For quite a while political pundits have told us that all politicians are the same–that the Republicans are no different than the Democrats–so it really doesn’t matter whom we elect to office. This unqualified assertion is easy to believe if you haven’t done your homework or simply don’t give a rip.

But the verdict of the first eighteen months of the Obama administration has torn that argument to shreds and brought things soberly out into the light. We now know there are great differences between Republicans and Democrats.

There’s something else we now know: We’d better deeply care about the direction of the American nation we’ve known and loved or its future just might be in jeopardy.

First of all a personal disclaimer. I don’t generally think in political party terminology because parties can easily get off track and not represent people as individuals. They are useful for organizing various factions in a democratic Republic, but often their belief systems deteriorate over time so as to no longer reflect their origins. (The same phenomenon happens to individuals.)

I am not a died-in-the-wool Republican. For most of my life I considered myself an Independent who mostly voted Republican due to similar core values, but occasionally voted Democratic. I supported JFK over Richard Nixon due to his understanding of free markets and tax cuts. When I worked in Washington D.C. during the 1980s, one of my favorite Congressmen was Rep. Tony Hall of New York, a highly principled Democrat. When I ran for public office in 2006, I ran under the Republican banner because its platform best fit my views. I supported George W. Bush for his moral positions and tax policies, but disagreed with him on spending and the growth of government.

Now an historical disclaimer. Political parties change over time. The first “Republicans” in America were the followers of Thomas Jefferson for whom I would have voted. Though a complex spiritual man, Jefferson’s governance was clearly rooted in a Christian worldview that affirmed faith, liberty, limited government, free enterprise, and the importance of biblical morality for the sustaining of government institutions.

 After Jefferson, the “Republicans” became the “Democratic Republicans” and eventually the “Democrats.” It was Abraham Lincoln with his strong Christian principles that gave rebirth to the Republican Party–and since the Civil War, the two parties have been dominant in our national culture.

Over the past fifty or sixty years, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that the Democratic Party has evolved into the party of secularism–or a man-centered view of life. Its progressive or liberal philosophy is more rooted in humanism than in biblical faith which means that it generally promotes freedom in morality (abortion, homosexual rights, cloning, euthanasia etc.) and restraints on business (government control, regulation, and Big Government spending and taxation). In the unspoken Democratic world, the state is God and should both provide for and protect its citizens.

The Republican view of government has stronger Christian roots. Because of their historical biblical foundations, Republicans believe there should be restraints on morality (pro-life, support of traditional marriage and opposition to homosexual unions etc.) and liberty in the economic realm (free enterprise, low taxes, less regulation etc.). Republicans believe that God is our ultimate Provider, that men are fallen (not perfectible), in individual freedom, accountiblity, limited government and God-given rights.

However, there are Republicans who sometimes lose their way on these issues (like President Nixon) and Democrats who have good values. During the last twenty years, the lines did seem to blur a bit on what was a true Republican and what was a true Democrat. George H.W. Bush was a man of respected character, but he was a moderate Republican who raised taxes and lost an election as the result. Bill Clinton came into office with a Democratic approach to issues (remember Hillarycare?), but was tempered by the Republican Revolution of 1994 and moderated to a conservative position on welfare while presiding over a balanced budget. He was a moderate Dem. As already mentioned, George W. Bush ran as a traditional Republican but embraced Big Government growth.

Which brings us to today. Through the election of Barack Obama, we now know, once again, what unrestrained Democrats really believe. Barack Obama, by definition, is a radical Democrat. He was the most liberal member of the Senate during his two year stint, and since he took office, with Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate, he has ruled as a radical Dem.

There are no shades of gray in Barack Obama. He is against traditional morality and is eroding it at every turn. He is against free enterprise and is taking control of it at an alarming pace. He genuinely believes that Big Government should be the Savior and Provider for the people.

Barack Obama, as the radical Democrat, gives us a clear picture of where the Democratic Party will lead us:

• The Federal Government will continue to explode–gobbling up wealth, liberty and free enterprise at every opportunity.
• The holocaust of abortion will now be fully funded by Obamacare–and increase in number. 
• Traditional marriage and family will continue to decline and become a relic of the Christian past.
• The regulatory state will control our lives. Sixteen thousand new IRS agents will police our eventual conversion to state-run health care. Costs will soar, innovation will decline, and care will be rationed.
• Taxes will have to be raised to keep up with the voracious federal appetite–probably including a European-style VAT tax which will prolong and deepen the Great Recession.
• Under this “soft” tyranny, we will never emerge from double digit unemployment and will probably experience a collapse of the weakening and inflated dollar and US Government default on our soaring trillions of dollars of debt.

From now on, if you vote Democrat, this is your future. It is scary, problematic, and very un-American. When you follow the model of the former Soviet Union, you will reap its same consequences. Because there is a God, nations also “reap what they sow” (Galatians 6:7).

But there is another model for America. It re-surfaced in 1980 when a radical Republican named Ronald Reagan was elected president of the United States. His electoral landslide was proceeded by much fasting and prayer and a national gathering that called the America nation to repentance (Washington for Jesus on April 29, 1980).

As a true and radical Republican, Ronald Reagan believed in:

• Faith and hope in God, a “rebirth of freedom” and America’s “Rendezvous with Destiny.”
• Strong marriages and families, traditional morality, and protection for the unborn.
• That free markets best regulated the affairs of business and men, spurring investment, encouraging efficiency and creativity, and producing hard-earned wealth and prosperity.
• Lower taxes were essential for creating wealth and motivating people to succeed.
• The role of government as a strong protector of liberty, both at home and around the world.

Ronald Reagan believed that America had been blessed by God to be a “city set upon a hill” (Matthew 5:14).  His faith, optimism and principles brought the greatest growth period of economic growth in American history from 1982 to 2007. His belief in liberty and a strong defense helped bring down the Iron Curtain.

Ronald was a true/radical Republican.

Barack Obama is a true/radical Democrat.

Now we once again know the difference between the two parties. Republicans–radical Republicans–believe in liberty that is found in Christ. Radical Democrats believe in tyranny that is found in the State.

It’s true that sometimes moderate Republicans make decent leaders when the overall health of the nation is sound. John McCain would certainly not be taking over businesses and nationalizing one sixth of the American economy. It’s also true that moderate Democrats can be adequate leaders when there are other checks and balances (Bill Clinton with a Republican Congress).

But right now, we can’t afford either radical Democrats, moderate Democrats or half-hearted Republicans.

We need radical Republicans who will lead in the very meaning of the word “radical”: “to bring us back to our roots.”

In November and beyond, we need a radical Republican Revolution in the Jeffersonian, Lincoln-inspired or Reaganesque meaning of the words.

Let’s pray that own personal repentance and renewal will help to birth it from the grassroots up. 

Following the corrupt process and against-the-will-of-the-people passage of Obamacare, we find ourselves at a seminal moment in history to call the citizens of America to action. We could call it a second American Revolution. That would be appropriate as the words of the Declaration of Independence certainly apply today:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness–That to secure these rights Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed–That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

It’s time for us to alter or abolish a bad law that the Obama administration has forced on the nation. We must “Repeal and Replace” Obamacare. I am not advocating violence in any form. I am encouraging spiritual and political solutions for this desperate state of affairs that mirror the American Revolution and prior Great Awakening.

But I believe the better model–in a cultural, not military sense–is the American Civil War. That was a “War Between the States” over the issue of slavery.

Today’s contest is a “War Between the Federal Government and the People” over the issue of health care, and ultimately many other areas of our national life.

Every poll has shown for over a year that the America people do not want to go down the European road to socialism, single-payer or universal health care. The Democrats who control Congress and the  presidency refused to listen to the folks and passed the bill anyway. That flagrant federal takeover of one sixth of the American economy is:

• Destructive of life – the new health care bill will use federal dollars for the first time to kill innocent babies in the womb. The Executive Order banning abortion means nothing–as everyone knows. It was a meaningless piece of paper that will greatly expand the biggest holocaust in history.
• Liberty is now a faint memory with the bill forcingall Americans to buy a product many of them don’t want. The vast array of tax hikes coming down the pike to pay for Obamacare will bankrupt this nation and could lead to the total loss of liberty.
• The Pursuit of Happiness, or right to acquire property and live the American Dream will be severely diminished through crushing job losses and mountains of debt as far as the eye can see.

Thus there is a need for a spiritual, moral, cultural and political Civil War to give rebirth to freedom in this nation. Every hand is needed to turn the tide and bring a desperately needed re-birth to many areas of American life.

David Limbaugh is right when he says, “The Democrats’ passage of socialized medicine Sunday night (March 21, 2010) will spell either the beginning of the end of this great nation or the beginning of the rebirth of its freedom. The choice is still in the hands of Americans.”  

I have made my choice.

Erick Erickson of Red State put it this way: “Something seems to be brewing and I frankly don’t think the Democrats should at all be surprised. They were and they knew they were playing with fire to advance legislation many Americans see as the undoing of the American Experiment. Some of those Americans will now conclude that, like with the founders, if King George will not listen, King George must be fought.”

As for me and my family, we will engage in this fight. 

I was strongly criticized in 2008 for writing with deep concern about the positions, associations and policies of  Barack Obama. I was wrong. His positions are far worse than I believed. I believe the direction he is taking our nation is dangerous and nationally suicidal. I will no longer sit on the sidelines and be timid. It’s time to  tell the truth with conviction–and work to restore liberty in the land.

We didn’t choose this cultural war. It was forced upon us by others who profess the philosophy that  elevates Big Government to God-status in society. We must engage them with broken hearts, radical faith, tenacious perseverance, and wise tactics.

This Second American Civil War must employ a full array of strategies and participants–just as in a conventional war.  You don’t win major military battles without the full use of the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines. I suggest that the battle we face for freedom in America (and around the world) must enlist all these elements in symbolic form.

Air Force

A “spiritual” victory in the heavenly realm is absolutely necessary for winning the cultural war in America. In the “skies” above us are principalities and powers–demonic forces–that want to destroy our nation’s heritage and Christian influence in the world (Ephesians 6). This is not just a human-to-human or Republican-to-Democrat scuffle. We need a spiritual Air Force to win the battle in the unseen realm so that the Army and Navy can march the path to victory.

We need thousands of pastors and spiritual leader in this nation to call their people and churches to prayer, repentance, acts of compassion, and uplifting the Supremacy of Christ. I heard last week a major Christian leader speaking on the third-most-popular radio show in America say “that we do not have a prayer in this battle against evil unless we are on God’s side. If we do not agree with him and turn from our sins, their is no hope for this nation. If we return with all our hearts to Him, then nothing can stop us from prevailing.” Another friend told me she wanted to begin a “Revival Fires” prayer meeting in her church. We need millions of them.

The spiritual Air Force in America is beginning to stir. On May 2 there will be a MayDay 2010 prayer meeting and time of repentance at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to cry out to God for deliverance. I plan to attend that day, and encourage you to storm the heights of heaven from whenever you are on May 2. We must confess our laziness, complacency, worldliness, idolatry, and lack of compassion for the needy in our own land–including the need for health care. The Church must rise to be the Primary Caregiver of the needs of people–partnering with doctors, hospitals, corporations, and other providers to bear the burdens of others. In some ways the government takeover is the result of our abandonment of the sick and hurting. We must “repeal and replace” our own sins in this matter.

The National Day of Prayer follows on May 8. Could this be a sovereign moment when a broken and repentant Church touches the heart of God and He releases a heaven-sent revival that we so desperately need? Just prior to and during the American Civil War, God visited America in a powerful “prayer revival” which saw ten of thousands of people flock to prayer meetings following a stock market crash. Historians estimate that over one half of the Confederate Army made decisions for Christ during the years that followed. This was America’s last “Great Revival.”  We need another in 2010.

And for the young: “The Call” leader Lou Engle is joining with other leaders this June for a Woodstock-like gathering of youth in solemn assembly to cry out to God for revival in this land. It appears that the spiritual Air Force in America is revving up its engines to engage the spiritual forces of darkness and break of the fallow ground of their own hearts. Could the spiritual awakening we’ve been longing for for decades level the playing field and bring down the power of God during this second American Civil War?

Navy

In a conventional war, it is the ships, aircraft carriers and submarines that provide cover and firepower for the ground troops. I liken today’s cultural navy to a host of political leaders and commentators that are being raised up to instruct and direct this Second American Civil War.

Here are some political leaders on the rise that are becoming much-looked-to “admirals” in the cultural battle for America:

• Mitt Romney – His new book No Apology on American exceptionalism is striking a chord in many hearts. His vast business experience is definitely what’s needed to revive an ailing economy.
• Sarah Palin – is still the most sought after speaker and motivator of traditional Americans. Her common sense philosophy and roots continue to draw thousands to rallies and events.
• Mike Huckabee is an articulate and winsome former governor of Arkansas who has some good ideas on tax reform.
• There are many other rising stars such as Senator Scott Brown, Representatives Mike Pence, Eric Cantor, Michelle Bachman, and Mike Pence, Governors Bobby Jindal, Tim Pawlenty, and Bob McDonnell, and a host of other conservative leaders that are rallying the troops in many states.

Then there are the the television and talk show personalities that are, in many ways, leading the charge of cultural renewal. They all possess varying strengths that are needed to inspire and motivate people. Here’s what I appreciate about them:  

• Rush Limbaugh – No one understands liberalism more clearly than the the most listened to talk show host in Americanhistory.
• Sean Hannity – He launched his Conservative Victory tour yesterday at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California which will take him to numerous cities. He understands the bedrock conservative values that made this nation great.
• Glenn Beck – His warnings about economic collapse and insights into Progressivism are a necessary prophetic voice (wrapped in comedy and wit). His “American Revival” tour has begun in cities across America.
• Michelle Malkin – exposing the culture of corruption; Mark Levin- brilliant legal mind expounding on Liberty and Tyranny; Ann Coulter – fearless in exposing lies and illogic; Dick Morris – adept analysis of polling and trends…and many others.

There are many clear voices to lead us in this cultural Civil War.  We may not always agree with them. But we should seek the truth, measure and test their words, and follow their wise directions.

Army

Certainly the Tea Party movement is the largest aspect of citizen involvement that is growing in this nation to ward off tyranny and bring peaceable charge to American government and life. I’m proud of the folks that are attending these rallies and conventions that are scaring the politicians to death. Most of them are average Joes and Janes that realize we are in great danger in this country–and unless all of us get out there and do something–much will be lost.

I encourage you to join this spontaneous wave of concerned citizens and gather at city hall, your state capital, and even national rallies that are being formed to bring reformation to the American nation. It’s important that the Tea Party movement does not form a third party. That would be disastrous in many of the November elections. We do not need a third party–We need a revitalized Republican Party which returns to its biblical, Judeo-Christian roots and principles. In fact, we need a born-again Democratic Party as well. God is no respecter of parties.

The Tea Party movement, as a vast and growing army of citizen activists,  must show up at the polls in November and change the political landscape of America. We need to win back the House of Representatives and US Senate with God-fearing, Constitution-honoring political leaders in 2010. In 2012, we need to defeat the present administration and elect a wise and godly leader who will point us toward repentance, and a renewal of faith, family, and freedom–bringing bring fresh ideas, spiritual vitality, and a return to fiscal and moral sanity.

Marines

God is still looking for a few “good men and women” to engage the Second American Civil War. The passage of Obamacare has given the Federal Government majority control of 50% of the US economy. The noose of tyranny is tightening and much of our country is still asleep or confused.

But you are awake. You are concerned.  You are reading this article because you care about the future, are concerned about your nation, and want to make a difference in this generation.

Join the cultural second American Civil War. “We have no king but Jesus” shouted our forefathers.

Let’s make them and our children proud of us.

Semper fi.

“Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

I just turned off the television after watching the House of Representatives vote 219-212 to approve the federal takeover of health insurance in the United States. The bill passed by three votes, done in by the betrayal of Representative Bart Stupak and his supposedly pro-life allies.

My first response after watching the vote was to share the bad news with my wife and walk outside our home and cry.

Is the America that I have known and loved gone forever?

As I sobbed in the rain and darkness outside my home, I uttered a prayer of repentance and faith to the God of the Universe who certainly motivated and shared in my weeping. He doesn’t abandon nations to judgement lightly–but he is also just to those who turn away from his principles and ways. I’m afraid that very dark days could lie ahead.

I’ll never forget the time and date of America’s demise: 10:45 pm (EDT) on March 21, 2010. This is a day of infamy and dread. Today, the misguided leaders of the Democratic Party of the United States may have signed the death knell of American freedom.

After 234 years, the “American experiment in liberty” is truly in jeopardy and the end of our historical exceptionalism may be at stake. It didn’t happen because of invading armies, terrorism, or global events. Our elected officials–thumbing their noses at the will of the majority of the American people–fired the shots that killed the country.  It’s a tragic “murder” of a nation by its own leaders–and those of us that elected them to office.

The health care vote and legislative gyrations were the most devious and corrupt political process I have ever seen on American soil.

Minority leader John Boehner was the lone highlight of the evening. He thundered to a filled-to-capacity House Chamber that “there will be no turning back” from this health care power grab and that “This is the last straw in going against the will of the American people.” Rising to the pitch of a television evangelist, he shouted to his fellow Congressmen “Shame on us! Shame on us.” At one point he demanded that the acting speaker require the House members to “stand up, look the American in the eye, and cast their vote.” The speaker refused his question. When he concluded, the Republican side of the aisle gave him the longest standing ovation I have ever seen in a policy debate.

Then Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi took to the podium. In one statement after another she misled the American people: “This is an American proposal that will create great opportunities and investments in health care and education.” She had the audacity to intone that through this shameless process and monstrous government entitlement that “the entrepreneurial spirit will be unleashed in America.” She also re-iterated the new Democratic based, not God-given concept that “health care is a right, not a privilege.” I almost choked when she ended with this untruth: “We are restoring the American dream.” And she revealed her Progressive philosophical allegiance with these words, “This is progress for the American people.”

No–they are destroying it. The America dream and the biblical concept of progress is faith in God, self-governing morality, and freedom–which is the fruit of the first two. We are also a very generous and compassionate nation–but that is the primary role of families, churches and voluntary institutions.

After tonight’s infamous vote, we are no longer America–a free nation of self-governing citizens. Because of 219 Democratic Congressmen, we have crossed the Rubicon into a society that will be   controlled by an all powerful State. 1984’s Big Brother Society has arrived. Prior to this vote, the Federal Government controlled about 35% of the American economy. The health care bill is cataclysmic, because it will add another sixteen percent control of the American economy to the Feds–tipping us over the brink of 50%. A nation that is majority controlled by its government is no longer free. We have taken the road of the failed societies and economies of Europe, and our fall will probably hasten a global meltdown of liberty and prosperity.

Why? Because though America was once a light of freedom to the world (think Statue of Liberty)–that light is now going out. The American dream of faith in God, morality, limited government, personal responsibility, and individual freedom is dying.

Now you know why the Tea Party movement exploded last year and why scores of thousands of people showed up in the Washington, D.C. this weekend to tell their legislators to reject the health care bill.  This was not just another piece of social legislation. The people knew this was the tipping point. If we lost this battle, the nation that we love could be in great danger.

Of course, in the same way that most individual human deaths are not sudden or related to one particular circumstance, so the death of our nation didn’t come through one ominous vote. America has been dying for some time. I have been fearful for the future of our nation since 1975 when I first studied why nations rise and fall and why God abandons them to judgment. I wrote my first book 1n 1976 to cry out for an American renewal. We saw one in the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan. In fact, in the past thirty-five years there have been several seasons of renewal and times of decline.

This cycle of revival and declension was common in the history of Israel over hundreds of years. In some generations, the nation would turn to God and live out his principles and commandments and great blessing and renewal would come (such as under kings David, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hekekiah and Josiah). In other generations, the nation would turn from its faith & freedom and experience severe decline and even partial destruction (as under kings like Rehoboam, Athaliah, and Mannaseh).

But there came a time when the nation of Israel reached the tipping point–and was facing terminal consequences for its sins. The end for Israel came in 586 BC when the nation crumbled and was destroyed by the Babylonians.

For the first time in my life, I wonder if we have reached that moment in America.

As I was pondering this reality today, I thought of the recent death of Michael Jackson who died on June 25, 2009. Yes, his death took place on one day–but there were many choices in his life that hastened or led to the final cessation of life.  Certainly his moral choices led to drug problems and broken relationships that started the “dying process.” Near the end of his life, he was taking so many different medications and living such a bizarre lifestyle that many saw the end coming. The final tipping point  came when his personal doctor gave him the drug Prophenol on top of all the others drugs and years of abuse.  It put him to sleep and he never woke up.

America has been on the same path of destruction for many decades. Some of the “bad drugs and choices” along the way include:

• FDR’s great society that got us hooked on government as the provider of our needs and overall welfare.
• The youth rebellion of the sixties–symbolized by Woodstock held August 15-18, 1969–which saw immorality main streamed, and faith and authority questioned and rejected.
• Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs which gave us the nearly bankrupt Medicare and then Medicaid programs–warming the American public to “rights” of health care and demanding “entitlements.” Our forefathers never knew the meaning of the word. 
• Richard Nixon’s taking us off the gold standard in 1972 began the free-fall of the dollar and the massive inflation and deficit spending that has accompanied the past forty years.
• The Roe v. Wade decision on January 22, 1973 began the systematic slaughter of innocent children in this nation that now numbers 45 million and counting. Congressman Steve King of Iowa recently commented that the false philosophy behind abortion, that a “woman has a right to her own body” is totally being trampled by the healthcare bill which forces every American, against their will, to provide health care for “their body.” So much for freedom of choice.
• The destruction of the family in the eighties and nineties, and now the homosexual push to destroy traditional marriage in the 21st century.
• The 911 attack that revealed our vulnerability to our enemies and should have given us pause to examine whether we still merited the protection and blessings of God.
• Each one of us being responsible for our sins and failure to love and protect liberty.

Yes, the America dream has been slowly dying for decades, and you and I are a part of it.  But I fear that on March 21, 2010, a lethal cocktail of the government takeover of one-sixth of our economy has put us to sleep and may never allow us to wake up.

Many of you may think I’m being extreme. I desperately hope that you are right.

But I soberly believe that on March 21, 2010 America entered very dangerous and uncharted territory. We can’t live in denial about the seriousness of our national state. The first step of courage is brutal honesty.

But that’s not the end of the story–it’s the beginning of the next chapter. We don’t know if this is a time of civilizational collapse, the beginning of a fresh wave of renewal, the beginning of the Last Days on earth, or a number of other scenarios. Only God knows the future.

In my next column I will discuss the hope of an American revival and resurrection from the dead–and what that resurrection may require of us.