Ron Paul and Thomas Jefferson

By Greg Dixon

Thomas Jefferson for President

By Marty Tate

Ok…let’s talk about the election. Take note: I want to give you some hard facts. This is NOT some impartial candidate comparison. I fully intend on telling you who I plan to vote for and who I DON’T plan to vote for and why!

Some may not like this, but I believe that as Christians we can dispense with the entire Democratic line-up immediately. The rest won’t like this: I believe that we can dispense with 99.9% of the Republican line-up as well.

Giuliani, McCain, & Romney are all Big Government, tax-and-spend, liberals in conservative’s clothes.

I really want to concentrate on two Republican candidates: Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.

Let me briefly give you some historical perspective.

If you have followed my columns over the past year, you know that without the influence of the Baptists, religious liberty as we know it would not be the reality that it is in America. Baptists had suffered under various Catholic and Protestant church/state arrangements for over 1700 years all over the world. In the First Amendment, church and state were finally divorced at the Federal level. There were some states that retained an established denomination after the ratification of the Bill of Rights, as the First Amendment only prohibits Congress from passing laws establishing religion, not states.

During the election of 1800, the “Religious Right” of that day (the established Congregationalist denomination in New England) vilified Thomas Jefferson as an infidel. The rhetoric was such that, New England housewives were seen hiding family Bibles after Jefferson’s election because they were convinced that Bibles would soon be confiscated! Baptists however supported Jefferson because they knew that he was a friend of religious liberty. Jefferson shared with the Baptists a belief in liberty of conscience for everyone, and that churches and denominations ought to be able to support themselves without levying taxes on people who did not attend their churches nor agree with their doctrines. It is from correspondence exchanged between the Baptists of Danbury Connecticut and President Jefferson that the phrase “wall of separation between church and state” was drawn.

Here is the point: Thomas Jefferson was not a Bible-believing Christian. He was, most likely a deist. But the Baptists of 1800 did not look for a Presidential candidate who could subscribe to their church’s doctrinal statement. They looked for a man who would follow the Constitution. In our Republic, the Constitution is the higher power. The Constitution puts strict limits on the Federal Government, and erects checks and balances so that no one man or party wields absolute power. That doesn’t mean that morality or religious views don’t matter. I certainly prefer to vote for a Christian, but it really doesn’t matter if a man holds all the correct theological views, if he does not govern by the Constitution. The end result will be the same as if I had voted for a candidate who was a rank unbeliever if he does not govern by the Constitution.

It is astounding today to see the lengths Christians will go to support a candidate who merely mouths all the right religious terminology! It is also astounding to see the amount of control that Christians are willing to hand over to the Federal government in the name of “protecting marriage” or some other moral issue. Christians are becoming frighteningly comfortable with government control over virtually every aspect of life and are coming to equate statism with patriotism. It has taken only 200 short years to squander the liberty that our forefathers paid for in blood!

Politically speaking, a return to Constitutional government is the only temporal hope that we have. As I have pointed out before, revival is the only real hope that we have, and I believe that the latter would bring about the former.

Former Arkansas Governor and Southern Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee has been anointed by the Religious Right as the “God” candidate. He is touted as a conservative in every sense of the word. DON’T BE FOOLED! Huckabee’s record does not match his rhetoric!

Let me give you a few facts.

Huckabee sought and received the endorsement of the radically leftist National Education Association, and while governor of Arkansas signed into law major restrictions on home schooling. The Arkansas Ethics Commission censured Huckabee 5 times in 14 years for violations including refusing to disclose the identity of donors and using public money for personal uses. When an Arkansas legislator introduced a bill to prevent illegal aliens from voting and receiving state benefits (i.e. welfare), Huckabee denounced the bill as racist and bigoted!

In a possible violation of state law, Huckabee bought office space which was sub-let to the Mexican government for $1 per year for a consulate for the purpose of drawing illegal aliens to the state to work low paying jobs.

Huckabee claims to be for fewer taxes, but a report by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration showed a net increase of $505 million during his tenure as governor. From 1996 to 2004 state spending increased over 65%, the number of state employees increased over 20%, and the state’s debt increased $1 Billion! Huckabee recently spoke before the globalist Council on Foreign Relations, and subsequently named the president of the CFR Richard Haass as his foreign policy advisor. Haass is an open advocate of global government.

Folks, there is only one way to put it: Huckabee is a liberal!

Thankfully there is a refreshing alternative! That alternative is Ron Paul!

Ron Paul’s political philosophy is that of limited constitutional government and individual freedom and responsibility. Paul has been described as the only true Jeffersonian in Congress. As such, that is why I believe that he deserves the support of Christians in the same way that Jefferson received the support of Baptists 200 years ago.

Ten-term Congressman Ron Paul of Texas is well known by colleagues and constituents as a man of impeccable character. All attempts to smear Ron Paul’s reputation have failed. Ron Paul freely confesses Jesus Christ as his Saviour, but unlike other politicians he doesn’t use that to pander for the evangelical vote. Dr. Paul is an OB/GYN who also served as a Flight Surgeon in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard. Dr. Paul has been married to his wife Carol for 50 years. They have five children and 18 grandchildren.

In 20 years in Congress Dr. Paul has:

Never voted to raise taxes.

Never voted for an unbalanced budget.

Never voted to raise congressional pay.

Never taken a government paid junket.

Never taken one penny from a lobbyist!

Never participated in the lucrative congressional pension program.

Consistently returned surplus money from his office operating budget to the treasury.

A Ron Paul Presidency will:

End the IRS and the Income Tax! Stop unconstitutional spending leading us to bankruptcy. Stop the financial dependency on China, Saudi Arabia, and other foreign governments. Oppose trade deals and groups that threaten American independence and sovereignty such as, the UN, NAFTA, WTO, CAFTA, and ICC. Protect individual liberty and constitutional rights by stopping the National ID card and ending the “Patriot” Act. Bring our troops home, and return to the Founder’s philosophy of free trade and avoidance of entangling alliances with foreign governments. Repeal unconstitutional gun control laws.

The issue of abortion is very important to us as Christian voters. Ron Paul is the only consistent pro-life candidate in the race. In over 40 years as an OB/GYN Dr. Paul never considered performing an abortion. He has delivered over 4000 babies, and has testified that he has never seen one instance in which it would be necessary to perform an abortion to save the life of the mother.

In every legislative term, Congressman Paul has introduced legislation to define life as beginning at conception, prevent federal funds from being used for abortion, and to negate the effect of Roe v. Wade in the court. All to no avail, as none of the other “pro-life” congressmen have supported these bills.

Many people ask, “Is Ron Paul a viable candidate?” The answer is: only if you vote for him. Ron Paul has proved his viability in the early primaries by consistently finishing ahead of some who are considered “top-tier” candidates. Paul has set fund-raising records when other candidates were strapped for cash. Interestingly enough, Ron Paul receives more money from active and retired military personnel than any other candidate.

For many years we have bought into the deadly philosophy of voting for the “lesser of two evils.” This philosophy plays on fear. Instead of voting on principle, we hold our nose and vote for someone, in the fear that if we don’t vote for someone who at least as a shot at winning, we might end up with a really bad choice. This has facilitated a consistent move to the left by both parties over the last 40-50 years. We need to stop voting for the lesser of two evils and vote for the greater good of the country.

Do I agree with Ron Paul’s position on every issue? No.

Do I believe that a Ron Paul presidency will immediately put America right? No. It will take a lot more than the brief presidency of one man, but we have to start somewhere.

Let’s face it: the reason we are in the mess we are in (politically speaking) is because our Constitution has been absolutely ignored for decades by all three branches of government, regardless of party affiliation.

See, when you look at the record of the two parties you will find very little actual difference. Republicans and Democrats are taking America down the same road, and it is the road to ultimate national destruction. Only a return to strict Constitutional government will avert the complete dissolution of our national sovereignty through globalism. Only a return to strict Constitutionalism in terms of monetary policy and taxation will put our economy and currency back on sound footing. Only a return to strict Constitutionalism will get the Federal Leviathan out of the lives of the American people. Only a return to strict Constitutionalism will de-fang the burgeoning police state.  Only a return to strict Constitutionalism will return us to true strength and liberty.

Go Ron Paul!

The following article by Marty Tate which was also submitted to the January 2008 Conservative Standard has been used by permission. Marty is a home-schooling father of seven, business owner, and pastor of Peaceful Valley Baptist Church (unregistered) in Rising Fawn, Georgia. I felt that the article was so important that I wanted our Freedom’s Phoenix readers to have an opportunity to read Pastor Tate’s perspective on the election of 2008.

 

Contact Marty Tate at:

61 Stave Mill Rd

Dunlap, TN 37327

dmtate@bledsoe.net