LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THE 2006 ELECTION RESULTS

I agree with Gary Bauer's analysis of the 2006 election results when he said, "At first glance the results appear to be a rejection of conservative values, and that is certainly how some in the media are trying to portray it.  But that would be just plain wrong!"

Let's be honest about why Republicans got thumped on November 7th:

1)  History shows us that the Republican losses were almost exactly in line with the average setbacks experienced by the President's party in a sixth-year mid-term election.

2)  Democrats recruited good candidates.  In races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, those Democrats that defeated incumbent Republicans--most of them ran as moderates or conservatives.  Many of them embraced policies such as right to life and the sanctity of traditional marriage. 

However, I am skeptical.  I believe that many of these new congressmen will be pressured by their Democrat leadership such as San Francisco Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi.  You will have committee chairman such as Charlie Rangel (Ways & Means Committee), John Conyers (Judiciary Committee), Alcee Hastings (House Intelligence Committee), and many other far-left liberals calling the public policy "shots."

3)  The largest majority of incumbent Republicans that lost their races--were liberals.  Seven of those losses came in New England alone.  The most likely effect is that the Republican minority will be ideologically more conservative, while the number of centrist Democrats has grown.

     Here is a fact of interest--Democrats who ran as conservatives won, while Republicans who ran as moderates lost.

4)  Another noteworthy item is the ballot initiatives.  For example, even though Sen. Allen (R-Virginia) was defeated, the marriage amendment won overwhelmingly, as it did in six other states.

     In Michigan, voters rejected reverse discrimination by a 16-point margin, while at the same time the Republican candidates for U.S. Senator and Governor only polled a little over 40% of the vote.

While Republicans paid the price for corruption and ethic lapses and a failure to deliver on key issues--conservative values remain popular with voters.

I agree with Gary Bauer again when he says, "But I want you to know that we will continue to fight for our values, and our efforts may be more important than ever as RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) try to pin the blame for this defeat on social conservatives and values voters."

MY PLEA TO YOU:

Our children, our grandchildren, our country, and our culture are depending on you and me to make a difference.  The Bible has called us to be "salt and light."  We are not told that we will necessarily be victorious at every bend, but we are to be "faithful" in "all things."

If we are absent from the political arena, our country will indeed be doomed.  We must re-double our efforts to educate Christians. We must work endlessly towards working for candidates who understand the unique role that God played in the formation of America.

Do not give up!  We must prevail!  The Bottom Line is this:  Our religious liberties depend on our involvement to save the culture and save America!

THANK YOU!

Joe Earle (our Director of Church & Community Development) and I want to thank you for all of your volunteer efforts on behalf of Iowa Christian Alliance's 2006 Voter Projects.  Our thanks go to those hundreds of volunteers who helped distribute over 350,000 Voter Guides to all corners of the state.  This was over twice as many that were distributed just two years ago!

We also want to thank those many, many volunteers who went door to door to get out pro-family voters to the polls.

And we want to thank all of those pastors that participated in the two Iowa Renewal Projects.  We are thrilled that the pastors of this state are begging to understand their role as shepherds.  These pastors will be key in years ahead to an educated Christian voter.

Thank you for all that you did in 2006 and keep tuned to Iowa Christian Alliance's 2007 plans.  You will want to be involved with us as we work to make Iowa a family-friendly state.

Steve Scheffler

President, Iowa Christian Alliance

Election results can be found at http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=NEWS09