"At no time, since the independence of this country, have patriotism and devotion to principles been so rare as public virtues, and so much exigency, as in the present condition of our Federal concerns.  General principles are abandoned, which heretofore were entertained, merely to gratify ambition and sinister designs.  Men who heretofore were steadfast to a literal construction of the Federal Constitution, and most zealous against implied powers, are now exerting their talents and influence, to prove that almost any power can be assumed by the Federal Government by implication.  Men of distinguished abilities have unblushingly changed their opinions and principles, to suit circumstances and political movements.  When these things happen, we consider the fundamental principles upon which our public institutions are founded, to be in extreme danger, unless the sturdy friends of the country and of equal rights, rise to the rescue, and withdraw from the changelings and political weathercocks of the day, the power, the influence, and the means to effect ruin of our Democratic principles, by destroying the integrity of the Federal Constitution."

"We may breathe for a time under the blighting shadow of a splendid, national, consolidated government; but, sir, it will be to us and our posterity the calm of despotism.  Virginia will be Virginia no longer.  She may, indeed, retain her place on that map; her rivers may continue to rail to the ocean; and her mountains may lift their eternal summits to the skies; but her spirit will be gone, and she will tamely crouch under the rod of tyrants.  When we yield this principle of State Sovereignty, let us strike our proud motto from our arms, for the broken chain and the dagger, her sic semper tyrannis, and all the recollections of her ancient glory, will only remain as sad memorials of her degradation.  To live under such a government is not the liberty I desire.  I would rather have a crust of bread and a cup of cold water in a wilderness, where I was free, than to tread the halls of palaces, and be a slave."

Friends, it would certainly be good medicine to remind ourselves that, as Christians, it is not our place to fret over what "might" happen if we do not support the Republican Party in this year's presidential election.

Instead, as you prepare to cast your vote in the upcoming elections, you would do rather well to remember that the best way to improve public policy is to vote only for those sturdy men who truly represent you, and who confidently stand for those godly principles that we, as patriotic Americans, have always held in the highest regard, beginning first and foremost with our absolute allegiance to God, and second — as an extension of that allegiance to God — our utmost respect and reverence for the sanctity of innocent human life, as it is so fearfully and wonderfully formed, in the image of God, even from that initial point of conception.

For it is a true saying, that when we look upon the image of our fellow man, even as he lays fast asleep in the womb, we essentially gaze upon that which is a reflection of God's own sacred image.  And so, when we consider that profound question, which was posed by our Lord, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" (Matt. 22:20, Mark 12:16, Luke 20:24), we are left with no choice but to acknowledge, with sheer conviction, that our children do not rightfully belong to us, for we know that each one is marked by the image and signature of God, even though they may have been conceived by our loins, and issued to us in an earthly vessel, formed of our own flesh and blood.

Indeed, there are a good many of us who intend to take the precepts of Scripture seriously, and in the face of our nation's great moral challenges, we are left to wonder why so many Republicans, such as John McCain, continue to cast the issue of abortion out of context, so that the entire matter is categorically reduced to a mindless squabble over personal property rights, as if to suggest that these children were the property of mankind, to be bought or sold, spared or killed, at the discretion of some heartless scoundrel, who claims to have the best interest of humanity in mind.

And yet, the unfortunate reality is that, no matter what the proposed rationale may be, at the end of the day, an innocent child has been handed over to the wolf, and so far as we are concerned, there is simply no way to justify such a wicked thing.

And so, when Mr. McCain suggests that we should "let the States decide" on the issue of abortion, he deliberately renders himself an advocate of this evil practice.  And sadly, the same may be said of his running-mate, Ms. Sarah Palin, who has enthusiastically fastened herself to that very same lie, in lockstep with John McCain.

Therefore, in the upcoming elections, as a matter of moral principle, we intend to rally our support behind Alan Keyes, who — thanks be to God — was drafted to run for President of the United States on the evening of Wed., Aug. 20, 2008, by a group of concerned citizens, from all across the nation, calling themselves America's Independent Party (AIP), who came together earlier this year for the purpose of drafting just such a candidate.

And although the natural mind may indeed be hesitant to such a proposal, as Christians, we should not even entertain the question that pretends to ask:  Can Alan Keyes actually win this thing?

Instead, we must boldly urge our brothers and sisters in Christ, and all of our other allies in this country, to realize that, for the sake of preserving our nation's moral sovereignty, Alan Keyes must win.

Christian friends, we urge you to boldly take hold of that moral consciousness that God has bestowed upon each one of us, and to cast your vote for a true moral champion, Alan Keyes.  And if you cannot find his name on your state's ballot, then make it a point to choose the write-in option, and do not be afraid to write in his name, if that's what it takes.

And, again, do not fret over the potential result, but, instead, decide in your heart to leave that end result up to the Lord, our God, whose sovereign hand continues to govern over the affairs of our nation, just as it always has, and whose enabling spirit teaches us that, in all of our ways, it is better for us to be obedient to the precepts of Scripture, giving deference to God's hidden purpose, than to abandon that place of obedience, on account of our own limited understanding, where we may, as well, resign ourselves to suffer the subtle inadequacies of human strategy.

###

Mr. Glean is the State Campaign Coordinator for the "Virginia for Alan Keyes" Campaign.

VIRGINIA FOR ALAN KEYES
http://www.rise-to-the-rescue.com/

Contact:  info@rise-to-the-rescue.com

To the people of Virginia,

The principled Reagan conservatives who make up America’s Independent Party, both in Virginia and across America, urge every citizen of your great State to vote tomorrow for the following experienced, proven Reagan Republicans who are at the head of their party’s statewide ticket:


          Bob McDonnell for Governor
          http://www.bobmcdonnell.com/


          Bill Bolling for Lt. Governor
          http://www.billbolling.com/


          Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General
          http://www.cuccinelli.com/


Bob, Bill, and Ken are exactly what we're looking for in political leaders in all the states, irrespective of political party.  We must begin to elect principled individuals of their character and caliber everywhere or our beloved country will not survive much longer in liberty.  Our situation is that serious, and that precarious.

The first step to restoring our republic is a return to first principles.  These three men, throughout their years of public service, have clearly demonstrated that they understand the self-evident truths the founders of this nation laid out in our great Declaration of Independence.  It is clear that they know that their primary sworn duty in office is to fulfill the stated purpose of our U.S. Constitution, which is "to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity."

Like Ronald Reagan, Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, and Ken Cuccinelli are fierce defenders of the God-given, unalienable right to life of all innocent human beings, from the first stages of development.  They are defenders of liberty, and of the true foundations of that liberty.

This is why McDonnell, Bolling, and Cuccinelli have been added to America's Candidates – AIP’s 'Reagan List'.

For these reasons, and many more, we urge all Virginians to do what it takes to elect Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, and Ken Cuccinelli tomorrow.  Get to the polls and get this job done.  Even though these great candidates have run very successful, truly Reaganesque, campaigns and are expected to prevail, you can’t afford to take any chances if you love your great State.

And please make sure you bring along your family and friends!

Thank you!

For Life, Liberty, and the Constitution,

Tom Hoefling
Chairman, America's Independent Party
http://www.aipnews.com/
tom@aipnews.com

###

Founded in 2008, America’s Independent Party is already the third-largest party in the nation based on voter registrations.  You can view our Platform and Personal Affiliation Agreement at http://www.aipnews.com/ .

On the evening of Friday, January 22, 2010, six of the seven GOP candidates campaigning to unseat Congressional Democrat, Tom Perriello (VA-5), faced off for 90 minutes in a public forum that was held at the Lane Auditorium (at the Albemarle County Office Building) located in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The event was advertised as the first in a series of public debates that have been scheduled and sponsored by the Jefferson area Tea Party, and it offered a unique opportunity for the candidates to openly present themselves before the electorate.  For those unable to attend, a live stream video of the event was aired on NBC29.com, and live audio feed was broadcast by Charlottesville's WCHV radio (1260 AM / 94.1 FM), which has promised to upload a podcast of the event to WCHV.com.

The six candidates in attendance were Ken Boyd (of Albemarle County), Feda Kidd Morton (of Fluvanna County), Laurence Verga (of Ivy), Michael McPadden (of North Garden), Jim McKelvey (of Franklin County), and Ron Ferrin (of Campbell County).

Virginia State Senator Robert Hurt (of Chatham), who is campaigning for the same Congressional seat, did not attend.

As a supporter of principled, grassroots conservatism, I am among those in Virginia who readily support the candidacy of Feda Kidd Morton.  The fact that she is a strong advocate of grassroots activism has been well documented, even going all the way back to 1992/93, when she actively participated in Mike Farris' statewide campaign for Lieutenant Governor.

At the time, I was a student at Liberty University, and there were many of us who would have liked to have seen Mr. Farris win that election.  But at the same time, there were far too many of us (myself included) who just sat back and allowed this effort to fail.  On the one hand, we wanted to see Mr. Farris in office, but on the other hand, we were not willing to contribute any of our own time or energy to the campaign.  And in the end, although it had been an excellent campaign from start to finish, the effort fell short of the victory it certainly deserved.

This now brings us to last night's debate in Charlottesville.

When it comes to the question of principled conservatism, it is my humble opinion that Feda Kidd Morton is distinctively superior to all of the other candidates.  But you might not have picked up on this from watching yesterday's debate.  I blame this, in part, on the forum, itself.  For you see, when a group of candidates has been called to speak before a select audience, it's quite easy for them to pay lip service to those core issues that promise to speak right to the heart and soul of that particular constituency.  Politicians do this all the time.

And for that matter, it is not unusual to encounter candidates whose answers continually seem to change, from one public forum to the next.  For the politician, it's less about speaking from the vantage point of principle, and more about uttering, with some measure of intonation, all of those fabulous "buzz words" that the audience wants to hear.

A lot of what we saw yesterday, as the microphone passed from one candidate to the next, seemed to fall right into this particular category.  This is why, for the entirety of that 90 minute debate, it might have seemed that all of the candidates were essentially saying the same thing.  It's because they were!  This is where I feel that Ms. Morton may have missed the perfect opportunity to show some genuine individuality, and to articulate to those Tea Party voters precisely why she is, in fact, the best choice.  And to do this, in my opinion, she would have had to look no further than our nation's most current political event.

Let us consider the case of Senator-Elect Scott Brown of Massachusetts, the latest GOP candidate that we have enthusiastically elected to Congress.  It will be remembered that Mr. Brown was someone who campaigned as a "Tea Party" conservative, even "winning" (or so it was portrayed) the endorsement of the GOP-controlled "Tea Party Express".

He campaigned on the promise that he would vote against Obama-care... a campaign promise that seemed a bit strange, coming from a longtime proponent of Romney-care, the government-mandated healthcare program of Massachusetts, the essence of which is virtually identical to Mr. Obama's proposal.

It was no surprise, then, that earlier this week, on the day after the elections, after it was announced with much fanfare that he had won, Mr. Brown stood in front of reporters and announced a sudden change of heart.  That's right.  He began saying that he intends to work with the Democrats on coming up with a "better" version of Obama-care.  (A video clip of this statement has been made available on YouTube.)

In point of fact, the victory of Scott Brown serves as a fantastic reminder that we failed in Massachusetts.

Instead of doing the work necessary to place a good, principled candidate on the ballot, we just sat back and allowed the party bosses to install someone of like-mind, who has all the markings of a counterfeit Republican.  In so doing, we have inadvertently ushered into office someone of questionable character, who is openly in favor of government-mandated initiatives (an assault on our Constitutional liberty), in favor of gay rights (an assault on the American family), and even in favor of abortion (which he says the government should regulate).

Rather than applaud Scott Brown's victory, Ms. Morton should have instead made a somber example of it.  What a perfect opportunity this might have been to remind the audience of why it is so important for the voters of Virginia's 5th District to install the right GOP candidate on June 8, 2010.  If we repeat the mistake of Massachusetts, by installing the wrong GOP candidate on June 8th, we will have failed once again.  And this is precisely why we must all work as hard as we can to make sure that a bona fide conservative like Feda Kidd Morton wins the GOP primary, and that hers is a decisive victory.

In the meantime, my advice to Ms. Morton is simply this:

In future debates, no matter what questions are asked, reach out with confidence and take control of the discussion.  Remind the audience why grassroots activism is so especially vital to our American form of self-government.  Remind us of why personal responsibility is the cornerstone of our freedom.  And above all else, do not take it for granted that people are acquainted with your pro-life campaign platform.  Instead, look for opportunities to discuss the importance of this issue, and to remind all of us why the right to Life is so absolutely critical to the foundation of our nation's moral sovereignty.

Outside of these things, just continue to stand strong for what is right and what is wholesome, stay true to God, embrace the gentle convictions of your heart, and continue to make us proud!

###

The best way to improve public policy is to vote only for those sturdy individuals who truly represent YOU.

RISE TO THE RESCUE
http://www.rise-to-the-rescue.com/

Contact:  info@rise-to-the-rescue.com

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