FamilyFoundationBlog.com

The Sunday before Election Day 2006, a Richmond Times-Dispatch headline screamed that polling showed the Marriage Amendment campaign had tightened. The poll said that the amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman was supported by a slim 49-45 percent margin. That was the closest poll we had ever seen on the issue.

Two days later, the amendment passed by a 14 point margin, 57-43 percent. How could the T-D poll have been so wrong just two days prior to the vote?

Polls taken over the years on the definition of marriage have wavered more than Tim Kaine on gay adoption (remember, running for governor in 2005 he opposed homosexual couples adopting, but now he’s in favor of it). For example, Gallup polling on the issue of homosexual marriage went from 46 percent support in 2007, down to 40 percent in 2008 and 2009, but back up to 44 percent in 2010. So it doesn’t surprise me at all that a Washington Post media poll of 1,000 people has found that, according to the Post, “Virginians are closely split on gay marriage” — and that the rest of the state’s mainstream media ran with it.

But are they really?

The truth is that polls have been overwhelmingly disconnected from reality when it comes to the issue of homosexual marriage. One need look only as far as the 31 states that have had the issue put to the voters, and in every case the traditional definition of marriage has won, including California.

The longer I am involved in politics, the more dismissive I have become of most media polling. Many experts believe that, particularly on the issues of abortion and homosexuality, a lot of people tell a pollster what they think the pollster wants to hear. On the issue of same-sex marriage, while a few media polls indicate that people support it, in the 31 states where it has gone to the ballot the people have overwhelmingly rejected it. One might tell their neighbor they are open to homosexual marriage, but when the reality is in front of them in the voting booth, traditional marriage still resonates instinctively, intuitively, justly . . . morally.

Social issues such as abortion and homosexuality have dynamics at play that I don’t think can be measured with simple media polling. Asking 1,000 people a simple question doesn’t generally get to the core of complex issues. It makes for interesting editorial page fodder, but I doubt too many people take it seriously, except for the so-called “progressives” who will no doubt champion the media poll and bring the issue before the next General Assembly. I suspect some will even attempt to make it a campaign issue (funny, I thought it was all about the economy).

But I also find it interesting that the same “progressives” reject professional (not media) polling that shows an overwhelming number of Virginians support school choice. You see, polling can work both ways, which is why no one should base their beliefs or agenda on it. Sure, professionally done, in depth issue polling can provide insight, but hastily done media polls done over a weekend for the mainstream media isn’t something I want to base any policy decision on. I certainly wouldn’t want to base the future of our children on it.

As with yesterday’s post about the NEA, where a high ranking official without shame articulated that group’s real objectives (money and power) in contradiction to its stated goals of improving education, today we bring you something similar, though thoroughly crude and disturbing, by Planned Parenthood. It’s a video, by our friends at Catholicvote.org, of a Planned Parenthood march and rally earlier this year. The video simply records pro-abortion radicals saying (often screaming) what they believe, while (to put it kindly) distorting what pro-lifers believe. Of course, the Mainstream Media won’t embarrass its own movement by covering such nonsense (but when there’s a Tea Party rally calling for commonsense spending restraint . . . you know what happens). Neither did the MSM cover this rally of “liberals” last year, where participants gladly called themselves socialists and communists. (But let a conservative call these radicals what they admit to being and the media contrives a firestorm.)

Still, it’s important to hear what the pro-abortion side truly believes (government funding and insurance coverage of abortion on demand), in their own (shrill) words. Nothing close to “safe, legal and rare.” Of course, liberals claim that conservatives distort their positions and it is conservatives who are out of touch. But it’s hard to claim Planned Parenthood is reasonable after watching this. As with the teachers union, what Planned Parenthood says (and how it acts) for public consumption and what it sincerely shrieks when it thinks no one is watching is vastly different.

“Government should fund Planned Parenthood.”

“I want Planned Parenthood to be like Starbucks. I want a Planned Parenthood on every corner.”

Today is the one year anniversary of ObamaCare becoming law. You can’t escape it. The Mainstream Media’s celebrations are more ecstatic than those provoked by a March Madness last second game-winning shot. More significantly, and what really should be celebrated, is today’s anniversary of Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech in 1775, which lit the torch for freedom from Great Britain in the colonies.

It was a speech that resonated thousands of miles to inspire liberty in an era when paper tacked on a tree was considered mass communication; it similarly has transcended throughout time to freedom loving people on guard against the advance of the Leviathan. The spirit today remains willing. But is the body politic?

When he filed his lawsuit against ObamaCare last year, also on this very date, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli noted the appropriateness of defending liberty on the same day when — at a courthouse about a mile from St. John’s Church where — Mr. Henry inspired Virginia and a fledgling country. He made that point again today in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. But it is eerily ironic that a seminal event for the defense of freedom shares the anniversary day of the largest government grab of liberty in the history of the Republic.

So as to give you a flavor of Mr. Henry’s speech on this great anniversary, and to pick up the slack of the contemporary culture and education establishment, here are two videos. The first is a video tour of historic St. John’s Church in Richmond, via C-SPAN (click here for more about the church and other Virginia historic sites). The second is a partial reenactment of the speech, which is performed weekly during the summer and on special occasions at the church.

America given rise to . . . in a church.

A call to defend liberty that resonated throughout the land then and which has transcended time now.

Today’s Quote of the Day involves your humble blogger. The Conservative Caucus annual legislative agenda news conference had hardly ended when the entire educrat establishment rushed the House Briefing Room as if there was great anticipation for its reply news conference to Governor Bob McDonnell’s education reform event yesterday. They were all there: The VEA, the superintendents association, the school board association, you name it.

Two men each had two huge stacks of red folders. I politiely asked for one. The first man rejected me, saying they were for the media. I mentioned that he had about two dozen and there were only about eight media in the room. Didn’t matter. I then told him, “I do the blog for The Family Foundation.” He said if there were any extra I could get one.

So, I approached the other, equally well supplied man, for one:

Admin: May I have one of those?

Educrat: They are for the media.

Admin: I write the blog for The Family Foundation.

Educrat: They’re for the Mainstream media! 

Oh! I get it! Any wonder the education establishment is viewed as isolated, statist and the only roadblock to reform of our failing education system? Publicly, their motto is, “It’s about the children.” In reality, it’s all about them.

After I left and it was apparent they had an abundance of leftovers, they supplied our intern one. She taped the event, as well as the Conservative Caucus news conference. We hope to have both up tomorrow.

Yesterday, we commented on the far left Southern Poverty Law Center’s aspersions on more than 150 organizations that stand for traditional marriage. Today, we share some thoughts on the subject of Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. In a letter to supporters, he wrote:

The surest sign one is losing a debate is to resort to character assassination. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a liberal fundraising machine whose tactics have been condemned by observers across the political spectrum, is doing just that.

The group, once known for combating racial bigotry, is now attacking several groups that uphold Judeo-Christian moral views, including marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

How does the SPLC attack? By labeling its opponents “hate groups.” No discussion. No consideration of the issues. No engagement. No debate!

These types of slanderous tactics are not limited to a handful of Christian groups. They have been used against voters who signed petitions and voted for marriage amendments in all thirty states that have considered them, as well as against the millions of Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement.

This is intolerance pure and simple. Elements of the radical Left are trying to shut down informed discussion of policy issues that are being considered by Congress, legislatures, and the courts. The SPLC has even admitted that their goal is to censor our views in the media.

We need you to stand with us. Please visit StartDebatingStopHating.com, and join with other national leaders and me in telling the radical Left it is time to stop spreading hate-charged rhetoric about individuals and organizations simply because they disagree with our ideas. Our debates can and must remain civil — but they must never be suppressed.

Remember, if they can silence pro-family organizations, they will attempt to use pressure and the power of government to target pastors and citizens like you who publicly stand for traditional principles.

This is the standard operating procedure for the Angry Left. Having nothing to offer but government control over people’s lives, it demonizes anyone and any group of people who stand for traditional values, because those values are grounded in liberty and freedom which is antithetical to its aims. It’s too much to ask, but if those in the Mainstream Media, who pontificate about the coarseness of our politics, didn’t legitimize attack machines such as the SPLC, the political discourse in this country would improve the next day.

What is sad about the partnership of radical leftists and the MSM is that what they accuse values voters of cheapens the charge against those who actually engage in those behaviors. It’s crying wolf. The fact that this partnership cares not about that reveals its sincerity in exposing true hate and harm at the expense of advancing their radical agenda.

What were liberals saying about Virginia’s lawsuit against the federal government’s health care law — that it was a waste of time, that it had no chance, that it was . . . frivolous? Client Number 9 spoke for them all and said “no judge or legal scholar” thought Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli had a snowball’s chance in August. The AG told him and all of critics they were wrong. Since March he has taken undignified shots from radical leftists — many granted cover as mainstream by, of course, the mainstream media and Washington elitists — and on Monday he was vindicated.

As expected, there’s been a media crush on the Attorney General Cuccinelli, with the suddenly awaken press wanting to know what this case was all about after all. One telling interview is below, with long-time Washington media stalwart Bob Schieffer of CBS News, who admitted that Mr. Cuccinelli gave him the best explanation of the issue than anyone has ever given him. Amazing! Maybe that conservative whack job really does know the constitution! Bob, you need to get out more. The issue isn’t that complex and smart people don’t exclusively live in D.C. 

Below, are two more interviews, one each with Attorney General Cuccinelli and Governor Bob McDonnell on Fox News Channel with Greta Van Susteran. In addition to the video, here is a great interview the attorney general gave to National Review Online.

In an another Internet exclusive, just as with the July 1 hearing on the federal government’s motion to dismiss Virginia’s constitutional challenge to the new federal health care law, we have Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s entire post-hearing news conference. The meeting with the media took place at about 12:30, about an hour after Federal District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia Henry Hudson heard two hours of oral arguments from the Department of Justice, representing U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and the Office of the Attorney General, representing the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The news conference is in five parts below. We will have comment tomorrow. No need to sort through what the mainstream media tells you. Hear and see it for yourself, right here. Attorney General Cuccinelli’s statement and questions from the media take about 42 minutes. His statement is in the first two parts, and takes about 18 minutes. A good portion of his statement recaps the hearing (which was good since seats in the courtroom were limited and the overflow room’s audio failed) and then lays out the historical and legal basis for the constitutional challenge. Whatever one thinks of the Attorney General Cuccinelli’s positions, no one can doubt his preparation and knowledge of the legal, historical and constitutional context of the matter at hand.

You know it’s bad when your liberal allies in the mainstream media reject your ideas (Atlantic Wire). That’s the case with the White House and the Democrat National Committee right now, who can’t even get CBS to buy into their allegation that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and some conservative groups are taking foreign money to ”buy” the midterm elections (see Media Research Center). The DNC has put out an ad to that affect, even calling certain conservatives and the GOP unpatriotic. The Chamber of Commerce unpatriotic?

The irony is stunning, coming from the party of Charlie Trie, Al Gore’s “no controlling legal authority,” and the Obama campaign’s anonymous millions from gift card donations, not to mention forced labor union dues from Big Labor. It proves the axiom that when the left accuses you of something, it usually means they’ve done it themselves (and are tyring to divert attention from real issues). 

MoveOn.org also is in this game with its own echo television spot. This from the group that takes uncountable sums from the likes of George Soros and the same left who accuses anyone of disagreeing with them as questioning  their patriotism. Even the New York Times has disproven the charge. No matter to the White House, which now includes the Chamber of Commerce, once a health care ally, on its enemies list.

For the left, then, it’s about control. Whether through a leviathan government or through intimidation, the left wants absolute conformity. When Bob Schieffer of CBS confronted Obama henchman David Axelrod  about whether he had any evidence of the foreign money allegation, Axelrod snapped chillingly:

Do you have any evidence that it’s not?

So, in the Age of Obama, it’s guilty until proven innocent! The proof? An allegation, and any allegation will do. Especially when you’re desperate.

An incredulous Bob Schieffer can’t believe the shear gall from the president’s chief of enforcement.

Just curious about something: Why is it when something from way back in a conservative candidate’s past comes to light, or even something more recent that was taken out of context, or even something he or she has apologized for, the angry left and the mainstream media hound on him or her about it forever, no matter how irrelevant it is to the office the candidate seeks, and portrays the conservative as the most despicable human alive?

But when even the slightest embarrassing revelation comes to light about a liberal candidate . . . the conservative opponent still is the meanest, most despicable human alive because, of course, he or she must have had something to do with it. Not to mention the fact that the media and left wing lionize the liberal candiate into an aggrieved, victimized hero.

This video from Americans For Prosperity speaks for itself. Last weekend, a few thousand “liberal” and “social justice” types marched on the Mall in Washington, D.C. — the so-called “One Nation Rally” — to give voice to their issues. Or, at least that’s how the Mainstream Media portrayed it. Take a look at this video. This footage didn’t make CBS, NBC or CNN. These aren’t your typical liberals. On the other hand, too much of old-style liberalism has been mainlined by these extremists (i.e., “progressives”) to the point where there’s barely a blip of difference between the two. By their own admission, they all are socialists. The signs and literature distributed at the rally are chilling.

We’re all socialists now (Obama supporters all): Among the bulk of the protesters: the Communist Workers Party, the Socialist Party and something called the Socialist Alternative.