THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE

WHAT THE PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGERS BELIEVE – Over the years I have had the privilege to work on various projects with some of the current Republican candidates for President and I have met and talked to most of them more than once. Just before she announced her run for the presidency I was one of just eight conservative leaders who had lunch with Michele Bachmann at the Capitol Hill club in Washington, DC.

What kind of people are the Republican candidates and how do they differ from Obama? Back in the late 1990’s, then Speaker Newt Gingrich appeared at several press conferences held by the Religious Freedom Coalition in support of a Religious Freedom Amendment to the Constitution that would allow kids and teachers to pray in school. One rather famous photo shows me speaking at a podium with the entire House leadership of Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey and Tom DeLay standing behind me. Although he never commented on Islam during the George W. Bush presidency, since Obama was sworn in Gingrich has made numerous statements and produced documentaries on Islamic oppression.

Over a period of many years Senator Rick Santorum ran a separate International Religious Freedom Caucus in the Senate. He held monthly meetings with organizations such as the Religious Freedom Coalition, not only to discuss but to take action against the persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East, and in China and Vietnam as well. In July of 2006 I was with Senator Santorum at a press conference at the Washington, DC Press Club when he was the first seated politician to use the phrase “Islamic fascism,” much to the disdain of the White House. Far from backing down, at a later meeting at the White House with Senators  he held a copy of the speech up in the air and asked President George W. Bush to please read it.

Rick Santorum is a conservative, believing Catholic. He and his wife Karen, who is a nurse, have seven living children.  On November 12, 2004, Rick and Karen were invested as Knight and Dame of Magistral Grace of the Knights of Malta in a ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City. Only the most conservative of Catholics would receive such an honor. During conversations with the couple at a meeting here in Washington, DC, Karen told me that her only disagreement ever with her husband was when he backed liberal Republican Senator Arlen Specter for reelection. She is definitely no Laura Bush.

I have known Herman Cain for many years and back in 2004, Government Is Not God political action committee supported his Senate campaign because of his outspoken support of social conservative causes. Recently he told the Values Voter Summit, “I am 100 % pro-life from the hour of conception.” Herman Cain is not just a businessman. He worked for six years in the Department of the Navy and has made it clear he is opposed to homosexuals serving openly in the military. Cain stands with social conservatives on virtually every issue. In my presence, in meetings he has called Islamists an existential threat to America.

Note: In November the left leaning online journal Politico lauched attacks against Cain accusing him of sexual harrassment. He was never accused of touching anyone or actually doing anything, but a couple of women that worked for him said they “felt uncomfortable.” The reality is different. Virtually every executive in America has had such accusations thrown at them when they have job disputes with women; it is part of the corporate culture. In 48 hours the TV networks ran more tha 50 segmetns on the unproven accusations. In 1997 when Kathleen Willey accused President Bill Clinton of “groping” her, the media ran one story in the first 48 hours. Why the different standard? Liberals have a radical, racist hatred of conservative black Americans.

The views of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann were well known before she declared for the presidency. During a recent conversation, Michele Bachmann told me, “I thought I was a Christian because I was born into a Lutheran family. As a teenager I heard the Gospel with two girlfriends at an evangelical church and I made the decision to abandon myself for Jesus.” Several times during the conversation Michele used the term “abandoned myself” to describe her conversion experience.

In small group discussions I have been in with Michele Bachmann, she has convinced me that she understands the threat of Islamic domination of the world. This month I met her husband Marcus for the first time. He is a Christian psychologist whose office is surrounded by homosexual demonstrators virtually every week because he accepts patients who don’t want to be “gay” any more.

I have met Congressman Ron Paul numerous times and he is a true libertarian. Unfortunately libertarians like Ron Paul agree more often with Barack Obama on social issues than with me. He sees absolutely no need for the United States to assist persecuted Christians. He believes that sales of drugs, including heroin, and the sale of one’s body for use in prostitution should be up to each state. Because of his position on same-sex marriage he has been endorsed by the “conservative” gay political action committee Log Cabin Republicans.

While I met briefly with Rick Perry when he was Lieutenant Governor of Texas, I have never had an in depth conversation with him to try to discern his sincerity. I have never met with Governor Romney as we do not travel, shall we say, in the same circles. My purpose here is to talk about those I know personally and to try to convey the difference between them and President Barack Obama.

The four Republicans I have met and interacted the most with — Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum — have profound differences with President Barack Obama. In conclusion, none of these four, nor any of the rest of the GOP presidential field,  approves of the radical class war demonstrations across the nation that are supported by Barack Obama, the Democratic Party and the major labor unions. Obama’s support of these violent demonstrations, which at one point shut down the port of Oakland, must be remembered in 2012.

A final note: There was no October issue of the GINGPAC Update because I have been working almost full time on the Constitution or Sharia Conference that will take place in Nashville, Tennessee on 11/11/11. The Hutton Hotel in that city was pressured by Muslims and cancelled the contract with us. Since then we have moved the conference to a church. For more information,  please go to www.PreservingFreedomConference.org.

            And finally, GINGPAC does need financial support to be a part of the 2012 battle. While the presidential race is in the headlines we still need more conservatives in the House and the Senate. Help GING-PAC today!

William J. Murray, Chairman 
Government Is Not God – PAC  
P.O. Box 77237, Washington, DC 20013