With God On Our Side - Episode 4

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Seizing the 'pro-family' agenda, New Right conservative strategists midwife a brood of new Christian political organizations, most notably Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority. These groups experience a heady overnight success, registering millions of evangelical voters and helping sweep Ronald Reagan into office. Yet once in the White House, his mainline Republican advisors actively suppress the traditional-values issues. Evangelical leaders are forced to choose between 'speaking truth to power' like Biblical prophets, or 'going along to get along' in the political realm.

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Main credits

Robertson, Cliff (Narrator)
Skaggs, Calvin (Producer)
Skaggs, Calvin (Director)
Taylor, David Van (Producer)

Other credits

Produced and directed by David Van Taylor.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Religious Right; President Bush; evangelical Christianity; evangelical; George W. Bush; Pat Robertson Ralph Reed; Christian Coalition; conservative ; Paul Weyrich; Reverend Jerry Falwell; Doug Wead; David Frum; Don Poage; oil-business; Bible-study; Billy Graham; Richard Nixon; video; documentary; film; Christian anti-Communism; grassroot; grassroots; Church and State ; sex education; textbook; jimmy carter; Moral Majority; Ronald Reagan; Pro-family; "With God On Our Side - Episode 4"; Icarus Films; religion;

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With God on Our Side was made
possible by the Corporation

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for Public Broadcasting, and
by annual financial support

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from viewers like you.

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Major funding was provided by
the Pew Charitable Trusts, the

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Smith Richardson Foundation,
the Rockefeller Foundation,

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the Lynde and Harry Bradley
Foundation, the William H.

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Donner Foundation, the Nathan
Cummings Foundation, and the

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John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation.

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Additional funding was provided
by the following.

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[SINGING]

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We as Americans, we have
forgotten who we are, and how

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we became who we are.

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We have forgotten what our
founding fathers believed.

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We have forgotten that this
is a nation under God.

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Who is really to blame for the
moral crisis of America?

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We are to blame.

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The man you just her heard
is Jerry Falwell.

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And this is his church In
Lynchburg, Virginia, the

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Thomas Road Baptist Church.

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He\'s the greatest preacher
in the world.

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I\'d rather hear him than
go hear anybody else.

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And he made us aware, if there
was something that--

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there is a situation we need to
be involved in, we became

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involved in it.

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We love him because he
preaches the Bible.

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And right off the top of my
head, I can\'t ever think of

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anything that he\'s tried to
teach us that was wrong to

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take us down the wrong road.

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Because he\'s just
inspired by God.

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In those early days, Dr. Falwell
would go out and hold

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television rallies.

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And he would talk about getting
the gospel into every

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home-- saturation evangelism.

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And so in the end, he would
say, I want you to be a

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door-keeper.

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Hold the door open for me.

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And I\'m going to give you
a box of 52 envelopes.

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Would you give me $1 a week
to preach the gospel?

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And there would be
200 people--

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100, 200 people who would
take a box, and start

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sending in $1 a week.

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Well, that takes a lot
of bookkeeping.

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And so we went from $1 a week to
faith partners $10 a month.

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And so, we built up a tremendous
base of 200,000

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people at one time who were
sending $10 a month.

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Because Jerry was doing
what they wanted done.

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As we entered the end of the
Carter first term, and looked

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at the condition of the country,
and the direction of

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the country, I was not at all
interested in abandoning my

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ministries as a pastor.

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But I was very much interested
in what I could do to make a

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difference in the country.

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The cure of our nation\'s
ills is Calvary.

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Well, the law, as I interpreted
it at that time,

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did not allow for a great deal
of discussion about politics

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in the pulpit.

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I\'ve long since abandoned
that idea.

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But in that day, I wasn\'t sure
how it would be received in

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the congregation, and how it
would be received legally.

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Politics--

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a Christian viewpoint.

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As a Christian, what do you
think about politics?

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It\'s a dirty and ungodly
business.

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And I don\'t think any Christians
should be involved.

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All politicians are alike.

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They say one thing, but
they mean another.

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They\'re all a bunch of liars.

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I\'m so involved in the home
and in the church, I don\'t

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have time for politics.

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In the early 1970s, we began
seriously to think about how

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we might increase the number
and the effectiveness of

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conservative activists.

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And I said to a group, which
included Paul Weyrich and

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Howard Phillips and Richard
Viguerie, and a few others

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that we would meet for
lunch or breakfast

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from time to time--

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I said that I believed that the
theologically conservative

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Christians were the largest
tract of virgin timber on the

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political landscape.

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And there was enormous potential
for activism,

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because there was all sorts of
motivation for activism.

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But many of these people felt
that it was not appropriate.

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I had long advocated
the outreach to

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the evangelical community.

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I come from a half-Catholic,
half-Protestant family.

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And as a result, I
understood the

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similarities between the two.

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Many people look for the
differences at the time.

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But I saw the similarities.

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And it made no sense to me that
people who have the same

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values were voting in
opposite directions.

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The first is distinction that
people had to learn to make

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was between political
cooperation and theological

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cooperation.

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Nobody was saying, we\'re going
to alter our theology one bit.

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But we are going to work
together where we can agree.

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I thought through the whole
period, early period of the

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\'70s, this has got to
be the objective--

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to get these people who really
have the same morals, who have

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the same ideals, but who came
at it from differing

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traditions, to work together.

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And I began to think of
what could you do.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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For those hoping to drive
evangelicals into political

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alliances, the answer came from
an unexpected corner.

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This film, made by well known
Christian thinker, helped

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galvanize evangelicals around
a powerful new issue.

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The issue of abortion
is not one divided

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along religious lines.

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Certainly, it is not by any
means uniquely a Roman

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Catholic issue.

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But the pro-abortionists
pretend.

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The fate of the unborn is the
fate of the human race.

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We\'re all one human family.

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And thus, when the rights of any
part of that human family

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are denied, it\'s of concern
to all of us.

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What is involved here is nothing
less than the very

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essence of what true freedom and
true rights are all about.

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Schaeffer was really the first
evangelical who followed the

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Catholic lead.

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And evangelicals have to say
that the Catholic church was

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first on the issue
of abortion.

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So most of evangelicals--

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although Roe v. Wade happened in
\'73, they didn\'t notice it

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until \'75, \'76.

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And it was Schaeffer who stood
many evangelicals up.

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At the same time, there were
real disappointments that some

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of the strong centers of
evangelicalism did not go

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along with the argument
for it.

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Often it was--

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or, at times it was if not
ridiculed, at least minimize

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this as unimportant.

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They said it was not a Christian
thing to do this.

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It was a social question.

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The whole idea was not--

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you should be doing something
spiritual.

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You should be saving souls,
and so forth.

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It didn\'t-- this was not a
Christian question at all.

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Why is a human life
worth saving?

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Why is it worth the trouble?

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Traditionally, in Western
culture, the life of human

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individual has been regarded
as very special.

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Based on biblical teachings,
people used to view

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human life as unique.

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Something to be protected and
loved because it was made in

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the image of God.

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I think the impact of Whatever
Happened to the Human Race,

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and particularly Francis
Schaeffer, on the whole

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pro-life movement was that
Christians began to associate

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the need for tying their faith
with social action.

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They were not separable.

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My evangelical brothers and
sisters that I know don\'t like

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ambivalence.

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They don\'t like to deal with
issues that have two sides.

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They don\'t like to dwell
in the world of gray.

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They love black and white.

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And abortion, when it was
presented as you are murdering

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God\'s infant children, became
such a evocative, such an

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exciting issue, that they
rallied around it.

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We can use our civic powers as
citizens to protest, and our

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power at the polls.

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But in the name of the God, who
has made all of life, and

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all humanity, we must
do something.

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The question of abortion
concerns the

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entire civilized world.

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It is not a Baptist issue.

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Abortion is not a Roman
Catholic issue.

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It is a moral issue.

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It is a theological issue.

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It is a human rights issue.

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An issue that concerns the human
rights of unborn babies,

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who by the hundreds of
thousands, are being murdered

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in these United States
of America.

00:10:13.965 --> 00:10:19.280 align:middle line:84%
At some point in the latter
1970s, a decision was made to

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target a prominent, skilled
religious communicator to see

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if he would start moving
people into political

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participation.

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I didn\'t know what to do.

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I didn\'t have any friends
in the ministry

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who were into politics.

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And the ones I knew who were in
politics were on the other

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side of that issue.

00:10:42.300 --> 00:10:44.960 align:middle line:90%

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I made some trips to Washington,
and sat down with

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some conservative people, like
Senator Jesse Helms--

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men like Paul Weyrich
Howard Phillips.

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I talked to some conservative
congressman and senators about

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what can a pastor, what
can one minister do?

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Jerry Falwell understood that
the only person that could

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beat the drum to get Christians
out of their

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lethargy was a pastor.

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The Christians tended not to
listen, or at least we\'re

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suspect of people that
didn\'t bring--

00:11:23.775 --> 00:11:26.830 align:middle line:90%

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I don\'t know what you would
call it, the authority--

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that a pastor would bring.

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That is when we began talking
to various persons about

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forming some kind of entity.

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I convened a meeting here in
Lynchburg back in those days.

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I\'m going to guess it
was, oh, 1979--

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probably early \'79--

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in which I invited many of my
friends in Washington with

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whom I had been talking
about this thing.

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It was in the course of that
conversation in Lynchburg

00:11:59.060 --> 00:12:01.620 align:middle line:84%
where Paul Weyrich made the
famous statement to Dr.

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Falwell, I believe there is a
moral majority out there ready

00:12:07.330 --> 00:12:08.460 align:middle line:90%
to be organized.

00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:13.280 align:middle line:84%
And the key to any kind of
political impact is to get

00:12:13.280 --> 00:12:19.100 align:middle line:84%
these people united in some
way, so that they see that

00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:23.730 align:middle line:84%
what they\'re battling
is the same thing.

00:12:23.730 --> 00:12:26.670 align:middle line:90%
And they need to be unified.

00:12:26.670 --> 00:12:30.150 align:middle line:84%
Falwell stopped me, and
he said, go back to

00:12:30.150 --> 00:12:31.860 align:middle line:90%
what you said earlier.

00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:33.030 align:middle line:84%
Well, I misinterpreted
him, and I

00:12:33.030 --> 00:12:33.960 align:middle line:90%
started to say something.

00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.320 align:middle line:84%
No, no, no, he said, you started
out by saying out

00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:37.570 align:middle line:90%
there, there was something.

00:12:37.570 --> 00:12:39.070 align:middle line:90%
What did you call that?

00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:41.610 align:middle line:84%
And I had to think
of what I said.

00:12:41.610 --> 00:12:42.940 align:middle line:90%
And finally, I said, oh, I said

00:12:42.940 --> 00:12:43.960 align:middle line:90%
there was a moral majority.

00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:45.910 align:middle line:90%
And he said, that\'s it.

00:12:45.910 --> 00:12:47.490 align:middle line:84%
He turned to this guy,
and he said--

00:12:47.490 --> 00:12:49.235 align:middle line:84%
That\'s what I\'m going to
call the organization--

00:12:49.235 --> 00:12:50.950 align:middle line:90%
Moral Majority.

00:12:50.950 --> 00:12:55.190 align:middle line:84%
In June of 1979, we officially
and formally chartered Moral

00:12:55.190 --> 00:12:58.440 align:middle line:84%
Majority, Inc. It\'s very
important to say that Moral

00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:01.140 align:middle line:84%
Majority is not a religious
organization.

00:13:01.140 --> 00:13:04.630 align:middle line:84%
If it were, we could not
get 72,000 pastors--

00:13:04.630 --> 00:13:08.160 align:middle line:84%
which includes Jews,
Protestants, Catholics,

00:13:08.160 --> 00:13:11.680 align:middle line:84%
Mormons, fundamentalist, et
cetera-- together without a

00:13:11.680 --> 00:13:12.990 align:middle line:90%
blood battle.

00:13:12.990 --> 00:13:14.940 align:middle line:84%
The fact is that
it\'s political.

00:13:14.940 --> 00:13:16.550 align:middle line:84%
It\'s a very political
organization.

00:13:16.550 --> 00:13:19.840 align:middle line:84%
And one\'s membership is based
upon citizenship in this

00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:23.900 align:middle line:84%
country, and a commitment to
a pro-life, pro-traditional

00:13:23.900 --> 00:13:27.670 align:middle line:84%
family, pro-moral, and
pro-American position.

00:13:27.670 --> 00:13:31.310 align:middle line:84%
I do remember one meeting in
which he called, like, 15 or

00:13:31.310 --> 00:13:34.110 align:middle line:90%
20 of his key staff together.

00:13:34.110 --> 00:13:38.680 align:middle line:84%
And did talk at some length
about the possibility of doing

00:13:38.680 --> 00:13:40.420 align:middle line:90%
something politically.

00:13:40.420 --> 00:13:43.140 align:middle line:84%
And I remember one of the people
there begged him not to

00:13:43.140 --> 00:13:47.060 align:middle line:84%
do it, that he would be
departing from the gospel.

00:13:47.060 --> 00:13:48.870 align:middle line:84%
He would be wandering
off the path.

00:13:48.870 --> 00:13:50.210 align:middle line:84%
It\'d be the worst thing
you could do.

00:13:50.210 --> 00:13:53.550 align:middle line:84%
And when this person got through
with this impassioned

00:13:53.550 --> 00:13:57.150 align:middle line:84%
appeal, I remember Jerry
Falwell saying, well, I

00:13:57.150 --> 00:14:01.770 align:middle line:84%
appreciate what you say, but
this is what I\'m going to do.

00:14:01.770 --> 00:14:04.210 align:middle line:90%
I\'m a reactionary.

00:14:04.210 --> 00:14:06.310 align:middle line:90%
I react.

00:14:06.310 --> 00:14:09.100 align:middle line:84%
I react to the burning
of the American flag.

00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:13.140 align:middle line:84%
I react to the assassination
attempt on the Constitution of

00:14:13.140 --> 00:14:14.716 align:middle line:90%
the United States.

00:14:14.716 --> 00:14:18.920 align:middle line:84%
I react to irresponsible
in Congress.

00:14:18.920 --> 00:14:22.860 align:middle line:84%
To the blatant compromise
with communism.

00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:24.870 align:middle line:84%
To prayer removed from
our schools, brother.

00:14:24.870 --> 00:14:26.650 align:middle line:84%
I am ready to do something
about it.

00:14:26.650 --> 00:14:29.125 align:middle line:90%
Amen, and amen.

00:14:29.125 --> 00:14:31.130 align:middle line:84%
Jerry at that time
really liked me.

00:14:31.130 --> 00:14:33.940 align:middle line:84%
I mean, he said I was the best
speaker in the country.

00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:35.510 align:middle line:84%
But a lot of people
were saying that.

00:14:35.510 --> 00:14:39.790 align:middle line:84%
So here I am, a young man with
all this, quote, influence.

00:14:39.790 --> 00:14:41.670 align:middle line:84%
I thought we were
deteriorating.

00:14:41.670 --> 00:14:45.100 align:middle line:84%
I thought the communist
menace was very real.

00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:47.660 align:middle line:84%
I could see that
on the horizon.

00:14:47.660 --> 00:14:50.590 align:middle line:84%
And so I think that my focus, in
the sense that we needed to

00:14:50.590 --> 00:14:53.210 align:middle line:84%
make a real difference
in the country.

00:14:53.210 --> 00:14:55.850 align:middle line:84%
And I\'m not sure that I thought
just continuing to

00:14:55.850 --> 00:14:58.570 align:middle line:84%
emphasize that change
of heart was enough.

00:14:58.570 --> 00:15:01.060 align:middle line:84%
And by the way, I think when one
person\'s heart is changed,

00:15:01.060 --> 00:15:04.070 align:middle line:84%
if it doesn\'t change the way
they affect things around

00:15:04.070 --> 00:15:07.440 align:middle line:84%
them, you could question the
genuineness of the change.

00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:10.360 align:middle line:84%
For instance, a Christian says,
I love God, but I\'m not

00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:11.980 align:middle line:84%
concerned about what\'s going
on in the country.

00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:13.990 align:middle line:90%
Well, that\'s questionable.

00:15:13.990 --> 00:15:16.980 align:middle line:90%
I\'m sick of being quiet.

00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:20.060 align:middle line:90%
I\'m sick of being silent.

00:15:20.060 --> 00:15:22.620 align:middle line:90%
I\'m sick of the godless, unholy

00:15:22.620 --> 00:15:26.070 align:middle line:90%
action some people take.

00:15:26.070 --> 00:15:32.910 align:middle line:84%
So I think what I did then was
as right as I could be.

00:15:32.910 --> 00:15:34.000 align:middle line:90%
We needed a change.

00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:39.690 align:middle line:90%
[CHEERING]

00:15:39.690 --> 00:15:43.110 align:middle line:84%
In 1980, as with Jimmy Carter
four years before, a

00:15:43.110 --> 00:15:46.200 align:middle line:84%
presidential candidate appeared
to champion the

00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:47.700 align:middle line:90%
evangelical cause.

00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:50.690 align:middle line:84%
I was asked once what book
I would choose it I were

00:15:50.690 --> 00:15:54.090 align:middle line:84%
shipwrecked on an island, and
could have only one book for

00:15:54.090 --> 00:15:56.480 align:middle line:90%
the rest of my life.

00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:00.840 align:middle line:84%
I replied that I knew of only
one book that could be read

00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:04.340 align:middle line:84%
and re-read, and continue
to be a challenge--

00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:05.610 align:middle line:90%
the Bible.

00:16:05.610 --> 00:16:09.010 align:middle line:84%
All the complex and horrendous
questions confronting us at

00:16:09.010 --> 00:16:14.870 align:middle line:84%
home and worldwide have their
answer in that single book.

00:16:14.870 --> 00:16:21.870 align:middle line:90%
[CHEERING]

00:16:21.870 --> 00:16:25.790 align:middle line:84%
Speaking unequivocally and
unapologetically about faith,

00:16:25.790 --> 00:16:29.004 align:middle line:84%
that was what appealed
most strongly in

00:16:29.004 --> 00:16:30.456 align:middle line:90%
the electoral campaign.

00:16:30.456 --> 00:16:36.264 align:middle line:90%

00:16:36.264 --> 00:16:41.050 align:middle line:84%
He could relate to ordinary
people in a way that the

00:16:41.050 --> 00:16:43.940 align:middle line:84%
Republican establishment could
not, and never would.

00:16:43.940 --> 00:16:51.630 align:middle line:84%
Reagan knew when he\'d strike
chords in groups of people.

00:16:51.630 --> 00:16:55.480 align:middle line:84%
And there were times when he
would-- probably in every

00:16:55.480 --> 00:17:03.990 align:middle line:84%
speech-- to talk about prayer in
schools, and the values of

00:17:03.990 --> 00:17:09.630 align:middle line:84%
developing a welfare system
which kept families together,

00:17:09.630 --> 00:17:13.140 align:middle line:84%
and reminding people that this
was one nation under God.

00:17:13.140 --> 00:17:14.505 align:middle line:90%
That sort of thing.

00:17:14.505 --> 00:17:17.830 align:middle line:84%
Because we know that you\'re
going to put this into office.

00:17:17.830 --> 00:17:20.205 align:middle line:84%
We say all this in
Jesus\' name.

00:17:20.205 --> 00:17:21.630 align:middle line:90%
Amen.

00:17:21.630 --> 00:17:26.250 align:middle line:84%
I just never gave that
particular part of politics a

00:17:26.250 --> 00:17:29.860 align:middle line:84%
lot of thought, because I
knew Ronald Reagan would

00:17:29.860 --> 00:17:31.868 align:middle line:90%
take care of that.

00:17:31.868 --> 00:17:34.772 align:middle line:84%
Abortion is the most
controversial of the so-called

00:17:34.772 --> 00:17:36.950 align:middle line:84%
religious issues, and important
this election year

00:17:36.950 --> 00:17:39.690 align:middle line:84%
because political analysts
believe many people may vote

00:17:39.690 --> 00:17:41.900 align:middle line:84%
on the basis of this
one issue.

00:17:41.900 --> 00:17:45.140 align:middle line:84%
The candidates\' stands on this
issue are clearly defined, and

00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:46.560 align:middle line:90%
considerably different.

00:17:46.560 --> 00:17:53.450 align:middle line:84%
There\'s an inherent conflict
in the basic discussion.

00:17:53.450 --> 00:17:59.840 align:middle line:84%
The right of a woman to have
control over her own body.

00:17:59.840 --> 00:18:01.640 align:middle line:84%
And on the other hand,
the right of the

00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.370 align:middle line:90%
embryonic child to live.

00:18:04.370 --> 00:18:08.042 align:middle line:84%
The Supreme Court has
drawn a line.

00:18:08.042 --> 00:18:11.450 align:middle line:84%
And as President, I support the
ruling, and will enforce

00:18:11.450 --> 00:18:13.170 align:middle line:90%
it to the best of my ability.

00:18:13.170 --> 00:18:16.660 align:middle line:84%
I happen to believe from all
the study that I have been

00:18:16.660 --> 00:18:19.140 align:middle line:84%
able to do, all the information
that I\'ve been

00:18:19.140 --> 00:18:22.010 align:middle line:84%
able to get, that when you
interrupt a pregnancy, you are

00:18:22.010 --> 00:18:24.280 align:middle line:90%
taking a human life.

00:18:24.280 --> 00:18:29.890 align:middle line:84%
Now, that puts that human life
within the protection of the

00:18:29.890 --> 00:18:30.830 align:middle line:90%
Constitution--

00:18:30.830 --> 00:18:32.690 align:middle line:84%
the guarantee of life,
liberty, and

00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:34.500 align:middle line:90%
the pursuit of happiness.

00:18:34.500 --> 00:18:36.270 align:middle line:90%
And so, it isn\'t a question of

00:18:36.270 --> 00:18:38.600 align:middle line:90%
legislating someone\'s morality.

00:18:38.600 --> 00:18:44.940 align:middle line:84%
It is a question of, do we, in
our re-interpretation of

00:18:44.940 --> 00:18:49.180 align:middle line:84%
morality, have the right to take
an innocent human life

00:18:49.180 --> 00:18:50.490 align:middle line:90%
that can\'t defend itself?

00:18:50.490 --> 00:18:53.260 align:middle line:84%
I know the president was
strongly committed to the

00:18:53.260 --> 00:18:54.290 align:middle line:90%
pro-life cause.

00:18:54.290 --> 00:18:59.580 align:middle line:84%
I personally witnessed a
conversation between Jim Baker

00:18:59.580 --> 00:19:00.590 align:middle line:90%
and Ronald Reagan.

00:19:00.590 --> 00:19:03.580 align:middle line:84%
Riding in the automobile, there
were the three of us.

00:19:03.580 --> 00:19:07.500 align:middle line:84%
And Jim Baker was trying to
persuade the President to

00:19:07.500 --> 00:19:10.700 align:middle line:84%
minimize his pro-life position,
because the polls

00:19:10.700 --> 00:19:12.270 align:middle line:90%
weren\'t supporting him.

00:19:12.270 --> 00:19:14.320 align:middle line:84%
And it\'s one of the few
times I ever saw

00:19:14.320 --> 00:19:17.120 align:middle line:90%
Ronald Reagan get angry.

00:19:17.120 --> 00:19:21.300 align:middle line:84%
And he became quite irritated
with Jim Baker for even making

00:19:21.300 --> 00:19:22.500 align:middle line:90%
this argument.

00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:25.390 align:middle line:90%
As though, don\'t you know--

00:19:25.390 --> 00:19:27.280 align:middle line:90%
this is right.

00:19:27.280 --> 00:19:28.580 align:middle line:84%
I don\'t care what
the polls say.

00:19:28.580 --> 00:19:29.970 align:middle line:90%
This is right.

00:19:29.970 --> 00:19:33.940 align:middle line:84%
I pulled in about 50 of the
cardinals and bishops of the

00:19:33.940 --> 00:19:36.730 align:middle line:84%
Christian community in a meeting
that Reagan had asked

00:19:36.730 --> 00:19:39.890 align:middle line:84%
me to put together for him to
get the evangelical vote.

00:19:39.890 --> 00:19:41.950 align:middle line:84%
John Connally was trying to get
their votes in the \'80s

00:19:41.950 --> 00:19:43.310 align:middle line:90%
election, too.

00:19:43.310 --> 00:19:49.390 align:middle line:84%
And one discerning Presbyterian
minister and an

00:19:49.390 --> 00:19:52.660 align:middle line:84%
articulate TV spokesman, Dr.
James Kennedy, of Coral Ridge

00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:56.530 align:middle line:84%
Presbyterian Church in Fort
Lauderdale, asked him the $64

00:19:56.530 --> 00:20:01.070 align:middle line:84%
question-- if you were to die
tomorrow, Governor, and you

00:20:01.070 --> 00:20:05.450 align:middle line:84%
wanted to go to heaven, what
reason would you give God for

00:20:05.450 --> 00:20:06.700 align:middle line:90%
letting you in?

00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:08.530 align:middle line:90%

00:20:08.530 --> 00:20:14.740 align:middle line:84%
And Connally said, well, my
mother was a Methodist, my

00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:17.440 align:middle line:84%
pappy was a Methodist, my
grandmother was a Methodist.

00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.530 align:middle line:84%
And I\'d just tell him, I\'m not
any worse than any of the

00:20:19.530 --> 00:20:21.892 align:middle line:84%
other people that want
to get into heaven.

00:20:21.892 --> 00:20:25.550 align:middle line:84%
Well, that fell like
a stone with all

00:20:25.550 --> 00:20:27.500 align:middle line:90%
these Christian leaders.

00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:32.690 align:middle line:84%
And when Kennedy asked Reagan
that question, Reagan dropped

00:20:32.690 --> 00:20:39.550 align:middle line:84%
his eyes, looked at his feet,
and said, I wouldn\'t give God

00:20:39.550 --> 00:20:41.510 align:middle line:90%
any reason for letting me in.

00:20:41.510 --> 00:20:44.880 align:middle line:84%
I just ask for mercy, because
of what Jesus Christ did for

00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:46.130 align:middle line:90%
me it Calvary.

00:20:46.130 --> 00:20:50.100 align:middle line:90%

00:20:50.100 --> 00:20:52.310 align:middle line:90%
Hey--

00:20:52.310 --> 00:20:52.990 align:middle line:90%
boom--

00:20:52.990 --> 00:20:56.470 align:middle line:84%
to a man and a woman in that
room, they said, let\'s go.

00:20:56.470 --> 00:20:58.472 align:middle line:90%
And they went all out for him.

00:20:58.472 --> 00:21:10.150 align:middle line:90%
[SINGING]

00:21:10.150 --> 00:21:12.650 align:middle line:84%
We a threefold primary
responsibility.

00:21:12.650 --> 00:21:13.870 align:middle line:90%
Number one, get people saved.

00:21:13.870 --> 00:21:14.930 align:middle line:90%
Number two, get them baptized.

00:21:14.930 --> 00:21:17.480 align:middle line:84%
Number three, get them
registered to vote.

00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:19.830 align:middle line:84%
Only 55% of evangelicals
were registered

00:21:19.830 --> 00:21:21.680 align:middle line:90%
to vote at the time.

00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:24.540 align:middle line:84%
The national mean at
the time was 72%.

00:21:24.540 --> 00:21:25.520 align:middle line:90%
So we had a lot to do there.

00:21:25.520 --> 00:21:31.920 align:middle line:90%
[SINGING]

00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:34.520 align:middle line:84%
We had to learn the laws, and
how we could, and where we

00:21:34.520 --> 00:21:35.110 align:middle line:90%
could register.

00:21:35.110 --> 00:21:39.480 align:middle line:84%
So we began registration efforts
in church lobbies,

00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:42.020 align:middle line:84%
church lawns, whatever the
particular state law was.

00:21:42.020 --> 00:21:44.210 align:middle line:84%
Paul, how important is
it for Christians

00:21:44.210 --> 00:21:45.530 align:middle line:90%
to register to vote?

00:21:45.530 --> 00:21:49.230 align:middle line:84%
Bill, outside of attaining
eternal salvation, I can\'t

00:21:49.230 --> 00:21:51.250 align:middle line:84%
think of anything that\'s more
important right now.

00:21:51.250 --> 00:22:05.100 align:middle line:90%
[SINGING]

00:22:05.100 --> 00:22:07.380 align:middle line:84%
Christians have the
most to lose.

00:22:07.380 --> 00:22:10.940 align:middle line:84%
They must not retreat from
their responsibilities.

00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:14.260 align:middle line:84%
They must get involved in
the political process.

00:22:14.260 --> 00:22:17.190 align:middle line:84%
The very survival of America
is at stake.

00:22:17.190 --> 00:22:19.700 align:middle line:84%
The secular humanists have been
controlling things in

00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:21.150 align:middle line:90%
Washington for a long time.

00:22:21.150 --> 00:22:23.900 align:middle line:84%
And I think if Christians will
get out there register to

00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:26.870 align:middle line:84%
vote, they still have the
opportunity to turn it around.

00:22:26.870 --> 00:22:28.350 align:middle line:90%
But soon, it will be too late.

00:22:28.350 --> 00:22:36.280 align:middle line:90%
[SINGING]

00:22:36.280 --> 00:22:38.190 align:middle line:84%
And we registered about
8,500,000 voters

00:22:38.190 --> 00:22:39.385 align:middle line:90%
there in five years.

00:22:39.385 --> 00:22:44.430 align:middle line:90%
[SINGING]

00:22:44.430 --> 00:22:48.260 align:middle line:84%
Basically, Jerry Falwell was
travelling all over creation

00:22:48.260 --> 00:22:52.810 align:middle line:84%
and the greater universe
preaching the gospel of civil

00:22:52.810 --> 00:22:57.960 align:middle line:84%
responsibility, getting
registered, of understanding

00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:01.090 align:middle line:84%
the fundamental issues that are
important, and of going

00:23:01.090 --> 00:23:03.850 align:middle line:84%
out and voting and making
a difference.

00:23:03.850 --> 00:23:06.650 align:middle line:84%
Of course, saying that God was
neither a Republican or a

00:23:06.650 --> 00:23:08.616 align:middle line:84%
Democrat, he sure wasn\'t
a Democrat.

00:23:08.616 --> 00:23:12.344 align:middle line:90%
[CHEERING]

00:23:12.344 --> 00:23:19.770 align:middle line:84%
Governor Ronald Reagan, on
behalf of more than 30 million

00:23:19.770 --> 00:23:24.650 align:middle line:84%
evangelical Christians in
America, we welcome you to

00:23:24.650 --> 00:23:28.140 align:middle line:84%
this, one of the greatest
assemblies in the 20th

00:23:28.140 --> 00:23:33.200 align:middle line:84%
century, Governor
Ronald Reagan.

00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:36.500 align:middle line:84%
The National Prayer briefing was
something that God put on

00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:38.830 align:middle line:90%
my heart early 1980.

00:23:38.830 --> 00:23:41.880 align:middle line:84%
Someone said that the leadership
was at that meeting

00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:45.200 align:middle line:84%
represented between 50 and 60
million potential voters who

00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:48.310 align:middle line:84%
were easy to register
or registered.

00:23:48.310 --> 00:23:50.910 align:middle line:90%
I mean, it had the potential.

00:23:50.910 --> 00:23:52.080 align:middle line:90%
They were there.

00:23:52.080 --> 00:23:54.950 align:middle line:84%
They suggested Reagan come out
and sit on the platform.

00:23:54.950 --> 00:23:56.590 align:middle line:84%
And I said, and Governor
Connally said,

00:23:56.590 --> 00:23:57.510 align:middle line:90%
you really need to.

00:23:57.510 --> 00:23:58.760 align:middle line:84%
He said, I\'d like
you to hear Jay.

00:23:58.760 --> 00:23:59.985 align:middle line:84%
You\'re going to really
like this.

00:23:59.985 --> 00:24:03.540 align:middle line:84%
And he said, it will say a lot
to the people to watch how you

00:24:03.540 --> 00:24:07.660 align:middle line:84%
respond to the values he\'s
going to emphasize your

00:24:07.660 --> 00:24:10.500 align:middle line:84%
countenance is going
to do a lot.

00:24:10.500 --> 00:24:12.550 align:middle line:84%
Well, Deaver was very
upset about.

00:24:12.550 --> 00:24:15.160 align:middle line:84%
And some of the others, I can\'t
believe you don\'t go out

00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:15.800 align:middle line:90%
there on the platform.

00:24:15.800 --> 00:24:18.375 align:middle line:84%
I mean, Mike even jumped
on me a little bit.

00:24:18.375 --> 00:24:19.530 align:middle line:90%
He was afraid of us.

00:24:19.530 --> 00:24:24.170 align:middle line:84%
He was afraid of the potential
influence of a group they

00:24:24.170 --> 00:24:25.240 align:middle line:90%
could backfire.

00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:26.340 align:middle line:84%
But he said, you don\'t
go out there.

00:24:26.340 --> 00:24:27.410 align:middle line:90%
It\'s dangerous.

00:24:27.410 --> 00:24:28.770 align:middle line:84%
And he said, I need
to go out there.

00:24:28.770 --> 00:24:30.130 align:middle line:90%
I want to go.

00:24:30.130 --> 00:24:31.110 align:middle line:90%
Well, out he came.

00:24:31.110 --> 00:24:34.790 align:middle line:84%
One of the most outstanding
preachers in our country.

00:24:34.790 --> 00:24:38.480 align:middle line:84%
The vice president of the
Roundtable, a man who was

00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:42.440 align:middle line:84%
greatly responsible for this
meeting coming to pass.

00:24:42.440 --> 00:24:45.525 align:middle line:84%
One of God\'s great servants
in this time.

00:24:45.525 --> 00:24:47.670 align:middle line:84%
Won\'t you welcome
James Robison.

00:24:47.670 --> 00:24:55.150 align:middle line:90%
[CHEERING]

00:24:55.150 --> 00:25:01.600 align:middle line:84%
If the righteous, the
pro-family, the moral, they

00:25:01.600 --> 00:25:06.230 align:middle line:84%
biblical, the godly, the
hardworking, and the decent

00:25:06.230 --> 00:25:11.820 align:middle line:84%
individuals in this country stay
out of politics, who on

00:25:11.820 --> 00:25:15.710 align:middle line:84%
this earth does that leave to
make the policies under which

00:25:15.710 --> 00:25:18.245 align:middle line:84%
you and I live, and struggle
to survive?

00:25:18.245 --> 00:25:20.730 align:middle line:90%
[CHEERING]

00:25:20.730 --> 00:25:26.050 align:middle line:84%
I\'m sick and tired of hearing
about all of the radicals and

00:25:26.050 --> 00:25:30.670 align:middle line:84%
the perverts and the liberals
and leftists and the

00:25:30.670 --> 00:25:32.570 align:middle line:84%
communists coming out
of the closets.

00:25:32.570 --> 00:25:36.200 align:middle line:84%
It\'s time for God\'s people to
come out of the closets, out

00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:38.530 align:middle line:84%
of the churches, and
change America.

00:25:38.530 --> 00:25:39.850 align:middle line:90%
We must do it.

00:25:39.850 --> 00:25:42.360 align:middle line:90%

00:25:42.360 --> 00:25:46.410 align:middle line:84%
I suggested to Mr. Reagan
that, because it was a

00:25:46.410 --> 00:25:50.370 align:middle line:84%
bipartisan, it would be in his
best interest, since we could

00:25:50.370 --> 00:25:54.720 align:middle line:84%
not and would not endorse him
as a body, that it would

00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:58.350 align:middle line:84%
probably be wise if his opening
comment would be, I

00:25:58.350 --> 00:26:03.390 align:middle line:84%
know this is nonpartisan,
so you can\'t endorse me.

00:26:03.390 --> 00:26:04.167 align:middle line:90%
But I want you to

00:26:04.167 --> 00:26:05.280 align:middle line:90%
know I endorse You.

00:26:05.280 --> 00:26:08.820 align:middle line:84%
I only brought that up because
I want you to know that I

00:26:08.820 --> 00:26:11.040 align:middle line:84%
endorse you and what
you are doing.

00:26:11.040 --> 00:26:12.468 align:middle line:90%
[CHEERING]

00:26:12.468 --> 00:26:14.500 align:middle line:84%
Well, that headlined
everywhere.

00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:16.570 align:middle line:84%
You can\'t endorse me, but
I can endorse you.

00:26:16.570 --> 00:26:19.690 align:middle line:84%
Well, you can imagine what
that did to caring,

00:26:19.690 --> 00:26:21.614 align:middle line:90%
traditional values people.

00:26:21.614 --> 00:26:23.230 align:middle line:90%
Thank you very much.

00:26:23.230 --> 00:26:26.960 align:middle line:84%
I looked at Mr. Reagan and
said, we really like you.

00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:28.820 align:middle line:90%
We really like you.

00:26:28.820 --> 00:26:32.190 align:middle line:84%
We like the principles
that you espouse.

00:26:32.190 --> 00:26:34.650 align:middle line:84%
I said, but you need to
understand something about the

00:26:34.650 --> 00:26:38.390 align:middle line:84%
nature of this group that you\'ll
speak to you tonight,

00:26:38.390 --> 00:26:41.220 align:middle line:90%
and those of us in this room.

00:26:41.220 --> 00:26:42.980 align:middle line:90%
We\'re not partisan.

00:26:42.980 --> 00:26:46.440 align:middle line:90%
We\'re not pro-party.

00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:48.850 align:middle line:90%
We\'re not pro-personality.

00:26:48.850 --> 00:26:51.530 align:middle line:90%
We\'re pro-principle.

00:26:51.530 --> 00:26:55.680 align:middle line:84%
If you stand by the principles
that you say you believe,

00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:58.850 align:middle line:84%
we\'ll be the greatest friends
you\'ll ever have.

00:26:58.850 --> 00:27:02.000 align:middle line:84%
But I said, if you turn against
those principles, I

00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:03.300 align:middle line:84%
said we\'ll be your
worst nightmare.

00:27:03.300 --> 00:27:05.920 align:middle line:90%

00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:09.610 align:middle line:84%
You\'re seeing the
President-elect of the United

00:27:09.610 --> 00:27:12.270 align:middle line:90%
States and his family--

00:27:12.270 --> 00:27:15.340 align:middle line:84%
Ronald and Nancy Reagan,
the Reagan children and

00:27:15.340 --> 00:27:16.590 align:middle line:90%
grandchildren.

00:27:16.590 --> 00:27:20.910 align:middle line:90%

00:27:20.910 --> 00:27:23.495 align:middle line:84%
Governor Reagan, we just wanted
to show you what the

00:27:23.495 --> 00:27:28.010 align:middle line:84%
map of the United States looks
like as 8 o\'clock tonight.

00:27:28.010 --> 00:27:28.375 align:middle line:90%
Hey.

00:27:28.375 --> 00:27:30.230 align:middle line:90%
So nervous.

00:27:30.230 --> 00:27:32.830 align:middle line:84%
I don\'t have to tell you this
is the day after a rather

00:27:32.830 --> 00:27:36.320 align:middle line:84%
unusual election in the
nation\'s history.

00:27:36.320 --> 00:27:39.180 align:middle line:84%
It\'s interesting that
Lou Harris--

00:27:39.180 --> 00:27:42.830 align:middle line:84%
Lou Harris is one of the
nation\'s leading pollsters.

00:27:42.830 --> 00:27:45.650 align:middle line:84%
And I might add, he is
a Jewish individual.

00:27:45.650 --> 00:27:47.000 align:middle line:90%
Lou Harris says this--

00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:51.120 align:middle line:84%
Reagen is also winning the votes
of that 26% of the white

00:27:51.120 --> 00:27:54.680 align:middle line:84%
electorate who are followers of
the evangelical preachers

00:27:54.680 --> 00:27:56.560 align:middle line:84%
who have been active
in the election.

00:27:56.560 --> 00:27:59.380 align:middle line:84%
The GOP candidates\' margin
among the so-called moral

00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:02.750 align:middle line:90%
majority is 56% to 34%.

00:28:02.750 --> 00:28:04.760 align:middle line:84%
Without this vote, Reagan
would trail

00:28:04.760 --> 00:28:06.510 align:middle line:90%
Carter by one point.

00:28:06.510 --> 00:28:09.960 align:middle line:84%
This group is providing
Reagan with his clear

00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:13.200 align:middle line:90%
margin in the election.

00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:16.640 align:middle line:84%
I drove to the church late that
afternoon to pick up my

00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:18.640 align:middle line:90%
kids from school.

00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:21.360 align:middle line:84%
And Jerry was sitting
in his truck.

00:28:21.360 --> 00:28:23.600 align:middle line:84%
And I walked over, and sat
on the front of the

00:28:23.600 --> 00:28:25.340 align:middle line:90%
truck the two of us.

00:28:25.340 --> 00:28:29.204 align:middle line:84%
And he could not believe
what was happening.

00:28:29.204 --> 00:28:34.170 align:middle line:84%
I mean, it was one of those
moments of, can you believe

00:28:34.170 --> 00:28:35.290 align:middle line:90%
what we did?

00:28:35.290 --> 00:28:38.720 align:middle line:84%
When Ronald Reagan was elected,
12 liberal senators

00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:43.970 align:middle line:84%
un-elected, and the
furor began.

00:28:43.970 --> 00:28:46.400 align:middle line:90%
It was a feeling of elation.

00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:50.010 align:middle line:84%
The fact is, as of this
morning, we have a

00:28:50.010 --> 00:28:53.250 align:middle line:84%
President-elect who is committed
to help us pass a

00:28:53.250 --> 00:28:55.790 align:middle line:84%
human life amendment through
the Congress and the state

00:28:55.790 --> 00:28:57.020 align:middle line:90%
legislatures.

00:28:57.020 --> 00:29:00.770 align:middle line:84%
We have a President-elect who
has said we will help you

00:29:00.770 --> 00:29:03.600 align:middle line:84%
return voluntary prayer
to public schools.

00:29:03.600 --> 00:29:05.390 align:middle line:84%
We have a President-elect
who has said--

00:29:05.390 --> 00:29:07.600 align:middle line:90%
[APPLAUSE]

00:29:07.600 --> 00:29:11.110 align:middle line:84%
We thought we might be able to
do something, and did much

00:29:11.110 --> 00:29:12.480 align:middle line:90%
more than we thought.

00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:17.270 align:middle line:84%
We have a President-elect who
has said, I will work hard to

00:29:17.270 --> 00:29:20.560 align:middle line:84%
return America to that position
of number one in the

00:29:20.560 --> 00:29:23.060 align:middle line:84%
world of military might
for the cause

00:29:23.060 --> 00:29:25.610 align:middle line:90%
of freedom and peace.

00:29:25.610 --> 00:29:30.820 align:middle line:84%
And this, which no one gave us
any hope for, but now as of

00:29:30.820 --> 00:29:32.870 align:middle line:90%
this morning, we have.

00:29:32.870 --> 00:29:36.040 align:middle line:84%
We have a Senate and House of
Representatives committed to

00:29:36.040 --> 00:29:39.540 align:middle line:84%
all those same positions
to help us do it.

00:29:39.540 --> 00:29:40.790 align:middle line:90%
A majority.

00:29:40.790 --> 00:29:43.590 align:middle line:90%

00:29:43.590 --> 00:29:46.760 align:middle line:84%
As you go about forming your new
government, and selecting

00:29:46.760 --> 00:29:48.850 align:middle line:84%
the people who are going to head
the cabinet, be in your

00:29:48.850 --> 00:29:51.470 align:middle line:84%
cabinet, and run the government,
how much

00:29:51.470 --> 00:29:54.230 align:middle line:84%
consideration are you going to
give to the advice of these

00:29:54.230 --> 00:29:56.340 align:middle line:84%
new conservative organizations,
and the Moral

00:29:56.340 --> 00:29:59.950 align:middle line:84%
Majority, and to people like
the Reverend Jerry Falwell?

00:29:59.950 --> 00:30:03.350 align:middle line:84%
I am going to be open
to these people.

00:30:03.350 --> 00:30:04.190 align:middle line:90%
I am--

00:30:04.190 --> 00:30:06.310 align:middle line:84%
you are President of
all the people.

00:30:06.310 --> 00:30:12.150 align:middle line:84%
And I am going to want to seek
advice where I think that I

00:30:12.150 --> 00:30:14.030 align:middle line:84%
can get advice from those
who are familiar with

00:30:14.030 --> 00:30:15.530 align:middle line:90%
a particular problem.

00:30:15.530 --> 00:30:20.030 align:middle line:84%
I am not going to separate
myself from the people who

00:30:20.030 --> 00:30:22.260 align:middle line:90%
elected us and sent us there.

00:30:22.260 --> 00:30:24.860 align:middle line:84%
There was only priority
in the first term, and

00:30:24.860 --> 00:30:26.490 align:middle line:90%
that was the economy.

00:30:26.490 --> 00:30:29.380 align:middle line:84%
And I would say to all these
department heads--

00:30:29.380 --> 00:30:32.390 align:middle line:84%
Faith Whittlesey, Elizabeth
Dole, Kenneth Duberstein,

00:30:32.390 --> 00:30:34.170 align:middle line:90%
whoever it was--

00:30:34.170 --> 00:30:37.100 align:middle line:84%
unless you can show me how
this thing plays to the

00:30:37.100 --> 00:30:40.170 align:middle line:84%
economic recovery issue,
I don\'t want to

00:30:40.170 --> 00:30:42.440 align:middle line:90%
see it on my desk.

00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:45.870 align:middle line:84%
The only way I knew that I could
translate what we wanted

00:30:45.870 --> 00:30:48.886 align:middle line:84%
to do to the American public,
and back to the Congress of

00:30:48.886 --> 00:30:51.060 align:middle line:84%
the United States was through
the television.

00:30:51.060 --> 00:30:57.140 align:middle line:84%
So if you have a request from
Faith Whittlesey for some

00:30:57.140 --> 00:31:01.050 align:middle line:84%
religious organization to come
and talk to the President, and

00:31:01.050 --> 00:31:04.270 align:middle line:84%
that is one of the photo ops of
the day, what\'s that got to

00:31:04.270 --> 00:31:06.930 align:middle line:84%
do with turning the
economy around?

00:31:06.930 --> 00:31:09.430 align:middle line:84%
Getting more jobs to the
American people?

00:31:09.430 --> 00:31:11.760 align:middle line:84%
These were the people, the
establishment Republicans, who

00:31:11.760 --> 00:31:13.060 align:middle line:84%
wanted to talk about
the economy.

00:31:13.060 --> 00:31:15.980 align:middle line:90%

00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:21.840 align:middle line:84%
And primarily, they were
interested in the getting and

00:31:21.840 --> 00:31:24.800 align:middle line:84%
spending of money,
and tax issues.

00:31:24.800 --> 00:31:29.360 align:middle line:84%
Not that those things aren\'t
important, but they believed

00:31:29.360 --> 00:31:34.360 align:middle line:84%
that the government could
be run efficiently.

00:31:34.360 --> 00:31:38.210 align:middle line:84%
And they were good managers of
an efficient government.

00:31:38.210 --> 00:31:40.210 align:middle line:84%
And that should be our
highest priority.

00:31:40.210 --> 00:31:43.840 align:middle line:84%
My role was to manage the
President\'s time.

00:31:43.840 --> 00:31:46.990 align:middle line:84%
So people like Elizabeth, and
the congressional liaison,

00:31:46.990 --> 00:31:50.790 align:middle line:84%
people in the press office, were
all a real pain to me,

00:31:50.790 --> 00:31:54.290 align:middle line:84%
because they were continually
trying to get their

00:31:54.290 --> 00:31:56.820 align:middle line:90%
piece of the body.

00:31:56.820 --> 00:31:59.410 align:middle line:84%
And my job was to not
give anybody any.

00:31:59.410 --> 00:32:01.890 align:middle line:84%
So there was a kind of
underground in the Reagan

00:32:01.890 --> 00:32:08.700 align:middle line:84%
White House of people who were
known to be supporters of the

00:32:08.700 --> 00:32:11.400 align:middle line:84%
pro-life position,
of school prayer,

00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:13.650 align:middle line:90%
of tuition tax credits.

00:32:13.650 --> 00:32:16.860 align:middle line:84%
And with our allies elsewhere,
there were some in other

00:32:16.860 --> 00:32:23.770 align:middle line:84%
offices that helped us do what
we could to move these issues,

00:32:23.770 --> 00:32:29.820 align:middle line:84%
and to maintain the morale and
the motivation of the people

00:32:29.820 --> 00:32:32.530 align:middle line:90%
who had trusted Ronald Reagan.

00:32:32.530 --> 00:32:35.000 align:middle line:84%
Unaware with their opposition
within the Reagan

00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:38.600 align:middle line:84%
administration, evangelical
leaders marched ahead under

00:32:38.600 --> 00:32:41.870 align:middle line:84%
the banner of the
new President.

00:32:41.870 --> 00:32:45.880 align:middle line:84%
From Washington, DC, the Old
Time Gospel Hour presents this

00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:47.130 align:middle line:90%
special program.

00:32:47.130 --> 00:32:51.020 align:middle line:84%
With Jerry Falwell, and
President Ronald Reagan.

00:32:51.020 --> 00:32:54.410 align:middle line:84%
20 years ago here in the Supreme
Court, it was decided

00:32:54.410 --> 00:32:56.640 align:middle line:84%
that exposure to prayer
was hazardous to

00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:58.270 align:middle line:90%
our children\'s health.

00:32:58.270 --> 00:33:00.580 align:middle line:84%
What has been the effect
of that position?

00:33:00.580 --> 00:33:03.340 align:middle line:84%
Since 1962, crime
has increased.

00:33:03.340 --> 00:33:05.190 align:middle line:84%
Children have been
hooked on drugs.

00:33:05.190 --> 00:33:08.360 align:middle line:84%
Premarital sex and unwanted
pregnancies have skyrocketed.

00:33:08.360 --> 00:33:10.000 align:middle line:90%
Test scores have declined.

00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:12.400 align:middle line:84%
Venereal disease is a
national epidemic.

00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:15.420 align:middle line:84%
It\'s time to ask whether our
children were better off with

00:33:15.420 --> 00:33:17.350 align:middle line:90%
God, or without him.

00:33:17.350 --> 00:33:19.610 align:middle line:90%
Now, here is Jerry Falwell.

00:33:19.610 --> 00:33:22.810 align:middle line:84%
This is the day Christians have
longed and prayed for a

00:33:22.810 --> 00:33:24.710 align:middle line:90%
very, very long time.

00:33:24.710 --> 00:33:28.700 align:middle line:84%
Today, our President is
proposing a voluntary prayer

00:33:28.700 --> 00:33:32.500 align:middle line:84%
amendment to the Constitution,
which would once again allow

00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:36.550 align:middle line:84%
the children of America to
pray in the school rooms.

00:33:36.550 --> 00:33:40.660 align:middle line:84%
I had a knowledge of who in
the religious right was

00:33:40.660 --> 00:33:43.150 align:middle line:84%
interested in a voluntary
prayer amendment.

00:33:43.150 --> 00:33:47.980 align:middle line:84%
And so, the idea was to come
up with an amendment which

00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:50.940 align:middle line:84%
would do the job of permitting
voluntary prayer.

00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:53.920 align:middle line:84%
But also, an amendment which
would satisfy these

00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:58.150 align:middle line:84%
proponents, because if we were
to have any chance of passage,

00:33:58.150 --> 00:34:01.710 align:middle line:84%
the people who wanted voluntary
prayer made

00:34:01.710 --> 00:34:04.120 align:middle line:84%
permissible in this country had
to be enthusiastic about

00:34:04.120 --> 00:34:04.930 align:middle line:90%
our wording.

00:34:04.930 --> 00:34:08.889 align:middle line:84%
The President just gave to us
the final wording of the

00:34:08.889 --> 00:34:13.239 align:middle line:84%
constitutional amendment
regarding voluntary prayer in

00:34:13.239 --> 00:34:16.639 align:middle line:84%
public schools, which
goes accordingly.

00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:19.719 align:middle line:84%
Nothing in this Constitution
shall be construed to prohibit

00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:22.500 align:middle line:84%
individual or group prayer in
public schools, or other

00:34:22.500 --> 00:34:24.190 align:middle line:90%
public institutions.

00:34:24.190 --> 00:34:27.760 align:middle line:84%
No person shall be required by
the United States, or by any

00:34:27.760 --> 00:34:29.820 align:middle line:84%
state, to participate
in prayer.

00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:32.179 align:middle line:84%
And then this last phrase
is brand new.

00:34:32.179 --> 00:34:36.030 align:middle line:84%
And seems to accomplish the
unifying action of bringing

00:34:36.030 --> 00:34:39.889 align:middle line:84%
together some friends of
voluntary prayer, but critics

00:34:39.889 --> 00:34:42.050 align:middle line:84%
of the amendment, as it
was formally worded.

00:34:42.050 --> 00:34:43.340 align:middle line:90%
This statement--

00:34:43.340 --> 00:34:46.270 align:middle line:84%
nor shall the United States,
or any state, compose the

00:34:46.270 --> 00:34:49.199 align:middle line:84%
words of any prayer to be
said in public schools.

00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:52.179 align:middle line:84%
And I asked the President
whether he was launching an

00:34:52.179 --> 00:34:55.190 align:middle line:84%
effort that would balance what
our folks are trying to do at

00:34:55.190 --> 00:34:57.300 align:middle line:84%
the outside level, at the
grassroots level.

00:34:57.300 --> 00:35:00.170 align:middle line:84%
And he assured us that he was
going to be launching an all

00:35:00.170 --> 00:35:03.770 align:middle line:84%
out effort on his end to lobby
the Hill, and the senators and

00:35:03.770 --> 00:35:05.820 align:middle line:84%
the congressmen, and bring
them down, and visit with

00:35:05.820 --> 00:35:07.780 align:middle line:84%
them, and get them on the
phone, and so forth.

00:35:07.780 --> 00:35:11.140 align:middle line:84%
I also hope that I can count on
your help in the days and

00:35:11.140 --> 00:35:14.840 align:middle line:84%
months as we work for passage
of this amendment.

00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:17.880 align:middle line:84%
Changing the Constitution
is a mammoth task.

00:35:17.880 --> 00:35:19.670 align:middle line:90%
It should never be easy.

00:35:19.670 --> 00:35:22.970 align:middle line:84%
But in this case, I believe we
could restore a freedom that

00:35:22.970 --> 00:35:27.040 align:middle line:84%
our constitution was always
meant to protect.

00:35:27.040 --> 00:35:29.490 align:middle line:84%
I don\'t know what a human being
could do more rapidly

00:35:29.490 --> 00:35:32.220 align:middle line:84%
and more intelligently and
more accurately, and in

00:35:32.220 --> 00:35:34.360 align:middle line:84%
keeping with his promises, than
Ronald Reagan has done.

00:35:34.360 --> 00:35:35.930 align:middle line:84%
I give him A plus
on everything.

00:35:35.930 --> 00:35:40.970 align:middle line:84%
It just was unbelievable that
our pastor, this little guy

00:35:40.970 --> 00:35:41.740 align:middle line:90%
here in Lynchburg.

00:35:41.740 --> 00:35:44.720 align:middle line:84%
And here he is up
in Washington.

00:35:44.720 --> 00:35:48.170 align:middle line:84%
Not advising, but giving
advice at ask

00:35:48.170 --> 00:35:49.390 align:middle line:90%
in the White House.

00:35:49.390 --> 00:35:51.620 align:middle line:84%
I remember the first time I went
to the White House with

00:35:51.620 --> 00:35:55.530 align:middle line:84%
Jerry Falwell, and ate
at the mess hall.

00:35:55.530 --> 00:36:00.080 align:middle line:84%
And Jerry Falwell and myself,
and two of the key people in

00:36:00.080 --> 00:36:04.700 align:middle line:84%
the President\'s inner circle,
eating lunch at this table,

00:36:04.700 --> 00:36:06.570 align:middle line:90%
discussing issues.

00:36:06.570 --> 00:36:10.270 align:middle line:84%
And I\'m thinking, wow,
I am sitting here

00:36:10.270 --> 00:36:11.460 align:middle line:90%
at the White House.

00:36:11.460 --> 00:36:15.710 align:middle line:84%
To know Dr. Falwell, to know
he has sat in my home, and

00:36:15.710 --> 00:36:17.270 align:middle line:84%
he\'s also sat in the
White House.

00:36:17.270 --> 00:36:18.850 align:middle line:90%
That\'s interesting.

00:36:18.850 --> 00:36:21.520 align:middle line:84%
But I\'m sure he wasn\'t any
different when he sat down to

00:36:21.520 --> 00:36:25.540 align:middle line:84%
talk to the President, as he
is when he talks with every

00:36:25.540 --> 00:36:26.820 align:middle line:90%
day people.

00:36:26.820 --> 00:36:30.740 align:middle line:84%
Did you ever stop to think
that you really hold the

00:36:30.740 --> 00:36:34.980 align:middle line:84%
future of our boys and
girls in your hands?

00:36:34.980 --> 00:36:38.150 align:middle line:84%
Those senators who are going to
ratify our not ratify this

00:36:38.150 --> 00:36:41.930 align:middle line:84%
amendment, those legislators
in the 50 state houses who

00:36:41.930 --> 00:36:45.740 align:middle line:84%
will either ratify or not
ratify this amendment--

00:36:45.740 --> 00:36:47.640 align:middle line:90%
they all work for you.

00:36:47.640 --> 00:36:50.460 align:middle line:84%
They need to know how you
feel about this matter.

00:36:50.460 --> 00:37:11.320 align:middle line:90%
[CHANTING]

00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:14.190 align:middle line:84%
Jerry Falwell, of the Moral
Majority, made a special trip

00:37:14.190 --> 00:37:16.510 align:middle line:84%
to Washington to work
the telephone.

00:37:16.510 --> 00:37:17.240 align:middle line:84%
And of course, I\'m
calling today

00:37:17.240 --> 00:37:18.810 align:middle line:90%
about the prayer amendment.

00:37:18.810 --> 00:37:21.290 align:middle line:84%
The point is that voluntary
prayer is

00:37:21.290 --> 00:37:22.500 align:middle line:90%
allowed in school today.

00:37:22.500 --> 00:37:25.530 align:middle line:84%
Any child can take a moment
of silence and pray.

00:37:25.530 --> 00:37:27.950 align:middle line:84%
And there are plenty of
organized periods, study

00:37:27.950 --> 00:37:31.210 align:middle line:84%
periods and quiet time, when
the children can play.

00:37:31.210 --> 00:37:34.680 align:middle line:84%
All the President is suggesting
is we take this out

00:37:34.680 --> 00:37:37.920 align:middle line:84%
of the jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court, give it back to

00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:41.840 align:middle line:84%
local school boards, and allow
children the right again in

00:37:41.840 --> 00:37:44.230 align:middle line:84%
schools paid for by their
moms and dads to pray.

00:37:44.230 --> 00:37:52.840 align:middle line:90%
[SINGING]

00:37:52.840 --> 00:37:56.560 align:middle line:84%
It is clear that Washington, as
a city, would never pass a

00:37:56.560 --> 00:37:58.260 align:middle line:90%
prayer in school amendment.

00:37:58.260 --> 00:38:01.460 align:middle line:84%
But it is possible that America,
as a country, can

00:38:01.460 --> 00:38:02.710 align:middle line:90%
educate Washington.

00:38:02.710 --> 00:38:05.580 align:middle line:90%

00:38:05.580 --> 00:38:07.730 align:middle line:84%
And now please join
me in prayer.

00:38:07.730 --> 00:38:11.560 align:middle line:84%
Thank God Ronald Reagan
is in the White House.

00:38:11.560 --> 00:38:17.390 align:middle line:84%
And he stands not only with the
majority of Americans on

00:38:17.390 --> 00:38:20.590 align:middle line:84%
the right side of these moral
issues, he said to us several

00:38:20.590 --> 00:38:24.660 align:middle line:84%
hours ago on the White House,
he\'s willing to lead forth as

00:38:24.660 --> 00:38:26.520 align:middle line:90%
we go out to win the battle.

00:38:26.520 --> 00:38:27.520 align:middle line:90%
Yes, there was an effort.

00:38:27.520 --> 00:38:29.600 align:middle line:84%
And I believe the president
was committed.

00:38:29.600 --> 00:38:32.860 align:middle line:84%
But arguments were made to him
that other things were more

00:38:32.860 --> 00:38:34.170 align:middle line:90%
important at the time.

00:38:34.170 --> 00:38:37.000 align:middle line:84%
It was very clear to me at the
White House that Mike Deaver

00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:38.340 align:middle line:90%
didn\'t care much about this.

00:38:38.340 --> 00:38:40.250 align:middle line:84%
He didn\'t object, I
suppose, for us

00:38:40.250 --> 00:38:41.280 align:middle line:90%
going through the motions.

00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:45.180 align:middle line:84%
But he was not going to expend
much political capital on it.

00:38:45.180 --> 00:38:49.210 align:middle line:84%
The White House didn\'t say
anything about it.

00:38:49.210 --> 00:38:50.130 align:middle line:90%
Here\'s the bill, fine.

00:38:50.130 --> 00:38:52.290 align:middle line:84%
Whatever Senate passes,
nice to know.

00:38:52.290 --> 00:38:54.470 align:middle line:90%
You\'re on your own, folks.

00:38:54.470 --> 00:38:56.780 align:middle line:84%
Now, when a president really
wants something,

00:38:56.780 --> 00:38:58.280 align:middle line:90%
he doesn\'t do that.

00:38:58.280 --> 00:39:00.850 align:middle line:84%
He has his congressional liaison
office, and they go

00:39:00.850 --> 00:39:03.020 align:middle line:84%
down there and they say, well,
the president really wants

00:39:03.020 --> 00:39:05.260 align:middle line:84%
this bill, so let\'s see what
we can do about that.

00:39:05.260 --> 00:39:06.500 align:middle line:90%
Can we get your vote?

00:39:06.500 --> 00:39:07.540 align:middle line:90%
They didn\'t do that.

00:39:07.540 --> 00:39:14.270 align:middle line:84%
Instead of making a major thrust
to educate the American

00:39:14.270 --> 00:39:18.480 align:middle line:84%
people about why the President
thought this was important,

00:39:18.480 --> 00:39:20.510 align:middle line:84%
there would be no speeches
on the subject.

00:39:20.510 --> 00:39:25.340 align:middle line:84%
And there would be no
appearances at events, large

00:39:25.340 --> 00:39:28.600 align:middle line:84%
events which could serve to
rally the supporters.

00:39:28.600 --> 00:39:30.320 align:middle line:90%
That just didn\'t happen.

00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:34.490 align:middle line:84%
This important amendment was
designed to protect our

00:39:34.490 --> 00:39:35.480 align:middle line:90%
religious liberty.

00:39:35.480 --> 00:39:37.235 align:middle line:84%
You have to move off
the roadway.

00:39:37.235 --> 00:39:37.936 align:middle line:90%
All right.

00:39:37.936 --> 00:39:39.760 align:middle line:84%
You don\'t want to be billy
clubbed out and around--

00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:40.760 align:middle line:90%
Excuse me.

00:39:40.760 --> 00:39:42.740 align:middle line:90%
by the White House police.

00:39:42.740 --> 00:39:43.320 align:middle line:90%
No.

00:39:43.320 --> 00:39:45.900 align:middle line:84%
They get very upset, you know,
because it\'s against the

00:39:45.900 --> 00:39:47.240 align:middle line:84%
rules, and they have
their orders.

00:39:47.240 --> 00:39:49.120 align:middle line:90%
And they follow their orders.

00:39:49.120 --> 00:39:50.440 align:middle line:90%
That\'s what the police can do.

00:39:50.440 --> 00:39:51.440 align:middle line:90%
Well, we\'ll--

00:39:51.440 --> 00:39:52.930 align:middle line:84%
the President\'s letter
continues.

00:39:52.930 --> 00:39:57.900 align:middle line:84%
I was pretty brutal about not
allowing anything on the

00:39:57.900 --> 00:40:00.280 align:middle line:84%
President\'s schedule during
those first certainly three

00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:02.330 align:middle line:84%
years that didn\'t have something
to do-- they

00:40:02.330 --> 00:40:06.490 align:middle line:84%
couldn\'t be translated into the
public\'s mind as an effort

00:40:06.490 --> 00:40:08.300 align:middle line:90%
to turn the economy around.

00:40:08.300 --> 00:40:11.010 align:middle line:84%
Because we all forget, you had
double-digit inflation.

00:40:11.010 --> 00:40:12.730 align:middle line:90%
You had gasoline lines.

00:40:12.730 --> 00:40:14.650 align:middle line:84%
You had unemployment
up in the teens.

00:40:14.650 --> 00:40:16.630 align:middle line:90%
And all that stuff--

00:40:16.630 --> 00:40:19.790 align:middle line:90%
interest rates over 14%, 15%.

00:40:19.790 --> 00:40:23.450 align:middle line:84%
All those things that were just
absolutely crippling the

00:40:23.450 --> 00:40:24.640 align:middle line:90%
American economy.

00:40:24.640 --> 00:40:26.340 align:middle line:84%
And, had been the
reasons why they

00:40:26.340 --> 00:40:28.165 align:middle line:90%
threw Carter out, largely.

00:40:28.165 --> 00:40:31.830 align:middle line:84%
And so unless we get a handle
on that, it didn\'t make any

00:40:31.830 --> 00:40:34.650 align:middle line:84%
difference about abortion or
prayer in schools or gun

00:40:34.650 --> 00:40:35.990 align:middle line:84%
control, or all the
rest of it.

00:40:35.990 --> 00:40:37.340 align:middle line:90%
It wasn\'t going to happen.

00:40:37.340 --> 00:40:40.105 align:middle line:84%
I would never hear anyone,
whether it was Robert Schuller

00:40:40.105 --> 00:40:42.116 align:middle line:84%
or Falwell, or anybody that
happened to be there in a

00:40:42.116 --> 00:40:44.050 align:middle line:84%
meeting, that would say,
Mr. Reagan, would you

00:40:44.050 --> 00:40:45.780 align:middle line:90%
please look at this.

00:40:45.780 --> 00:40:47.530 align:middle line:90%
He would take it so to heart.

00:40:47.530 --> 00:40:50.310 align:middle line:84%
And if Deaver was there, he\'d
would say, Mike, I really--

00:40:50.310 --> 00:40:51.480 align:middle line:90%
I want to do that.

00:40:51.480 --> 00:40:55.300 align:middle line:90%
I want to do that.

00:40:55.300 --> 00:40:57.390 align:middle line:84%
And we\'d be amazed sometimes
how that would

00:40:57.390 --> 00:40:59.900 align:middle line:90%
never get any attention.

00:40:59.900 --> 00:41:02.330 align:middle line:84%
In the US Senate tonight,
the voter is in on a

00:41:02.330 --> 00:41:05.070 align:middle line:84%
constitutional amendment that
would allow prayer said out

00:41:05.070 --> 00:41:06.590 align:middle line:90%
loud in public schools.

00:41:06.590 --> 00:41:09.270 align:middle line:84%
President Reagan was pushing
hard for this amendment, but

00:41:09.270 --> 00:41:12.100 align:middle line:84%
it was defeated, falling well
short of the two-third vote

00:41:12.100 --> 00:41:13.390 align:middle line:90%
needed for passage.

00:41:13.390 --> 00:41:16.140 align:middle line:84%
With all 100 senators voting,
and with two-thirds--

00:41:16.140 --> 00:41:16.910 align:middle line:90%
67--

00:41:16.910 --> 00:41:17.870 align:middle line:90%
votes needed.

00:41:17.870 --> 00:41:21.920 align:middle line:84%
The amendment got only 56
votes for, 44 against.

00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:27.320 align:middle line:84%
I believe I know full well that
an administration that

00:41:27.320 --> 00:41:34.310 align:middle line:84%
was more composed of a greater
percentage of traditional

00:41:34.310 --> 00:41:37.810 align:middle line:84%
values conservatives who had a
real enthusiasm about this

00:41:37.810 --> 00:41:43.730 align:middle line:84%
would have figured out ways to
bring it up again, and again.

00:41:43.730 --> 00:41:46.930 align:middle line:84%
And change it a little bit,
and bring it up again.

00:41:46.930 --> 00:41:51.080 align:middle line:84%
But there wasn\'t the will
to go through that

00:41:51.080 --> 00:41:52.450 align:middle line:90%
process more than once.

00:41:52.450 --> 00:41:56.980 align:middle line:84%
Part of the group around the
President are interested in

00:41:56.980 --> 00:41:59.670 align:middle line:84%
what will play in the
larger public.

00:41:59.670 --> 00:42:02.750 align:middle line:84%
And they want to avoid the
things that will be divisive.

00:42:02.750 --> 00:42:06.120 align:middle line:84%
And avoid the things that
would be liable to lose

00:42:06.120 --> 00:42:07.850 align:middle line:90%
constituents.

00:42:07.850 --> 00:42:10.416 align:middle line:90%
And moral issues divide.

00:42:10.416 --> 00:42:13.310 align:middle line:84%
When Mr. Lincoln said we may
very well self-destruct, you

00:42:13.310 --> 00:42:14.620 align:middle line:84%
don\'t have to look too
long to see the

00:42:14.620 --> 00:42:17.560 align:middle line:90%
possibility of it today.

00:42:17.560 --> 00:42:20.175 align:middle line:84%
After all, if we can just keep
getting more of our men to

00:42:20.175 --> 00:42:22.500 align:middle line:84%
have sex with more men, we
won\'t have to worry about

00:42:22.500 --> 00:42:23.860 align:middle line:90%
babies being born.

00:42:23.860 --> 00:42:27.100 align:middle line:84%
And if we can just get more
women to get out there in the

00:42:27.100 --> 00:42:30.080 align:middle line:84%
marketplace and start
acting like I men.

00:42:30.080 --> 00:42:33.990 align:middle line:84%
And if we can just get other
women to look at motherhood as

00:42:33.990 --> 00:42:37.040 align:middle line:84%
though it is some dread
terminal illness.

00:42:37.040 --> 00:42:41.340 align:middle line:84%
If we can just get society so
drunk and so drugged if ever

00:42:41.340 --> 00:42:45.060 align:middle line:84%
anybody does get pregnant, then
we can abort the baby.

00:42:45.060 --> 00:42:47.000 align:middle line:90%
That\'s where we are.

00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:50.080 align:middle line:84%
The inspiration for the Rally
For Life was President Ronald

00:42:50.080 --> 00:42:53.260 align:middle line:84%
Reagan\'s nomination of Arizona
judge, Sandra O\'Connor, to the

00:42:53.260 --> 00:42:54.660 align:middle line:90%
Supreme Court.

00:42:54.660 --> 00:42:56.830 align:middle line:84%
The religious right is attacking
her legislative

00:42:56.830 --> 00:42:58.750 align:middle line:90%
record as pro-abortion.

00:42:58.750 --> 00:43:02.270 align:middle line:84%
Well, I remember the very
first meeting we had.

00:43:02.270 --> 00:43:06.350 align:middle line:84%
Reagan had announced that he
wanted us to look for a woman.

00:43:06.350 --> 00:43:07.680 align:middle line:90%
We all--

00:43:07.680 --> 00:43:09.640 align:middle line:90%
I was delighted.

00:43:09.640 --> 00:43:11.490 align:middle line:84%
The rest of them, I think,
were shocked.

00:43:11.490 --> 00:43:18.010 align:middle line:84%
In fact, if I recall correctly,
there may have even

00:43:18.010 --> 00:43:22.610 align:middle line:84%
been some attempt to dissuade
him from that.

00:43:22.610 --> 00:43:26.600 align:middle line:90%
But he was firm.

00:43:26.600 --> 00:43:26.840 align:middle line:90%
That

00:43:26.840 --> 00:43:31.040 align:middle line:84%
Was a very eye-opening
experience, when the first

00:43:31.040 --> 00:43:35.220 align:middle line:84%
vacancy occurred very early
on in Reagan\'s first term.

00:43:35.220 --> 00:43:38.910 align:middle line:84%
And he just announced his
nominee, Sandra Day O\'Connor.

00:43:38.910 --> 00:43:42.770 align:middle line:84%
Had not consulted
with his allies.

00:43:42.770 --> 00:43:45.470 align:middle line:84%
Had not checked with his
conservative friends.

00:43:45.470 --> 00:43:49.470 align:middle line:84%
I remember hearing that
she was pro-life.

00:43:49.470 --> 00:43:54.060 align:middle line:84%
That it was believed that, even
though no questions were

00:43:54.060 --> 00:43:57.250 align:middle line:84%
permitted, on our best
authority, we

00:43:57.250 --> 00:43:58.630 align:middle line:90%
promise, she\'s pro-life.

00:43:58.630 --> 00:44:01.490 align:middle line:84%
The timing of the appointment
of Judge O\'Connor was rushed

00:44:01.490 --> 00:44:03.910 align:middle line:84%
up by a day or two in order
to head off right wing

00:44:03.910 --> 00:44:04.930 align:middle line:90%
opposition to her.

00:44:04.930 --> 00:44:07.690 align:middle line:84%
The President\'s advisers have
been focusing on her for more

00:44:07.690 --> 00:44:08.600 align:middle line:90%
than a month.

00:44:08.600 --> 00:44:11.830 align:middle line:84%
But after a news report last
week made that public, Right

00:44:11.830 --> 00:44:14.760 align:middle line:84%
to Life and other far right
conservative groups began to

00:44:14.760 --> 00:44:17.390 align:middle line:84%
attack her pro-abortion
voting record in the

00:44:17.390 --> 00:44:18.900 align:middle line:90%
Arizona State Senate.

00:44:18.900 --> 00:44:20.290 align:middle line:84%
Well, I was chairman
of the Judiciary

00:44:20.290 --> 00:44:21.590 align:middle line:90%
Committee in Arizona.

00:44:21.590 --> 00:44:24.730 align:middle line:84%
And Sandra is a wonderful
girl.

00:44:24.730 --> 00:44:28.560 align:middle line:84%
Handsome, and beautiful looking,
articulate, smart as

00:44:28.560 --> 00:44:32.590 align:middle line:90%
a tack, Stanford law graduate.

00:44:32.590 --> 00:44:35.820 align:middle line:84%
But she comes from upper-class,
landed,

00:44:35.820 --> 00:44:36.740 align:middle line:90%
aristocracy--

00:44:36.740 --> 00:44:38.150 align:middle line:90%
ranching family.

00:44:38.150 --> 00:44:42.150 align:middle line:84%
And I said, there is a tendency
for people to feel to

00:44:42.150 --> 00:44:45.200 align:middle line:84%
she\'s somewhat of an economic
oligarchist.

00:44:45.200 --> 00:44:47.800 align:middle line:90%

00:44:47.800 --> 00:44:52.190 align:middle line:84%
She has no religious
church orientation.

00:44:52.190 --> 00:44:55.810 align:middle line:84%
And she fought very hard
for both the then

00:44:55.810 --> 00:44:57.340 align:middle line:90%
Equal Rights Amendment.

00:44:57.340 --> 00:45:02.990 align:middle line:84%
But particularly, she fought
very hard for the legalization

00:45:02.990 --> 00:45:05.740 align:middle line:84%
of abortion when she was
in the State Senate.

00:45:05.740 --> 00:45:09.040 align:middle line:84%
Reagan took that into
consideration, and discussed

00:45:09.040 --> 00:45:14.590 align:middle line:84%
with Bill Smith and Ed Meese,
and with Sandra herself.

00:45:14.590 --> 00:45:21.520 align:middle line:84%
And was satisfied that he was
still making the right

00:45:21.520 --> 00:45:22.560 align:middle line:90%
appointment.

00:45:22.560 --> 00:45:26.210 align:middle line:84%
And Reagan has had some
experience with appointing a

00:45:26.210 --> 00:45:30.260 align:middle line:84%
Chief Justice in California,
who became an utter

00:45:30.260 --> 00:45:33.070 align:middle line:84%
disappointment on the issue
of capital punishment.

00:45:33.070 --> 00:45:37.770 align:middle line:84%
So Reagan was very leery about
court appointments, and being

00:45:37.770 --> 00:45:39.440 align:middle line:90%
sure he got the right person.

00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:43.510 align:middle line:84%
And he was fully satisfied that,
basically, she was a

00:45:43.510 --> 00:45:44.510 align:middle line:90%
solid appointment.

00:45:44.510 --> 00:45:48.300 align:middle line:84%
And she was going to be for
his first, and maybe only,

00:45:48.300 --> 00:45:48.555 align:middle line:90%
appointment.

00:45:48.555 --> 00:45:50.610 align:middle line:90%
He knew that.

00:45:50.610 --> 00:45:54.290 align:middle line:84%
That she was going to pass the
time of test as far as his

00:45:54.290 --> 00:45:55.790 align:middle line:90%
philosophy was concerned.

00:45:55.790 --> 00:45:59.450 align:middle line:84%
We believe that there is a
larger issue, and that is the

00:45:59.450 --> 00:46:01.500 align:middle line:84%
protection of the innocent
unborn baby.

00:46:01.500 --> 00:46:05.400 align:middle line:84%
In the absence of a statement
by Judge O\'Connor clarifying

00:46:05.400 --> 00:46:08.100 align:middle line:84%
her voting record in the
Arizona Senate to our

00:46:08.100 --> 00:46:10.510 align:middle line:84%
satisfaction, I think we would
have no alternative, as would

00:46:10.510 --> 00:46:12.940 align:middle line:84%
other Right to Life groups--
pro-life groups of opposing

00:46:12.940 --> 00:46:14.190 align:middle line:90%
the confirmation process.

00:46:14.190 --> 00:46:21.390 align:middle line:90%
[SINGING]

00:46:21.390 --> 00:46:25.590 align:middle line:84%
We want to remind me of the
administration, Mr. Reagan,

00:46:25.590 --> 00:46:27.910 align:middle line:84%
that if we are concerned
about that.

00:46:27.910 --> 00:46:30.540 align:middle line:84%
And that we want him very
frankly to keep his promises.

00:46:30.540 --> 00:46:33.230 align:middle line:84%
And to adhere to those things
that he told us he was going

00:46:33.230 --> 00:46:37.150 align:middle line:84%
to do, especially as it concerns
specifically, as Dr.

00:46:37.150 --> 00:46:41.430 align:middle line:84%
Gurster said, a promise not to
appoint a person who had

00:46:41.430 --> 00:46:43.830 align:middle line:84%
pro-abortion record, or
was a pro-abortionist.

00:46:43.830 --> 00:46:46.360 align:middle line:84%
What we want is a person in
the Supreme Court they can

00:46:46.360 --> 00:46:51.230 align:middle line:84%
make good, judicial decisions
based on the Constitution.

00:46:51.230 --> 00:46:52.515 align:middle line:90%
And that\'s all it takes.

00:46:52.515 --> 00:46:56.845 align:middle line:84%
Are you prepared then to mount a
lobbying campaign within the

00:46:56.845 --> 00:46:58.190 align:middle line:90%
Senate to ensure her--

00:46:58.190 --> 00:46:59.840 align:middle line:90%
Oh, I\'m going to--

00:46:59.840 --> 00:47:02.040 align:middle line:84%
if it\'s going to take a fight,
they\'re going to find old

00:47:02.040 --> 00:47:04.150 align:middle line:90%
Goldie fighting like hell.

00:47:04.150 --> 00:47:06.010 align:middle line:84%
I\'m probably the most
conservative member of

00:47:06.010 --> 00:47:08.470 align:middle line:84%
Congress, and I don\'t like to
get kicked around by people

00:47:08.470 --> 00:47:11.300 align:middle line:84%
who call themselves
conservatives on a

00:47:11.300 --> 00:47:13.220 align:middle line:90%
non-conservative matter.

00:47:13.220 --> 00:47:17.660 align:middle line:84%
Senator Goldwater said that
religion has no place in

00:47:17.660 --> 00:47:19.510 align:middle line:90%
public policy.

00:47:19.510 --> 00:47:21.090 align:middle line:90%
Any high school history student

00:47:21.090 --> 00:47:22.250 align:middle line:90%
knows better than that.

00:47:22.250 --> 00:47:23.930 align:middle line:84%
Right to life people
oppose her, sir.

00:47:23.930 --> 00:47:25.030 align:middle line:90%
And we just wonder if--

00:47:25.030 --> 00:47:27.250 align:middle line:84%
All of those questions
the Attorney General

00:47:27.250 --> 00:47:28.300 align:middle line:90%
is prepared to answer.

00:47:28.300 --> 00:47:30.760 align:middle line:84%
So Mr. President, you have such
a firm position on that.

00:47:30.760 --> 00:47:32.800 align:middle line:84%
Can you give us an appeal
as to her position?

00:47:32.800 --> 00:47:34.880 align:middle line:90%
I am completely satisfied.

00:47:34.880 --> 00:47:36.130 align:middle line:90%
On her right to life position?

00:47:36.130 --> 00:47:36.880 align:middle line:90%
Yes.

00:47:36.880 --> 00:47:38.700 align:middle line:84%
There probably was an emergency
meeting to try to

00:47:38.700 --> 00:47:41.570 align:middle line:84%
contain the unhappy evangelical
reaction to the

00:47:41.570 --> 00:47:43.340 align:middle line:84%
nomination of Sandra
Day O\'Connor.

00:47:43.340 --> 00:47:45.130 align:middle line:84%
But that\'s symptomatic
of the problem.

00:47:45.130 --> 00:47:47.720 align:middle line:84%
They would wait until after they
had made a decision, and

00:47:47.720 --> 00:47:49.990 align:middle line:84%
then they\'d have an emergency
meeting with their friends to

00:47:49.990 --> 00:47:51.500 align:middle line:84%
try to keep their friends
on board.

00:47:51.500 --> 00:47:53.850 align:middle line:84%
They got phone calls saying,
this is who it\'s going to be.

00:47:53.850 --> 00:47:56.780 align:middle line:84%
But there had not been any
opportunity for input.

00:47:56.780 --> 00:48:00.140 align:middle line:84%
I was in Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina, with my family on

00:48:00.140 --> 00:48:06.290 align:middle line:84%
vacation when the phone rang
in the condo that we had

00:48:06.290 --> 00:48:07.520 align:middle line:90%
leased for that week.

00:48:07.520 --> 00:48:10.160 align:middle line:90%
It was Ronald Reagan.

00:48:10.160 --> 00:48:14.610 align:middle line:84%
And he said, Jerry, I\'m going
to nominate Sandra Day

00:48:14.610 --> 00:48:18.080 align:middle line:90%
O\'Connor to the Supreme Court.

00:48:18.080 --> 00:48:20.110 align:middle line:84%
We\'ve done a pretty good
background study.

00:48:20.110 --> 00:48:25.680 align:middle line:84%
We feel very strongly that she
does represent the views and

00:48:25.680 --> 00:48:29.590 align:middle line:84%
values I campaigned on, and
became President on.

00:48:29.590 --> 00:48:33.160 align:middle line:84%
And I will simply ask you if
you would give us a little

00:48:33.160 --> 00:48:36.040 align:middle line:84%
time to develop that through
the hearings and so forth

00:48:36.040 --> 00:48:38.650 align:middle line:90%
before taking a position.

00:48:38.650 --> 00:48:40.440 align:middle line:90%
And I agreed to that.

00:48:40.440 --> 00:48:43.690 align:middle line:90%
And did in fact keep quiet.

00:48:43.690 --> 00:48:49.410 align:middle line:84%
And once she was examined,
became one of our supporters.

00:48:49.410 --> 00:48:50.970 align:middle line:90%
And still am.

00:48:50.970 --> 00:48:56.540 align:middle line:84%
One of the realities of politics
is you can choose--

00:48:56.540 --> 00:48:59.130 align:middle line:84%
and I\'ll use a biblical
paradigm--

00:48:59.130 --> 00:49:06.300 align:middle line:84%
you can choose either to be
an adviser or a prophet.

00:49:06.300 --> 00:49:09.960 align:middle line:84%
If you choose to be a prophet,
then you don\'t have a lot of

00:49:09.960 --> 00:49:13.730 align:middle line:84%
influence on the political
reality.

00:49:13.730 --> 00:49:17.510 align:middle line:84%
But you\'re always free to speak
what you perceive to be

00:49:17.510 --> 00:49:21.810 align:middle line:84%
the truth for the current
historical moment.

00:49:21.810 --> 00:49:26.500 align:middle line:84%
Or, you can be an adviser with
a sense of truth, a sense of

00:49:26.500 --> 00:49:29.600 align:middle line:84%
value, with your objective
simply to

00:49:29.600 --> 00:49:32.300 align:middle line:90%
influence the process.

00:49:32.300 --> 00:49:40.170 align:middle line:84%
And I think the Moral Majority
moved from a prophetic role

00:49:40.170 --> 00:49:42.590 align:middle line:90%
into more of an advisor role.

00:49:42.590 --> 00:49:47.320 align:middle line:84%
And lost some of its ability
to speak against even the

00:49:47.320 --> 00:49:49.560 align:middle line:90%
administration it was for.

00:49:49.560 --> 00:49:54.510 align:middle line:84%
So when a Sandra Day O\'Connor
comes along, who has both

00:49:54.510 --> 00:50:00.340 align:middle line:84%
positive and negative issues,
if you\'re the adviser, the

00:50:00.340 --> 00:50:04.260 align:middle line:84%
tendency is, well, because we
understand who the President

00:50:04.260 --> 00:50:06.370 align:middle line:84%
is, and we understand the
commitments of the President,

00:50:06.370 --> 00:50:09.170 align:middle line:84%
we may not entirely agree
with this nomination.

00:50:09.170 --> 00:50:10.980 align:middle line:90%
But he deserves our support.

00:50:10.980 --> 00:50:15.400 align:middle line:84%
And we will stay true to him in
order to ultimately advise

00:50:15.400 --> 00:50:16.910 align:middle line:90%
and influence.

00:50:16.910 --> 00:50:20.110 align:middle line:84%
Whereas the prophetic role
would have been, no way.

00:50:20.110 --> 00:50:23.630 align:middle line:84%
In your conversations with the
President, did he specifically

00:50:23.630 --> 00:50:27.090 align:middle line:84%
ask you not to take a stand on
the O\'Connor nomination until

00:50:27.090 --> 00:50:29.700 align:middle line:90%
after the Senate hearings?

00:50:29.700 --> 00:50:33.290 align:middle line:84%
As I recall the conversation, he
gave me all the information

00:50:33.290 --> 00:50:35.170 align:middle line:84%
you did have on Judge
O\'Connor--

00:50:35.170 --> 00:50:37.460 align:middle line:84%
or, at that time, it
was very limited.

00:50:37.460 --> 00:50:40.650 align:middle line:84%
I gave to him what had come
to me-- also very limited.

00:50:40.650 --> 00:50:44.530 align:middle line:90%

00:50:44.530 --> 00:50:46.680 align:middle line:84%
And in the process of
the conversation--

00:50:46.680 --> 00:50:49.900 align:middle line:84%
I don\'t know if he asked me, or
if I said, well, the only

00:50:49.900 --> 00:50:51.750 align:middle line:90%
commitment I can make is--

00:50:51.750 --> 00:50:53.240 align:middle line:90%
and it\'s a fair one--

00:50:53.240 --> 00:50:55.750 align:middle line:84%
I will wait till all of the
facts are in, and the hearings

00:50:55.750 --> 00:50:58.870 align:middle line:84%
are concluded, before then
reaching a conclusion.

00:50:58.870 --> 00:51:01.250 align:middle line:84%
And I think we had
a very charitable

00:51:01.250 --> 00:51:02.910 align:middle line:90%
phone call on the subject.

00:51:02.910 --> 00:51:06.800 align:middle line:84%
I think the Moral Majority chose
the adviser world, which

00:51:06.800 --> 00:51:08.350 align:middle line:90%
is the danger of politics.

00:51:08.350 --> 00:51:13.680 align:middle line:84%
That once they invite you up to
the big house, then you got

00:51:13.680 --> 00:51:16.240 align:middle line:84%
to go by the rules
of the big house.

00:51:16.240 --> 00:51:21.290 align:middle line:84%
Ladies and gentlemen, I now
would recognize the Reverend

00:51:21.290 --> 00:51:23.920 align:middle line:84%
Jerry Falwell for
the benediction.

00:51:23.920 --> 00:51:25.490 align:middle line:90%
Would you all please rise?

00:51:25.490 --> 00:51:35.090 align:middle line:90%
[CHEERING]

00:51:35.090 --> 00:51:40.130 align:middle line:84%
It is a great honor to ask our
Lord\'s blessing upon a man

00:51:40.130 --> 00:51:43.620 align:middle line:84%
that many of us believe indeed
to be our greatest President

00:51:43.620 --> 00:51:45.520 align:middle line:90%
since Lincoln.

00:51:45.520 --> 00:51:48.570 align:middle line:90%
Let us pray.

00:51:48.570 --> 00:51:52.030 align:middle line:84%
We pray for our beloved
President that you will give

00:51:52.030 --> 00:51:58.740 align:middle line:84%
strength and protection, and
wisdom beyond himself to lead

00:51:58.740 --> 00:52:03.210 align:middle line:84%
us and the free world in
these years ahead.

00:52:03.210 --> 00:52:07.170 align:middle line:84%
The main thing Ronald Reagan
did was to put the moral

00:52:07.170 --> 00:52:09.210 align:middle line:90%
issues on the front-burner.

00:52:09.210 --> 00:52:11.060 align:middle line:90%
He did that.

00:52:11.060 --> 00:52:14.090 align:middle line:84%
He did not have the support in
the Congress to make most of

00:52:14.090 --> 00:52:15.030 align:middle line:90%
these things happen.

00:52:15.030 --> 00:52:17.596 align:middle line:84%
But I think the President
did everything that a

00:52:17.596 --> 00:52:19.900 align:middle line:90%
human being could do.

00:52:19.900 --> 00:52:23.730 align:middle line:84%
We thank you, Father, for
the leadership of

00:52:23.730 --> 00:52:26.090 align:middle line:90%
President Ronald Reagan.

00:52:26.090 --> 00:52:30.230 align:middle line:84%
We ask that you would continue
to direct him, to strengthen

00:52:30.230 --> 00:52:35.880 align:middle line:84%
him, and to encourage him even
during these important days.

00:52:35.880 --> 00:52:39.020 align:middle line:84%
Once you get close to power,
some people are terribly

00:52:39.020 --> 00:52:40.640 align:middle line:90%
affected by it.

00:52:40.640 --> 00:52:42.020 align:middle line:90%
I could have been.

00:52:42.020 --> 00:52:46.890 align:middle line:84%
I think that the closer I got to
it, I was frightened of it.

00:52:46.890 --> 00:52:50.350 align:middle line:84%
I watched what it
did to people.

00:52:50.350 --> 00:52:56.530 align:middle line:84%
I watched how it fed them, how
it would drive him, to the

00:52:56.530 --> 00:52:59.060 align:middle line:84%
point that I felt like principle
could be sacrificed

00:52:59.060 --> 00:53:02.120 align:middle line:84%
for power, even on the part
of good, quality people.

00:53:02.120 --> 00:53:07.008 align:middle line:84%
And I thought, oh god, what
is wrong with us?

00:53:07.008 --> 00:53:08.400 align:middle line:90%
[CHANTING]

00:53:08.400 --> 00:53:10.710 align:middle line:90%
I was politically naive.

00:53:10.710 --> 00:53:12.900 align:middle line:84%
I assumed if you elected the
right person, all your

00:53:12.900 --> 00:53:16.160 align:middle line:84%
problems are solved, not
realizing that the White

00:53:16.160 --> 00:53:19.710 align:middle line:84%
House, whether Republican or
Democrat, operates on throwing

00:53:19.710 --> 00:53:23.930 align:middle line:84%
dog bones and dog biscuits to
the wild dogs out there.

00:53:23.930 --> 00:53:27.800 align:middle line:84%
And then they invite you to an
event, they bring you win,

00:53:27.800 --> 00:53:32.740 align:middle line:84%
they affirm you, and hand you
a dog biscuit, assuming that

00:53:32.740 --> 00:53:34.870 align:middle line:84%
when the next election
comes around, that

00:53:34.870 --> 00:53:36.350 align:middle line:90%
you\'ll vote for them.

00:53:36.350 --> 00:53:40.060 align:middle line:84%
If our opponents were as
vigorous in supporting our

00:53:40.060 --> 00:53:43.360 align:middle line:84%
voluntary prayer amendment as
they are in raising taxes,

00:53:43.360 --> 00:53:46.418 align:middle line:84%
maybe we could get the Lord back
in the school rooms, and

00:53:46.418 --> 00:53:48.370 align:middle line:90%
drugs and violence out.

00:53:48.370 --> 00:53:51.786 align:middle line:90%
[CHEERING]

00:53:51.786 --> 00:53:57.170 align:middle line:90%
[CHANTING]

00:53:57.170 --> 00:54:00.730 align:middle line:84%
The main thing was achieved,
which is

00:54:00.730 --> 00:54:02.580 align:middle line:90%
to keep these people--

00:54:02.580 --> 00:54:04.380 align:middle line:90%
as many of them as possible--

00:54:04.380 --> 00:54:09.060 align:middle line:84%
fully activated, increasing
the number and the

00:54:09.060 --> 00:54:11.850 align:middle line:84%
effectiveness of their
activists, and building for

00:54:11.850 --> 00:54:12.420 align:middle line:90%
the future.

00:54:12.420 --> 00:54:31.260 align:middle line:90%
[CHANTING]

00:54:31.260 --> 00:54:32.300 align:middle line:90%
What?

00:54:32.300 --> 00:54:34.350 align:middle line:84%
We have a fundamentalist
Surgeon General?

00:54:34.350 --> 00:54:35.200 align:middle line:90%
What will he do?

00:54:35.200 --> 00:54:37.840 align:middle line:84%
I used the real,
terrible word--

00:54:37.840 --> 00:54:38.300 align:middle line:90%
condom.

00:54:38.300 --> 00:54:41.180 align:middle line:90%
And it was like, whoa.

00:54:41.180 --> 00:54:44.690 align:middle line:84%
In part five of With God on Our
Side, evangelicals fight

00:54:44.690 --> 00:54:48.042 align:middle line:84%
moral and political battles
on new fronts.

00:54:48.042 --> 00:54:52.564 align:middle line:84%
I am an official candidate for
the Republican nomination for

00:54:52.564 --> 00:54:54.910 align:middle line:84%
the Presidency of the
United States.

00:54:54.910 --> 00:54:57.066 align:middle line:90%
Coming up next time.

00:54:57.066 --> 00:54:58.316 align:middle line:90%
]MUSIC PLAYING]

00:54:58.316 --> 00:55:46.170 align:middle line:90%

00:55:46.170 --> 00:55:48.490 align:middle line:84%
A presentation of South
Carolina ETV.

00:55:48.490 --> 00:55:49.640 align:middle line:90%
In association with the

00:55:49.640 --> 00:55:52.360 align:middle line:90%
Independent Television Service.

00:55:52.360 --> 00:55:55.010 align:middle line:84%
With God on Our Side was made
possible by the Corporation

00:55:55.010 --> 00:55:56.460 align:middle line:90%
for Public Broadcasting.

00:55:56.460 --> 00:56:01.220 align:middle line:84%
And by annual financial support
from viewers like you.

00:56:01.220 --> 00:56:06.080 align:middle line:84%
Major funding was provided by
the Pew Charitable Trusts, the

00:56:06.080 --> 00:56:12.250 align:middle line:84%
Smith Richardson Foundation,
the Rockefeller Foundation,

00:56:12.250 --> 00:56:16.430 align:middle line:84%
the Lynde and Harry Bradley
Foundation, the William H.

00:56:16.430 --> 00:56:22.280 align:middle line:84%
Donner Foundation, the Nathan
Cummings Foundation, and the

00:56:22.280 --> 00:56:23.590 align:middle line:90%
John D. and Catherine t.

00:56:23.590 --> 00:56:25.540 align:middle line:90%
MacArthur Foundation.

00:56:25.540 --> 00:56:27.860 align:middle line:84%
Additional funding was provided
by the following.

00:56:27.860 --> 00:56:32.436 align:middle line:90%

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