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Most political "experts" predict a win, perhaps a big win, for the Republican Party in today's election.
Last night the Washington Post said there is a 96% chance the Republicans will win big---CNN--95%, and the New York Times predict a 70% chance.
So when the Republicans add to their majority in the House, and possibly take over majority in the Senate today, what will that mean?
What does a national win for the GOP actually mean?
We are carrying the election returns from Washington, Oregon, Idaho as well as the Federal returns. Use the link in the right hand column of this blog or directly above this blog to access those results. Reporting begins as soon as the polls close.
Most all news organizations are reporting on what they think will happen when the Republicans win.
I found the Washington Post article on Senator Ted Cruz most interesting and revealing.
And defining.
The Post is an organization that would prefer the Republicans not win big, but if that is inevitable, they certainly do not want Sen. Ted Cruz defining what that win might mean.
In fact, I suspect the Post would prefer Cruz stay in Alaska where they found him campaigning for Republican Dan Sullivan on the last days before this election.
Memo to the Post: He'll be back.
However, the Post interview reveals what a Republican win means in the mind of Ted Cruz, and very likely in the mind of many other conservatives.
Here's an overview of what Sen. Cruz sees as a "win."
1. A Republican Senate would be as conservative and as confrontational as the Republican led House.
2. First order of business would be a series of hearings on President Obama, "Looking at the abuse of power, the executive abuse, the regulatory abuse, the lawlessness that sadly pervaded this administration."
3. "Pursue every means possible to repeal Obamacare." Should that happen and Obama vetos it, Cruz says Republicans should then vote on provisions of the health law "one at a time."
4. Cruz says he may not back Sen. Mitch McConnell for Republican Leader in the Senate.
Two weeks ago Sen. Cruz wrote an op-ed in USA Today in which he further expanded on his vision which includes moving toward a flat tax and abolishing the IRS, drawing a hard line on illegal immigration and increasing our defense against ISIS and a nuclear Iran.
The Post, after summarizing the Senator's statements, did what all left leaning publications do---they looked for opposition to him with in the ranks. They found what they were looking for and reported it.
However, it was Cruz's last comments that most caught my attention.
He said, "At some point, after Gerald Ford and Bob Dole and John McCain and Mitt Romney...we shouldn't keep making the same mistakes over and over again."
"One of the reasons Republicans have lost elections recently," he said "is that we have failed to engage in a meaningful way on the great issues of our day."
Indeed. The Republican Party has not done so. The leadership has continued moving forward under the illusion that if the Party abandoned enough of its core beliefs and moved close enough to the secular progressives, they could win an election.
America has repeatedly decided to vote for the "authentic progressive"---the Democrat. Apparently, no one wants a Republican who believes like a Democrat, but wants the Christian community to deliver 40 million votes for them because they are not as bad as the authentic liberal.
Who will define the "great issues of our day?"
The GOP? Consultants? The folks with the most money? The "moderate" GOP wing?
I personally believe that may be the most important question at this times.
History shows a nation cannot rise above its level of morality.
Immorality destroys.
Morality builds and expands. Our Founders knew that. We too, must know that. We must recognize the linkage between morality and freedom.
And we must act on it.
People of faith often quote Joel 2:1, "Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on my holy mountain."
True. And many are sounding the alarm. It is becoming very clear that things are not well in our beloved America.
But it was Paul in his letter to the Corinthians who wrote, "If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for the battle" (I Corinthians 14:8).
If the Christian community truly wants to impact the culture, this is the time to speak.
Our combined voice can define "the great issues of our day."
And the greatest issue is the crumbling moral foundations of our culture.
Be Informed. Be Bold. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful. Be Heard. Be Blessed.