Ron's Random Ruminations

So, as we come to the end of another lazy-hazy summer month, I'd like to give you my take on a few new items from July.

I don't know about you but I'm already tired of 2008 Presidential campaign. It's still a year and half away from now. I think part of this feeling stems from my belief that Conservative Christians were fooled into voting for Bush, not once by twice.

I can recall top Conservative Christian Leaders like, Dr. James Dobson, Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell strongly encouraging Christians to vote for George W. Bush.

I read numerous opinion pieces from those on the so-call Religious Right telling us how it was our duty to vote and in many cases how we should vote.

Now, with another election around the bend, I'd like to say to all those folks I've mentioned above, "Fool me once shame on you! But fool me twice, shame on me!"  I'm not buying it this time around. If, after my prayer before God, I don't believer there is a conservative candidate running in the race, I won't vote.

Harry Potter Hoopla
Is there any wonder who's captivating the world?

English Author J.K. Rowling, of the famed Harry Potter series, posted staggering numbers in book sales with the release of her latest record-breaker book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. At last take, it's said that the Potter series has sold a staggering 340 million copies. Now compare that to the number of Bibles sold (250 million copies) over that same time period. Says a lot about who we are as a people, does it not? It's all about the manna baby!

Do you recall how Rowling says she got the idea for Harry Potter?  I'll quote her directly. She says," I was traveling back to London on my own on a crowded train, that the idea for Harry Potter simply fell into my head."

Now here's a "hmmm?" moment.  Any Christian worth his or her own salt knows that the adversary is the prince of power (or ruler) of the air.  (Ephesians 2:2) And as such, he tirelessly works to supplant God and faith in His word. He does this by planting evil thoughts and temptations in weak human minds. No? Read The Screwtape Letters by another English author, C. S. Lewis.  So, I'm not saying, but I wonder where or who Ms. Rowling's idea really came from?

Faith and Fathers
So tell me something new already.

American family scholars Loren Marks and David Dollahite, of the School of Human Ecology at Louisiana State University, recently published the results of their scientific study of the family. According to professor Marks, "Research, ours and that of the past, indicates that religious involvement tends to have a positive influence on father-child relationships."

No kidding!

Marks goes on to say, "married couples who are actively involved in the same faith tend to have stronger, happier marriages and this impacts father-child relationships in a positive way."

Whoa! What a revelation! I could have told you all this without the expense of time and money used in this study.  Just read the Word of God.

Okay, I don't know how I missed this one last week but here it is.

Ken Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of State, won the Republican primary in the governor's race. Those of you who read my previous posts on Mr. Blackwell know h0w much I'm impressed  by him. His winning the GOP primary just adds to his stature.

"I have often said that the Republican Party -- the Party of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass -- cannot be truly whole until it welcomes more African Americans back home. Great candidates like Ken Blackwell are one of the many ways we are doing exactly that. The Republican Party is united in its support for Ken Blackwell and will work together to ensure his historic election."

I'll tell you folks, I'm excited about Mr. Blackwell. Let's see how far he can go!

To learn more about Ken Blackwell, you’ll want to read Steven Malanga’s excellent profile on him.

And while I'm on the topic of 2006 GOP candidates, I heard about a chap running for a seat in U.S. House of Reprentatives in North Carolina. His name? Vernon Robinson. Some, both liberals and conservatives, are saying he's over-the-top in the way he's campaigning, but I kind of like his style.  He's considered so out there that one newspaper, in an editorial,  declared him the as the black Jesse Helms, the ultra-conservative former U.S. Senator from North Carolina.

In fact, today on a local talk-radio show, they were playing his campaign ads and making fun of them. Now, I  admit some parts were funny because he doesn't believe in being PC and nor in holding his tongue. But his overall message, in my humble opinion,  makes sense. You can see them here.

Check out, also, Mychal Massie's column on Mr. Robinson over at WorldNetDaily.com.

Related posts:  

•  Update II: Black GOP Candidates
•  Update: Black GOP Candidates
•  Update: Unlikey Heirs
•  Unlikey Heirs  
  

And then there were four.

"Randy Daniels, the only black candidate in the governor's race, has ended his Republican campaign that he patterned after Ronald Reagan, according to Republican sources. Daniels is scheduled to formally announce his decision Monday, according to a Republican source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the campaign had not yet announced the decision. The source said Daniels told him of his decision Saturday. A second Republican source close to the Daniels campaign confirmed the decision. Daniels is expected to support John Faso, the former Assembly minority leader, attorney and one-time lobbyist. Faso won the strategically important endorsement of the state Conservative Party leadership in February." Source: Newsday

Well...this now leaves Michael Steele for U.S. Senate in Maryland, Lynn Swann for Governor of Pennsylvania, Keith Butler for U.S. Senate Michigan, and my favorite, Ken Blackwell for the Ohio Governor's seat.

Was race a factor in Daniels quitting? Not according Daniels who said he, "hadn't encountered racial obstacles during his bid for the Republican and Conservative nominations."

I wish it were true folks, but my Spidey Sense leads me to think otherwise. Especially Daniels's in case, since he didn't win the strategically important endorsement of the state's Conservative Party.

For more on the race card and Black GOP candidates, see Paul Weyrich excellent column:

Black Republican Candidates for U.S. Senate

Related posts:
 

•  Update: Black GOP Candidates
•  Update: Unlikey Heirs
•  Unlikey Heirs  
                  

As promised, I continue to follow and post updates on the African-American GOP candidates running in major political office races this year.

Matt Lewis of Human Events gives a good summary on the campaigns of the four frontrunners.

Also, check out Star Parker’s column which touches a little on this.

This is my second post on the black conservatives seeking election to major offices this year (See first post here). I'll continue to follow the progress of these candidates and keep you abreast here.

As I pointed out in my previous post, the candidate with the best chance of winning is Ken Blackwell of Ohio, who running for the governor's seat:

Blackwell stands apart from the group, thanks to his deep electoral experience and his very good chance of getting elected. He has already run more political races—from school-board seat to city councilman to secretary of state—than all the rest of them combined. He’s served in Washington as a HUD undersecretary and traveled the world as a U.S. ambassador. He’s chaired a major presidential campaign, been mayor of one of Ohio’s largest cities, and plotted supply-side fiscal policy with Jack Kemp.(Source)

George Will, writing for Townhall.com, in a recent column on Mr. Blackwell says:

 He appeals to small-government conservatives by proposing a constitutional cap on state spending, and even leasing the Ohio Turnpike to private investors. His cultural conservatism has won him such intense support from many church leaders, some liberals are contemplating recourse to an American sacrament -- a lawsuit. It would threaten the tax-exempt status of churches deemed too supportive of Blackwell.

 He appeals to blacks by being black, and because many blacks are cultural conservatives: George W. Bush won 16 percent of Ohio's black vote in 2004. In Blackwell's three statewide races, he has received between 30 percent and 40 percent of the black vote. If in November he duplicates that, he will win, and Democrats in many blue states will blanch because if their share of the black vote falls to 75 percent, their states could turn red. (Source)

Now this, in my opinion, is a true conservative! Someone who is both a fiscal and cultural conservative I believe Ken Blackwell offers a ray of hope for the conservative moment not seen since Ronald Reagan. He's currently ahead in the pre-Republican primary polls and has both local and national support of the Republican Party. A Blackwell victory will prove that a black Republican can gather support across a wide spectrum of the electorate. And, hopefully, make it "fashionable" for blacks to vote for them.

Stay tuned...

See also:

Larry Kudlow

It seems that a handful of conservatives are creating a stir in national politics, as well as, making history.

The "sudden appearance" of five big-name personalities all running for high office as African-American Republicans this year is shaking up the political landscape, according to Kathryn Jean Lopez, in a opinion piece she wrote for Sacramento Bee. She writes:

In Maryland, Michael Steele wants retiring Democrat Paul Sarbanes' Senate seat. Keith Butler is also running for Senate, from Michigan. Lynn Swann, the former Pittsburgh Steelers star, wants to be governor of the Keystone State. Randy Daniels would like to be governor of New York. And gunning for governor in a key presidential electoral state there is the great black hope for the Republican Party, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.

Who wudda thunk it? Five black men picking up the mantle left by Ronald Reagan and running with it. The Liberals must be running around in circles trying to figure this one out.

Writing in the winter issue of City Journal, Steven Malanga calls Blackwell "Ronald Reagan's Unlikely Heir". Magala goes on to say, "Blackwell is a fiscal and cultural conservative ... who happens to be black with the proven power to attract votes from across a startlingly wide spectrum of the electorate."

Now the members of this small group are conservative both fiscally (i.e. lower taxes, smaller government) and culturally (strongly pro-life, support traditional marriage) giving them the power to attract votes from across a wide spectrum of voters (middle-class taxpayers, Christian conservatives, and minority voters). At least four also happen to be dedicated Christians (talk about really twisting the knife in Liberals!).

Keith Butler, is a minister of the 21,000-member mega church Word of Faith International Christian Center, outside Detroit, Michigan. He has :

 "received an almost-giddy endorsement from Charisma Magazine, excited that Butler is the very embodiment of today's charismatic conservative -- pro-life, anti-gay marriage, a big backer of low taxes and the free market."

Then there’s Ken Blackwell, who once chastised by the ACLU for opeing a "meeting with state employees by asking them to pause for a moment of prayer and reflection". Also "leaders of several largely white Christian groups have lined up behind" him.

Blackwell has the best chance in getting elected "thanks to his deep electoral experience".

Whatever the outcome, this group " represents a new political calculus with the power to shake up American politics", continuing the Reagan revolution as wekk as bringing a much needed breath of fresh air to conservative politics.

See Related Blog(s):

 La Shawn Barber -  Life at CPAC

CBN News

I came across this quote by the sixth president of the United Sates, John Quincy Adams. It pretty much sums up well my thoughts on the war in Iraq. Call me an isolationist if you want, but I strongly believe we don't need to be over there. Paul Mushine has an excellent article comparing George W. Bush to Adams. Check it out!

"America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own."

-- John Quincy Adams - 1821