2006 Election Post Mortem

I will start by admitting that I was disappointed by most of the results last Tuesday. To put it bluntly it looks like a major setback for pro-life. & on the face of it, it probably is. Missouri approved cloning & fetal/embryonic stem-cell research. S Dakota voted down a law banning abortion. Iowa elected a pro-choice governor. & my new representative in Congress is pro-choice. I saw several friends loose their races. It was not a pretty sight.

Yet, after the initial shock is over I am still hopeful. Why, because I have to believe that there is a purpose in all this. I am trying to discern the lesson God is trying to teach us in this election.

For myself, the 1st question I asked myself is "What more could I have done to affect the outcome?" I had to do that before I could begin to even say to others "What more did you need to do?" The next question is "What did WE do wrong & need to change?" Then "What did WE do right but need to improve?"

It will take some time to fully discern the answers.

For the most part, I think I did about all I could, not perfectly. I am human & there is room for improvement. So, I need to rely more on God's Spirit to guide me. I need to be sure my motives are sincere.

The other 2 questions will take more time to answer. But, I would like to share some thoughts from others that will help all of us to discern where to go from here. These thoughts expand & build on what I have said.

Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President of Human Life International had this to say: "Conservative and values voters were stung on Tuesday, and as far as I am concerned we deserved it. I am not dispirited about the elections or pessimistic about the future though. My reaction to the whole mess was quite beyond all that. The infamous 2006 mid-term elections will have taught us a lesson that we should already know: namely, that politics will never be a solution to our spiritual problems.

This election was an “all about me” election in a sense. Voters in all key referendum states roundly blew off the key values issues in favor of the heartless alternatives. Parental involvement, an abortion ban, a cloning amendment and even the imminent prosecution of a Planned Parenthood criminal operation were all pretty much flatly rejected. Did the voters not see the basic concepts of right and wrong in these issues? Please. They just didn’t care; or they didn’t care enough to make a change. It comes down to that. Change is hard. Compromise with objective evil is easier. I think the Muslims call it “submission.”

It’s not time to blame the Republicans for bad strategy or lousy candidates. It’s not their fault—it is ours. We let it happen because as a culture we are just wholly selfish. When elections come down to “me” and my comfort zone then we get what we got: junk.

The only successful moral issues that won the day were the marriage amendments in seven states. Why? Because “it’s all about me.” Dead babies thrown down incinerators don’t move anyone out of their comfort zones. Cloning, isn’t that supposed to help people? Planned Parenthood is just providing services to women, right? These are the positions of people in huge comfort zones. But most people can’t stomach the idea that homosexuals will be living next to them in a pseudo-marriage state and showing up at their parties pretending that their state is normal. What will the kids say? Deep in the human heart people not only know homosexual activity is wrong, but they still have a visceral reaction to the idea that they want to call it marriage.

Politics is a necessary evil, only a game of compromise. The culture will not change when our politicians change. It’s the other way around. Politicians will change when our culture changes. And our culture will change when our hearts change. Pure and simple. I don’t know about you, but I am spending the next two years praying for a full conversion of American culture—before Hillary comes down the pike to destroy everything." Spirit & Life Volume 01, Number 41-Friday, Nov. 10, 2006

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life: "Let me share with you, however, some key points for us to keep in mind as a pro-life movement, and as we continue with renewed zeal to press forward with our goals.

1. The Democrats gained power by latching onto our momentum, not theirs. . . . The Democrats did not (and could not) gain any control in Congress by opposing the pro-life position, but rather by having enough candidates who claimed to embrace it (like Bob Casey, Jr.). Neither party made abortion a top campaign issue; meanwhile, on issues like the war or taxes or spending, pro-life people take various positions. Democratic advances are no indication that people buy into the party’s platform on abortion, which in fact the American public has never supported.

2. Unless pro-life wins, nobody wins. The Democrats’ continued failure to affirm that government must protect unborn children from the violence of abortion calls into serious question their ability to speak credibly about war. In 1994, Mother Teresa asked President Clinton, and all America, “The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?” (Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, February 3, 1994). . . .

Indeed, it’s time for Democrats to prove our point. Every effort to build a just society will fail until we eliminate the most fundamental injustice. We cannot welcome the poor or the immigrant without welcoming our own children, and we cannot advance peace in the world until there’s peace in the womb.

3. Culturally, we continue to have the momentum. The fact is, we are well on our way to re-establishing peace in the womb, despite the Democratic extremism on abortion. . . . Every trend continues to move in our direction:

• opinion polls about abortion
• the declining number of abortions, abortionists, and abortion mills
• the strong new motivation of our young pro-life activists who know they are abortion survivors
• the growing voice of women and men harmed by abortion, who contradict its promise of “benefit”
• the evidence in science about who the child is
• the medical evidence that abortion is no benefit to women
• the sociological evidence that abortion is no benefit to society
• a new wave of clergy who are more ready for the pro-life battle than ever
• a new wave of reporters and other professionals who are far more pro-life than their predecessors
• and much more.

4. The vote on the South Dakota ban does not mean what abortion supporters want it to mean. The American people continue to oppose all but a small fraction of the abortions that are permitted.

5. Keep politics in perspective. Ultimately, what are we seeking when we try to put pro-life public officials into office? We are not looking to them to do our work for us. We are looking to them to do their work and to let us do ours. Ultimately, the People of God have the responsibility for ending abortion, and will do so.

6. Start working now for 2008." Time for Democrats to Prove our Point

Dr. Jeff Mirus of Catholic Culture had this to say: "As discouraging as the outcome of yesterday’s elections is for pro-lifers, I believe the results are more positive than political pundits would have us believe. Whenever there is electoral discontent over the economy or (in this case) war, incumbents are typically swept from power. Yet the Democrats have gained only the average number of seats for mid-term elections in a second-term presidency. . . .

In the long run, a return to the principles of natural law among the electorate will be the minimum requirement for the restoration of civilization and the protection of the innocent in America. Meanwhile, an insistence that the Supreme Court must respect the text of the Constitution can shift the culture wars dramatically, creating a long series of very winnable battles. The Court is thus critical for both the continuation of the American experiment and the creation of a political climate in which the culture of life can flourish. Reforming the Court is the most critical single step in stopping America’s drift into secularist oligarchy. . . .

Whatever the result for 2006, this prolonged tension may well mean that the culture of life has gained considerable traction. In the long run, the most striking feature of this election may be hidden in the fact with which this column began: Democrat gains were only average, and the party had to tilt ever so slightly toward life to win. " The Lessons of the 2006 Elections

Like me, each of these writers is hopeful for the future. Not because, in the end any of us put our final hope in a political party or a political system. But, because as Christians our ultimate trust is in God. We can honestly evaluate our failings, we can repent & ask God for forgiveness. We can turn to God & rely on Him to strengthen us, to guide us & empower us to continue on in the face of insurmountable odds.

Scripture says: "We are well aware that God works with those who love him, those who have been called in accordance with his purpose, and turns everything to their good." (Rom 8:28 Jerusalem Bible) I firmly believe that. As I said at the start, God has a purpose in allowing us to suffer an apparent defeat. But, He will bring good out of these. In the end, God's Will will be done & a Culture of Life will prevail.