February 2008
Dear Friend,
Thanks to you, Focus on the Family Action™ is
now using cutting-edge technology to inject
pro-family issues and ideas into the public
debate. We’ve started airing live
webcasts—TV
over the Internet—after each of the major
primary elections this season.
We
never imagined the influence we would have so
soon.
Thousands
of people have logged on already, and we’re just
getting started. One viewer wrote us that our
webcasts are like “Radio Free Europe” because
our comments are fresh and accurate, compared to
the same old tired spin from the major media.
If
you haven’t watched any of these
webcasts,
you can see
video vignettes
of our comments on each of the major
presidential candidates. These are taken
directly from the webcasts themselves.
Confounding the media
And—you’ll enjoy this— the mainstream media
don’t quite know how to deal with alternative
media such as ours because we’re able to reach
our audience directly and have the freedom to
say what we want (thanks to your partnership).
A
reporter for Time magazine’s Web site
watched our comments about several of the
Republican candidates and thought what we said
about Mitt Romney was nicer than he expected,
and that our comments about another of the
candidates, Mike Huckabee, weren’t as positive
as he expected.
Therefore, the reporter concluded that we must
be trying to send some kind of subliminal
“stealth endorsement” of Romney—so that’s what
he wrote, even though I told him that we were
simply providing insight not available through
the mainstream media. In fact, he ignored the
fact that we praised Huckabee's support of
traditional marriage as the strongest among all
the candidates. Well, the reporter didn’t want
to be bothered with the facts; he already had
his story.
But
this gets even crazier. On the very same day
that Time ran the “stealth endorsement”
piece, another story appeared by Time,
on the same Web site, that questioned
whether Dr. Dobson’s influence is waning. It’s
the standard, worn-out stuff that the reporters
haul out every once in awhile, since they
fervently wish it were true. The two headlines
made us smile.
Either we’re “power brokers” able to influence
the course of a presidential election by sending
subliminal, stealth endorsements, or our
influence is fading. Evidently, Time
can’t figure out which it is; and their
reporters are bumping into each other, writing
opposite stories on the same day.
Values Voter Pledge
In the days following Time's confusion
over the role values voters will play in the
coming election, Dr. Dobson launched the
Values Voter Pledge, calling concerned
citizens to pledge to vote only for candidates
who support the highest pro-life, pro-faith and
pro-family principles. Focus Action is seeking
1 million values voters to sign the
Pledge and invite their friends and family
to do the same.
The
Pledge states:
As
a concerned citizen, I am signing this Values
Voter Pledge for 2008 indicating my commitment
to stand for the values of life, faith and
family during this election year. I am pledging
to support candidates who uphold these bedrock
values of:
-
Life
I will only vote for candidates who have
committed to defend the sanctity of life
from conception to natural death.
-
Family
I will only vote for candidates who
stand for one-man, one-woman marriage and
oppose efforts to undermine the nuclear
family.
-
Faith
I will only vote for candidates who
support the public acknowledgement of God
and affirm the religious liberties of all
Americans.
I also oppose any and all efforts by the media,
organizations or candidates to diminish the role
that Values Voters are playing in this year’s
election. I authorize Focus on the Family Action
to represent my Values Voter Pledge before the
media, political candidates or other suitable
forums as a demonstration of the strength and
seriousness of Values Voters in this election
cycle.
Tracking all 50 states
Not only are we dealing with the presidential
campaign, and a reconvened Congress but, just as
significantly, most of the state legislatures
are back in session. That means hectic times for
our staff as we play both offense and defense
all over the country.
-
On
the offensive side, we are moving the ball
forward in California,
Indiana, Iowa
and Pennsylvania with
targeted campaigns in support of their state
marriage-protection amendments.
-
Yet, because of liberal gains in the last
election, we are also forced to defend
against some dangerous ideas around the
country. In Washington state,
we are preparing to oppose a domestic
partnership expansion bill that would make
such arrangements equivalent to marriage in
everything but name.
-
Here in Colorado, Democrats
in control of the Legislature and governor’s
office are pushing a bill that would remove
a religious exemption to an
employment-nondiscrimination statute, which
protects homosexuals in the workplace, for
any organization that takes state or federal
funding. Although neither Focus on the
Family® nor Focus Action receives government
funding, we recognize the danger of this
outrageous attack on religious freedom, and
we’re working in coalition with Catholic
Charities and a variety of other groups to
defeat it.
-
And in California, we’re
gearing up for another effort by the radical
Legislature to further normalize and
sanction homosexuality in the Golden State.
Let
me say very clearly that we simply could not do
what we’re doing all over the country without
the generous and often sacrificial support of
friends like you. Thanks so much for infusing us
with the energy, resources and prayer support to
engage for the truth on so many fronts. Please
continue to pray and to
give as you’re able. I’ll keep you
posted as things develop.
Sincerely,
Tom
Minnery
Senior Vice President
Focus on the Family Action
P.S. Please don't forget to take the
Values Voter Pledge!
