Posted on 10/22/2012 11:40:29 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the heart of one of the nation’s most contested states, newspaper readers awoke Sunday to a full-page plea from America’s most famous evangelist to vote for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Sort of.
The full-page ad in the Columbus Dispatch featured a black-and-white photo of the Rev. Billy Graham, with a brief text burned into the dark background in white letters over Graham’s signature.
“On Nov. 6, the day before my 94th birthday,” read Graham’s message, “our nation will hold one of the most critical elections in my lifetime. We are at a crossroads and there are profound moral issues at stake. I strongly urge you to vote for candidates who support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman, protect the sanctity of life and defend our religious freedoms. The Bible speaks clearly on these crucial issues. Please join me in praying for America, that we will turn out hearts back toward God.”
It was as close to an endorsement of Romney as Graham could get without explicitly saying so.
In May, President Obama declared his support for gay marriage rights, and he has always supported abortion rights. In January, he was accused of trampling on religious freedom when his administration got into a tangle with religious organizations over whether they should be forced to offer health insurance plans to employees that cover contraception and abortion.
Romney opposes gay marriage. Although he was in favor of abortion rights earlier in his political career, has renounced that position and opposes abortion in almost all cases.
This is not the first such ad that Graham has purchased in recent days.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
The ad doesn’t even mention Romney.
It doesn’t have to.
It’s amazing how long he’s been around. He got in trouble once for praying on the south lawn after meeting with Harry Truman. His parents made he and his sister drink beer (I think) until they threw up after prohibition was repealed. And he vowed when he was very young to never be in a room alone with a woman who was not his wife to resist temptation.
In September, Franklin Graham had published an essay in USA Today that heartily endorsed Romney. In it, he sought to defuse concerns about Romney’s Mormonism, arguing that it should not be an obstacle for evangelical Christians, many of whom do not consider the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be a Christian denomination.
As for having to mention Romney.... well, we can draw a very easy inference from the ad itself...
Which of the two Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates:
1) Openly supports Israel and does not show hostility towards her?
2) Promises to the sanctity of life.
3) Will protect the traditional understanding of marriage as between a man and a woman.
Anybody who answers Obama/Biden to the above question must have been asleep the past 4 years.
I posted this ad on my facebook. Hopefully, others will do the same thing.
This will be a clincher for a lot of people. These is a heavy endorsement. He has moral fiber and character authority to speak with a voice of much experience. I think this will tip the scales of OHIO just as much as the debate tonight
I will too.
I agree. That certainly isn’t going to apply to one of the candidates.
And, Chavez, , Putin & Castro back Obunny!
” These is a heavy endorsement. He has moral fiber and character authority to speak with a voice of much experience. I think this will tip the scales of OHIO just as much as the debate tonight”
Even those who don’t care for Billy, or of another religious persuasion, know the man has lived a clean, honorable life. This will help.
Me too!
Full page ad like that in the Tampa Bay Times this morning...used to be St. Pete Times, they changed the name, but did not change their liberal views.
“It doesn’t have to.”
As it shouldn’t because the Romney vs Obama race is just one of many at all different levels.
Traditional marriage support should be pushed at ALL levels of government....by those seeking office.
Good point.
It might help people to look at House & Senate candidates, and use the same criteria.
Pastors are completely within their rights as Americans citizens to speak frankly about the candidates.
Freedom of Speech was designed to protect political speech of all citizens.
Just because someone has a tax-free status does not take away their right to Free Political Speech,
no matter how much some stupid liberal bonehead says it does.
Same ad ran in the papers up here in NE Wisconsin.
God bless you, Reverend Graham.
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