Editor’s note. The following was delivered by NRL Political Director Karen Cross at the Friday Session of the 2012 NRLC National Convention. It was titled, “2010 was just the start…in 2012 we take America back!” The speech was delivered the day after the United States Supreme Court upheld almost the entirety of ObamaCare.
Good morning!
I had a different speech, and then yesterday happened. To say yesterday was a disappointment is an understatement. To be honest with you, I felt as though I’d been punched in the gut. Yet while yesterday’s Supreme Court decision was devastating, I find comfort in Romans 8:28 which says, “All things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.”
All things. Even this.
Fortunately, we live in a democracy that allows us to channel our disappointment into elections–electing people who will repeal this awful health care.
Every election you hear how important your vote is. But this year, your vote is not enough.
In case you didn’t notice, and it’s kind of hard not to, the theme of our convention is “We the People” – not “I the Person.”
The work that you do between now and the election is what will make the difference. [In a speech delivered previously] Congressman Trent Franks summed it up correctly when he encouraged us to “give it all you’ve got.”
This is a partnership: National Right to Life, its 50 state affiliates, and you. Because of that partnership the National Right to Life Political Action Committee is the largest and by far the most effective single-issue pro-life political action committee in the country.
Since its inception in 1980, the work of National Right to Life PAC has consistently provided an advantage for pro-life candidates over pro-abortion candidates.
This pro-life advantage helped elect three pro-life presidents who served a combined twenty years in the White House.
The truth is that ever since 1980 when we elected Ronald Reagan President and carried the Senate, the work you do has been crucial in electing pro-life candidates to Congress.
Why is that crucial? Because research demonstrates that pro-life legislation saves lives.
On the federal level, the Hyde Amendment is estimated to have saved more than one million lives. On the state level, pro-life legislation is estimated to have saved 116,000 lives in South Carolina alone.
Whether it’s one life or a million lives, each life saved is precious. Each life saved is a family blessed with a baby.
We all have “to do” lists. You probably have an unfinished list right now in your bag or on your desk. Well I have a “to do” list none of us can ignore. It’s a short list. There are only three items on my “to do” list this year:
First, we need to hold the House.
Second, we have to secure the Senate.
And third, we must win the White House!
Everyone—EVERYONE—is convinced the presidential election will be decided by a very small margin. I know I can count on you to do your share and enlist others in this army of compassion. More important, unborn babies and their mothers can count on you.
In 2010, you voted against Obama’s abortion agenda, sweeping hundreds of pro-life legislators into office at the state and federal levels.
According to a 2010 post-election poll, thirty percent of all voters said that abortion affected their vote. THIRTY PERCENT. Of that 30%, 22% voted for pro-life candidates, while only eight percent voted for pro-abortion candidates.
In 2010, NRL PAC actively worked in 130 of the most competitive federal races nationwide. 88 of the 130 candidates supported by National Right to Life PAC won.
Eighteen of those candidates were in highly competitive races against candidates who were supported by the pro-abortion group, EMILY’s List, which raised and spent more than $38 million dollars in the 2010 elections. Despite being vastly outspent, the pro-life candidate supported by National Right to Life PAC won in fourteen of those eighteen races (or 78 percent).
As we look to 2012, one thing is certain. Congress will consider issues that are dear to pro-life people everywhere.
Because pro-life candidates won so resoundingly in 2010, Republicans won control of the House. Under pro-life Speaker John Boehner’s leadership Congress is debating and voting on pro-life legislation once again.
And on July 11, the House is prepared to vote to repeal ObamaCare once again! This is why we need to “hold the House.”
The problem has been– when pro-life legislation gets to the Senate, it dies.
This takes me to item two on the “to do” list: secure the Senate. This year, the United States Senate is only a net gain of four seats shy of achieving pro-life leadership.
What you do matters. What you do in Nevada matters. What you do in Virginia matters. What you do in Florida and Ohio and Missouri and North Dakota matters. EVEN what you do in Massachusetts matters.
None of us lives in a vacuum. What you do in your state affects the big picture.
If we organize, if we work hard in the Senate races, we can win enough seats to be able to send lifesaving legislation to the President’s desk.
Which takes me to item three on that “to do” list. We must win the White House!
There is a clear difference between the candidates for president. Look at the National Right to Life News that you received in your convention packet and you’ll see that Barack Obama is the most pro-abortion president ever in the history of the United States. Obama’s signature legislation is ObamaCare, which will provide funding for health plans that pay for abortion on demand, and will lead to the rationing of lifesaving medical treatments.
Mitt Romney is pro-life. Mitt Romney is committed to our cause of protecting the lives of innocent unborn children, mothers who are targets of the abortion industry, and the disabled and medically vulnerable. Like you, he supports overturning Roe v. Wade, he opposes federal funding for abortions, and he believes ObamaCare must be repealed. In fact, Romney says “ObamaCare will violate that crucial first principle of medicine: ‘do no harm.’”
Less well known is Gov. Romney’s passionate defense of religious liberty. Here’s what he said at a commencement address at Liberty University:
“The protection of religious freedom has also become a matter of debate. It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with. Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government.
“But from the beginning, this nation trusted in God, not man. Religious liberty is the first freedom in our Constitution. And whether the cause is justice for the persecuted, compassion for the needy and the sick, or mercy for the child waiting to be born, there is no greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action.”
Since 1973, more than 54,000,000 defenseless babies have been aborted—more than 3,300 each day, 365 days a year.
Sadly, more than 4.1 million regular church-going citizens who voted in 2004 did not vote in 2008! Some people weren’t registered to vote, others just don’t care to vote, and others simply forget to vote.
You and I would never consider that possibility because we know that when we don’t vote, babies die and their mothers and families are harmed.
We are surrounded by “politicos” so it’s easy to forget how many people don’t know who their state delegate is, or who their U.S. senators are. They really don’t know how important the political process is and how it impacts their daily lives.
I am often amazed to meet seemingly intelligent people who aren’t remotely aware of the political scene. On a recent flight out west, I met a nurse from Reno who wasn’t even aware of Nevada’s primary election the day before!
Does anybody here know who Marco Rubio is?
Well, I recently talked to a Florida resident who doesn’t even know who Marco Rubio is! We cannot assume our pro-life friends and family are prepared for this election.
As an ambitious pro-lifer–and by virtue of the fact that you are attending the National Right to Life Convention, I am considering you an ambitious pro-lifer–as an ambitious pro-lifer you will want to be sure all your pro-life friends and family are ready to vote .
Remember, lives are at stake.
If we stay the course, if we continue to work and organize, 2012 will truly bring needed change to Washington, D.C. and to our nation.
Many elections will be determined by the slimmest of margins. Make your mark on history. Register to vote, then vote. And be sure to help your friends and family do the same.
We did very well in 2010, but it was just the beginning. There are 130 days until the November 6 general election. Make sure every one of those days count. Millions of unborn babies count on you.
Let’s hold the House, secure the Senate and win the White House!
And then, we’ll repeal ObamaCare!
Together, we’ll make history and take America back in 2012!
Thank you!
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