By Rev. Ted Pike
In a moment of high political drama last Thursday, the President informed the House of Representatives that if Congress passed the hate crimes bill they were gathered to debate, his top advisors recommended he veto it. His warning reassured frightened lovers of freedom that, regardless of the actions of headstrong Democrats, our Commander in Chief could bring the hate bill to nothing.
Bush powerfully explained his opposition to the hate bill. His words showed that he’s well-informed about H. R. 1592’s redundancy and dangers. His explanation is probably similar to what he said as governor of Texas, when he vetoed the Anti-Defamation League’s state hate law.
Despite the president’s reassuring promise, disturbing questions remain. During his first term as president, Bush said he would approve “modified” hate crime legislation. So we have to wonder whether he’ll approve a “modified” federal hate law now.
What would a “modified” hate bill look like? By 2003 the hate bill suffered three defeats at the hands of Republicans. So its advocates offered a compromise: they would “modify” the hate bill. Up to that point, Sen. Orrin Hatch had steadfastly opposed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Yet he accepted the Democrats’ compromise and soon made a stunning announcement: he now supported the hate bill! He said it had been “modified” to ease his primary fear, that no checks and balances were available against rampant hate crime indictments from the federal government. The “modified” bill required that the federal government take no action without approval from the U.S. attorney general and his or her subordinates; Hatch, satisfied with compromise, joined with Sen. Edward Kennedy in promoting hate bill passage in the Senate.
But if a president as corrupt as Bill Clinton appoints an attorney general of the same character, like Janet Reno, then Hatch’s supposed check on federal power is useful as a Kleenex in a flood. Instead, Hatch blathered that America “should grow up and pass the hate bill.”
In the months following 2004 passage of the Kennedy-Hatch hate crimes amendment in the Senate, Hatch sobered and returned to opposition of the federal hate crimes legislation. He must have realized he had been carried away by a superficial “modification” without freedom-saving substance. In fact, the new ADL hate bill was even worse than the original! It allowed the federal government to intervene in hate crime trials whenever it didn’t approve of the verdict. It also granted federal jurisdiction for any felony or violent crime in the nation, not just hate crimes!
What do we learn from the snookering of Hatch? It could happen again. ADL, desperate to finally pass their dream legislation, could well offer Bush the “modified” version he once said he would pass.
But however ADL and the Democrats might prune a modified bill, it will still contain their poisonous essentials. First, it will include the terms of the original 1969 federal hate bill. This empowers the government to prosecute anyone who attempts to verbally “intimidate” a homosexual away from enjoyment of privileges or professions (including as a clergyman, Scout leader or P.E. coach) he desires. Second, it will include establishment of a bias-motivated justice system in America, where bias motivating a crime (such as refusal to rent an apartment to a homosexual or hire him as a youth director in your church) becomes justification for federal prosecution in the states. Lastly, even a modified bill will unify federal and state jurisdiction in law enforcement. This is the definition of a police state.
Time to Relax?
After the president’s warning of a veto, visits to our website fell by half. Clearly, many concerned Americans think they can relax now that the president has promised to intervene. They think the hate bill crisis is over.
I disagree. I suspect the only reason Bush intervened now is because the number of alarmed hate bill opponents is so high that we are viewed as a significant political bloc, worthy of placation. The hate bill has gone before Congress four times during the Bush presidency, being approved alternately by the Senate and House. I don’t remember Bush similarly coming forward when the number of protesters was lower. He certainly was non-committal two months ago.
If the nation begins to relax about the hate bill threat, the president probably will, too, and become open to compromise. There can be no compromise with H.R. 1592 or S1105. This legislation is toxic, designed by ADL for one reason: to take away our freedom.
Rather than putting our future into the hands of a politician, lovers of freedom must continue to fight this battle ourselves. We must solidly defeat the hate bill in the Senate. The Senate Judiciary is overwhelmingly pro-hate bill and we can expect the bill to move rapidly within the next several weeks. Yet our chances of victory in the Senate are much greater than in the House. We only need to persuade about 7 senators to vote “nay” in order to deprive ADL of the necessary 60 votes to pass.
At
www.truthtellers.org we list the 14 Republicans who voted for the hate bill in 2004 and also the 17 Republicans who are currently not declaring their stand. We must inundate these crucial Republican Senators with calls this week, especially informing the members of the Senate from our district that if he or she votes for the hate bill, we and our friends will never vote for them again. It’s especially important that you send your senator and his influential 8-10 aides my powerful flyer, “Anti-Hate Laws Will Make You a Criminal.” (Flyer and aides are available at
www.truthtellers.org.)
Call Republicans first. But don’t neglect to call Democrats. If you are a constituent send them and their aides my flyer. In the 2005 vote in the House only 5 Democrats voted against the hate bill. But in last week’s House vote, 14 Democrats crossed the aisle to vote with the Republicans against H.R. 1592! It may well be that the intellectual ferment of the many thousands of my flyers sent into Congress in the last several months has worked on the minds and consciences of these Democrat legislators, opening previously closed minds. The same could happen in the Senate.
This is the week, before the hate bill comes to a vote in the Senate, for one more upheaval of truth and protest. Victory against the hate bill in the Senate is vastly preferable to presidential veto. It would re-establish the credibility and prestige of the American people as those who control our destiny. Second, it would complete an enormous education program campaign in Congress, prejudicing many in the Senate against hate crime laws for years to come.
Push Forward to Victory
Only several months ago in mid-February, the new right and its leaders were virtually oblivious to the hate bill’s existence before the House. Since then, concern among Christian and conservative leaders has exploded. Discussion of the bill is also overflowing to the secular print media where articulate Republicans are raising, for the first time, incisive objections to hate laws. If this groundswell continues, it could pressure President Bush to veto all freedom-stealing legislation now being ramrodded through Congress by the Democrats.
This is not a time to pull back and relax. It’s time to aggressively reassert our control of government. We must support all members of Congress who oppose hate laws and let Bush know America tolerates no compromise.
The battle for freedom is now, not tomorrow. Let’s overwhelm senators of both parties with calls, faxes, emails, and my hate laws flyer. Call toll free 1-877-851-3467.
Don’t neglect to call the White House as well at 202-456-1111. Leave this message: “Thank you, Mr. President, for promising to veto the hate bill. I expect you to also reject any modified hate crime legislation.”
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Rev. Ted Pike is director of the National Prayer Network, a Christian/conservative watch dog organization.
Let the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith teach you how they have saddled 45 states with hate laws capable of persecuting Christians:
http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/intro.asp.
Learn how ADL took away free speech in Canada and wants to steal it now in the U.S. Congress. Watch Rev. Ted Pike's Hate Laws:
Making Criminals of Christians at
video.google.com. Purchase this gripping documentary to show at church. Order online at
www.truthtellers.org for $24.90, DVD or VHS, by calling 503-853-3688, or at the address below.
TALK SHOW HOSTS: Interview Rev. Ted Pike on the threat of hate laws, both federal and state. Call (503) 631-3808.
The Rev. Dr. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority and Liberty University and pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church since 1956, died today. He was 73.
In times of war and suffering, people find comfort and strength in their faith. Yet, as Christians, we know that sometimes faith can be hard to sustain. Yesterday, May 3, was the National Day of Prayer and President Bush took the opportunity to invite members of the military to the White House and let them know a grateful country was praying for them. As we include our service men and women in our prayers, it is important to lift up a prayer of thanks and gratitude for those of various denominations who serve as military chaplains. To maintain one's faith in the face of great evil is one of the hardest challenges that believers face, and to help others maintain theirs can seem an almost impossible task. A recent article in Newsweek details the brutal experiences that military chaplains deal with in fulfilling their divine calling. From putting ice on the bodies of dead soldiers when the mortuaries are too overwhelmed to take them to dodging bullets from snipers, the chaplains face a daily trial few of us will ever know. This week, as our nation acknowledges prayer and devotion to God as our source of strength, let's pause and acknowledge those who stand strong for Him and for His people.
President Bush, in identical letters to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, wrote, “I will veto any legislation that weakens current federal policies and laws on abortion, or that encourages the destruction of human life at any stage.”
President Bush sent identical letters to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Thursday making it absolutely clear to the pro-abortion Democrats that he will veto any legislation aimed at weakening pro-life policies or laws. 
Dr. James Dobson said he's thankful President Bush has indicated he will veto the controversial and misleading "hate-crimes" bill that passed the U.S. House today.
