HATE BILL PROTEST VERY SMALL
By Rev. Ted Pike
24 Sep 07
The
Senate adjourned Friday afternoon without considering Sen. Kennedy's
hate crimes amendment to the military appropriations bill. But they
will resume consideration of the bill on Monday. Freedom of
speech in America is at the greatest risk in the history of our country. Yet,
alarmingly, an NPN survey Friday revealed that relatively few calls
of protest went in to Senate offices last week.
This is true although for two weeks I have been on total alert,
warning that unless lovers of freedom protest loudly the hate bill
could well slip through. On 15 radio interviews and www.rense.com I
addressed close to a million patriotic Americans, yet during this
period I was disturbed at how little feedback came in at www.truthtellers.org.
This lack of concern is largely a result of widespread agreement
among many Christian/conservative leaders that Pres. Bush, by his
promise to veto the hate bill, has neutralized its threat. Last
week, my friend Guy Adams, who knows scores of new right leaders,
found that most now consider the hate bill no longer an imminent
danger. Their strategy is to praise and support Pres. Bush,
confident that he will respond to their loyalty by remaining true
to his veto promise. It seems as if, regardless of his intentions,
the President's promise has effectively destroyed most organized
opposition to the hate bill.
On Friday, Sept. 14, Sen. Kennedy audaciously tried to attach his
hate bill to the military appropriations bill, calling for a unanimous
consent agreement from the Senate, omitting debate. Sen. McCain blocked
Kennedy on Friday, but it is sobering that five days passed before
any timely internet warnings came out from most of the largest leaders
of the evangelical right -- a period which might have seen victory
for the hate bill.
Yet, why should people exert themselves to save free speech when
the President has promised to save it for us? These organizations,
while describing how threatening to freedom is the hate bill, do
not give an answer to that question. It is not surprising,
then, that instead of a protest of millions, only the tiniest minority
seem to have responded.
New Tactic against the Hate Bill
Gravely concerned at this deadly threat to freedom, I recently
tried something new. I clearly defined to my e-alert readers
the two main reasons why we, the people, not Pres. Bush, must defeat
the hate bill in this Congress.
First, if the hate bill succeeds, it will acquire great prestige
as legislation passed by both houses of the Congress of the United
States . Even if the President vetoes it, it will still win:
This accomplishment will make it very easy in little more than a
year for the Democratic Congress and the next, probably pro-hate
bill President to approve it. In contrast, if the hate bill
is defeated in the Senate now, it will continue into the next
administration crippled, as it has been since 1998, by its reputation
as legislation that is hard to pass, failing after six attempts. 1
Secondly, busy distracted Republican Senators need a groundswell
of encouragement to do battle against the hate bill as soon as it
comes before the Senate. They, too, have probably been infected
with the "let the President do it" mentality.
These two simple ideas seem at last to have gotten through to many
Americans. Immediately after they were posted in an article
published at www.rense.com, thousands
of people came to www.truthtellers.org for
the names of 37 Senators whom we consider best bets for persuading
against the hate bill. (See, Liberty
to be Uncivil)
Challenge to New Right Leaders
New right leaders, we may yet have a very brief period of opportunity
to powerfully impact Senators to oppose the hate bill. But
to do that, your constituents must know why it is necessary that
the people, not the President, defeat the hate bill:
1. Defeat of the hate bill in the Senate now will weaken
its chances in the next Congress with a potentially pro-hate
bill President.
2. Senators need encouragement from the American public
to fight hard this week to save free speech.
Send out an immediate alert calling as passionately as you can
for massive protest! Everyone must know that, even if the President
vetoes the hate bill, this devastating legislation will win big time
if approved by Congress. It will have an even bigger win when
a Hillary or Rudy move into the White House.
But the loss for free speech and Christianity will be incalculable.
Endnote
1. Focus
on the Family has done much to remind Senators of the people's wishes
by delivering to them more than 100,000 names on a "Hate Crimes
and ENDA" petition.
CALL YOUR 2 SENATORS!
Toll-Free 1-877-851-6437
Toll 1-202-225-3121
Rev. Ted Pike is director of the National Prayer Network, a Christian/conservative
watch dog organization.
Let the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith teach you how they
have saddled 45 states with hate laws capable of persecuting Christians: http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/intro.asp.
Learn how ADL took away free speech in Canada and wants to steal
it now in the U.S. Congress. Watch Rev. Ted Pike's Hate
Laws: Making Criminals of Christians at video.google.com. Purchase
this gripping documentary to show at church. Order online at www.truthtellers.org for
$24.90, DVD or VHS, by calling 503-853-3688, or at the address below.
TALK SHOW HOSTS: Interview Rev. Ted Pike on this
topic. Call (503) 631-3808.
National Prayer Network, P.O. Box 828, Clackamas,
OR 97015
