engine need to keep functioning leaves itself vulnerable to external contingencies in a dangerous and uncertain world and to the whims of foreign leaders and other actors who may not always have its interests at heart. The delay, and possible rejection of this pipeline, could have significant and long-range national security implications for our nation."
I agree. Hopefully the Obama Administration will reverse course on this issue as well sooner rather than later.

End Of Day Report

2012-02-09T14:09:00.001-08:00

Thursday, February 9, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 271 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Santorum Strong In Ohio

For the second time in as many weeks, there is polling data suggesting that the strongest Republican candidate in Ohio is not Mitt Romney but rather Rick Santorum. A Rasmussen poll released this morning finds that Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney 45% to 41% among likely Ohio voters, whereas Santorum and Obama are tied at 44% each.

What accounts for this difference? Voter enthusiasm among the GOP base. According to Rasmussen's data, Romney gets only 80% of the Republican vote against Obama, while 8% of Republicans said they would vote for Obama over Romney. Santorum gets 84% of the GOP vote, and just 6% of Republicans would vote for Obama over Santorum.

Here are some more statistics that should worry the Romney campaign:

Just 19% of Ohio Republicans have a very favorable opinion of Mitt Romney.

Among self-identified conservatives, only 12% have a very favorable opinion of Mitt Romney, and only 70% of conservatives would support Romney over Obama.

In contrast, 41% of Republicans and 42% of conservatives have a very favorable opinion of Rick Santorum. And against Obama, Rick Santorum captures 80% of the conservative vote.

This strikes at the core of the entire "electability" argument. If Mitt Romney cannot win overwhelming support from conservatives, it is hard to see how he wins Ohio. And if the Republican nominee does not win Ohio, it will be virtually impossible to win the White House.

Mixed Messages On The Mandate

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the White House was seeking "to ease mounting objections" to its controversial mandate ordering religious institutions to pay for sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans. Some have pointed to a model in Hawaii as a possible compromise. Good news, right? Maybe not.

Richard Doerflinger, who is in charge of monitoring pro-life legislation for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the Hawaii model isn't much of a compromise in that it still requires religious institutions to "tell all enrollees how they may directly access contraceptive services and supplies in an expeditious manner." In other words, it would essentially require a Catholic school to refer its employees to Planned Parenthood!

While administration officials may be talking about compromise in public, privately Barack Obama is saying the exact opposite. ABC News reported yesterday that "President Obama 'reinforced' his stance on the controversial contraception mandate while speaking at the Democrats' annual retreat at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C."

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) emerged from the meeting and told reporters, "It is our clear understanding from the administration that the president believes as we do It's medicine, and women deserve their medicine." Sorry, senator, but human life is not a virus; pregnancy is not a disease.

Ecumenical And Bi-Partisan Opposition

While the media have portrayed this as largely a Catholic issue, it is not. There is broad faith-based opposition to this latest Obama dictate from Evangelical, Jewish and Protestant leaders. This week leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention lent their voices to the growing chorus of opposition. Here is an excerpt from a statement released by Dr. Richard Land and Dr. Barrett Duke of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission:

"We consider this callous requirement by the Obama administration to be a clear violation of our nation's commitment to liberty of conscience and a flagrant violation of our constitutional protection to freedom of religion. For many people of faith, this requirement is abhorrent. The Obama administration has declared war on religion and freedom of conscience. This must not stand. Our Baptist forebears died and went to prison to secure these freedoms. It is now our calling to stand in the gap and defend our priceless First Amendment religious freedoms."
Tuesday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blasted the mandate as "abhorrent to the foundational principles of our nation." Yesterday, Speaker John Boehner took to the House floor and said that the mandate "constitutes an unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country." Boehner added, "This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country must not stand, and will not stand."

Democrats are beginning to break ranks. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) called the contraception mandate "un-American" and a "direct affront to the religious freedoms protected under the First Amendment." Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Bob Casey (D-PA) are also opposed. And one former congresswoman who backed ObamaCare now regrets doing so because of this abuse of power.

There is a lesson here for the GOP. Job growth is improving and the unemployment rate is falling (at least according to the Obama Labor Department). Obama's approval rating is up. But for the first time in months, the administration is playing defense -- and it's over a cultural issue. Values issues are very powerful, and the Democrats have more to worry about than we do. If Obama does not carry the Catholic vote, there is very good chance he will be a one-term president.

How Fair Is That?

Barack Obama announced a major settlement today between the big banks and state attorneys general regarding one aspect of the housing crisis. We don't know all the details yet -- it was another Obama special negotiated behind closed doors with the results being announced to us mere "peasants." We'll delve further into it later, but I wanted to share my initial thoughts.

For months now the president has been framing his left-wing agenda as a matter of "fairness." For example, Obama and the left argues that it is not fair that people like Mitt Romney pay only 15% on dividends and interest. Using Obama's yardstick of fairness, how does this multi-billion settlement measure up?

Imagine two home buyers five or six years ago who purchased homes on the same street in the same neighborhood and paid the same $200,000 price. One buyer and his family made years of sacrifices to save up for a $40,000 down payment. He and his wife have done whatever they had to do over years to faithfully make their mortgage payments, even though value of their home has declined below what they owe.

The couple next door didn't have savings, and didn't want to wait to buy a house, so they took out a no money down loan with an adjustable interest rate too. As the economy began to decline, they were finding it almost impossible to make payments each month. Listening to liberal rhetoric telling them they weren't responsible for their situation, that it's all Wall Street's fault, they stopped paying their mortgage.

Now here comes the "fairness president" announcing today that the guy who sacrificed and made his payments on time gets nothing, while the family who was not prudent will by law have the size of its mortgage decreased. The bank will have to eat the loss. If that family had already been evicted in a foreclosure, they will get a $2,000 check as part of the settlement.

Since we've got the "smartest" president we've ever had, maybe he can explain to millions of hard-working Americans how this is fair to them. But waitthere's more.

When the family who defaulted gets this "Obama gift" of having its mortgage reduced, not only is the value of their house lowered, but so too is the value of the home next door. So the guy who played by the rules gets nothing from the "fairness president," has a less valuable home and looks like a sucker. This kind of manipulation of the market is frequently referred to as a "moral hazard" because it rewards and thus encourages bad behavior.

The public ought to be outraged. As usual nothing about the left-wing philosophy is fair to people who play by rules and pay their bills. When the goodies get redistributed, they are the ones who get left "holding the bag." Just think what would happen if several million homeowners reacted by no longer paying their mortgages until their loans were also decreased by tens of thousands. It would only be "fair."

End Of Day Report

2012-02-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 272 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Santorum Shocks Romney/GOP Establishment

When the dust settled in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado last night, the conservative grass roots had once again shocked the professional political class by making Senator Rick Santorum the winner in all three races. I was gratified by the results, of course, since I was one of the first leaders to endorse his then "long-shot" candidacy. It is considerably less of a long-shot this morning! I have been inundated with press calls today asking essentially "What happened?" and "What does it mean?" Here is my take.

1. Santorum is doing better than expected because he is right on all three major themes of conservatism -- economic, foreign policy and values. He wants smaller government and lower taxes. He believes America must have a strong national defense and be engaged in the world. He also knows our nation's decline is not just economic in nature, but also moral. Thus, he is not ashamed to make the case for the sanctity of life, normal marriage and freedom of religion.

2. Governor Mitt Romney has a huge problem with the GOP base. A significant portion of that base has been willing to go with anyone -- Bachmann, Perry, Cain or Newt -- to express their discontent about the candidate that the vast majority of GOP insiders desperately wants to see nominated. Each of those alternatives had flaws that undermined their staying power. It is now Rick Santorum's time, and I believe he has a good chance to be more resilient and go all the way.

3. The "electability" card has been dealt a serious blow. GOP insiders always equate electability with candidates who are seen as moderates and for whom values issues are not a high priority. But if that were true, we would be discussing the Dole and McCain presidencies -- neither of which happened, and Ronald Reagan would have lost. But it was Reagan, the strong conservative, who prevailed, while the squishy moderates were squashed by the Democrats and their media allies.

In his victory speech last night, Santorum told the crowd, "I don't stand before you as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I stand before you as the conservative alternative to Barack Obama." Well said.

Mitt and Newt have both sunk in recent days because they are savaging each other instead of helping GOP voters see how they can defeat the worst, most extreme left-wing president in American history.

I will close with the same point I have made for months. I have endorsed Senator Santorum and I am glad I did. He can win. But no matter who gets the nomination, we must close ranks and end the Obama nightmare or much of what we cherish will be gone!

Radicals To Occupy CPAC

Once again the radical left is showing its disdain for free speech by trying to intimidate and silence its political opponents. The Occupy Wall Street movement and its Big Labor allies are plotting to disrupt this week's CPAC conference, promising to make it "a conference the attendees will never forget."

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is one of the largest annual gatherings of conservative activists and policy makers in the country. Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich will be there. Sarah Palin is delivering the keynote address this year. Here's how the Occupy DC website describes this conference:
"this event is another gathering of bigots, media mouthpieces, corrupt politicians, and their 1 percent elite puppet masters. CPAC will parade and attempt to perpetuate the radical right wings imperialist ideologies with keynote speakers, movies and banquets dedicated to pursuing its racist, sexist, patriarchal and exploitative agenda.

"Spectacles will include imperialist topics such as 'From Fidel to Chavez: How Do We Stop the Resurgence of Socialism in Latin America?', 'Is the Arab Spring Good or Bad for America?' and frequent bloviation on 'American exceptionalism.' Openly racist discourses will be given on 'The Failure of Multiculturalism...'"
Bigots. Corrupt. Imperialist. Racist. Sexist. Exploitative. That is what the left thinks about you! And yet the media blames us for the breakdown in public discourse. And did you catch the disdain for the idea of American exceptionalism? The left doesn't believe that America is or was ever a "shining city upon a hill." It thinks we are the evil empire.

I hope the CPAC organizers, hotel staff and Washington, D.C., police are prepared for these thugs. Late last year, hundreds of occupiers stormed a conservative event at the Washington convention center. They disrupted traffic, assaulted elderly women and used their own children as human shields. These radicals are violent. They have no respect for the rule of law or their fellow citizens.

Iran Preparing A Second Holocaust

More than 70 years ago, the world made a tragic mistake and tens of millions died as a result. World leaders at the time largely ignored the growing scourge of anti-Semitism and naively assumed they could negotiate with a madman. Desperate for peace in their time, they traded a country for a meaningless "scrap of paper" and got a world war and the Holocaust instead of peace. Today, as Barack Obama attempts to negotiate with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Islamic Republic is promising a second Holocaust.

In a speech broadcast last week on state-run TV, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei referred to Israel as a "cancerous tumor that should be cut and will be cut." Khamenei also bragged about Iran's support for Hezbollah and promised to support "any nation or any group [that] confronts the Zionist regime We have no fear expressing this."

At the same time Khamenei was delivering his anti-Semitic diatribe, an article was published by Alireza Forghani, the former governor of Iran's Kish Province, outlining the religious justifications as well as practicality of annihilating Israel. It could have been easily dismissed except for the fact that it was widely distributed by news agencies close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which is controlled by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. In other words, the content calling for genocide likely has the ayatollah's seal of approval.

And just as disturbing is the level of detail in the article. Consider this excerpt:
"Residents of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and H[a]ifa can be targeted even by Shah[a]b 3 [missiles]. Population density in these three adjacent areas composes about 60% of [the total] Israeli population. Sejjil missiles can target power plants, sewage treatment facilities, energy resources, [and] transportation and [communication] infrastructures; and in the second stage, Shahab 3, Ghadr, and Ashura missiles can target urban settlements until [the] final annihilation of Israel['s] people."
While the West dithers, Iran is preparing for war and brainwashing its people to accept genocide, just as Hitler did in the 1930s. And never forget that the ultimate goal of the radical Islamists is not the annihilation of Israel, but the destruction of the "Great Satan" -- America.

End Of Day Report

2012-02-07T14:20:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 273 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

BREAKING NEWS: TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE "IRRATIONAL"

The Ninth "Circus" Court of Appeals has struck again. Today, a divided three-judge panel overruled the majority of California voters and struck down Proposition 8 -- the state's constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

The court's majority ruled that traditional marriage "fails to advance any rational basis." So in spite of thousands of years of recorded history, in spite of the values held by every major faith, in spite of basic biology and common sense and in spite of the will of the people, these left-wing judicial ideologues believe that normal marriage is irrational.

Here's the bottom line: The culture war is real. The left does not intend to allow these issues to be decided by the people in their respective states. Obama and the left will use the courts to force their radical agenda down our throats.

But there is a solution: Federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The solution is to elect men and women to public office -- from the White House down -- who will respect the Constitution and unapologetically defend our values!

As this report warns, an Obama second term will "allow him to expand his replacement of Republican-appointed majorities with Democratic ones on the nation's appeals courts, the final stop for almost all challenged federal court rulings." In other words, with four more years, Obama can pack the courts with left-wing radicals.

No matter what you might think about the eventual GOP nominee, this issue alone should drive conservatives to the polls in November to vote Obama out and elect as many pro-family, pro-life conservatives to the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as possible!

Please click here now to make an emergency donation to stop the assault on our values by bringing the Obama nightmare to an end in 273 days.

Obama Unites The Faithful

The nation's Catholic leaders are ratcheting up the pressure on the Obama Administration in response to a series of actions that violate church teachings and in some cases appear motivated by anti-Catholic bias. The latest incident is the administration's mandate requiring religious institutions to provide coverage for contraception, sterilization and even abortion-inducing drugs in their health insurance. Church leaders have warned that the mandate forces them to choose between offering health insurance and violating their core moral code.

Bill Donohue of the Catholic League warned, "Never before, unprecedented in American history, for the federal government to line up against the Roman Catholic Church. This is going to be fought out with lawsuits, with court decisions, and, dare I say it, maybe even in the streets."

Writing in today's Wall Street Journal, William McGurn notes the potential impact of this action on Catholic Charities:

"Take Catholic Charities, America's largest private network of social service organizations. Assuming its 70,000 employees have some kind of health insurance, a principled decision not to comply with the mandate would mean $140 million a year in fines alone (plus higher costs to help employees buy insurance individually). That means millions less for struggling families, for refugees, for the sick and elderly and for other needy Americans who benefit from their good works."
This decision has been widely condemned even by liberal columnists, leading national newspapers, as well as other Christian denominations and Jewish organizations. Consider some of these statements:

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod: "This action by HHS will have the effect of forcing many religious organizations to choose between following the letter of the law and operating within the framework of their religious tenets."

Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America: "In declining to expand the religious exemption within the healthcare reform law, the Obama Administration has disappointingly failed to respect the needs of religious organizations such as hospitals, social welfare organizations and more."

National Association of Evangelicals: "No government has the right to compel its citizens to violate their conscience. The HHS rules trample on our most cherished freedoms and set a dangerous precedent."

Silencing Our Chaplains

Now there is news that Pentagon officials attempted to silence Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services. On January 26th, the archbishop issued a blistering letter with instructions for it to be read aloud from the pulpit by all Catholic military chaplains.

Referring to the contraception mandate, the letter read in part, "It is a blow to a freedom that you have fought to defend and for which you have seen your buddies fall in battle. We cannot -- we will not -- comply with this unjust law."

The Army's Office of the Chief of Chaplains essentially declared the letter unauthorized and ordered chaplains not to read it aloud, but said it could be made available in print. A compromise that preserved the archbishop's First Amendment rights was eventually reached after a phone call between Archbishop Broglio and Secretary of the Army John McHugh, who conceded it was wrong to censor the letter. You can read more here.

How Should We Respond?

My friends, these are very disturbing developments. Religious liberty is under assault today from the far left on our courts and from far left ideologues in the White House. It is imperative that men and women of faith take a stand in defense of freedom.

If you are a pastor, please preach about the importance of religious liberty. You don't have to agree with Catholic teaching on contraception to realize that religious freedom for every faith is in jeopardy when the government can redefine the meaning of marriage or order religious institutions to violate their core values. If you are close to your pastor, encourage him to speak up.

I also encourage pastors to reach out to Catholic leaders in your community. Invite them to briefly address your congregations. Let them know you are standing with them. Share the letters and statements that have been issued in recent weeks by church leaders such as those quoted above.

End Of Day Report

2012-02-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

Monday, February 6, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 274 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Romney Wins Nevada

This morning Mitt Romney was declared the certified winner of Saturday's Nevada caucuses. Romney took 50% of the vote to 21% for Newt Gingrich, 19% for Ron Paul and 10% for Rick Santorum.

Unfortunately, turnout appeared to be down nearly 30%. In 2008, 44,000 votes were cast in the Nevada GOP caucuses. Just over 32,000 voters participated in Saturday's contest. This follows declining GOP turnout in the Florida and New Hampshire primaries. Is the increasingly nasty battle between Romney and Gingrich turning off GOP voters and helping Obama?

Santorum Surges

That may seem like an odd headline after reporting Santorum's fourth place finish in Nevada. But according to pollster Scott Rasmussen, Rick Santorum has surged in the polls and actually outperforms Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in head-to-head matchups against Barack Obama.

In Rasmussen's data released this weekend, Obama leads Romney by seven points -- 49% to 42%. He leads Gingrich by eight points -- 49% to 41% -- and Obama leads Ron Paul by 12 points -- 50% to 38%. But Rick Santorum leads Obama by one point -- 45% to 44%. Electability, anyone?

Another poll finds Santorum running second in Colorado and leading Romney in Minnesota. Both states hold caucuses tomorrow. Santorum is also expected to do very well in Missouri, which is holding a non-binding primary tomorrow.

For more on the state of the GOP contest, check out these articles at National Review Online and The Weekly Standard making the case that Rick Santorum is the best candidate for Republicans to nominate.

Is Paul Double-Dipping?

The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reports that Texas Congressman Ron Paul allegedly double-billed for travel expenses. Here is an excerpt:
"Rep. Ron Paul appears to have been paid twice for flights between Washington, D.C., and his Congressional district, receiving reimbursement from taxpayers and also from a network of political and nonprofit organizations he controlled Roll Call identified eight flights for which the Texas Republican, a GOP presidential candidate and leading champion of smaller government, was reimbursed twice for the same trip. Roll Call also found dozens more instances of duplicate payments for travel from 1999 to 2009, totaling thousands of dollars' worth of excess payments"

Don't Let Big Media Discourage You

The liberal media is trying to discourage conservative voters once again. ABC News and the Washington Post are trumpeting their latest poll finding Barack Obama with a "a clear edge" over the Republican front-runner, Mitt Romney. According to this big media poll, Obama leads Romney 51% to 45%. Don't be discouraged.

First, the poll was conducted among adults, which always skews to the left. Polls of registered voters are better, and polls of likely voters are preferable.

Second, the Post is once again refusing to release critical information regarding the partisan breakdown of its sample. This is important because the Post has a history of oversampling Democrats.

For example, an April 2011 ABC News/Washington Post poll had the following partisan breakdown: 41% independents, 32% Democrats and 22% Republicans. That might be representative of some San Francisco suburbs, but that is not what America looks like.

Are Jewish Voters Fleeing Obama?

A new study by the respected Pew Forum finds that the Republican Party has made significant gains among men and women of faith since the 2008 election. For example, in 2008 white Catholics favored the Democrats by eight points. In 2011, they favored Republicans by seven -- a swing of 15 points. That's not surprising given Obama's repeated assault on religious liberty, traditional marriage and the sanctity of life.

But here's the finding that got the most attention: "Even Jewish voters have moved noticeably in the Republican direction; Jewish voters favored the Democrats by a 52-point margin in 2008 but now prefer the Democratic Party by a significantly smaller 36-point margin." That's a swing of 16 points, and as one report noted, "the drop is enough to spark concerns that it could have a real effect in battleground states such as Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania."

Again, this isn't terribly surprising given Obama's anti-Israel policies, appeasement of Iran and his obvious disrespect for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But in the weeks and months ahead, the Obama campaign will attempt to confuse voters with deceptive and misleading rhetoric while insisting he deserves a second term.

Whether it is using the Gospel to promote his socialism or suggesting he is a friend to Israel, it is important to remind people of the facts. America cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama!

The Abortion Taint

When, in the 2008 presidential campaign, pro-lifers suggested that Barack Obama's abortion radicalism made him "pro-abortion," Obama had a ready response. "I don't know anybody who is pro-abortion," he'd say, and that would usually end the discussion. But Obama's assertion highlighted the growing unwillingness of many to be associated with the gruesome practice. Read more in my latest column at HumanEvents.com.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Ronald Reagan's 101st birthday. As loyal readers of this daily report know, I had the privilege of serving in all eight years of the Reagan Administration, as Under Secretary of Education and eventually as Chief Domestic Policy Advisor to the President.

He was a remarkable man and a great president. There is a reason that more than 20 years after his presidency ended, Republicans still compete to be the candidate who can carry the Reagan mantle.

In the midst of the Carter malaise, Ronald Reagan never gave up on America. And we must not give up either. In 274 days, let's make Barack Obama a one-term president, just like Jimmy Carter.

End Of Day Report

2012-02-03T16:42:00.001-08:00

Friday, February 3, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

Warnings On Iran

Iran has been making headlines lately, but the number of headlines in the past 24 hours suggests something big may be afoot. Two days ago, I wrote about congressional testimony from the Director of National Intelligence warning that Iran may be preparing to launch terrorist strikes inside the United States. ABC News reports today that Israel is making the same warning. Now consider this excerpt from a report in today's Wall Street Journal:

"U.S. officials say they believe Iran recently gave new freedoms to as many as five top Al Qaeda operatives who have been under house arrest, including the option to leave the country, and may have provided some material aid to the terrorist group."
In addition, Michael Braun, former chief of operations at the Drug Enforcement Agency, testified yesterday about Hezbollah's growing influence in South America, Mexico and along our southern border.

Braun later told reporters, "Hezbollah are absolute masters at forming close relationships with existing organized crime groups around the world that helps them facilitate what they need to do to move their agendas forward." During the hearing, Braun warned members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, "I don't want to sound too crude, but I think there's going to be hell to pay in the not too distant future."

In early December, we reported on the mysterious explosion that virtually destroyed an entire Iran missile factory. Yesterday, the Christian Science Monitor reported that intelligence officials strongly suspect that the missiles being developed at the factory were long-range ballistic missiles that could reach the United States. And there are reports that Iran is doubling its defense budget.

The Washington Post's David Ignatius writes that Israel may "strike Iran in April, May or June." Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warns against continued inaction, saying, "Whoever says 'later' may find that later is too late."

Economic Recovery?

According to the Labor Department, the economy added more than 240,000 jobs in January. That's good news for those 240,000 folks. But the news wasn't all good.

Here's the "dirty little secret" about why the unemployment rate is going down: There are fewer and fewer people in the work force. The labor participation rate fell in January to a 30-year low.

As Professor Peter Morici put it, "The unemployment rate would be higher but for the fact that many adults have quit looking for work altogether, and the adult labor force participation rate remains depressed." Exactly. If everybody would just stop looking for work entirely, the unemployment rate would be zero.

Justice Ginsburg: Ignore Our Constitution

One of the undeniable truths about the left is its desire to "fundamentally transform" America into something it is not. That is what the culture war to redefine our values is all about.

That is why the left is eager to abandon free enterprise and embrace socialism. And that is why left-wing judicial activists are so eager to incorporate foreign law into their decisions.

In a moment of candor, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, perhaps the Supreme Court's most liberal member, seemingly suggested that she prefers foreign constitutions to our own. During an interview with the Egyptian network Al-Hayat TV, Ginsburg offered her thoughts on how Egypt should go about writing its new constitution. Here is what she said:
"I can't speak about what the Egyptian experience should be, because I'm operating under a rather old constitution. …I would not look to the U.S. Constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012. I might look at the constitution of South Africa. …Canada has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. …You would almost certainly look at the European Convention on Human Rights. Yes, why not take advantage of what there is elsewhere in the world?"
Take advantage of everything that's out there, just don't look to America.

Why is it that so many liberals have such a low opinion of their homeland and feel the need to apologize for the country of their birth? Millions of people all over the world see America as a land of hope and opportunity. They want to come here to become Americans. Yet the left thinks they are confused and is constantly trying to make America like the rest of the world.

End Of Day Report

2012-02-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

Thursday, February 2, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 278 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

2012 Update

At the National Prayer Breakfast today Barack Obama said something that took people's breath away. He laid out his entire socialist agenda and essentially said, "Jesus made me do it." I'll write more about the specifics of his speech tomorrow.

But watch your nightly news broadcast tonight very closely to see how many pundits fret over the separation of church and state and clobber Obama for his faith-based policies. That's exactly what they do to conservatives every time we defend normal marriage or argue for the right to life. Surely, the media will hold Obama to the same standard, right? Don't hold your breath. It's okay for Democrats to preach from the Gospel of Redistribution, but it is an affront to the Constitution when conservatives try to defend traditional values.

Mitt Romney ran into a buzz saw yesterday. Romney made this remark during a CNN interview:

"I'm not concerned about the very poor -- we have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it. I'm not concerned about the very rich -- they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."
Of course, the media and Obama's left-wing allies immediately took the first sentence out of context and attacked him. That's clearly unfair. But guess what? That's politics.

The more disturbing part is that this is not the conservative message. Our message is that conservative policies will lift the poor out of poverty. We don't argue that we want to make the safety net better or bigger, we believe that our policies will make it less necessary, and hopefully shrink it. That is the philosophy behind the mantra of less taxes, less spending and smaller government. That is not a "bash the poor" message, but one of greater personal responsibility, more freedom and more prosperity for everyone.

In yesterday's report I urged supporters to take arguments about electability with a grain of salt. Here's why: New polling data suggests that the strongest GOP candidate in the critical swing state of Ohio may in fact be Senator Rick Santorum.

Planned Parenthood Takes A Hit

The Susan G. Komen foundation, the nation's largest charity devoted to breast cancer research, announced this week that it is terminating funding to Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider. Various reports suggest the Komen foundation gave as much as $680,000 to Planned Parenthood last year.

The left erupted in fits of rage at this news. The radical group MoveOn.org has organized an online protest. Left-wing blogs and media are aiming their fire at Karen Handel, Komen's vice president for public policy. Handel once served as Georgia's Secretary of State and ran for governor in 2010 as a pro-life candidate.

According to the Komen foundation, the decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood was the result of a new policy with "more stringent eligibility and performance criteria." Responding to the left's criticism, Komen's CEO Nancy Brinker said that she launched "a comprehensive review of our grants and standards" in 2010. For the record, Karen Handel was hired by the Komen foundation in April 2011.

Brinker went on say, "We will never bow down to political pressure. The scurrilous accusations being hurled at this organization are profoundly hurtful to so many of us who put our heart, soul and lives into this organization."

One aspect of the Komen foundation's "more stringent eligibility" requirements is that no funds can be given to organizations under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. Planned Parenthood is currently facing a probe by the House Committee on Oversight and Investigations to determine if taxpayer funds have been used to perform abortions in violation of federal law.

Reports, however, suggest that this change in policy may not result in a permanent ban on funding to Planned Parenthood, but rather a temporary suspension. While citing the congressional investigation as the reason for the cutoff, a Komen spokeswoman told the Associated Press, "We want to maintain a positive relationship with [Planned Parenthood]. We're not making any judgment." In other words, if the House investigation clears Planned Parenthood, the funding may well resume. (And, of course, if Nancy Pelosi were still Speaker, this investigation would not be happening at all!)

But the denial of funds could also be justified by "more stringent performance criteria" too. Planned Parenthood claims that it performs basic health services, but we learned last year that Planned Parenthood in fact does not do many mammograms.

Contempt Of Congress

Attorney General Eric Holder was in the hot seat again today, facing renewed questions about exactly how much the Justice Department knew about the botched gun-walking program "Operation Fast and Furious." Confronted with a new report that top Justice officials clearly had more knowledge than previously disclosed, Holder stuck to his past denials.

Members of Congress have repeatedly demanded that more information be released in order to determine who knew what and when. But faced with continued stonewalling by the Justice Department, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) warned the Attorney General, "I would urge the chairman to move on a contempt citation against you."

Holder isn't the only official facing such action. House Republicans have become increasingly frustrated by the administration's pattern of stonewalling every investigation. On Monday, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), who is leading the investigation into Solyndra, warned that his committee was also considering a contempt citation against the White House for "slow walking" the release of documents related to the bankrupt stimulus-funded company.

End Of Day Report

2012-02-01T13:22:00.001-08:00

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 279 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Romney Wins Florida

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney clearly scored an impressive win in Florida last night. He needed to. He had a clear advantage in advertising dollars, outspending Newt Gingrich 5-to-1. But he also had another advantage. The exit polls showed that Florida voters were looking for one thing: They want Obama out; they were looking for a winner.

According to CNN's exit polling, 45% of voters said the most important quality in a candidate was the ability to defeat Barack Obama, and 58% of those voters backed Romney. Fifty-three percent of voters also said Romney was the candidate most likely to be able to defeat Obama.

But I want to offer the same caution I have made in previous messages about electability. The GOP has a history of nominating individuals who were supposedly the most electable but who came up short each time. The conventional wisdom about electability has often been wrong.

In hindsight, everyone loved and supported Ronald Reagan. But there has been a lot of revisionist history in the past 30 years. In 1980 conservatives nominated Ronald Reagan over the full-throated opposition of the GOP establishment. His victory was greeted gleefully by Democrats and the liberal media. Of all the possible nominees, Reagan was the one they were certain they could defeat. The electability argument was dead wrong. It was Jimmy Carter who got trounced on Election Day.

I can appreciate why the Romney camp is celebrating today. But here is what would worry me in the days and weeks ahead: 41% of Republican primary voters felt that Mitt Romney's positions on the issues were "not conservative enough."

While winning the statewide vote, Romney won only 38% of the vote in the Panhandle and in north Florida -- the state's most conservative areas. Combined, Gingrich and Santorum took 54% of the vote there. These voters are more representative of the conservative base of the GOP throughout the South and Midwest.

In the general election, Governor Romney will not be able to outspend Barack Obama 5-to-1. He will need a massive turnout from conservative voters if he is going to have any chance of winning. George W. Bush was reelected in 2004 because of tremendous turnout by conservative, evangelical voters in rural Ohio, who turned out to support the marriage amendment on the ballot that same year.

The Obama strategy will be to discourage conservatives from voting or to peel some of them off with appeals to class warfare. The Romney campaign needs to be thinking now about how it will get the conservative base energized in November.

Lastly, for all those who still cling to the misguided notion that Ron Paul is the only true conservative in the race, once again Paul did nearly twice as well among those who identified as moderate or liberal as those who identified as somewhat or very conservative.

What's Next?

Mitt Romney certainly has a new burst of momentum and is the clear GOP front-runner. But this race is far from over. For all the hype about the early contests in January, only four states voted and there are more delegates at stake this month (187) than last month (115). Seven states will vote in February and there could be some surprises ahead.

For example, as my good friend Bill Kristol writes this morning, perhaps more voters will take a second look at former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. The Florida contest was portrayed as largely a two-man race, a clash between Newt and Mitt. Coming off his victory in South Carolina, Newt was unable to "make the sale" with enough voters, despite significant spending on his part.

In contrast, Senator Santorum ran no negative ads, spent very little money and still managed to attract 13% of the vote last night. Moreover, while he suffers from perceptions about electability, he continues to enjoy high personal favorability ratings. A surprise showing might provide greater exposure and additional resources that could reshape the contest yet again. Stay tuned!

Warnings About Iran

Yesterday Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before Congress about the national security threats confronting America. There was some good news about a diminished threat from Al Qaeda in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death, but Clapper had disturbing warnings about Iran.

While the world is focused on Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, Clapper warned members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that there is growing concern that Iran is prepared to launch terrorist attacks inside the United States. Clapper said last year's Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, D.C., "shows that some Iranian officials -- probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -- have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime."

This is a very dangerous time for America and the world. As Iran continues its feverish pursuit of nuclear weapons, it may also attempt to strike our homeland. The timing of Obama's planned defense cuts increases the danger that Iran will miscalculate its own strength based on our perceived weakness.

CBO Bashes Obama

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a stunning report this week that should have the Obama campaign reaching for the Maalox. It paints a bleak fiscal future of more deficits, higher taxes and more unemployment. Here are excerpts of an analysis of the CBO report from today's Wall Street Journal:

"CBO reports that annual spending over the Obama era has climbed to a projected $3.6 trillion this fiscal year from $2.98 trillion in fiscal 2008, or more than 20%. The government spending burden has averaged 24% of GDP, up from an average of about 20%. This doesn't include the $2 trillion tab for ObamaCare. All of this has increased the federal debt by about $5 trillion in a mere four years. In other words, the four years of Obama's Presidency will mark the four highest years in spending and deficits as a share of the economy since Harry Truman sat in the Oval Office.

"On President Obama's watch, CBO says public debt will climb this year to 72.5% of the economy from 40.3% in 2008. This isn't as high as Italy or Greece, but it's rising fast toward the 90% level that begins to debilitate an economy.

"Even the Keynesians who run CBO concede that the 2013 tax hike -- on capital gains, dividends, estates and small business -- would knock economic growth down to 1% next year and raise unemployment to 9.1% (from 8.5%). That means about 750,000 more jobless Americans. To sum it all up, CBO's facts plainly show that Mr. Obama has the worst fiscal record of any President in modern times. No one else is even close."

End Of Day Report

2012-01-31T13:09:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 280 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Tune In Tonight Online

If you care about Israel and events in the Middle East, click here now to sign up for a live webcast being broadcast tonight by Christians United for Israel (CUFI). I will be speaking at the CUFI leadership summit tonight at 8:30 PM ET. You can watch my presentation live online for free, but you must register first.

Christians United for Israel was founded by Pastor John Hagee to rally men and women of faith in support of the Israeli people. Nearly one million Americans have joined Christians United for Israel, and I am proud to serve as a member of CUFI's Executive Board. I strongly support its efforts in these perilous times.

Please share this message with like-minded friends and family members and encourage them to register for tonight's webcast.

Occupiers Assault Pro-Lifers

For the third time in a week radicals from the Occupy Wall Street crowd have disrupted pro-life events. If they are so concerned about income inequality, why are they focusing their anger and vitriol on pro-life demonstrations?

According to LifeSiteNews.com, Occupiers disrupted a March for Youth rally in Washington, D.C., last weekend, a prayer vigil outside of the Supreme Court last Monday and a pro-life rally in Rhode Island last Thursday. At the Rhode Island rally, the radicals threw condoms on Catholic students and shouted down a priest as he attempted to give the benediction.

Barth Bracey, executive director of Rhode Island Right to Life, attempted to contact someone in leadership at the national Occupy Wall Street headquarters. They were less than helpful. Bracey told LifeSiteNews.com:

"You can't have a reasoned conversation with these people. They simply try to taunt you. They're smug, snarky, arrogant. You won't get a straight answer. Their actions have made it loud and clear, whatever else they are, they are pro-abortion -- and they are willing to attack the pro-life movement."
Yesterday we provided more evidence of the anti-Semitic bigotry that infests the Occupy Wall Street movement. But it is increasingly clear that these radicals are not just against Wall Street greed and corruption. They are against traditional American values, including free enterprise and free speech. They are anti-Western Civilization.

Remember This

Two headlines today caught my attention. Here's the first headline followed by a brief excerpt:

"O'Malley Talks About Applying Sales Tax To Gas -- Maryland's gas prices could soon be going sky high. The governor [a liberal Democrat] has recommended applying sales tax to gas, and it could pump up prices more than 20 cents a gallon."
Now here's the second headline followed by a brief excerpt:

"Emboldened GOP Wants To Abolish State Income Taxes -- A year after Republicans swept into office across the country, many have trained their sights on what has long been a fiscal conservative's dream: the steep reduction or even outright elimination of state income taxes."
Remember this, my friends, when you go into the voting booth in 280 days: Democrats are always trying to raise your taxes. Republicans want to cut taxes.

Our Thin-Skinned President

Beneath Barack Obama's well-cultivated image as a supernaturally cool, calm and collected president lies a very different reality: an irritable, hyper-sensitive and bitter man who's quick to attack those who question him or his agenda. The idea of Obama as an above-the-fray figure who can unite the country has been shattered by three years of a president who seems more passionate about the opinions of his critics than about governing the country. Read more in my latest column at HumanEvents.com.

End Of Day Report

2012-01-30T15:48:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 30, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 281 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Santorum And The Sanctity Of Life

No doubt you have heard by now that Senator Rick Santorum's youngest daughter, Bella, fell ill over the weekend and Sen. Santorum returned home to take care of her. Bella has a genetic disorder known as Trisomy 18. Only about 10% of children who have this disorder survive their first year. Once diagnosed, most women are encouraged to have an abortion. Mrs. Santorum refused to do so and Bella is now 3 years old. You can imagine the challenges they face.

In a personal conversation with Mrs. Santorum, she made it clear that her family does not see Bella as a burden, but a blessing. Sen. Santorum has often spoken about how Bella "makes us better," how she is not the "disabled one," but how the rest of us can learn from her unconditional love.

This weekend, Bella was diagnosed with pneumonia, and, not surprisingly, Sen. Santorum cancelled several events and rushed home. Children with her condition can be killed by colds. Thankfully, she is experiencing what Santorum called a "miraculous recovery" and could be out of the hospital in the next few days.

Rick Santorum is running third in the Florida polls, but a recent Gallup poll found that he has the highest overall approval rating of all the candidates. Whatever happens in this campaign, Rick and Karen Santorum have done much to advance the cause of life, and I am thankful for their example. I know you will join me in praying for Bella's continued recovery.

The Culture War Continues

The economy has dominated the headlines, but the radical secularists have not stopped their assault against our values. Last week, a Rhode Island high school was ordered to remove a prayer that has hung in the school since 1963. According to a federal judge, the prayer "violated the principle of government neutrality in religion." Read the banned prayer that is so "harmful" to our students.

Sadly, too many judges today are deeply confused about the meaning of the First Amendment. It guarantees the freedom of religion, so that all may flourish free from government interference, not a freedom from religion. But the First Amendment has been so twisted now that left-wing judges routinely use it to force our schools to be "faith free" zones.

For example, religious liberty and free speech rights are under fire in Wisconsin after a student-run school newspaper published pro and con editorials on the subject of homosexual adoption. A Christian student wrote the editorial opposing homosexual adoption and cited the Scriptures as one reason to oppose it. His editorial resulted in a formal complaint being filed against the school district by a gay parent.

The school quickly issued an apology for the "offensive" letter. According to the Christian Post, Superintendent Todd Carlson said that the article did not follow school policies, and "the 15-year-old's opinion piece constituted 'bullying.'" The student was reportedly threatened with suspension and banned from writing on topics related to "religion, politics, or social issues."

But by punishing this student for expressing his Christian faith, school officials are hardly being neutral. Instead, they are using government force to express their hostility toward faith and free speech.

In Maryland, Democrat Governor Martin O'Malley is doing damage control after his wife, a Baltimore judge, referred to opponents of same-sex marriage as "cowards." An attempt to legalize same-sex marriage last year was defeated in the Democrat-dominated state after a revolt by black pastors who objected to a radical redefinition of marriage and the left's frequent comparison of homosexual rights to civil rights.

Let me repeat: The culture war is very real. While some on the right mistakenly call for a "truce" on values issues, the left has no intention of letting up until it has fundamentally transformed America on every level -- from taxes and spending to the values we will pass on to our children and grandchildren. This election will decide whether we stop this assault on family, faith and freedom or whether we continue "slouching toward Gomorrah."

Occupy Movement Gets Ugly -- Again

Members of Occupy Oakland are on the march again. Over the weekend they vandalized Oakland's historic City Hall. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Occupiers "broke into the building, smashed display cases, cut electrical wires and burned an American flag."

The report also notes that the protestors are becoming far more aggressive with the police and carrying "elaborate" shields, "6 feet by 4 feet and built from corrugated metal on wood panels, complete with multiple handles." More than 400 people were arrested, adding to the Occupy movement's already extensive rap sheet.

Here is a video of Occupiers burning the American flag. Note the anti-Semitic "pledge" being recited as the flag goes up in flames. Unfortunately, this is just a warm up act.

The left-wing Canadian magazine Adbusters, which is credited with launching the Occupy movement, is calling for 50,000 radicals to descend on Chicago May 1st, "in the tradition of Chicago 8." This is a reference to the Chicago riots that broke out during the 1968 Democrat National Convention.

Steel yourselves. Democrat pollsters have warned that the Occupy movement is unstable and potentially violent. Now the left is using images of violence in its appeals for support. They have big plans to turn 2012 into a year of riots and left-wing radicalism, and some folks, like George Soros, seem "almost gleeful" by the prospect.

U.S. Tax Dollars Promoting Anti-Israel Bigotry

Kudos to Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).

Last week, Rep. Smith chaired a hearing that exposed the anti-Israel and anti-American bigotry contained in many textbooks used to teach Palestinian children in U.N. refugee camps. For example, a geography lesson for second graders features a map of the Middle East, but Israel is not included. A reading assignment for ninth graders asks students to explain this bit of poetry: "The morning of glory and red liberty watered by the martyrs' blood the hope for the Liberation of Palestine." There is much more and worse.

The level of hatred and bigotry contained in these textbooks is bad enough. But, unbelievably, American taxpayers are helping to pay for these books by subsidizing the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA). In 2010, the UNRWA got nearly $230 million from American taxpayers. Rep. Smith wants to limit UNRWA funding until the textbooks are purged of such hate.

Rep. Smith said, "We are responsible for the content and the content has been, year in and year out, explosively anti-Semitic, anti-American and anti-Israeli. If you teach kids to hate when they're very, very young and just keep feeding them that kind of formula for violence, why are we surprised when they strap on dynamite and other kinds of explosives to kill themselves and think they're doing a good thing?"

My friends, do not fall victim to the misguided thinking that suggests if only we abandoned Israel, the radical Islamists would leave us alone. There is a reason the mullahs in Iran refer to America, not Israel, as "the Great Satan." Radical Islam is at war with all of Judeo-Christian civilization, and Israel is just one front in that war. Hatred for Israel is also hatred for America.

End Of Day Report

2012-01-27T14:15:00.001-08:00

Friday, January 27, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 284 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Santorum Nails It

Last night Senator Rick Santorum turned in one of his best debate performances so far. Several commentators said that on rhetorical points Santorum effectively won the debate. During one of the evening's highlights, Sen. Santorum castigated Romney and Gingrich for their endless bickering and tried to refocus the debate on the issues. Here is what he said:

"The bigger issue here is, these two gentlemen, who are out distracting from the most important issues we have by playing petty personal politics, can we set aside that Newt was a member of Congress and used the skills that he developed as a member of Congress to go out and advise companies -- and that's not the worst thing in the world -- and that Mitt Romney is a wealthy guy because worked hard and he's going out and working hard? And you guys should leave that alone and focus on the issues!"
The audience roared its approval. You can watch it here. At that moment, Senator Santorum was speaking for millions of conservatives around the country who have watched in horror as various candidates have aimed more vitriol and fire at one another than the guy in the White House who is each day dismantling America.

Here is why this matters: A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll was released this week. Again polls are just snapshots in time and only tell what people are thinking today. That said, Obama's approval rating is up and the poll finds that he would beat every one of the GOP contenders.

Why should Obama's numbers be up? Has he done so well in defying Congress with unconstitutional appointments or rejecting the Keystone pipeline that voters now believe he deserves reelection? Not really. It's more likely that the public has witnessed week after week of the GOP candidates tearing one another down that they are turning voters off and allowing them to forget what is so bad about Obama!

Going Forward

My friends, I'm going to be frank. I share the concerns expressed yesterday by Rush Limbaugh about whether the eventual nominee and the GOP establishment will be able to fire up the conservative base and prevail in November after they have spent months savaging other conservatives. This week Bob Dole was trotted out to tell us how awful Newt Gingrich is. I could be wrong, but I don't recall Dole saying anything newsworthy in the past three years about how damaging Obama has been to America.

And what about Newt? He has done many good things over the years. But did I really hear him make the ludicrous argument last night that just because Mitt Romney owns certain bank stocks he is somehow making money off home foreclosures? Banks don't make money on foreclosures!

To our friend Mitt Romney: Why don't you just admit that RomneyCare has many of the same components as ObamaCare? The Tea Party movement and the historic GOP victories in 2010 were largely attributed to voter disgust over ObamaCare. Rick Santorum is right -- we cannot afford to surrender this issue.

But by defending RomneyCare, it appears as though you are defending big government mandates. And the Democrats agree! During last night's debate, David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, tweeted, "In explaining MA plan, Mitt just offered an eloquent explanation of [ObamaCare] he says he would repeal."

Obama's Losing Bets

Another Obama-backed "green energy" company went bankrupt this week, and House Republicans are demanding answers.

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said, "One bankruptcy may be a fluke, two could be coincidence, but three is a trend. Our investigation continues, and we are working to ensure taxpayers are never again stuck paying hundreds of millions of dollars because of the administration's risky bets."

Barack Obama condemns speculation on Wall Street, but he is speculating all the time with your tax dollars! Worse, he said in his State of the Union address that he intends to "double-down" on these risky "clean energy" bets.

Media Bias

Last night I witnessed one of the worst examples of media bias I have seen a while. CBS News led off its nightly broadcast with the tarmac exchange between Barack Obama and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. That was followed by veteran reporter Bob Schieffer condemning America's "vulgar politics" and overheated campaign rhetoric. According to Schieffer, Brewer's finger in Obama's face was the worst example of "public rudeness" toward any president that he could recall.

I guess Bob Schieffer doesn't recall the MoveOn.org ads comparing George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler. He obviously doesn't recall Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid calling President Bush a "loser" and a "liar."

While we're on the subject of "vulgar politics," what about stealing the identity of an office holder in order to implicate him in illegal or unethical behavior? What about the smears against Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork? Perhaps, like Chris Matthews, Bob Schieffer feels it is his job to help Obama succeed!

This is just a taste of what we can expect as the campaign heats up in the weeks and months ahead. Please help us expose the liberal media's bias. Continue to share these reports with your friends and family members. Working together we can end the Obama nightmare and put America back on the right track!

End Of Day Report

2012-01-26T14:30:00.001-08:00

Thursday, January 26, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 285 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Buffett's "Poor" Secretary

During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Barack Obama made several appeals for more redistribution of wealth. At one point he noted how unfair it was that billionaires like Warren Buffett can pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries. In fact, Mr. Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, was sitting in the First Lady's box during the State of the Union address, serving as a symbol for the lack of fairness in the tax code.

Since Obama and Buffett have made such an issue out of Ms. Bosanek's taxes, repeating over and over again that she pays a higher tax rate, a Forbes columnist hypothesized about just how much Ms. Bosanek might be making. Here is what he discovered:

"The IRS publishes detailed tax tables by income level. The latest results are for 2009. They show that taxpayers earning an adjusted gross income between $100,000 and $200,000 pay an average rate of twelve percent. This is below Buffett's rate; so she must earn more than that. Taxpayers earning adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 to $500,000, pay an average tax rate of nineteen percent. Therefore Buffet must pay Debbie Bosanke a salary above two hundred thousand. For all we know she earns closer to a half million each year, but that is pure speculation."
Here are a couple of points to consider. If Ms. Bosanke does in fact make that much, then she could well be one of those "evil one percenters," not exactly a model to point to if you are making a case for redistribution of wealth. But Barack Obama still wants to raise her taxes too!

He has repeatedly called for repealing portions of the Bush tax cuts and limiting deductions for individuals in her tax bracket. For the record, the top 1% of earners already pay approximately 37% of all income taxes collected. And if she doesn't make that much, then both Obama and Buffett are lying when they say she pays a higher rate than Buffett.

But what about Obama's main point -- raising taxes on really rich people like Warren Buffett? According to IRS data, just over 235,000 people reported incomes of $1 million or more on their 2009 tax returns. Combined they earned $727 billion. The federal deficit that year was $1.4 trillion. If you imposed a 100% tax rate on all 235,000 "millionaires and billionaires," it would yield enough revenue to cover just over half of the deficit. Once again, the problem in Washington is not revenue -- it's spending.

Federal Bureaucrats Owe Uncle Sam Billions

Before Barack Obama tries to squeeze billions more out of small business owners and entrepreneurs, he should start by passing the hat at the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, the Post Office and even the Justice Department. According to a new report from the IRS, federal employees owe more than $3.4 billion in back taxes. Here's a brief breakdown:

Postal Service employees owe nearly $270 million.

Department of Education employees owe $4.3 million.

Homeland Security employees owe $37 million.

Justice Department employees owe $17 million.

Treasury Department employees (which includes the IRS) owe more than $ 9 million.

And it was also reported that three dozen members of President Obama's White House staff owe more than $830,000 in back taxes!

Now is that fair? Why are these federal employees being paid with our tax money while they are not paying their taxes? Obama demonizes entrepreneurs, the successful, investors and a bevy of U.S. industries, but I have never heard him say a word about federal employees who aren't paying their taxes.

How Voters View State Of The Union

According to the latest Rasmussen poll, voters are not too happy with the state of our union. Just 26% feel the country is headed in the right direction, while 67% say it is not. Believe it or not, that's actually an improvement. Five months ago, 80% felt America was headed in the wrong direction. Perhaps folks are more optimistic about the future because the end of the Obama nightmare is just 285 days away and getting closer with each passing day!

Tension On The Tarmac

Yesterday Barack Obama flew to Arizona and was met on the tarmac by Governor Jan Brewer. Brewer handed the president an envelope with a handwritten letter inviting him to visit the border with her and talk about how the economy in Arizona is improving. Obama wasn't interested.

Instead, according to CBS News, "What she got was a critique. Of her book." In her book, "Scorpions for Breakfast," Brewer recounts an Oval Office meeting in which she said Obama lectured her about Arizona's tough anti-illegal immigration law. Evidently, Obama was offended by her depiction of the meeting and took the opportunity to relay his displeasure. Surprised by the president's reaction, Brewer asked if Obama had actually read the book. He said he had read excerpts.

It was obvious from their body language that the president and the governor were having a tense exchange. When asked what transpired, Brewer told reporters yesterday, "Bottom line is that he generally wants to talk about amnesty and I want to talk about securing our border." She later added that Obama seemed "thin-skinned." Indeed he is.

Which is exactly why the GOP and the eventual nominee need to confront him relentlessly on policy, lying, disrespect for the Constitution, class warfare, wedge politics and everything else. The more they expose him, the greater the chance that his image of "coolness" and being unflappable will unravel and the public will see a man schooled in Chicago politics and radical ideology.

End Of Day Report

2012-01-25T15:31:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 286 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

A Shrinking Obama

Is that all there is? Watching Obama deliver the State of the Union last night (with precautionary blood pressure medication at my side) I was struck by how diminished the hope and change President has become. Long gone is the candidate who told his supporters, We are the ones we have been waiting for. Nowhere to be seen was the man who said his election would result in the earth healing and the oceans stopping their rise. Instead we got an hour of low expectations, distorted facts, divisive class warfare all wrapped up in the hope that the public has collective amnesia about what actually happened in the last three years while Obama was in charge.

Fact checking the speech would take all day. But we made a short video catching Obama on a few of his misstatements. You can watch it here.

My first shoe hit the T.V. set when Obama asserted that our oil imports have fallen under his watch. Indeed they have, but Obama counts on you not knowing why they dropped. Oil imports always drop when the American economy isnt growing and Obamas policies have guaranteed slow to no growth. Fewer people employed means less gasoline used. Imports have also dropped because oil industry engineers have developed new drilling techniques that have increased our domestic oil production. Obama has done everything he can to stop that increase in production, including cutting drilling back on federal land and restricting off-shore drilling. The increased production has come on private land by oil companies that Obama regularly demonizes.

Did you notice his intentional distortions on the taxes paid by millionaires compared to average folks? Here is what Obama said: Now you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as the secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.

Yes that would be common sense if it were a factual description of reality. Instead it is an intentional effort to deceive. Obama is counting on Americans confusing tax rate with net taxes. Lets say you are a worker making approximately $50,000 a year. You would be in the 25% tax bracket and you would pay approximately $8,600 in federal taxes. Now lets say you are a millionaire and almost all of your income comes from dividends and capital gains. For years the U.S. has taxed that kind of investment income at 15% because we want to encourage the investment that creates jobs. So the $1 million in dividends times 15% would be $150,000 in federal taxes.

Yes the millionaire has a lower rate (15%) than the wage earner (25%), but the millionaire pays $150,000 compared to $8,600 for the worker. This is why, in spite all of Obamas attempts to claim otherwise, the top 1% in America pay into the federal treasury 38% of all taxes collected. The bottom 50% of all Americans pay less than 3% of all taxes collected.

This is what is so disgusting about what Obama is doing. He wants you to be angry at and despise those who have done well in the hope you wont notice how his policies are leading us down the road to European socialism and national bankruptcy. The man who campaigned in 2008 saying he would bring us together can only remain in power if he deeply divides us by class. Obama is a Hugo Chavez democrat.

Something else was obvious last night too. It was not only what he said but what he left out. There was no direct mention of Obamacare nor of the 3,000-page stimulus bill, both of which are politically toxic. Both issues should be a central part of the eventual GOP presidential nominees campaign. There was very little on job creation, and there were zero proposals to get our horrendous debt under control. This man must not be given a second term.

The GOP Response

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels gave the GOP response. It is a tough job to answer any Presidents State of the Union, and Daniels did a reasonably good job, even if his passion seemed in short supply. This sentence jumped out at me: Speaking of the Obama Administration, Daniels said, The extremism that stifles the development of homegrown energy or cancels a perfectly safe pipeline that would employ tens of thousands, or jacks up consumer utility bills for no improvement in either human health or world temperatures is a pro-poverty policy.

Eureka! There it is. Obama is a left wing extremist. His policies will promote poverty, not growth. Every conservative in America needs to make that point every day at work, over the back fence, at church, at school or around the dinner table. The GOP nominee has to drive it home. We can win. We must win!

End Of Day Report

2012-01-24T14:34:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 287 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Florida Debate Post Mortem

Last night's GOP debate in Florida left many feeling flat. The audience was disengaged and appeared uninterested. Worse, the debate began with Gingrich and Romney sniping at one another, while Santorum and Paul were ignored for ten minutes.

As it turns out, the audience was instructed by moderator Brian Williams not to applaud. Unfortunately, they complied. And the image transmitted to millions of living rooms across the country was one of a demoralized, bored and disinterested Republican Party.

Newt Gingrich is reportedly warning that he will not participate in future debates unless members of the audience are allowed to express themselves. He said this morning, "The media doesn't control free speech. People ought to be allowed to applaud if they want to."

I agree. My advice to the audience of future GOP debates: Don't let liberal big media elites boss you around!

Santorum Schools Paul On Foreign Policy

An hour into last night's debate, the subject was what, if anything, the candidates would do about Iran's nuclear weapons program. Ron Paul made it clear that he would do nothing and then, predictably, launched into a defense of the Iranian regime.

As he has done in the past, Paul claimed U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran were "acts of war" committed by the United States and our allies against the Islamic Republic. So just to be clear, in Paul's mind we are the "bad guys" and the mullahs are victims of our aggression. This is normally the kind of nonsense one hears coming from the far left fringe, which may explain why left-wing, America-bashing, conspiracy theorist Oliver Stone is such a fan of Ron Paul and says he would vote for Paul over Obama.

Once again, it was Rick Santorum who set the record straight. Here's an excerpt of his remarks:

"Well, let's look at the acts of war [by] Iran -- they are holding hostages, they are attacking our troops, their IEDs [improvised explosive devices] are killing our troops in Afghanistan, and killed them in Iraq, and maimed so many and people were trained and funded in Iran specifically to kill American troops.

"You look at the ships that have been attacked by Iran, embassies were attacked by Iran. Iran has plotted to kill the Saudi ambassador here in this country. It is a long list of attacks -- of war-like behavior on the part of this regime. It would be reckless not to do something to stop them from getting this nuclear weapon."

Romney's Trouble With Conservatives

Yesterday I wrote that there are questions about Mitt Romney's ability to energize the conservative base should he win the GOP nomination. Here's one reason why: Today we learned that several of Romney's top campaign advisors were key strategists for Charlie Crist. Yes, THAT Charlie Crist -- the Florida RINO.

For those who may not recall, Charlie Crist is the former governor of Florida who gave Obama a big bear hug, backed the misnamed stimulus bill, supported cap and trade, ignored the Tea Party, vetoed pro-life legislation and ultimately abandoned the Republican Party in a failed effort to defeat conservative Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL).

Obama Fails Again

Remember when Obama flew to Europe to lobby for Chicago as a host city for the Olympic Games? He failed in his mission. Remember when he flew to Brazil to lobby for their oil from huge, newly-discovered reserves? Obama said, "We want to help with technology and support to develop these oil reserves safely, and, when you're ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers."

Well guess what? We're not getting Brazil's oil either. China is. And this news came just as the Obama Administration was rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought us more oil from Canada.

I know there is a debate among some on the right as to whether Obama is just incompetent or doing exactly what he intends to do. I don't know the answer, but the result is the same and America is losing as a result. I know this much too: America can't afford another four years of Barack Obama!

Soros Sees Chaos

George Soros, the billionaire godfather of the political Left, is predicting class warfare and chaos in the streets of America. During a recent interview with Newsweek, Soros warns of "a decade of more stagnation" and possibly "a collapse of the financial system."

When asked about the potential for "riots on the streets of America," Newsweek reported that Soros "almost gleefully" responded, "Yes, yes, yes." Then Soros warns that the violence will be "an excuse for cracking down and using strong-arm tactics to maintain law and order, which could bring about a repressive political system."

But what is the most likely source of the violence he is predicting? It's not the Tea Party.

Remember how the unions behaved in Wisconsin last year during the battle over collective bargaining rights? Remember the New Black Panthers blocking the doorway to a polling station? Democrat pollsters have warned that nearly one-third of Occupy Wall Street protestors "would support violence to advance their agenda."

Smearing Conservatives

In 2006, George Soros launched his SOS Project aimed at electing left-wing activists as Secretaries of State. Soros and others on the left know that Secretaries of State are the key officials in determining election rules and combating voter fraud.

Many of Soros' candidates won in 2006, but in 2010 he won only two of seven targeted contests. That year, Matt Schultz defeated Iowa's Democrat Secretary of State Mike Mauro. But Democrats are not taking that loss well. Just as they did with Sarah Palin, they have repeatedly harassed Schultz with frivolous complaints and threats of lawsuits. The left didn't stop there.

On Friday an employee of a well-connected Democrat political consulting firm was arrested for trying to steal Schultz's identity in order to "falsely implicate Secretary Schultz in perceived illegal or unethical behavior while in office." You can only imagine what they had in mind!

The man arrested wasn't just an over-zealous, low-level employee. He joined the Obama campaign in early 2007 and eventually became the Iowa Director of New Media for Team Obama. Read more here.

This is Chicago-style politics at its worst. And it is just one example of the desperation and dirty tricks we can expect throughout this election year as Obama and the radical left do whatever they have to do to hold on to power.

End Of Day Report

2012-01-23T14:19:00.001-08:00

Monday, January 23, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 288 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Newt Takes South Carolina

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich convincingly won the South Carolina primary Saturday, taking 40% of the vote. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was second with 28%, followed by former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum (17%) and Texas Congressman Ron Paul (13%). The race is now anyone's to win!

I think it is clear from these results that conservative primary voters are looking for a "fighter" for conservative values, and Newt struck a nerve in the debates. He clearly stole the show at the last debate, refusing to be cowed by the liberal media.

It's also worth noting that Gingrich won 44% of self-identified born-again/evangelical Christians and he won a plurality (38%) of female voters. That's not surprising in many ways. Gingrich and Santorum have talked extensively about religious liberty and religious persecution. Both men, but Newt especially, have made reining in rogue judges a key issue.

People of faith also believe in redemption. While Gingrich acknowledges his past failures, he also says that his faith is more important to him now, and the voters of South Carolina chose to take him at his word that he is a changed man.

Lastly, here's some encouraging news: There was a huge spike in participation in Saturday's primary compared to four years ago. In 2008, roughly 430,000 people voted. This weekend, more than 600,000 went to the polls despite terrible weather that included tornado watches over 18 counties.

Race Down To Three Serious Candidates

Iowa and New Hampshire winnowed the field from seven candidates to four. But no one is dropping out after South Carolina. Rather than anointing a front-runner, the early primary states have given each of the top three contenders a victory -- Santorum in Iowa, Romney in New Hampshire and Gingrich in South Carolina. As Rick Santorum put it, "Three states, three different winners. What a country!"

In Saturday's South Carolina primary, Rick Santorum once again outpolled expectations. The RealClearPolitics.com average had Santorum running fourth at 12%. One pre-primary poll even put Santorum in single digits, with Paul pulling ahead. Yet Santorum finished well above that mark and Paul faded as more voters focused on his appeasement foreign policy.

What happens next? Romney and the GOP establishment will do everything they can to stop Gingrich's momentum. Gingrich has to demonstrate that South Carolina wasn't a fluke. If the two savage one another in the days ahead, Santorum could well emerge from that battle as the conservative alternative without the "baggage" that Gingrich carries.

Electability Is Subjective

I know conservatives want to win in November, but I hope we don't fall for some oft-repeated myths. One of them is electability and the notion that we should support Candidate X because he/she is the most electable.

Electability is a completely subjective concept. Polling data can be useful, but it is only a snapshot of what conditions are now. It tells you little about what the landscape will be in November.

The GOP establishment argues that the more moderate the candidate is, the more electable they are. There is no evidence of that at all. Just ask President Dole or President McCain. A lot of pundits and the party establishment said Ronald Reagan was too extreme and unelectable. The rest is history.

The conventional wisdom says that you have to get independent voters in order to win. That is true. But the media and the establishment have convinced themselves that independent voters and moderate voters are the same, and that is not true. Many independents are in fact disgruntled conservatives who left the GOP in recent years because it was not conservative enough!

I believe this is going to be a brutal campaign -- one of the most vicious we have ever seen. In such campaigns, turnout often goes down because many people get disgusted and tune out. That makes turnout by the base even more important than usual, and it is essential that the base is fired up and enthusiastic about the nominee.

Many political observers question whether Mitt Romney can energize the conservative base, which begs the question: Is he the most electable candidate? A serious case could be made that Santorum or Gingrich would be stronger candidates in November.

Obama -- The Abortion President

Today thousands of pro-life activists gathered in Washington, D.C., for the 39th Annual March for Life. Typical for this time of year, the weather is miserable -- 40s and raining. But their spirits are not dampened.

I know because I had the honor of addressing the Kentucky Right to Life delegation this morning on Capitol Hill. Thirty-nine years after Roe v. Wade, their commitment to the sanctity of life is as strong as ever. And with good reason. As you can read in my latest Human Events column, we are winning the battle for hearts and minds!

Yesterday, as millions of Americans observed Sanctity of Life Sunday, Barack Obama issued a statement from the White House celebrating "this historic anniversary" of Roe v. Wade and reiterating his commitment to protecting abortion-on-demand.

Obama also had the audacity to suggest that our daughters can "fulfill their dreams" thanks to abortion. Most politicians know better than to adopt the label "pro-abortion." But it's hard to define Obama's remarks in any other way.

How perverse is it to suggest that the ability to terminate life leads to the fulfillment of dreams? Then again, this is the same man who said he would not want his own daughters "punished with a baby." Yet, women who have experienced the anguish of abortion often speak of shattered dreams, of dreams lost and unfulfilled. They are often the most effective pro-life advocates.

Obama vs. The Church

Religious liberty suffered another blow Friday when the Obama Administration mandated free contraception coverage, including the abortion drug "ella." Religious groups had sought a waiver from this mandate, but the Administration refused. Instead, the Washington Post reported that they will have "a one-year delay before they must comply with the new rule."

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, blasted the mandate and the Obama Administration's disregard for religious liberty. Here is an excerpt of his statement:

"In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences. To force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their healthcare is literally unconscionable. The government should not force Americans to act as if pregnancy is a disease to be prevented at all costs."
I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity in this "End of Day" report to remind folks once again about why politics is so important. It is literally a matter of life and death. The men and women we elect to public office appoint and confirm the justices who sit on the Supreme Court.

There are four justices on the high court who realize Roe v. Wade is terrible law. There are four justices who will fall on their sword to defend abortion-on-demand. The deciding vote, Justice Anthony Kennedy, seems to have no firm philosophical convictions. If Barack Obama gets four more years and one or two more appointments to the Supreme Court, he will tip the balance on the high court. And abortion-on-demand, not to mention a radical redefinition of marriage, will be enshrined in our laws for generations to come.

End Of Day Report

2012-01-20T15:14:00.001-08:00

Friday, January 20, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

Alienating Allies

The fallout continues from the administration's decision to reject the latest permit request for the Keystone XL pipeline.

Bloomberg News reports that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his "profound disappointment" in a phone call yesterday with President Obama, and warned that "Canada will continue to work to diversify its energy exports." In other words, if America doesn't want Canada's oil, Harper will have no choice but to sell it to China, which desperately wants it.

The Bloomberg report notes, "Currently, 99 percent of Canada's crude exports go to the U.S." But the radical environmental movement is putting all that at risk, not to mention costing us thousands of jobs. Meanwhile prices at the pump have doubled since January 2009. Thanks to decisions like this and the ban on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, they aren't likely to come down anytime soon.

March For Life

Monday marks the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., when pro-life activists from around the country come to our nation's capital to promote the sanctity of life. Of course most folks can't come to Washington, but many churches will observe Sanctity of Life Sunday this weekend. I encourage you to find out what is going on in your community this weekend and to be involved in the "good fight" for the right to life!

This country is a beacon of hope to millions around the world. Yet that image is tarnished by the reality that more than one million unborn children are destroyed in abortion facilities every year. We are better than that.

America was founded on the principle that everyone is created equal and endowed by our Creator with the inalienable right to life. We fought a civil war to settle the question of whether some men possessed no rights we were bound to respect. In keeping with our founding principles we rightly determined that every life has dignity and is worthy of respect.

Roe v. Wade is an injustice based on the same misguided philosophy as Dred Scott -- that some humans are not "people" for the purposes of our Constitution. But I have confidence that this good and decent land will someday once again live up to its image as a "shining city upon a hill," when every child is welcomed into the world and protected under the law.

End Of Day Report

2012-01-19T14:26:00.001-08:00

Thursday, January 19, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 292 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

The Error Of Inevitability

For weeks we have been told that Mitt Romney was the inevitable nominee. We were told that the race would be over after South Carolina, after Romney had accomplished an historic feat in sweeping the first three early voting states -- Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. How things can change in a day!

First, news broke this morning that Romney did not win Iowa by eight votes after all. Senator Rick Santorum has been declared the certified winner of the Iowa caucuses. Official recounts put Santorum ahead of Romney by 34 votes. That is an incredible accomplishment given how dramatically Senator Santorum was outspent.

After Romney's predictable win in New Hampshire, his own "backyard," the fight turned to South Carolina. Again Romney appeared poised to emerge on top of a divided field. But Newt Gingrich has been surging in the polls. Yesterday he got a nod from Sarah Palin, and this morning Texas Governor Rick Perry dropped out and endorsed Gingrich. A new Rasmussen poll finds Gingrich leading Romney in South Carolina by two points.

My point is simply this: Let's not cut this process short. There is a very real possibility that instead of Romney going 3 and 0, each of the top contenders will have won one state -- Santorum in Iowa, Romney in New Hampshire and Gingrich in South Carolina.

Or if my guy, Senator Santorum, surges as he did in the last 48 hours before the Iowa vote, he would have two victories to Romney's one. By the way, Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, also endorsed Santorum today, as have an increasing number of pro-family leaders.

We know one candidate won't drop out until the bitter end -- Ron Paul. And I don't think it would be a good thing for the Republican Party to have an extended contest in which Ron Paul is the only name on ballot after ballot amassing delegates to the convention by default, as the only alternative to Romney.

Media Meddling

Just as Newt Gingrich is starting to gain traction, ABC News is set to air an interview tonight with Marianne Gingrich, his second wife. According to reports, she levels some stunning allegations and concludes that he "lacks the moral character to be president."

Newt Gingrich has admitted to a troubled marital history. In a 2007 interview with Dr. James Dobson, Gingrich admitted to marital failings and "periods of weakness" that he was "not in any way proud of." Nevertheless, I suspect this is still news to many and seeing Marianne Gingrich and hearing her side of the story could influence many votes on the eve of the South Carolina primary.

There is also a debate tonight on CNN. Will the issue be brought up? Will conservative voters in South Carolina extend some grace to Gingrich? Will they side with Santorum? Or will Mitt get his momentum back? We will find out Saturday night.

But the media's attention to Gingrich in this instance is just one more example of how deeply big media is in the back pocket of the American left. When Bill Clinton was impeached, the media rushed to defend him from Republican extremists who were supposedly trying to criminalize his personal life. But the issue was perjury and obstruction of justice.

John Kerry was divorced too, but the media never put his ex-wife on national television. It was reportedly widely known among many "journalists" that John Edwards was not faithful, but they ignored the story and left it to a tabloid to report the truth.

The New York Times did not fail to report rumors of an alleged affair between John McCain and a lobbyist. The Times eventually had to settle a defamation lawsuit as a result. We have yet to see Barack Obama's college transcripts, but somehow the media got a copy of Rick Perry's. The list goes on.

I know this is a difficult issue for Christians. Of course we want our leaders to be men and women of strong moral character and neither party has a lock on virtue. But the left-wing media have become willing mouthpieces of the Democrat Party, eager to expose every flaw in any conservative candidate, while hiding the sins of liberals.

My friends, we know there are no sinless candidates on the ballot and I fear we will see more of these "revelations" throughout this campaign. Please do not let the media's hatchet jobs and hit pieces demoralize you and keep you away from the ballot box. Be discerning and be active!

Reaction

Your reaction to yesterday's item about Barack Obama blocking construction of the Keystone XL pipeline was intense. It was a shocking decision that caught many of the president's media cheerleaders off-guard as well. Consider these editorials from two leading national papers.

From the Washington Post:

"On Tuesday, President Obama's Jobs Council reminded the nation that it is still hooked on fossil fuels, and will be for a long time. 'Continuing to deliver inexpensive and reliable energy,' the council reported, 'is going to require the United States to optimize all of its natural resources and construct pathways (pipelines, transmission and distribution) to deliver electricity and fuel.'

"It added that regulatory 'and permitting obstacles that could threaten the development of some energy projects, negatively impact jobs and weaken our energy infrastructure need to be addressed.' Mr. Obama's Jobs Council could start by calling out ... the Obama administration.

"We almost hope this was a political call because, on the substance, there should be no question. Without the pipeline, Canada would still export its bitumen but it would go to China. And, as a State Department report found, U.S. refineries would still import low-quality crude -- just from the Middle East. Finally, pipeline skeptics dispute the estimates of the number of jobs that the project would create. But, clearly, constructing the pipeline would still result in job gains during a sluggish economic recovery."
From the Chicago Tribune:

"Keystone should be approved. This is a good project. It will give us energy and give us jobs. You want stimulus? This is a $7 billion deal to be done with private-sector funding.

"Blocking construction of the Keystone pipeline became the No. 1 objective of the green lobby, which raised concerns that construction and operation would pollute aquifers and destroy wildlife habitats. There just isn't much evidence for those threats, though. Pipelines are the safest way to transport oil. The designers of this particular pipeline engineered it with lavish safeguards.

"Obama made a decision that will deny the U.S. a reliable source of oil. Note that Canada has never threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz. Obama made a decision that will cost the U.S. good jobs. He seems to think those jobs will still be there when he gets around to making a decision on the pipeline. But they may well be gone for good."
This decision is a prime example of why America cannot afford another four more years of Barack Obama. With your continued support, Campaign for Working Families will make sure voters know that Obama put his radical ideology ahead of jobs and our national security.

End Of Day Report

2012-01-18T14:09:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 293 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Obama Says No To Canada's Oil

In a stunning development today, the Obama Administration once again rejected the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline would have transported crude oil from the Canadian tar sands to refineries along the Gulf Coast. It would have provided more oil from a friendly ally while reducing America's dependence on imported oil from hostile regimes like Venezuela or those in the Middle East.

Today's decision is inexplicable. It defies common sense and the recommendation of Obama's own jobs council! Consider this excerpt from the 2011 year-end report issued by the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness:

"Additionally, policies that facilitate the safe, thoughtful and timely development of pipeline, transmission and distribution projects are necessary to facilitate the delivery of America's fuel and electricity and maintain the reliability of our nation's energy system."
Last month a bi-partisan majority in Congress passed legislation demanding a decision on the pipeline within 60 days. Congress took this unusual step because the Obama White House said it would wait until after the 2012 elections to make a decision. The administration now claims it is denying approval because it can't make an informed decision in 60 days. But according to the Wall Street Journal, "The U.S. government has been reviewing the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline since 2008."

So this project has been under government review for four years -- that's 1,460 days -- and Obama still can't give us an answer? We developed the atomic bomb in less time. We built the Empire State Building in less time. The Hoover Dam took less than five years to build.

But Obama just can't bring himself to approve a pipeline that would provide America with oil from Canada and create tens of thousands of jobs in the process -- even when his own advisors recommend it. He rejects the one really "shovel ready" project on his desk while spending billions on failed alternative energy companies.

Why would Obama do this? Because the radical environmentalist movement has made the Keystone pipeline a litmus test issue. They have drawn a "line in the sand" on the use of "dirty" tar sands oil.

But the oil will be used. The pipeline will be built -- going west, instead of south, to load the oil on Chinese tankers. China desperately wants it. In fact, the Chinese are already aggressively buying up interests in Canada's tar sands and Prime Minister Harper is headed to China next month. According to Canadian news reports, "A decision by U.S. President Barack Obama to delay approval for a major pipeline expansion through the country led to Harper talk about finding other customers for Canadian oil."

By the way, petroleum analysts are warning that 2012 could be "the most painful year at the pump that we have ever seen."

My friends, let me remind you what President Obama's former National Security Advisor, Gen. Jim Jones, said last month about the failure of this administration to develop a serious energy policy:

"If we get to the point where we cannot bring ourselves to do what is in our national interest, then we are clearly in a period of decline A nation that fails to secure the energy its citizens and its economic engine need to keep functioning leaves itself vulnerable to external contingencies in a dangerous and uncertain world and to the whims of foreign leaders and other actors who may not always have its interests at heart."

Obama: The Divider-In-Chief

Barack Obama may not be able to create jobs or run a coherent foreign policy, but the former Chicago community organizer knows how to divide people based on race, income, etc. And now that he has the bully pulpit of the presidency, it is only that much easier.

A recent Pew study did not get much attention, but it reveals the potential for division that exists, if we tolerate it. According to Pew's findings, "about two-thirds of the public (66%) believes there are 'very strong' or 'strong' conflicts between the rich and the poor. Not only have perceptions of class conflict grown more prevalent; so, too, has the belief that these disputes are intense."

Pew found that this intense focus on class conflict ranks ahead of concerns over race, immigration and age, and it is also relatively new. "Virtually all major demographic groups now perceive significantly more class conflict than two years ago."

The timing seems odd, doesn't it? One would have expected class conflict to peak during the Great Recession in 2009, not when things are supposedly getting better. It is ironic and unfortunate given that Obama was elected on the promise of hope and change that people now perceive more conflict. But the Obama campaign and the Occupy Wall Street movement appear determined to exploit fear and envy now in order to achieve their shared goals -- Obama's reelection and the "fundamental transformation of America."

The Debates

While I have been very critical of the GOP debate formats, the weekend debates in South Carolina have me convinced of one thing: The remaining contenders are much better debaters now than they were 90 days ago.

As you know, I have endorsed Senator Rick Santorum, and I think he did well in the last debate. I also have to tip my hat to Newt Gingrich. His performances in the debates are the main reason Gingrich remains in contention. His campaign imploded early on after a series of mishaps, culminating in the mass resignation of his entire staff. Yet Gingrich remains very much a force in this campaign.

Whoever wins the nomination should watch the tapes of the South Carolina debates to get the right sense of how best to beat Barack Obama. We win if we take the fight to him. We lose if we play defense. With your help, CWF will do everything we can to win!

End Of Day Report

2012-01-17T14:19:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 294 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Texas Meeting

You may have read by now about a weekend meeting of pro-family, pro-life conservatives that took place in Houston, Texas. I, and more than 125 other leaders, attended the meeting to see if we could reach a consensus on which GOP presidential contender to unite around. After hours of discussion and three separate ballots the overwhelming majority of attendees selected Rick Santorum, with a significant minority backing Newt Gingrich.

Media descriptions of the event were often inaccurate and, not surprisingly, in some cases seemed intended to sow divisions. Here are the facts. This was not a "stop Romney" meeting. As I repeatedly told reporters, it was a "stop Obama" meeting!

There were individuals supporting each of the candidates. Our conclusion to support Santorum was a positive statement in favor of him -- NOT a negative statement about the other good conservatives in the race. We realize that reasonable conservatives can reach different conclusions about the best "horse" to ride.

Finally, talking to my colleagues, I found a unanimous view that November 2012 will be the most important election of our lives. America, as a constitutional republic, cannot survive another four years of Barack Obama.

Whomever the GOP nominates, within reason, will receive, in my view, the support of a united conservative movement. Disagreements among conservatives pale in comparison to our disagreements with Barack Obama. Our movement will gain nothing and risks losing everything if Obama is reelected.

We continue to urge all the GOP contenders to stop savaging one another and instead aim their fire at the disaster currently sitting in the Oval Office.

Media Bias

If you need another reminder of just how in the tank the media are for Obama, check out the latest edition of Newsweek. The cover is dominated by a serious-looking Obama and the headline reads, "Why are Obama's critics so dumb?"

Yes, if only the great ignorant masses could comprehend the genius behind the failed stimulus spending, the brilliance that gave us Solyndra and the wisdom behind ObamaCare, all would well in Washington, if not the world. The story is obviously an opinion piece. But that it made the cover speaks volumes about the mindset at Newsweek and what we can expect from the left-wing media throughout the year.

Ship Of Fools

What happened on the doomed Italian cruise liner is a commentary on the division between values-oriented conservatives and pure libertarians. I'm hearing more and more libertarians arguing that we should support limited government and that anything involving morality is off limits. But I agree with the Founders who argued that only a virtuous people could remain free and that the purpose of the law is to uphold the values that promote virtuous lifestyles.

What does this have to do with a capsized cruise ship? The captain and some crewmen evidently lived by the motto "Every man for himself." They saved their own skins before lifting a finger to help the women and children on board. Some commentators today are contrasting their behavior to what happened on the Titanic.

One hundred years ago, the men on that ship were committed to the moral idea of saving women and children before they saved themselves. So much so in fact that proportionally more women in third class survived the Titanic's sinking then did men in first class. And they survived because the men with first class tickets stood on the decks helping women and children of all social ranks into the lifeboats.

Benjamin Guggenheim, one of the wealthiest men on board, didn't try to buy his way off the sinking ship. He helped load women and children into the lifeboats and then changed into a tuxedo when the last boat was gone so that he would "die like a gentleman." It was reported that he gave this message to a survivor, "Tell my wife I played the game out straight to the end. No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward."

Let me make this observation: Before long there will be demands for new regulations of the cruise industry. Perhaps there will be regulations demanding that the captain and crew must remain on the ship. In other words, when morality fails big government grows to fill the gap. The breakdown of the mother/father family, for example, has spurred the growth of the welfare state. And vice versa.

Whether libertarians realize it or not, they have an inconsistent view of government. Their neutrality on issues of morality will guarantee the growth of big government, the very thing they despise most.

Healthy Families Are Key To Economy

While the health of our economy is front and center in this year's election, the health of our families deserves greater attention. Just as only virtuous people will remain free, our country's economic health is linked to the health of our most important values -- hard work, personal responsibility and discipline -- and social institutions -- marriage and the family.

You can read more in my latest column at humanevents.com

End Of Day Report

2012-01-13T14:37:00.001-08:00

Friday, January 13, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 298 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Barack Obama: The Six Trillion Dollar President

Yesterday, Barack Obama asked Congress for another $1.2 trillion increase in the national debt. And just how long will that last Mr. Obama? According to CBS News, "Treasury experts expect it to meet U.S. government borrowing needs through the remainder of 2012."

That means Obama is borrowing $100 billion EVERY month! For comparison, the deficit for 2007 -- the entire year -- was approximately $160 billion.

Our friends at CNSNews.com note that Obama is "on a pace to increase the national debt by $6.2 trillion by the end of his term on Jan. 20, 2013, according to the debt figures published by the U.S. Treasury. That $6.2 trillion is more debt than was accumulated by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Bill Clinton combined."

For comparison, when George W. Bush took office, the national debt was $5.7 trillion and increased to $10.6 trillion by the time he left office. That's $5 trillion in eight years, which then-Senator Obama condemned in 2008 as "unpatriotic." How does one describe increasing the national debt by $6 trillion in four years?

Remember this when you go to the polls in 298 days. America cannot afford another four more years of Barack Obama!

Washington Has A Rat Problem

It probably won't surprise you to hear that Washington, D.C., has a problem with rats. But in this case I really do mean rodents. City officials have been alarmed by the exploding rat population. And I am pleased to report they are finally taking action now that they have identified the source of the problem: The Occupy DC encampment. (Seriously, folks, I'm not making this up!)

Consider this excerpt from the Washington Post:

"The rat population around the two Occupy D.C. camps at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza has 'exploded' since protesters began their vigil in October, according to Mohammad N. Akhter, the director of the District's Department of Health. Akhter said in an interview Monday that city health inspectors have seen rats running openly through both camps and spotted numerous new burrows and nests underneath hay-stuffed pallets occupiers are using for beds."
Yesterday, Mayor Vincent Gray asked the National Park Service to evict the protestors from one of their camps, but the Park Service has been unresponsive to the mayor's previous requests.

West To Pundits & Armchair Quarterbacks: "Shut Your Mouth"

No doubt you have heard about the latest "Abu Ghraib" incident -- a video of Marines allegedly urinating on the bodies of Afghan terrorists. Our media and political elites have offered their effusive apologies. As always, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) had some choice words of his own. Here is West's statement, courtesy of our friends at The Weekly Standard:

"I have sat back and assessed the incident with the video of our Marines urinating on Taliban corpses. I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah. All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq?

"The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.

"As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell."
I suspect Rep. West speaks for many Americans.

"Hi, I'm From The Government, And I'm Here To Help"

Ronald Reagan once described that phrase as "the ten most dangerous words in the English language." This week brought us two more examples of Big Government run amok.

On Monday the New York Times reported that some oil companies are facing millions of dollars in fines for failing "to mix a special type of biofuel into their gasoline and diesel as required by law." But this isn't a case of Big Oil getting fined for doing something nefarious.

As the Times states, "the ingredient, cellulosic biofuel, does not exist. Penalizing the fuel suppliers demonstrates what happens when the federal government really, really wants something that technology is not ready to provide." The Times also notes that one company that received more than $150 million in government grants to produce biofuels closed down last year "because it ran into technological problems." Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Not surprisingly, the second instance also involves the radical environmental movement and its efforts to undermine private property rights. The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a dramatic case involving Mike and Chantell Sackett, an Idaho couple who have been trying to build a home on a lot they purchased in 2005.

In 2007 the Sacketts began construction, but the EPA stopped them, claiming the area was a protected wetland. The couple is facing fines of -- you better sit down for this -- $37,500 a day!

While it is difficult to predict the outcome of cases based on oral arguments, several justices appeared stunned by the EPA's actions against the Sacketts. Justice Scalia accused the EPA of "high-handedness." Even Justice Breyer, one of the court's liberal members, seemed skeptical of the EPA's position. Justice Alito rhetorically asked the government's attorney, "Don't you think most ordinary homeowners would say this kind of thing can't happen in the United States?"

Ever since Barack Obama got elected promising to "fundamentally transform" America, many ordinary people have been frequently asking that very question!

End Of Day Report

2012-01-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January 12, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 299 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

The Voting Dead

Yesterday The Daily Caller broke the disturbing news that ballots were issued for dead people during Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. Undercover video captured poll workers issuing ballots for individuals who were recently deceased.

This "sting operation" was conducted by James O'Keefe, the same man who caught many ACORN workers on video violating tax laws and turning a blind eye to under-age prostitution. No laws were violated by O'Keefe, but his videos make it all too clear just how easy it is to commit voter fraud.

Undoubtedly, you may be wondering how this is possible. Well, New Hampshire, like many states, does not have a voter ID law. In fact, when one of O'Keefe's undercover voters offered to show an ID, the response he received was, "The state says we're not allowed to ask for identification."

You may recall that a few weeks ago I blasted the Obama Justice Department for waging a jihad against state voter ID laws. We have to produce an ID to buy alcohol and other products. We have to produce an ID to drive and to board an airplane. We have to produce an ID to cash checks.

Yet Democrats insist that it is an onerous burden to ask citizens to produce an ID when they cast their ballots. The American public overwhelmingly disagrees. A recent Rasmussen poll found that 70% of likely voters support voter ID laws, including 64% of independent voters and even 54% of Democrats.

Axelrod Defends Wright

I have been saying for months now that this election is going to be brutal. Obama can't run on "hope and change" again. It's going to be fear and smear in 2012. This week we got another indication of where the Obama campaign is headed.

In California this week, Obama's chief political strategist David Axelrod defended Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. According to the report, Axelrod dismissed the 2008 Wright controversy by saying it was nothing more than "ninety seconds of vitriol plucked from thirty years of sermons by some enterprising opposition researcher."

Really? Why then did Barack Obama feel it was necessary to throw Wright under the bus and repudiate his outrageous statements and blatant racism? David Axelrod is not a dumb man, so why on earth is he opening up this can of worms now?

I truly hope I am wrong, but I fear this is a signal by the Obama campaign to their media allies that they are prepared to make a candidate's faith an issue in this year's campaign. They know going down this road will invite questions about Wright. That is why Axelrod may have pre-emptively signaled it was really "much ado about nothing" and that the Obama campaign is prepared to refight that battle.

Why? Because no matter the faith of the GOP nominee, radical secularists will portray our candidate as an extremist, and left-wing activists are prepared to exploit religious bigotry in an attempt to get Obama reelected. In fact, the polling data already indicates that for all the hype about religious intolerance on the right, there is more bigotry on the left!

Ron Paul's Liberal Base

In yesterday's report I noted that, according to the exit polls, Ron Paul attracted a lot of support from self-identified liberals and independents who cast ballots in New Hampshire's GOP primary. But there's more.

The left-wing Nation reports that nearly 20% of voters who cast ballots in Tuesday's Democrat primary voted against Barack Obama. Many in fact went so far as to write in another candidate's name. So who came in second to Barack Obama in the New Hampshire Democrat primary? Ron Paul.

And why would so many Democrats write in Paul's name? Because he is to Obama's left on foreign policy and national defense. In fact, Paul is so extreme, he even opposed the SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden! For the record, only 5% of Americans agree with Ron Paul that it was wrong to take out bin Laden.

Supremes Stop Obama Power Grab

Many conservatives have been rightly concerned about Barack Obama's recent power grabs. I am pleased to report that one of them was just slapped down by the Supreme Court.

At issue was a discrimination lawsuit filed against a religiously affiliated school after it had dismissed one of its teachers. The Obama Administration intervened against the school and argued before the high court that long-recognized "ministerial exemptions" should no longer apply to religious institutions. This was an incredibly hostile and unprecedented opinion, not to mention a potentially unprecedented expansion of federal influence over religious institutions.

The New York Times described the case as likely the "most significant religious liberty decision in two decades." Bishop William E. Lori, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ad hoc committee for religious liberty, praised the ruling, saying, "This decision makes resoundingly clear the historical and constitutional importance of keeping internal church affairs off limits to the government -- because whoever chooses the minister chooses the message."

In its opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court's majority flatly rejected the Obama Administration's argument, stating that it is "hard to square with the text of the First Amendment itself We cannot accept the remarkable view that the Religion Clauses have nothing to say about a religious organization's freedom to select its own ministers."

And here's just how radical the Obama Administration's positions was: The Supreme Court rejected its position UNANIMOUSLY -- 9-to-0. Not one of the court's four left-wing justices, not even the two Obama appointed, sided with the administration. In fact, Justice Elena Kagan even wrote a concurring opinion with Justice Samuel Alito!

End Of Day Report

2012-01-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 300 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

MEDIA NOTICE

Tune in to Fox News tonight at 8:00 PM ET. I will be on "The O'Reilly Factor" to discuss the state of the 2012 presidential campaign.

Congratulations, Mitt

It was widely expected that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney would win in his "own backyard" last night, and he did so in a very convincing manner. New Hampshire voters sent an unmistakable message: Mitt Romney is THE front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Romney campaign did not get a clear win in Iowa due to a late surge by Senator Rick Santorum, who essentially tied for first place. But there are no muddled messages coming out of New Hampshire this morning. Most analysts felt Governor Romney would win at least 35%, and he exceeded those expectations. Here are the results:

Romney 39%
Paul 23%
Huntsman 17%
Gingrich 10%
Santorum 9%
Perry 1%

What's Next?

While Governor Romney scored a convincing win last night and heads to South Carolina with considerable momentum, the race is not over yet. South Carolina is not New Hampshire. For example:

A majority of voters in last night's New Hampshire primary were either Independents (47%) or Democrats (4%).
47% were Republicans.
53% identified as conservative, while 47% identified as moderate or liberal.
Only 22% of voters identified as born again or evangelical Christians.

In contrast, 2008 exit polls found that 69% of South Carolina's Republican primary voters were self-identified conservatives and 60% were evangelical Christians. In other words, South Carolina's GOP primary voters look much more like Iowa's than New Hampshire's. That is why candidates like Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry still have hope. And instead of just six days of campaigning between Iowa and New Hampshire, they have ten days to get their message out before the January 21st primary.

Ron Paul's Liberal Base

I think I have made my views of Ron Paul pretty clear in these daily reports. But I continue to be shocked and dismayed that I am hearing from so many self-identified Christian conservatives who claim that Ron Paul is the most conservative candidate in this race. The fact is, Ron Paul is the candidate who is attracting the most liberal voters. Why? Because they agree with him on foreign policy and values issues!

But don't take my word for it. Once again, the exit polls have revealed some fascinating information about Ron Paul's supporters. Here's a breakdown of the data from CNN's New Hampshire exit poll:

12% of voters had never voted in a GOP primary before, and most of them (40%) backed Paul.
Of the Democrats who voted in yesterday's GOP primary, 41% supported Jon Huntsman and 24% backed Ron Paul.
Of the 47% of Independents who voted yesterday, most of them (32%) backed Ron Paul.
16% of voters identified as "very liberal" on social issues such as abortion. 39% backed Ron Paul.
In contrast, 25% of voters identified as "very conservative" on social issues, and they split 29% for Romney and 24% for Santorum.

Here's more. A pre-election Rasmussen poll released yesterday morning found this disturbing information: Of the 18% of voters who had a "very favorable" opinion of Ron Paul, just 14% of them said they would back the GOP nominee if their favorite candidate (presumably Paul) did not win. But 16% indicated they would vote for Barack Obama and 66% said they would vote for a third party candidate.

Truth Matters

Edmund Burke famously observed, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." It has happened time and again throughout history, and it may be the most compelling lesson of history. How did the Holocaust happen? Because good men did nothing.

How do you kill 11 million people? That is the question posed by New York Times best-selling author Andy Andrews. In fact, that is the title of his latest book. And what Andrews discovered in pondering that question is that truth matters.

My friends, I rarely use this space to promote other products. But in a time such as this, I believe this book is a "must read."

End of Day Report

2012-01-10T14:30:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 301 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Suicidal Republicans?

I know how the competitive juices flow when you are in a political battle. But many GOP presidential contenders need to take a deep breath and remember that the ultimate prize is not the nomination -- it is the November election and winning the White House.

At a breakfast in Nashua, New Hampshire, yesterday, Mitt Romney, speaking about health insurers who don't provide adequate coverage, said consumers should change insurers. He put it this way: "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me." Romney was making a classic conservative point about the value of competition and the need to bring it to health care and other areas.

Unfortunately, some of his opponents, particularly Jon Huntsman, jumped on the quote, took it completely out of context and suggested that Romney likes to fire average workers. That is a cheap shot. My candidate, Senator Rick Santorum, did not pile on, but others did and they should be embarrassed.

Whoever gets the nomination will face a billion-dollar Obama attack machine that will use raw class warfare to smear him. The last thing we need is GOP candidates who are using the same tactics against each other. Fortunately, Senator Santorum is aiming his fire at Obama. His competitors should do the same.

Speaking Of Santorum

The Wall Street Journal has examined Senator Santorum's economic agenda. You can read its analysis here.

Here are two more columns regarding Santorum's conservative philosophy and his economic agenda.

Daley Done

There was a stunning announcement in Washington yesterday: White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley has submitted his resignation after just one year on the job and will be gone by the end of the month -- a year earlier than planned. It is difficult to imagine the political atmosphere in Washington getting worse, but Daley's departure does not bode well.

Daley was Bill Clinton's Commerce Secretary and a corporate executive. He was brought into the White House to replace the hyper-partisan Rahm Emanuel and to smooth over relations with Wall Street, the business community and Capitol Hill. When his appointment was announced last January, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said:

"I frankly think it's kind of a hopeful sign. He has the business background. This is a guy who's actually been out in the private sector, been a part of business. Frankly, my first reaction is that it sounds like a good idea."
According to various reports, Daley had promised to stay through the election. He told NBC's Chicago affiliate, "I made a commitment to the president through his reelectionand then my wife and I will return to Chicago." Perhaps Daley was uncomfortable with Obama's class warfare rhetoric and the Democrats' embrace of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Perhaps he never fit in with the Obama White House at all. (See next item.)

"The Obamas"

A new book about Barack and Michelle Obama is causing heartburn at the White House. The book was not written by Ann Coulter or some other conservative "attack dog," but by Jodi Kantor, a New York Times reporter who has extensively covered the Obamas since 2007. Two passages in particular have made headlines in recent days.

The first involved an extravagant Halloween party in the midst of the Great Recession. As unemployment was surging to double digits, the Obamas hosted an "Alice in Wonderland" themed party featuring actor Johnny Depp -- in full costume and character as the Mad Hatter. It appears as though the White House tried to keep the party a secret, worried about how the lavish event would seem to the public.

I don't know why the White House is so defensive -- I thought "Alice in Wonderland" was the theme at the Obama White House every day!

The second passage is more disconcerting. Michelle Obama worked in the administration of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley from September 1991 to April 1993. But according to Kantor, "[Michelle Obama] particularly resented the way power in Illinois was locked up generation after generation by a small group of families, all white Irish Catholic -- the Daleys in Chicago, the Hynes and Madigans statewide."

Why would the first lady be so upset by "white Irish Catholics"? The Obamas were supposed to transcend race and move America into a new era of post-racial harmony. I wish it were so. But knowing that the Obamas attended a racist church for so many years -- where the pastor gave an award to Louis Farrakhan -- might provide some context for the first lady's alleged resentment.

End Of Day Report

2012-01-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 9, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 302 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS

MEDIA ALERT

Be certain to tune in to Fox & Friends tomorrow morning. I am scheduled to be on at 5:45 AM ET to discuss the 2012 presidential election and my endorsement of Senator Rick Santorum.

Reaction

The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of activity. As you know by now, I endorsed Senator Rick Santorum for president yesterday at an event in Greenville, South Carolina. Virtually every major media outlet picked up the news, and I have been overwhelmed by calls from reporters and journalists.

While the New Hampshire primary is tomorrow, the result is largely a forgone conclusion. Mitt Romney is expected to win. The only real question is by how much. But the next primary in, South Carolina, appears to be competitive. The most recent Rasmussen poll found Senator Santorum narrowly behind Governor Mitt Romney in the Palmetto State, 24% to 27%. Newt Gingrich had 18%, followed by Ron Paul (11%), Rick Perry (5%) and Jon Huntsman (2%).

The response to my endorsement has been overwhelmingly positive. Understandably, some folks were disappointed. Some have questions. I would like to reiterate that there is no perfect candidate in this race, and we will do everything we can to defeat Barack Obama and elect a conservative Senate majority in 302 days.

But Rick Santorum has a record that values voters can be proud of. And as we saw in New Hampshire last week when he was confronted by pro-gay marriage college students, he has the courage to unapologetically defend our traditional values. I am proud to stand with him!

Obama's Media Allies

There were two Republican debates in New Hampshire this weekend. All of the candidates did well, especially given the hostility of the so-called moderators. Everyone knows the mainstream media are in the tank for Obama. But just in case there was any confusion, former Clinton spin doctor George Stephanopoulos removed all doubt when he peppered the GOP candidates with questions about contraception in an attempt to portray them as extremists.

Really, George? We have sky-high unemployment, record debt and deficits, Iran building nuclear weapons and threatening our aircraft carriers, and contraception is at the top of your list?

As our friends at CNSNews.com noted, Stephanopoulos needed only 100 words to question Nancy Pelosi about the hundreds of millions of stimulus dollars that were dedicated to making contraceptives more readily available, instead of providing jobs. But he was "more aggressive in pursuing the issue when he questioned Republican presidential candidates in a debate Saturday night."

The Republican candidates have got to do a better job of standing up to the liberal media and redirecting these kinds of "gotcha" questions. I understand they are competing for the Republican nomination and want to draw contrasts between themselves and the other candidates. But they don't need to fall into the liberal media's trap of giving Obama more ammunition for the general election. And so far the biggest winner in the GOP primary contest appears to be Barack Obama. You can read more on that subject in my latest Human Events column.

Should A Candidate's Faith Matter?

Religion and politics are taboo subjects around many dinner tables. But what happens when the subject is religion in politics? Many in the news media report the "unsettling news" that polls show some voters are less likely to vote for candidates of certain religions. Nobody should be legally prohibited from running for office because of his religion.

But, as I ague in a column at USA Today, voters should consider a candidate's religious beliefs (or lack of them) because, whether secularists want to acknowledge it or not, those beliefs often help define the candidate's political values and public policy positions.

Senate GOP Demands Answers

Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Friday demanding to know the legal justification for the unprecedented recess appointments made by Barack Obama last week. Grassley's letter was signed by all eight Republicans on the Judiciary Committee. Below are some key excerpts from the letter:

"On Wednesday, President Obama deviated from over 90 years of precedent established by the Department of Justice (Department), and the Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), by recess appointing four individuals to posts in the Administration This action was allegedly based upon legal advice provided to the President by the Office of White House Counsel. We write today seeking information about what role, if any, the Department or OLC played in developing, formulating, or advising the White House on the decision to make these recess appointments. Further, we want to know whether the Department has formally revised or amended past opinions issued by the Department on this matter.

"In 1921, Attorney General Daugherty issued an opinion to the President regarding recess appointments and the length of recess required for the President to make an appointment under Article II Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The Attorney General opined that 'no one, I venture to say, would for a moment contend that the Senate is not in session when an adjournment [of 2 days] is taken. Nor do I think an adjournment for 5 or even 10 days can be said to constitute the recess intended by the Constitution.' The reasoning of the 1921 opinion was given affirmative recognition in subsequent opinions issued by the Department, including opinions issued in 1960, 1992 and 2001.

"Taken together, these authorities by the Department clearly indicate the view that a congressional recess must be longer than three days -- and perhaps at least as long as ten -- in order for a recess appointment to be constitutional. These various authorities have reached this conclusion for over 90 years and have become the stated position of the Executive Branch, including multiple representations before the Supreme Court, regarding the required length of time for a recess in order for the President to make a recess appointment."
Sen. Grassley asked Holder to respond to eight specific questions, including whether or not the Obama White House was repudiating a position taken by the administration's Deputy Solicitor General in 2010 during arguments before the Supreme Court that "'recess has to be longer than 3 days' for the President to use the recess appointment power." Grassley demanded a response by January 20th. Stay tuned!

Special Report

2012-01-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

Sunday, January 8, 2011

To: Friends & Supporters

SPECIAL ALERT

From: Gary L. Bauer

Santorum For President!

After careful consideration and prayer, I have decided to publicly endorse Senator Rick Santorum today in Greenville, South Carolina, for the Republican presidential nomination.

As you know, my intention had been to avoid an endorsement this cycle. However, in recent days it has become obvious that the GOP electorate is deeply divided about who should carry the banner for our values into the 2012 election against Barack Obama. I have been receiving an increasing number of questions from our grassroots supporters around the country seeking guidance on which candidate they should support. I felt it was imperative that I take the lead now.

As you know, I believe virtually all of these candidates are men who would be fantastic presidents compared to Barack Obama. My endorsement of Rick Santorum is in no way meant to be critical of the others. But I believe Santorum can best articulate the Reagan conservatism that has defined my political life and holds the best hope for the future our children and grandchildren will inherit. Rick Santorum is unambiguously pro-life and pro-family.

The election of our next president in 2012 will be the most important election of my generation. Campaign for Working Families will continue to build a war chest to defeat Barack Obama in November. I believe the candidate best able to do that is Rick Santorum.

But let me assure you that we will deploy our resources for whoever is selected as the nominee. There is only one candidate we must stop and his name is Barack Obama.

Thank you for all you do to empower my work in Washington, D.C.