Coming Two Terms With Obama's Win

Tony Perkins, FRC Action Update: This was supposed to be the morning when Americans got up and shook off the nightmare of the last four years. Instead, they awakened to a new one: a profound drubbing of the Republican Party that is supposed to be the guardian of the conservative vision our nation so desperately needs. On every level--presidential, congressional, social--it was a bruising day for our movement that no amount of spin can improve. Americans had a choice, and they made it. Is the outcome what we want? Obviously not. In fact, there are only a few positive highlights from yesterday's election. But despite this election setback, there is no evidence to suggest that the transcendent values our nation has rested on for the last 237 years have been revoked or disproved. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." In all the years that I have been involved in this movement, we have never staked our future on political success. As Christians, we hold an eternal perspective--and that means standing for truth whether it's winning or losing.

"If we thought we could wake up and feel safe about [social] issues because Romney got elected then we'd be as foolish as those on the other side of these issues who think Obama is the 'savior,'" Bob Rice wrote today. "We can't depend on the government for our spiritual welfare. We've got to go out and proclaim God's truth with our lips and share His love from our hearts." God's Word and His purposes are not altered by what happens at the ballot box. Our call is to fight for truth in an increasingly dark and hostile world--no matter what the outcome.

Of course, there will be a temptation after this election for people to despair and disengage, believing that America is beyond hope. It isn't. Despite the devastation of these last 24 hours, there is no reason to apologize, back away from, or rethink what we stand for. If anything, this election emphasizes our mission and what FRC has said all along: the way to renew our nation's commitment to those founding principles is through the church's transformation of hearts and minds. That requires us standing as salt and light through some of the bleakest times in our nation.

Among the more demoralizing losses yesterday were the outcomes in Maryland, Minnesota, Washington, and Maine, where natural marriage lost for the first time in America by popular vote. It was a significant moment for the radical Left, which was helped to victory by the most pro-gay President in American history. But contrary to what the Left will say, the narrow margin for victory in these four states offers plenty of evidence that a solid majority of Americans still opposes same-sex "marriage." Despite being outspent 8-to-1 in some of the most liberal states in the country, we witnessed record-setting petition efforts that crossed every racial, party, and socioeconomic divide. And while homosexuals may be celebrating an end to our movement's perfect record, they still have a long way to go to match the 32 states where Americans voted overwhelmingly to protect the union of a man and woman. And that includes North Carolina, where President Obama's endorsement of same-sex "marriage" likely cost him the state's electoral votes.

In a glimmer of good news on the marriage front, the support for marriage in these four states actually out-polled Mitt Romney, who won 48% of the popular vote. In the weeks and months ahead, we're confident that as voters see and experience the consequences of redefining marriage, many will reconsider their support. How can I be so certain? Forty years after Roe v. Wade, the nation is more pro-life, and the abortion issue is far from settled. As with same-sex "marriage," the Left can make it legal, but they can never make it right.

Silver linings were also hard to come by in other ballot initiatives, including marijuana (now legal in Massachusetts, Montana, Colorado, and Washington State), gambling (expanded in Maryland), a ban on taxpayer-funded abortion (rejected in Florida), and public funding of religious schools (also rejected in Florida). Although conservatives managed to pass a parental notification law in Montana with overwhelming support, block assisted suicide in Massachusetts, and repeal ObamaCare insurance mandates in Missouri, Montana, and Wyoming, the GOP's finger-pointing at social conservatives has already begun.

Fortunately, not everyone is buying it--including Matt Lewis, who wrote a great column in the Daily Caller, "The GOP needs modernization, not moderation." "Make no mistake, the GOP faces serious challenges going forward," Lewis points out. "This wasn't 'just a loss.' But that doesn't mean the party should sell out its core values, either. In many cases, reinvention means drawing a clearer contrast with liberals. The GOP probably needs to reaffirm some values. For example, it would make no sense for the GOP to abandon its role as the party of life. It would make no sense for the GOP to abandon its role as the party of individual liberty. But there must be some reevaluation."

Hopefully, part of that reevaluation will include a renewed focus on the party's conservative core. Most of Tuesday's brightest spots were victories by principled, pro-family leaders like Senator-elect Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Senator-elect Deb Fisher (R-Nebr.), Congressman-elect Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Steve King (R-Iowa), and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)--all of whom were championed by the FRC Action PAC. In two years, there will be a political opportunity to embolden and provide allies for these who stand for life, marriage, religious liberty, and limited government.

Until then, our mission is as critical as ever. It's time to get up, dust ourselves off, and trust in God's ability to work in dire situations. "Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation," writes the Psalmist, "When his breath departs he returns to earth; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord ..." (146:3-5). We do not serve victory; we serve God. And to Him, in these anxious times, we turn.

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