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Archives for June 2014

“It doesn’t matter if I vote.” Not!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014, 9:45 am | Randy Thomasson

SaveCalifornia.com provides the following solely for educational purposes
and does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

randy_thomasson Do-the-Math-logo“It doesn’t matter if I vote.”

“God’s in control — what will be will be.”

Do you believe you should always vote? It used to be that moral citizens believed voting was a sacred act before God in a proclaimed republic as ours. And voting has, for generations, been regarded as at least a duty of every patriotic citizen.

But just as Independence Day has devolved into simply a day off with fireworks and picnics, registered voters have forgotten the purpose of voting.

By now you might have heard that, after most of the counting has been done, around 25% of registered California voters actually voted in the June 3 statewide primary election.

As I wrote earlier, for immoral or irresponsible citizens, this is understandable. But this low turnout is unacceptable for moral citizens, who have bought into fuzzy thinking, laziness, faithlessness, and fatalism.

In the month before the June 3 election, I heard from people who complained that judges overturn their vote. But while corrupt judges have indeed destroyed moral ballot measures, such as Prop. 8, this has not happened with candidates. It is fuzzy thinking to claim judges will destroy your vote.

And others — stung by the defeat of moral-issue ballot campaigns and depressed by the two-thirds Democratic control of the State Legislature — utter fatalistic complaints instead of being fruitful in an election cycle. In elections, it appears that union bosses and homosexual activists have more “faith” than most pastors and churches!

An honest talk-show host told me it was such a struggle for him to vote this time. But I reminded him that if we think like losers, we will lose. And I explained why a low voter turnout expectation actually FAVORS moral virtues, if we’ll simply recognize and seize the opportunity.

How could this be, you ask? Think about it. Because when average or non-family voters have a LOW turnout and pro-family voters have a HIGH turnout, there will be victories for moral values.

It’s simple math. If there are 100 possible voters in an election cycles, and half of them actually vote in the election, my vote is 1 out of 50 or 2 percent. If 100% of registered voters go to the polls, I am 1% of the voters.

Here’s an example of 1 out of 100 voters (the highest possible voter turnout), where 1 voter has 1% influence:

1of100

Now imagine yourself in a low-turnout election where only 20% of registered voters actually cast votes. Now you are 1 of 20 voters — you are 5% of the electorate. Your influence has quintupled. It’s like having 5 votes per person!

1of20

As veteran political columnist Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee wrote this week:

Although election officials are still counting votes from the June 3 primary election – and a few contests are still in doubt – the lukewarm tenor of the Nov. 4 general election is evident, and that could be bad news for California’s dominant Democrats.

The record-low voter turnout in the primary – about 25 percent of registered voters – is very likely to be reflected in November for many of the same reasons.

The outcome of the top-of-the-ticket contest between Gov. Jerry Brown and Republican challenger Neel Kashkari is virtually certain months in advance, there’s no U.S. Senate contest, and there will be no barnburner ballot measures to motivate occasional voters.

So my question is, are you only motivated by stuff on the ballot, and are thus an “occasional voter”? Or are you motivated by God’s values, patriotism in our Republic, or one who seizes the day because you understand the math and recognize the great opportunity that a low voter turnout affords?

Choose to make a calculated difference. The outcome of many state assembly, state senate, local races, depends on pro-family voters. If you love God and love people, you will vote and vote wisely. Even if you didn’t do this in the June primary election, plan now for November — to vote wisely and use creativity to influence many others to vote wisely. Seize the day!

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote … he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”
Samuel Adams, 1722–1803 (The “Father of the American Revolution”)

“Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature.”
James Garfield, 1831–1881 (20th President of the United States)

Source

Guest-hosting the Janet Mefferd Show

Saturday, June 14, 2014, 11:25 am | Randy Thomasson

onair

It was a privilege to talk to pro-family Americans June 13 on the Janet Mefferd Show on more than 130 radio stations across the U.S.

Janet Mefferd is a very principled Christian talk host and she’s had me on as a guest several times over the years. This time, I was in the Sacramento studios of KFIA AM 710 to guest host all 3 hours  “by remote.”

Here’s what I covered during this live show:

Hour 1: A rash of school shootings — the problem, the solution
Hour 2: Unconstitutional judges vs. real marriage / “gay rights” vs. faith
Hour 3: Fathers are not fools like TV depicts / the deception of superstitions

The listeners seemed to enjoy the Christian values that I, my guests, and most callers represented.

Joanne in Montreal, Canada. who called in, said, “I really love the topic today, you’re doing a wonderful job.” Elsie in Fort Worth, Texas, said, “I’m enjoying the show, this is awesome.”

You can hear some or all of the show, archived here

I strongly believe in doing good where needed. If you appreciate the work that SaveCalifornia.com does, please support us with a helpful gift today. Thank you.

…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:15-16 NKJV

Why the election turned out like it did

Wednesday, June 4, 2014, 5:50 pm | Randy Thomasson

saveca_minute_060414_441x240
SaveCalifornia.com provides this solely for educational purposes
and does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Did enough moral conservatives turn out in the June 3 California primary election?

On the one hand, there were just enough conservatives to propel statewide Republican candidates to the first or second slot in every statewide race, except in the nonpartisan state schools chief race.

On the other hand, with only 18.3% voter turnout statewide, it’s evident that a lot of otherwise right-thinking conservatives stayed home. If they had voted and voted wisely, the deceptive Prop. 41 would have been defeated and strongly conservative candidates would have won, not lost, their primary elections.

Why did conservatives not vote in droves? It’s frustrating, because when there are no big campaign issues (Jerry Brown and the Democrat-controlled California Legislature have banned all voter-initiated ballot measures from primary elections), I still expect moral conservatives to care much more about God’s values and about what’s best for children than liberal voters.

But the last few years have taken their toll on the psyche of California conservatives. The overturning of Proposition 22 and Proposition 8 on marriage licenses, the failure of moral referendums to achieve the ballot, the power of the pro-Democrat union machine, and the 2012 elections giving Democrats 2/3rds control of the California Legislature — all have had a depressing effect.

So today, in California, the average conservative thinks like a loser, because so much has been lost. But this mindset, while understandable, is not a mature, wise, and principled perspective, but is more akin to the mindset of a frightened child or a defeated animal.

Deep down, what’s really been lost is critical thinking and the commitment to love God and love people no matter what. This is the perspective that rises above the dust and ashes and sees the truth about God, the truth about me, and the truth about evil. It’s a responsible understanding of life that goes forward in faith, hope, and love, rather than cowering in fear, self-centeredness, and despair.

Consider that if critical thinking were popular among California’s conservative voters, they would realize that, in candidate-oriented contests, their votes indeed matter and that more good votes from others will do even more good.

And what if most conservatives had not just thought about avoiding personal pain of disappointment (a main motivation for not voting), but they had done the math? For, in low turnout elections like this one, a person’s vote carries more weight mathematically. For people who want to make a difference, this election indeed was their opportunity.

Why was this critical thinking not done by conservatives this election? I believe it’s because of the emotional grip of fear. If I’m scared and depressed, it’s easy to focus only on my painful emotions and my misshapen identity. And if I don’t think of what God wants (or perhaps I confusedly think God is the cause of evil government, which is not at all biblical and is completely antithetical to God’s holy character), then I will never break through my depression, or step into the light, or gain perspective on what’s really going on or how I should really be thinking.

For every person who calls themselves “moral” has a moral code that springs from the God of the Bible, whether they know it or not. And that moral code is basically this: to do what’s right in God’s sight, and to avoid and even oppose what’s wrong.

Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, explained God’s greatest commandments in the New Testament: “‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Jesus’ Love Commandment is directly applied to our modern-day voting like this:

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”
U.S. Founding Father Samuel Adams (1722-1803)

“The Church must take the right ground in regard to politics. The time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics … God cannot sustain this free and blessed country which we love and pray for unless the Church will take right ground. Politics are a part of religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as part of their duty to God … God will bless or curse this nation according to the course Christians take in politics.” Charles Finney, leading U.S. evangelist (1792-1875)

“Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature … If the next centennial does not find us a great nation…it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.” James Garfield, 20th U.S. President (1831-1881)

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and patriot under Nazism (1906-1945)

Ultimately, if we love God and love people, we will vote and vote wisely, and do even more than that. But if we don’t vote or we vote carelessly, our love is weak. Because love is a definable word, choice, and action, the election lesson is clear: most Californians don’t truly love God or truly love people.

Love is needed so much, in order to fight the good fight and pay the price of freedom in our land. Will you rise up and get uncomfortable for the sake of liberty? Otherwise, you’re sentencing your children and grandchildren to even more uncomfortable futures.

Listen to my post-election SaveCalifornia.com Minute