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Tom Minnery |
Dear Friend,
The spirit of Winston Churchill is alive and well at Focus on the Family Action™.
You may recall that in the most desperate days of World War II—when Great Britain was being pounded daily by Hitler’s Luftwaffe—Winston Churchill called on his countrymen not to despair from danger but to rise to the challenge.
“Do not speak of darker days,” he said. “Let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days; these are great days—the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we shall all thank God that we have been allowed, each one of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable.”
As our incredible team of staff members watched the election results pour in on Election Night and in the days since, an amazing thing happened that Churchill might have recognized. Despite some sobering disappointments, there was no mood of despair and no “bunker mentality.” Instead, a firm sense of resolve began to permeate our team—a spirited and determined recognition that now, more than ever, we must prayerfully and boldly shine the light of truth in the public arena and defend what is right.
Let me speak plainly. Our nation has never faced the kind of anti-family, pro-abortion assault that we’re likely to see in the coming weeks and months. We don’t have to guess what the Left will do now that they control Congress and the White House; they’ve told us:
- President-elect Obama has promised, “The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.” That bill could wipe out every abortion restriction in state and federal law and result in an increase in abortions each year in America.
- He has also pledged to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act—signed by President Clinton in 1996—and force every state to recognize same-sex marriages, unless they have a constitutional amendment or specific state law protecting traditional marriage.
- And religious freedom will be badly damaged if and when the gay lobby’s two top bills—adding sexual orientation to hate-crimes and job-protection laws—are passed. A veto threat is all that has stopped them before, and Obama has vowed to sign them.
The victories in the U.S. Senate—where Focus Action was active in states like Kentucky, Mississippi and Georgia (runoff still pending as I write)—could especially make a difference in our ability to stop liberal assaults on the family.
And consider Minnesota, where Norm Coleman finished just 215 votes ahead of liberal Al Franken (recount in progress as I write). Your support for Focus Action allowed us to do an attention-grabbing, full-color mailer to tens of thousands of Minnesotans—plus a follow-up e-mail blast, a major radio ad campaign, and even a cover story in Focus on the Family Citizen magazine (paid for by Focus Action).
It’s no stretch to say that, depending on the outcome of the recount, your generosity may have tipped the scales—not just for this race, but for the ability of pro-life and pro-family conservatives to block radical attacks in the Senate by using the filibuster!
Focus Action backs huge marriage wins
Of course, key House and Senate races were not the only contests where Focus Action helped rally citizens. Among the most encouraging results from the 2008 elections were the incredible victories of marriage amendments in California, Florida and Arizona.
Perhaps the most surprising of the three victories is Florida, where a 60-percent majority was required to pass. Led by our associated state organization, the pro-marriage campaign overcame incredible opposition and passed the amendment with 62 percent!
Focus Action was deeply involved in this four-year effort—helping found Florida Family Action, paying for early polling, sending numerous mailings, and directly contributing nearly $450,000 to the pro-marriage campaign. Thank you for helping make all of that possible!
Focus Action was also active in the Arizona victory. And in California—the pro-family coup de grâce of this election year—Focus Action played a key but less direct role by freeing up Focus on the Family to pour over half a million dollars of direct and indirect support into the marriage campaign. As you probably know, Proposition 8 passed with 52 percent support and put an end to same-sex “marriage” in the most populous state. Without getting into all of the legal details, suffice it to say that without Focus Action, that level of support from Focus on the Family® would not have been possible.
The notion that the American people turned their backs on values issues in this election is nonsense. One need look no further than California, where African-Americans voted 70 percent for protecting marriage, even though 96 percent nationally were voting for Obama. What a ray of hope for the future!
Shining a light on the Tim Gill money machine
During the past year, Focus Action has been shining a light on the nefarious political efforts of Tim Gill, the homosexual mega-donor from Denver. As you may recall from past updates, Gill and his wealthy friends have poured tens of millions of dollars into key state legislative races since 2004—helping liberals take over legislatures and enact pro-homosexual laws.
This year, we stepped up our efforts to expose what Gill has been doing in relative secrecy. Focus Action staff dug into campaign finance reports in states where we knew Gill had an interest. Soon, patterns began to emerge, with common donors showing up on finance reports of certain state legislative candidates around the nation. We had discovered a group of donors that Gill uses to quietly give money to candidates without attracting attention.
Thanks to the resources that you and others graciously provided, Focus Action was able to pull back the veil of secrecy and make Tim Gill famous in a number of those districts throughout the country. Using targeted mailings and radio spots, we let people know who was behind the liberal candidates.
One of those candidates was right here in Colorado. Bernie Buescher rode into the state Legislature as part of the 2004 Tim Gill effort that overturned the Legislature. Not surprisingly, he backed Gill’s agenda in the statehouse, including the infamous “bathroom bill” (SB 200) which, in the name of protecting transgenders, allows men to use women’s restrooms in public buildings throughout the state.
But Buescher was more than just an average legislator. He was popular and assumed to be the next speaker of the House in Colorado. Focus Action ran newspaper ads that challenged Buescher for his support of SB 200—plus radio ads and letters that called attention to his backing from Gill.
Overall, Gill’s candidates still fared quite well in the Democratic wave that swept the country. But the pro-marriage candidates won in more than half of the races where Focus Action got involved. Those victories, like the Buescher race, show that values-minded people can turn the tide when we join together for action!
Where do we go from here?
Because of some key House and Senate victories that I mentioned earlier, you and I will have opportunities to derail the liberal steamroller in the weeks to come. But making that happen will take enormous work and resources.
To stop tragic outcomes on life, marriage—and much more that I won’t take time to list right now—we must mobilize extraordinary numbers of citizens who care about upholding virtue, defending life and safeguarding religious liberty.
So I’m asking you, will you stand with us as we prepare to do battle against an unprecedented series of attacks in 2009? Specifically, I’m asking three things:
- First, will you pray with and for us on a regular basis? Ultimately, we stand in need of God’s mercy on our nation—and His grace to strengthen our hands, sharpen our minds and shape our hearts as we humbly yet boldly proclaim His truth.
- Second, will you commit to making your voice heard to your elected officials in the coming days and months? Humanly speaking, there is nothing that is politically more powerful.
- And third, will you make a sacrificial gift to support Focus Action as we prepare to stand strong? I understand the economic uncertainty of these days, but the costs of fighting these battles is going to be staggering—far more than we’re equipped with now. And the cost of failure is unthinkable.
Thank you for praying, for resolving to take action, and for standing beside us with a gift—if possible today, or at least by Dec. 31. Together, with God’s help, we can turn these “sterner days” into great days in the history of America!
Sincerely,
Tom Minnery
Senior Vice President
Focus on the Family Action
P.S. The economic challenges have hit Focus Action, and in response we have prudently cut expenses and even modestly reduced staff. But with so much on the line starting in January, Dr. Dobson and I know that we must stand strong. By giving now, you’ll help us prepare to do just that!
