Obama Administration
makes war on Christians
by Newt Gingrich Dear Fellow Conservative, Last week, the Obama administration finalized a radical new rule that uses the health care law to require all health insurance providers to cover abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization as well as contraception, all free of charge. The administration based the rule’s "religious exemption" on a provisiondrafted by the ACLU, applying the rule even to religious organizations such as Catholic schools, hospitals, universities and charities that oppose such things as a matter of religious belief. The weak exemption the administration allowed applies only to religious organizations serving primarily people of the same religion. It is so narrow that Timothy Dolan, the Catholic archbishop of New York City and current head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in the Wall Street Journal that "even Jesus and His disciples would not qualify for the exemption in that case, because they were committed to serve those of other faiths." Because Catholic institutions serve people of all faiths, the adoption by the Obama administration of the ACLU exemption language is an explicit and intentional assault on the Catholic Church in the United States. President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius know full well that they are ordering Catholic institutions to violate their church’s teachings if they want to stay in business. They also know full well that they are explicitly running over the First Amendment protection of religious freedom that every American is supposed to enjoy as a birthright. President Obama’s message to Catholics is clear: Catholics will not be able to build organizations according to their faith and the teachings of their church as long as they refuse to accept President Obama’s radicalism. President Obama’s order is a violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of conscience and an unprecedented assault on Christianity. Catholics are uniformly opposed to the rule. Carol Keehan of the Catholic Health Association—an Obamacare supporter—expressed disappointment "that the definition of a religious employer was not broadened." Even liberal Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne blasted the rule, arguing that "the Church’s leaders had a right to ask for broader relief from a contraception mandate that would require it to act against its own teachings." The administration’s small concession—that it would allow organizations with religious objections an extra year to comply—does nothing to acknowledge their concerns. As Archbishop Dolan responded, "In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences." This past Sunday, Catholics in churches across the country were read a letter from the Bishop of Marquette Alexander Sample drawing their attention to this unprecedented action by President Obama, describing the administration as having "cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation's first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty." Maybe: It is important to remember, as the bishop’s letter reminds us, Catholics, like other religious groups came to America to be free. "Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God given rights," the letter said. Bishop Sample is right. In choosing the radical agendas of Planned Parenthood and the ACLU over the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty; in dramatically undermining the numerous Catholic educational, health, and charitable institutions that provide so much good to so many Americans; and in implementing a rule no elected official has ever voted on, President Obama has chosen Saul Alinksy radicalism over the Constitution. It’s hard to see how many people of faith will long remain in a political party so hostile to their beliefs and their rights. Your Friend,
Newt
February Charity of the Month: The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association
by Newt and Callista Gingrich The Gingrich Foundation is proud to announce that the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association is February’s Charity of the Month in honor of Presidents Day and the birthday of President George Washington. As the leader of the American Revolution and the first president of the United States, George Washington’s legacy is perhaps the most enduring in American history. Washington devoted his life to securing American liberty. Following the American Revolution, Washington returned to his home on the Potomac River, Mount Vernon. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association is the oldest national historic preservation organization in the United States. The Association is charged with maintaining George Washington’s home and estate in Mount Vernon, Virginia. It was founded in 1853 by Ann Pamela Cunningham, a resident of rural South Carolina. Under Ms. Cunningham’s leadership, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association sought to raise $200,000 in a national appeal to save Washington’s home. Five years later, the Association purchased Mount Vernon from President Washington’s great-grandnephew and began to restore it. Because the site had not been cared for and the interior of the mansion was mostly vacant, the Association was faced with the task of both repairing the building and restoring its contents. In 1860, the Association finally opened Mount Vernon to the public, and it has remained as a monument to the Father of Our Country for over 150 years. Today, approximately one million people visit Mount Vernon each year. The mansion, now restored with many of its original furnishings, is open for tours. Guests are free to roam the gardens and grounds, where a variety of original buildings still stand. On a hillside overlooking the Potomac, President Washington is buried with his wife Martha and several other family members. At the pioneer farm site, as well as at the working blacksmith shop, distillery, and gristmill, visitors to Mount Vernon can get a better sense of Washington’s life as a farmer by seeing important components of his estate operating much as they were when Washington died in 1799. Several recent additions to the Mount Vernon property help supplement the education of its many visitors. The Ford Orientation Center presents an 18-minute video introduction to Washington’s life and accomplishments, and the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center features 23 galleries and theaters to learn about Washington in further depth. The Museum even has Washington’s famous dentures, made of human and animal teeth. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association cares for one of our country’s most important historic sites -- the home and estate of our first president, George Washington, without the use of public funds. "We appreciate very much that the Gingrich Foundation has set an example for others to follow," said James C, Rees, president of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. "Because we don’t receive any government support, we depend upon the generosity of a wide range of patriotic Americans." Please join us in supporting the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association today. Your Friends,
Newt and Callista
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