Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
In addition to being a long and anxious nail-biter, the results of last night’s election proved two things – the U.S. is a starkly divided nation and our fight must go on.
President Barack Obama won the election with a much smaller margin than in 2008, ending the night with 303 electoral votes compared with Governor Mitt Romney’s 206. With more than 90 percent of precincts reporting, the popular vote went 50 percent for Obama to 48.4 percent for Romney.
The height of the evening’s drama came after the networks projected the president would win the state of Ohio – which effectively ended the race – even though a quarter of the vote had yet to be counted in a state where the race was razor thin.
According to The New York Times, Mr. Romney held off calling the president to concede for more than 90 minutes with aides prepared to head to the airport and launch contests. But as the evening wore on and the key battleground state of Virginia was also called for the president, Romney no longer had a path to victory.
At 1:00 a.m., he conceded the race.
“I wish all of them well, but particularly the president, the first lady and their daughters,” Mr. Romney told his supporters in Boston. “This is a time of great challenges for America, and I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation.”
He called for the nation’s leaders to put aside partisan bickering and come together for the good of the nation, something that will be hard to come by with the balance of power remaining roughly the same as it was. The Senate remains in the control of the Democrats while the Republicans held their majority in the House. This means gridlock will continue to rule the day in Washington.
Looming large on this morning-after is the fact that ObamaCare will almost certainly roll out as planned in 2014, wreaking havoc on the health care system in America, driving up the national debt, and putting seniors at risk due to the dramatic cuts in Medicare that were put in place to fund the bill.
As for the controversial birth control mandate, this too will go forward, impeded only by dozens of lawsuits that will probably bring it to the doorstep of the Supreme Court within the next year.
Speaking of which, with three Supreme Court justices turning 80 within the next term, there will be an epic battle on the Hill to prevent the president from appointing a pro-abortion ideologue such as his last two appointments – Sonya Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Because Supreme Court appointments require only a majority vote, the president’s pick(s) will almost certainly be seated. However, this can all be thwarted by voting in a conservative majority to the U.S. Senate in the 2014 midterms.
The impact on social issues will also be great, such as this administration’s attacks on the right to life and traditional marriage, but many of these can be mitigated at the state level such as what we saw after conservative lawmakers were swept into power during the 2010 midterms.
“The collision course of the Obama Administration with the Catholic Church could have been averted yesterday, but now it is assured instead,” said Father Frank Pavone, founder of Priests for Life. “It is therefore time to recommit ourselves to the basics: a clear proclamation of the truth, an uncompromising fidelity to our principles, and an unwavering commitment to civil disobedience.”
He added: “The pro-life cause will prevail in America. In the elections of 2014, we will take back the Senate to further blunt the ability of President Obama to damage the cause of life.”
This kind of determined spirit is what will eventually hand the victory to the pro-life movement.
“Surrender is not an option,” writes Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America. “With last night’s presidential election results in, we now know what our next step must be: De-funding America’s Abortion Goliath, Planned Parenthood. And we can’t rely on our President to help us. We must do it.”
Live Action President Lila Rose is also insisting upon remaining determined. “Our work to defend the lives of the most vulnerable and to promote human dignity is not dependent on an election,” added Live Action President Lila Rose. “This is a fight for each person, one person at a time. We will only work harder, hope and trust more, and ask God to make our lives a reflection of His love which never disappoints.”
As we move forward into the next presidential term, we must resist the urge to discouragement and embrace a new determination, never forgetting that He “who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” And with Him, all things are possible.
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