Posted: 02/08/08

I Was Only Questioning Pro-Family, Pro-Life Leaders' Discernment and Leadership
 

By Brannon S. Howse

I have received many comments about my opinion piece from earlier this week, openly criticizing some pro-family leaders. The comments have been overwhelmingly positive from both lay-people as well as pro-family leaders. In fact, I have received numerous phone calls and e-mails from pro-family leaders thanking me for saying what they were all thinking.

However, I have received some e-mails from a few people that felt my comments were too harsh or left the impression I was questioning the integrity or character of the pro-family leaders I mentioned. That was not what I was seeking to do. I was questioning their discernment and pointing out their lack of leadership. If they want to be pro-family, pro-life leaders then they need to lead by supporting a 100% pro-life, pro-family candidate.

Many of these people have done a great job for many years for our cause and we are all thankful for that. We are all adults and when I and others interject ourselves into the public policy arena and politics we are opening ourselves up to being questioned. That is fair and everyone expects that. We should do that, it is good for our cause. But don't let my questioning of any pro-life, pro-family leaders be perceived as more than it was; a question of their discernment and leadership, not a question of their character.

When I see quotes from pro-family leaders like Gary Bauer saying that those who support Gov. Huckabee should do some 'soul searching' before voting for him because to vote for Huckabee is to elect John McCain – I find that offensive and confusing when Gov. Huckabee is so vocal and so strong on the very issues pro-family leaders have been saying for years were the most important.

One pro-family leader offered this feedback to our site after he read the complaints of a few:

Some of you have missed the point about the story of how Romney gave money to all kinds of conservative, Christian groups. It's not that he gave this money -- we all expected that -- it's that this money compromised these groups. Many of these very same groups released false info about Romney or at the very least went silent about his ultra liberal record. Even when Romney told CNN he favors gay rights last week, not one major Christian leader said a word. This is not good for us as a movement as the grass roots relies on these groups for accurate information about the candidates. We should all be praising this website.

I am pleased that Dr. Dobson did come out today, February 8^th, 2008 to endorse Governor Huckabee. However, as Dr. Dobson stated in his endorsement, "That left two pro-family candidates [Huckabee and Romney] whom I could support, but I was reluctant to choose between them. However, the decision by Gov. Mitt Romney to put his campaign 'on hold' changes the political landscape."

This statement reflects the entire issue and my concerns. Governor Romney is not a pro-family, pro-life candidate and has flip-flopped again on "gay rights" in the last two weeks and in December 2007, he said he was in favor of employment non-discrimination acts for states. Let's not forget, among many other things, Romney's 2006 healthcare plan in Massachusetts included tax-payer funded abortions.

This is why many of us have been disappointed in the discernment and leadership of some pro-family, pro-life leaders. However, If my column came across as not giving these pro-family leaders their due respect for years of service to our cause, that was not my intention.

By Brannon Howse Email: Brannon@worldviewweekend.com Click here for bio and archived articles