Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Friday, Family Research Council Action released a new voter tool that provides values voters with in-depth information about federal elections in all 50 states, as well as statewide races in nine states.
The iVoter Guide rates the candidates in each race tracked by FRC Action on a scale of "very conservative," "conservative," "somewhat conservative," "moderate," "somewhat liberal," "liberal," and "very liberal." The information was compiled using legislative vote ratings, campaign finance data, virtual vote ratings, endorsements from around 300 liberal and conservative organizations, and candidate issue surveys to determine how each candidate would potentially govern given publically available data.
Values voters in all 50 states can search their candidates by state and district, find their polling locations, and share their research with others. Additionally, the information is available for statewide races in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
"Conservatives can't afford to sit back and watch their country go over the edge with four more years of ultraliberal policies under a Hillary Clinton presidency, a Democratic controlled House and Senate and Democratic controlled state level governments," FRC president Tony Perkins said. "For America, this cannot be an election about two people running for president. It's about two fundamentally different visions for our country at the national and state levels."
Perkins said polling has shown "how razor-thin the margin of victory may be," he added. With a deeply divided nation, just one vote can make the difference—and the outcome of the election will have "a major impact on the future of religious liberty, family values, sanctity of life, and the Supreme Court."
"In 2012, there were 39 million voting-eligible Christians who did not vote," he said. "As we travel the nation, we are telling values voters this is not a time to stand on the sidelines. If we, as values voters, do not stand up and exercise our freedoms now, we may lose them tomorrow."
Perkins said FRC Action plans to finish distributing more than 4 million election guides prior to Election Day.
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I’m a good Christian, and I’m leading with Evangelicals. And I wanna tell you something... Christianity is being chipped away in this country. It’s being chipped away at, and I’m not gonna let this happen. You know, I was with a whole roomful of 50 pastors, ministers - great people. Some of whom I knew pretty well, and some I don’t. And I said to them “let me ask you a question. How many Christians, evangelicals, but mainly just Christians, do we have in this country.”
And they were saying “maybe 250 million, maybe 260 million.” I said “so that’s more than we have women. It’s more than we have men. It’s by far the biggest group. Then why aren’t you banding together and getting the kinds of things you want? When people talk about a temporary ban on Muslims until we find out what is going on there is total outrage. When people talk about Christians and Christianity, there’s no outrage. There’s no Outrage.
I said “let me ask you,” and these are great believers, these are great people, these are strong people, smart people. I said “Why is it,” and I think I really found something that’s very important for all of us. I said “Why is it, that you people don’t have a stronger lobby?”
During Lindon Johnson's term as president, they passed something where the tax deduction is under siege if these pastors do anything that’s a little bit off, okay. So they’re gonna lose tax exempt status, right? And I said “wait a minute, that’s right, that’s the answer.” I figured, you know I’m a pretty smart guy, I figure things out pretty quickly. So as soon as they mentioned that I said, “that’s it.”
I was in Trump tower, I pointed down to the side-walk. There were people walking on the side-walk. I said “so those people walking on the side-walk are more powerful than you people in the clergy, the pastors, the ministers, the priests, the people in the clergy? They’re more powerful?” They said, “that’s right.” I said “not gonna happen anymore.” We’re gonna get rid of that thing. I want Christianity to have a strong flavor. Why did we ever pass such a law?
And it’s so important. I mean, really, they’ve shut Christianity down. And these pastors are great people but they’re afraid. For instance, some people came up to me, “Mr Trump, I love you, you’re the best, you’re gonna be the greatest leader, I wanna endorse you. I’m endorsing you, but I’m not allowed to do it publicly because if I do it publicly I may lose, for the church, the tax exempt status.”
So they’re really being silenced, and we can’t let that happen. We can’t let that happen. I don’t care about the endorsement. They’re really being silenced. We can’t let that happen. We’re not gonna let it happen. And we’re gonna get that law repealed. And think of the power we have over the democrats, over the republicans. I mean the power is incredible. So we’re gonna get that taken care of, and we’re gonna be back.
And I’ll tell you what, come Christmas time, we’re gonna all be in these department stores that don’t have “Merry Christmas” and we’re gonna see “Merry Christmas” right in those stores, right? They don’t put it up anymore. We’re gonna see “Merry Christmas” at the department stores again, folks. You go into these stores, you don’t even see “Merry Christmas” anymore. You say, why? Why? The store owners and the big companies especially, like Macy’s which is extremely a very disloyal company.
But these big companies they don’t wanna use it because it’s not politically correct. It’s gonna be not politically correct not to put it up, you watch. You watch. You watch. So we’re gonna be saying merry Christmas again.
So I told you, they’re chipping away at Christianity, and they’re chipping away at the second amendment. Every year chip chip chip!
It made no headlines, but wound around a wooden spool and bound with red fabric in the official government fashion of the day, the scroll depicted in this picture was determined to be a petition of signatures presented to Congress in 1881. (Courtesy)
How Lou Engle's 'Anna Call' Could Shift America Before the Election
A prophetic picture arrived in my email last week. Captured only a few weeks ago in our nation's National Archives, the photo reveals a small but remarkable discovery. It made no headlines, but wound around a wooden spool and bound with red fabric in the official government fashion of the day, the scroll depicted in this picture was determined to be a petition of signatures presented to Congress in 1881. Such directly submitted petitions were almost never read or acted upon. Instead, they remained "bound" with red tape, often tabled indefinitely. Worse, faced with frigid D.C. winters, clerks frequently used them for firewood.
But not this one.
This one is marked with 32,000 signatures from citizens who were interceding on behalf of Native Americans for the pain and many injustices they had endured. In this photo, you are looking at 135-years of unanswered prayer; bound, yes, but also preserved. And now, rediscovered.
Written inside, the petition states that "by unanimous consent ... 32,000 citizens of the United States" were "praying (for) Congressional legislation to prevent the encroachment of white settlers on Indian reservations, and that the treaties with the Indians be faithfully executed."
A Sign of Governmental Shift for the Native Soul of Our Land?
While prayers uttered in 1881 may seem lost to time, the courts of heaven forget nothing. Bowls of intercession fill and, eventually, spill. For a legislative document of public prayer to come to light amidst a resurgence of hope touching dozens of native reservations is nothing less than a divine oracle—if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. In 1975, Dr. Billy Graham declared that the native peoples were a mighty, sleeping giant. But, he said, "You are now awakening! Just around the corner you may become a spiritual superpower in this country that could change not only America, but the world!"
We believe a new chapter is about to open that is both necessary for America and good for the native tribes who have suffered. Gathering from across the entire North American continent, on behalf of Lou Engle, TheCall, myself and Chasity Sandoval of All Nations North America, I want to invite you to meet with us for three days in a spirit of humble, bold, expectant prayer. Even now, keys are being granted to open long-closed doors.
The ANNA Call is a gathering of the Body of Christ to historic Tahlequah, OK, the tragic terminus of forced relocation known as the Trail of Tears. Here, tribes from the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida were uprooted from their homes and sent on a death march. Thousands perished. Tahlequah is emblematic of the deep and varied griefs carried by countless tribes in their collective soul, spread across many territories and generations. It is only one of many scars on the land.
Led by natives, we will gather and unite at the Pow Wow grounds of the Cherokee Nation, October 7-9, 2016. There we will seek to unbind—to reverse the curse. In many ways, from Tahlequah, we will bend the bow of our intercession and aim straight for origin points in North Carolina as part of an overall strategy of revival. A multi-faceted prophetic storyline is unfolding in this hour. We believe the same trajectory of broken covenant can be reformed into a "Trail of Blessing and Hope" instead.
The native tribes of the land are deep in the Father's heart. From the healing miracles of Coma Lee, the native intercessor renamed Azusa (which we believe may have set the stage, in part, for the historic Azusa Outpouring of 1906), to the recent gathering in Los Angeles at AzusaNow, the story of "Native Destiny" continues to press upon us. Where sin has abounded, grace abounds even more.
That means The ANNA Call is positioned as a hinge, a door of invitation, by which native peoples can release keys—reconciled brotherhood and the heritage of peace—like a salve upon the plagues of division in our nation. For this reason, to honor our native brothers and sisters, from Los Angeles in 2016 to Azusa East in Charlotte, 2017, we feel we must pass through Tahlequah for the full release of God's purpose.
Cutting the Red Tape of Prayer for Revival
Which brings us back to the great backlog of prayer and reconciliation efforts over decades and even centuries. With a massive, unanswered governmental petition suddenly brought to light just weeks before our gathering, could we dare to put in motion our own legislative prayer cry that finally cuts that red tape and releases the bound-up history of native pain? Could the cries and prayers of Native tribes, for hundreds of years, along with the genuine love and steady, unsung intercessions of American settlers on behalf of our native brothers, finally be poised for an answer?
For two years this solemn convocation has been building momentum. Living out of a green van, burdened with prayer and traveling among countless villages, reservations and native communities across the North American continent, Chasity and other young native leaders have spread the word that a great, sacred assembly was coming in 2016. Elders have been summoned. In the process, the Spirit of God has already begun moving mightily with healing, restoration and revival.
From the Mashpee Wapanaog Tribe in Massachusetts, to revival among the Crow in Montana, the sleeping giant has begun to awaken. From the mighty Seminole of Florida to the federally unrecognized Ohlone Tribe of Northern California, we are seeing dreams and visions of friendship emerge from within the tribes—no longer "us" and "them," but Christ in all. From Alaska, to Quebec, to the Navajo and Apache lands across the American southwest, a new man is rising from the ashes. He is neither red, nor yellow, nor black, nor white. He is every tribe and tongue submitted to the cross of Christ, who bore all our pain that we might live in unity together.
Taken as a symbol, the scroll of prayer in our National Archives tells an important truth, that prayers never die. Intercessions never cease. And so, in this moment of divine synergy, we are believing ancient prayers and recent prophecies are about to break loose among the native peoples in extraordinary fashion. Even now, the curse of the past is being broken as the Lord Himself makes all things new. This will be our appeal to the everlasting covenant-keeping God of heaven. Everyone is invited.
We call all who carry a heart for the promise of total reconciliation in Christ, even between historic enemies, even in the midst of covenant breaking. In particular, we urge the new breed of young Nazarite among the native tribes: Make this journey! Take your stand with us. Lead us as we appeal to heaven together.
The ANNA Call is not a symbolic gesture. It is about closing doorways of accusation across our land between people groups who claim Jesus as Lord. It's not glamorous, it's necessary. It's not a feast, it's a fast. Come shape history with us in prayer.
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A member of the U.S. Republican party's election campaign team in Israel wears a badge of Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump during a campaign aimed at potential American voters living in Israel. (REUTERS/Baz Ratner)
How will the Left accomplish their final "reset" for America?
The winner of this election will have the power to appoint 3 or 4 more Supreme Court Justices. To use a J.R.R. Tolkien analogy, this is the "one ring to rule them all." The winner has power to protect our constitutional freedoms or alter the meaning of the Constitution and punish, prosecute and persecute the opposition for the next 40 years. If Democrats win, the court will be this rubber stamp behind the radical "reset."
As Hugh Hewitt, a professor of Law and media commentator, says:
"Every issue, EVERY issue, will end up there, and the legislature's judgments will matter not a bit. So vote for Hillary Clinton (or sit it out) and then prepare for the deluge of court-ordered solutions to every social problem, bench-drawn congressional districts and extraordinary deference to every agency of the federal government combined with a sweeping away of federalism."
This Election Gives the Victor the Ultimate Spoils
Traditional Judeo Christian morality doesn't exist. It has been replaced by the moral relativism that judge's morality itself. This is the ultimate spoils of the culture wars—the power to define the meaning of words. Hence, the meaning of "marriage" and "gender" already changed, are just the beginning of a whole new vocabulary. Soon freedom of speech itself will fall under the scornful branding of "hate speech." Sound unrealistic? Watch what a progressive Supreme Court comes up with for laws!
Spiritual warfare is all about whose version of reality becomes manifest on the Earth. Christians are about to make a big mistake in this election cycle if they buy into the wrong narrative about Trump. Our choice is now Soros or Cyrus.
Trump Up Close
My first meeting with Trump was Dec. 30, 2015, in the boardroom on the 26th floor of Trump Towers, which is in fact quite a grand facility. The building is an impressive architectural marvel whose entrance merges marble and brass into a fusion resembling the grandeur of a great Cathedral with the bling of a Las Vegas Casino.
Most of those attending did not know each other personally prior to the meeting. It was a rather eclectic sampling of evangelicals, a group within the larger self-described "Christian" community that makes up nearly 30 percent of the American population—some 30 million potential voters.
It is not easily noticed on TV, but Trump is a big guy, and I don't just mean in terms of personality. He is physically tall—at 6 foot, 3 inches and then add heels and hair and he grows another inch.
His personal style is more restrained than the person you see on a platform or in an interview. He was gracious, non-confrontational, and surprisingly open to "give and take."
I got the impression that Trump takes in information quickly but filters it equally fast to distinguish one idea from another. It's an executive skill I've noticed in CEOs in whatever field I meet them. They are avid fact finders with a built in filter that separates superficial ideas from ideas with substance. He seems to be the same way with people. As individuals spoke, he was reading them and weighing their relative power within the group.
Things Got Tense
A Messianic Rabbi sitting near me said, "Your comments don't always represent you in the best light. People want to know you have a presidential temperament. They want to know that you are a person they can trust with a finger on a nuclear button." Trump perched his lips in characteristic fashion, nodded thoughtfully, and said, "I hear you." When the conversation turned to some of the more heated exchanges of the campaign, Trump explained, "You know, people aren't aware of what is coming at me ... what I am responding to. Like the storm that broke out when I took a stand on immigration. It can get pretty vicious. You don't always know the back-story. I can say this, I never punch indiscriminately. I'm a counter puncher ... but I fully hear what you are saying. I know where you're coming from."
Several of us exchanged glances. There was no denial and no need to drill deeper on the subject. Equally, there was no flippant or disingenuous commitment to change. He would do as occasion required—till he clinched the nomination. After that? He will do as occasion requires to win.
Bishop Darrell Scott of Ohio spoke up, "I wouldn't change a thing. Be you and keep being consistent. That's what people like about you. You're not playing politics."
Trump looked around the boardroom table and laughed. "So you're saying, 'Don't change?' Well, that's interesting!" Darrell replied, "Right! People would see you change they would know it isn't you. You would start to look political and that would make you look like everyone else. Just BE YOU!"
The Gospel in Black and White: A Different Sample of Evangelicals
One significant difference between this meeting and Trump's earlier encounter with Iowa evangelicals was the presence of a number of African-American ministers in the room. Almost to a man they described to me the backlash they encountered for even being willing to meet with a Republican. It was interesting to watch the interaction. In fact, some of the men present ended up on the Republican platform in Cleveland.
Pastor Darrell continued: "I came here with an open mind. To my way of thinking there are three branches of government: Legislative, Executive and Judicial. You are clearly gifted for the Executive Branch. That's what you do." Scott believes that Trump will deal with the problem of 50 percent unemployment for inner city youth in a manner much different than either Democrats or Republicans in the past. Scott believes Trump is interested in America, not party politics.
The Conversation Took an Interesting Turn
As our meeting continued I was surprised to find that Trump actually knew some of the preachers and teachers in the room, not because he had met them but because he had watched their TV programs. Media is one of his domains. He is very much dialed in on all sorts of TV programing—including Christian Programing.
Trump casually shared, "I was going around the dial last night and ran into 'Politically Incorrect.'" This is the popular left wing HBO talk show hosted by comedian Bill Maher. "It's amazing how antagonistic they are about people of faith. It was painful to watch ... wasn't always like this in America" Trump said. Turning to Jan Crouch of TBN, he asked, "This seems to have been going on for a while hasn't it?" We all agreed.
"It's open season on Christians in particular" someone added.
Then Trump Dropped the Line I Will Never Forget!
Trump scanned the room and said: "I think we had such a long period of Christian consensus in our culture and we kind of got...spoiled. Is that the right word?" Then he turned the tables on us and said something shocking: "Every other ideological group in the country has a voice. If you don't mind me saying so, you guys have gotten soft." Ouch! That's the line I won't forget. Then in a moment of reflection he corrected himself, "I mean, we, myself included, we've had it easy as Christians for a long time in America. That's been changing." From Trump's perspective, Christian leaders are a people living in fear of having opinions. Subsequent to this meeting he proposed lifting the Lyndon Johnson ban on churches discussing politics that hangs like an IRS sword over the heads of churches in America. The truth is, even with it lifted, pastors fear offending their flock.
What he said next may have been lost on others but it hit me in a particularly striking way. He added, "People who identify themselves as 'Christian' make up probably the single largest constituency in the country, but there is absolutely no unity, no punch ... not in political consensus or any other area I can see."
When the meeting broke up, I went home feeling certain there was some sort of anointing on this man but couldn't get my head wrapped around where he fit. Nor could I figure out the purpose for me being in that meeting.
That was when the next unexpected download hit me!
Trump the 45th President
I was updating some random social media activity when I ran across a simple PowerPoint showing Trump seated in the oval office with the words "Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States." The image made a peculiar impression on my mind. I was dazed. Literally no one was thinking this would be a possibility but I was sensing that this was more than some random Facebook meme; it was a prophetic picture. It struck me the same way the "wrecking ball" word did. The Spirit impressed upon my mind "read Isaiah 45."
To be honest, I didn't recall what the chapter was about. I opened a Bible and began to read "Thus sayeth the Lord to Cyrus whom I've anointed." Cyrus, I thought? Who is he in relation to all this? I recalled that he was a heathen king who was indispensable to the protection of the Jews but was frankly confused as to what God was saying.
With 15 candidates running, many who were clear conservative evangelicals, why would God be talking about Cyrus? I quickly looked up the number of the next president. I confirmed that Barack Obama is number 44. The next president will indeed be number 45. I kept reading Isaiah 45.
'Cyrus My Anointed'
Nearly 150 years before Cyrus' birth, God declared through the prophet Isaiah that a foreign man, a non Jew named "Cyrus" would be the anointed shepherd of his people and rebuild Jerusalem, beginning in the first phase with the house of the Lord.
Regarding Cyrus, Isaiah the prophet says:
"This says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whom I have seized by the right, to subdue nations before him. Yes, I will open the loins of kings, to open the two-leaved doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before you and make hills level; I will tear apart the bronze doors and cut the iron bars in two" (Is. 45:1-13).
He wasn't a Jew and he wasn't from the line of David, but God elevated this foreigner and called him, "My anointed." When Isaiah described Cyrus as the Lord's "anointed" the word in Hebrew denotes a person specifically chosen and set apart for a specific task. It never occurred to me that God anoints secular leaders who are not part of the faith community. But then again how else would you describe Cyrus, Churchill, Lincoln or even Reagan?
Notice also that God promised to intervene and help Cyrus "break open" and even conquer (i.e., make many hills level and to bring things down to size). What a gift that would be to our 19 Trillion-dollar deficit!
The Cyrus Effect!
Cyrus did something powerful. He ended a period of spiritual captivity and deterioration. He opened a gate in heaven to all the prophecies and prayers that were stored up in heaven over Jerusalem. The commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem starts with the decree of Cyrus recorded in Ezra 1:1-4. The word starts with rebuilding the house of the Lord. It was this "Cyrus decree" that worked its way through King Darius and King Artaxerxes till Nehemiah engaged his task to build the wall surrounding Jerusalem. We've got prayers for America still stored up and waiting for release!
These two phases "the house" and "the wall" should make believers stop and wonder. This is a direct promise touching the church and restoration of society. The controversy over "building the wall" in current-day politics is more symbolic than people think. What do walls represent in the Bible? Proverbs 25:28 says "He who has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls." America has become a nation without walls, a nation without self government. We are out of control fiscally and physically on our borders. It reminds me of the prophetic statement of Lincoln who warned that no foreign power would destroy us: "No, if destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide."
I believe this wrecking ball is sent to break the spell and stop the death spiral. The Cyrus anointing will build and restore.
Dr. Lance Wallnau is a catalytic thought leader. An internationally recognized speaker and business consultant, he is one of the premiere speakers on the subject of cultural transformation and the seven mountains. He delivers his message of transformation with relevance, wit and intensity.
The views expressed in this article reflect the views of Lance Wallnau personally. They do not reflect the views of Lance Wallnau Ministries.
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!
Has God called you to be a leader? Ministry Today magazine is the source that Christian leaders who want to serve with passion and purpose turn to. Subscribe now and receive a free leadership book.
It’s official. The current government in Israel is dissolving. An early election has been set for March 17, 2015. The nation is about to be plunged into yet another season of political campaigning.
The question on the minds of just about everyone is who benefits most from this move, and, equally important, who thinks they will benefit, but might be sorely mistaken?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu triggered the early election process by firing the two leading left-wing ministers in his cabinet - Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni - in hopes that going to the polls would deliver a less fractious 20th Knesset, enabling him to form a government that, in Netanyahu’s words, doesn’t include an “internal opposition.”
Surveys conducted by Channel 2 News and Channel 10 News shortly before Netanyahu’s announcement showed that most Israelis blamed the prime minister for the early elections, but that a plurality of voters would choose his Likud party in the upcoming poll.
According to both surveys, Likud will win 22 seats in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset in March, making it easily the largest party. Next would be the right-wing Jewish Home faction with 17 seats, followed by the left-wing Labor Party (13), a new right-wing party headed by former Likud heavyweight Moshe Kahlon (12), and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu faction with either 10 or 12 seats.
Lapid’s Yesh Atid party is predicted to fall from 19 to just nine seats, while Livni’s Hatnua faction will win just four mandates, barely passing the 3.25 threshold to make it into the Knesset.
If those numbers hold true, Netanyahu might get his wish of being able to form a majority coalition made up of only right-leaning parties that largely share his views on issues ranging from the peace process to economic reforms.
There is much speculation that Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett had a hand in bringing about the early election given that he and his party stand to gain the most. Jewish Home is the only party predicted to grow by more than 50 percent, and Bennett could then make a strong case for demanding the position of defense minister, putting him on track to one day take the prime minister’s chair.
Those on the left see a different outcome.
“The state of Israel isn’t stuck with Bibi anymore,” declared Labor MK Stav Shafir, referring to Netanyahu by his popular nickname.
Shafir continued by calling on left-wing voters: “This is our chance, the democratic camp in Israel led by the Labor party, to show that it is possible to do things differently. This is our time to bring the change that the public in Israel wants so badly.”
Earlier in the week, Shafir’s boss, Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog, insisted that despite the current poll numbers, he will be the next prime minister of Israel. “I think today it is clear that I present an alternative to [Netanuahu],” he told Channel 10. “I believe I’ll lead the next government.”
Further afield, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he hoped that whatever government comes next will help advance his own failed efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a failure that Kerry and the Obama Administration largely blame on Netanyahu.
Last, and certainly least, is Hamas, which tried to connect the dissolution of the Knesset to the summer’s Gaza war, even though security issues played little-to-no role in the disputes between Netanyahu, Lapid and Livni.
“The collapse of the Israeli coalition is another example of our victory and of Netanyahu’s defeat in Gaza,” declared ever-informative Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
PHOTO: The 19th Knesset votes unanimously for its own dissolution. (Flash90)
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WASHINGTON -- Pro-life groups were cheered by the wave of allies swept into office Tuesday night.
"Tonight's overwhelming victory for pro-life candidates signals the fact that the bottom has fallen out of the abortion-centered 'war on women' strategy," Marjorie Dannenfelser, head of the Washington-based, pro-life group The Susan B. Anthony List, said Tuesday evening.
The SBA List and its partner Women Speak Out PAC spent $5 million on five key Senate races. They saw outright victory in four of them: Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and North Carolina. And it's predicted they'll also see a victory in the other state they targeted, Louisiana, when Republican Bill Cassidy faces off against Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu in a run-off next month.
The SBA List's communications director Mallory Quiqley told CBN News the group is particularly pleased with the ascendancy of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell to the post of senate majority leader.
Some conservatives have worried McConnell may act like a mushy moderate and basically 'Romneyize' the Senate. And they fear that could so displease Americans they'll basically spew the lukewarm Republican Party from its positions of power and not give it a presidential victory in 2016.
But Quiqley points out McConnell has a 100 percent pro-life voting record. And he's promised to bring up the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act for Senate action soon. If it becomes law, it would basically ban most abortions after the fifth month of pregnancy.
A number of House victories Tuesday night will also add strength to the already large pro-life ranks in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Israeli officials down, but not out over Obama win
Wednesday, November 07, 2012 | Ryan Jones
Israel Today magazine
Israeli government officials belonging to the ruling right-wing parties had a difficult time hiding their disappointment over Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential election, but remained determined to keep Israel-US ties tight and secure.
Deputy Knesset Speaker Danny Danon, a rising start in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, offered his congratulations to Obama, but said it was important to remember the incumbent American president had not been good to Israel during his first term.
"It is my hope, and that of many Israelis, that the president resets his course relating to Israel and our region for the next four years," Danon said. "Rather than dictating ill-advised policies that endanger the well-being of America's only true ally in the Middle East, now is the time for President Obama to return to the wise and time-honored policy of 'zero daylight' between our respective nations."
Danon said it was long past time for Obama to visit Israel, something he conspicuously avoided during his first term.
Knesset Member Arieh Eldad of the National Union Party insisted Obama was "the most hostile president to Israel in recent decades" and cautioned that his reelection would not bode well for the Jewish state.
Netanyahu himself only thinly veiled his preference for challenger Mitt Romney to win the election in the months leading up to the poll.
But Netanyahu's former bureau chief, Uri Elitzur, wrote that the lack of chemistry between Netanyahu and Obama may not be a bad thing for Israel.
"It is not healthy for Israel to be in a situation in which the president of the United States is hugging our prime minister and pouring love on him," explained Elitzur. "When a big and small figure are good friends, the small one fulfills every request of the big one because it is unpleasant to refuse him."
On the other hand, Elitzur pointed out, "when a big figure and small figure carry out negotiations in an atmosphere of distance and reservations, it is easier for the small figure to take a stand, defer proposals, make conditions and sometimes refuse."
Looking at the recent history of US-Israel relations as regards the peace process, for instance, Elitzur's analysis makes sense.
It was Bill Clinton, who had great chemistry with both Israeli leaders and the public, who hoisted the doomed "Oslo Accords" on the Jewish state, and it was George W. Bush, the Israel-supporting Evangelical Christian, who presided over Israel's ill-fated surrender of the Gaza Strip.
JERUSALEM, Israel -- A new poll released Thursday by The Times of Israel revealed that at least 45 percent of Israelis favor Republican candidate Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama.The poll, conducted by Smith Consulting for Israel Radio, showed that 29 percent support Obama.
Meanwhile, a survey by IVoteIsrael, a nonprofit that helps Israelis with dual citizenship vote by absentee ballot, revealed that 85 percent of Israeli-American voters cast their ballot for Romney, while 14.3 percent voted for Obama.
At a press conference Thursday, IVoteIsrael national director Elie Pieprz said some 80,000 American voters from 49 states voted absentee through the organization, which he called "an unprecedented increase in voter participation from the 20,000 or so who voted in 2008."
According to Pieprz, these voters could potentially impact the swing states of Florida and Ohio, with some 7,500 registered in Florida, 3,500 in Ohio and another 3,500 in Pennsylvania.
Nearly half the respondents of the IVoteIsrael survey identified themselves as national religious, while 22 percent described themselves as ultra-Orthodox.
"This is very consistent with what we are anticipating," Abraham Katsman with Republicans Abroad Israel, said, calling the percentage "slightly higher than we expected."
According to Katsman, the survey "probably reflects a stronger enthusiasm on the part of people who are voting either for Romney or against Obama."
But IVoteIsrael's many detractors in the media claim its connection to Jewish philanthropist Ron Lauder, a Republican who supports Romney, proves it's a partisan organization and therefore in violation of its 501(c)(4) status.
Pieprz rejected the allegations outright, saying IVoteIsrael is a service provider, not a clandestine advocacy group.
"The accusation that we're acting secretly [as Republicans] is problematic and disenfranchising people," Pieprz said, adding that IVoteIsrael is "only partisan for Israel," The Jerusalem Post reported.
Meanwhile, Hillel Schenker, acting chairman of Democrats Abroad Israel, told The Times of Israel the representative voter survey was "very slanted and extremely partial."
Schenker accused IVoteIsrael of setting up its polling stations in areas where "mainly Orthodox Jews" reside, such as the Gush Etzion settlement bloc and Jerusalem.
The Times added that "some of its [IVoteIsrael] key staffers have right-wing political backgrounds and the nonprofit behind the campaign has ties to right-leaning U.S.-Jewish billionaire Ronald Lauder."
Lauder, who also serves as president of the World Jewish Congress, has been criticized from both sides of the political spectrum, not the least for his support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his policies, including the controversial two-state solution.
Romney seeks Christian vote with support for Israel
Monday, June 18, 2012 | Ryan Jones
US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Saturday committed himself to staunchly supporting Israel in its showdown with Iran should he win November's election against President Barack Obama.
"I would make it very clear that for us, as well as for them, it is unacceptable for Iran to become a nuclear nation," Romney told a Christian political gathering in Pennsylvania, where he accused Obama of being "more frightened that Israel might take military action than he is concerned that Iran might become nuclear."
The unequivocal declarations of support for Israel were seen as an effort to boost Romney's elect-ability among conservative Christians, a segment of Republican voters with which Romney is unpopular with due to his Mormon faith.
In related news, the results of a survey published this week showed that a 70 percent majority of Israelis view America as a strong and reliable ally, and 91 percent fully believe that if Israel were facing an immediate existential threat, the US would come to her aid.
On the other hand, a growing number of Israelis do not trust Obama. Only 38 percent of Israelis said they have a positive view of Obama, while 23 percent do not like the US president at all. The rest responded with a neutral stance.
Should Romney succeed in his White House bid, 30 percent of Israelis believe the Republican will improve US-Israel relations, while 26 percent see relations remaining the same as they are today. Only 6 percent felt Romney would be worse for Israel than Obama.
The survey was carried out by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, the Bar-Ilan University Center for International Communication, and the Anti-Defamation League.
