Frank Creel vs. Tom Davis - VA 11th District

From: Frank Creel [fcreel@crosslink.net]
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 8:15 PM
Subject: August 26, INCLetter
for August 26, 2002

This newsletter is published by the Independent National Committee (INC), a coalition of political parties dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the Constitution; to the sovereignty of the United States of America; and to the guidance of Providence in the formulation and execution of our national policies.
We offer in this newsletter an alternative perspective on national issues and invite the American people to compare our positions with those of the Democrats and the Republicans, who, in our view, have not proved themselves worthy stewards of our national destiny. Readers are invited to visit the INC's website at www.usincspot.org.

Readers can also gain a wider understanding of the principles that motivate the INC by visiting the websites of entities exhibiting sympathy or giving their unqualified support for the INC such as the Independent American Party at www.usiap.org , the Tennessee Independent Party at www.tennesseeindependent.tripod.com , the Constitution Action Party at www2.ari.net/home/CAP/ and the Prohibition Party at www.prohibitionists.org.

FOR THE REASON EXPLAINED IN THE SECOND ITEM, BELOW, THE INCLETTER WILL BE SUSPENDED FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS!!!

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America has reached a critical foreign policy juncture. The choices we as a nation make in the next three to six months will be among the gravest and most consequential in our nation's history. The wrong choices could well set us on a path at the end of which our very survival as a politically unified and economically vibrant country could become problematic.

The extreme gravity of the situation is highlighted in part by the notes of caution recently sounded by such stalwarts of the Republican establishment as General Brent Scowcroft, Jack Kemp and Dick Armey.

My own judgment is that their warnings were too timid and joined by too few others to restrain the war fever being pressed upon President Bush by the clash-of-civilizations hawks, Bill Kristol, Robert Kagan, Richard Perle, Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz. I hope I am wrong about that.

I believe I can speak for the entire Independent National Committee in insisting that, prior to any invasion of Iraq, Congress must be fully consulted, that the proposed invasion be thoroughly debated in both Houses, and that there be formal authorization by public recorded vote of the Commander-in-Chief's proposed military action. These are bare necessities for the maintenance (restoration?) of our constitutional order.

Due regard for the lessons of searing national experiences also demands caution. Vietnam, for those who remember it, taught us that any military undertaking beyond the continental, insular and territorial dimensions of our nationhood must have the understanding and support of the American people. Neither undebated nor hasty war can claim historical warrant in the American tradition. Again, I think all or most of the INC's executive committee can endorse this rooted perspective on the American experience.

I stress that what follows from here on represents my personal judgment and that it may or may not reflect even the majority opinion of the INC. I present these views because I consider it my duty at this grave time and in the trust that they will receive a considerate hearing by those who may not have a settled opinion. I also hope that those who disagree will indulge me and be assured that I will continue to give their views a considerate hearing.

America will be in the gravest peril of its history if it embarks on a war with Islam. We have unparalleled wealth and unchallengeable military resources; but economies are fickle beasts, and military might without a steady underpinning of prosperity can be rapidly depleted. Demographically, because our civilization is so firmly embedded in the contracept-and-abort hedonism of our age, we are at a distinct long-term disadvantage.

We should not delude ourselves. If we slide into a war with Islam, it could last a century or more. The cost in lives and treasure and liberty would make the Thirty Years War look like child's play.

None of what I have to say on this subject should be taken as an apology for Islam. The Koran has both peaceful and warlike passages, and throughout history Muslims, much like their Christian adversaries, have alternately availed themselves of both. Contemporary Islam does, indeed, appear to be growing progressively antagonistic toward the rest of the world. This unfortunate development may have a lot to do with Muslim resentment having an inverse relationship with their distance from past glories.

September 11 was either a proper or perverse expression of Islamic principle. If the latter, it should have been condemned by Islamic orthodoxy much more quickly, universally and vigorously than it was. If the former, if, that is, Osama bin Laden's Islam is the true Islam, then the decent Muslims of the world should be reexamining their adherence to it.

In the final analysis, however, such considerations are an internal matter for Muslims to decide, and the Christian West can have little influence over the course of that internal argument. Our efforts are best directed toward living our Christianity, both as individuals and as nations, as well as we can, and toward discerning where our permanent national interests lie.

We have no interests to be served by entering into a protracted period of hostility with the Muslim world. Those who seem so eager to push us in that direction are serving something other than the interests of the American Republic.

When I was 15, I had a teacher, a Catholic priest no less, who advocated a preemptive nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. The USSR, he argued, was in the control of communist madmen who would have no compunction obliterating us as soon as they were able to accomplish our destruction. Therefore, it was our moral duty to strike first. Don't ask me how a Catholic priest can justify advocating an action that would result in the slaughter of millions of innocents.

We now know that, even though we considered Stalin and Khrushchev murderous madmen, they could be successfully deterred, and the arguments of that priest are now clearly exposed as alarmist, even quaint. The Perles, Kristols and Wolfowitzs of our time will eventually seem equally quaint, armchair strategists who have never seen a day of combat but who nevertheless find themselves qualified to goad history's most good-hearted nation into a terminal struggle with one-sixth of the earth's population. Fools they are, as are any who follow after them.

Jingoism confused with patriotism leads, more often than not, to objective treason against the nation. May God protect us from that folly.
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The reason the INCLetter will be suspended for the next three months is that I am on the ballot in the 11^th District of Virginia, running as an Independent against Tom Davis, fifth-ranking Republican member of the House. Davis is going for his fifth term and presently serves as chairman of the Republican National Congressional Campaign.

I jumped into the race after it became clear that the Democrats were not going to field a candidate against Davis. This was partly because Davis won in 2000 with 62% of the vote, and the Democrats preferred to divert their campaign cash into tighter races - but also, partly, because Davis is a typical, "moderate"; Republican, a Republicrat, whose views and votes don't endanger core parts of the Democratic agenda.

With no Democrat in the race, I reasoned, this would be an opportunity to gain some exposure for the Independent alternative to the Republicrats. With no lesser-of-two-evils calculus operative in the campaign, people could safely vote their consciences, and we would discover at the end of the race just how large and energetic the pro-life, Second Amendment, right-to-work, school-choice and national sovereignty constituencies are.

So I am running for Congress. My campaign website is at FrankCreel.org.

I am not naive about my chances. Davis has almost a million dollars left over from his last campaign and can easily raise much more than that. He has the Chamber of Commerce endorsement and rich developers (the social equivalent in Northern Virginia of the world's J. R. Ewings) firmly behind him because he is so firmly in their pockets. His name recognition, of course, is close to 100%, a lot of voters think highly of him, and he is a smooth campaigner.

No political analyst in his right mind would think I have the slightest chance of upsetting him.

Still, as I said in my first press release, this is America, and we hold elections, not coronations. Davis clearly does not feel threatened and will undoubtedly do his best simply to ignore my candidacy and trust that the media will do the same.

Also, Davis has already committed a serious campaign error, the kind of mistake a political novice like myself might be expected to make.

On August 6, Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican whose stands on the issues are virtually identical to mine, won a special election to fill a vacant state Senate seat. The biggest issue in that race was Cuccinelli's vociferous opposition to a regional sales tax referendum on the November ballot.

The Commonwealth of Virginia is, in effect, saying to the voters of Northern Virginia: "Look, we tax you a lot but can't afford to fund all your transportation needs. So we're graciously giving you an opportunity to tax yourselves some more to make up the difference."

That doesn't sit well with a lot of voters.

Davis had supported Cuccinelli's "moderate" opponent in the primary. After Cuccinelli's special election victory, the topic of the day was how important his opposition to the sales tax referendum had been.

Davis's public response last week was "not much." And he came out in support of the sales tax hike. My reading of that is that his overconfidence caused him to take an avoidable misstep.

What really makes the race interesting are the national implications. If this no-name, low-budget political novice knocks off the chairman of the Republican National Congressional Campaign, it would be a political earthquake off the Richter scale, especially if it cost the Republicans their majority in the House. More important to me, it would give those pro-life, Second Amendment, right-to-work, school-choice and national sovereignty constituencies a major boost onto the national political stage.

If you are a member of one or more of those constituencies, you will not find a congressional race in the country where your political dollar will be more leveraged IF I should eke out a victory. And, because Davis is so weak on the issues and slippery in his principles, I think I can beat him if I can spend one dollar for every ten Davis spends. If you can't send cash (Creel for Congress, P. O. Box 1430, Centreville, VA 20122), at least send up some prayers.

When I discussed with my family whether or not I should undertake this Quixotic adventure, my daughter extracted only one promise from me: That I remember to have fun in the doing of it.

That, I am working very hard to do. It will be even more fun if I can count on your support.

Frank Creel
Chairman, Steering Committee

Would that I were in the area and could stalk him with a tape recorder (as I've done Alan Keyes for years) and continue the newsletter with quotes from the campaign trial during his hiatus.

Thanks for the flag. I wish him the very best of luck. Sounds like a winner in my book.

"...that there be formal authorization by public recorded vote of the Commander-in-Chief's proposed military action. These are bare necessities for the maintenance (restoration?) of our constitutional order.

I agree 100%. We have a written Constitution - not a living one. The best of luck to you sir.

It's my understanding that America has been under the Emergency Powers Act since Roosevelt , and as long as we are the president acts as commander in chief or dictator.

He is totally in charge and just like clinton did he can rule with a stroke of the pen "kind a cool".

Help me if I'm wrong.

Other than that I agree , we are in trouble. If they can knock out the national grid , which I have read isn't that hard , we could have a Los Angeles on a national scale. We could destroy ourselves without the enemy firing a shot..............

Then comes FEMA and the UN and all of those EO's.

I'm glad You mention Faith.

I believe in my heart that if Christians come together as one Church , under God in His name and for His honor we can beat this globalism set up.

If Christians would hold their politicians to Gods' Laws , we could eliminate the bad ones and start to turn things around.

Praying for a corrupt government is a waste of time when God has already given us a set of rules to live by , but instead we continue to elect crooks and perverts.

He has done everything for us and it's time to pay Him back with the Respect He deserves and use His Laws to return our country back to a Christian Nation.

ONE NATION UNDER GOD....( this is more than a motto)

If that's what this man is about , I would follow him into hell.

Thanks for your encouragement. So far, this campaign is truly a grass-roots effort. We hope to spread the word freely online with the campaign website, posts to FR and e-mail newsletters. I will do my best to keep you informed of the latest campaign developments. Feel free to e-mail my father directly. He's mastered his e-mail program and is already eager to learn how to FReep. God bless you.

Thank you for posting this about Dr. Frank Creel. I have read many of his articles on the Independent American Party website, and have communicated with him. He is an outstanding person and an excellent candidate. I wish I lived in Virginia.

I agree with you. A rare opportunity has presented itself to 11th District voters. If my father wins, it certainly will be evidence of that very unity which Christ, Our Lord spoke of.

This is an important election and with prayers and support, incumbents this year will get more than a message. As my father said, "The swamp is vast and deep and will not be drained in my lifetime. But I will make a start."

God bless you.

That's quite alright! Catholic or not, all defenders of the Constitution (not the living, biochem. set version) are encouraged to support my father's campaign.

My ping list included those FReepers who may be interested in "pro-life, Second Amendment, right-to-work, school-choice and national sovereignty" issues. Did I still ping you incorrectly?

I don't think Bush needs approval from Congress though but I would prefer Saudi Arabia as a target to Iraq. The real axis of evil is Saudi Arabia( both its people and government), Iran( mainly its government), and Egypt( mainly its people not its government).

Whats your fathers position on abolishing all welfare and social programs, subsidies, the IRS, the WOD etc and cutting the vast array of red tape strangling business.

In my own way I have already Prayed for your father to win. I Pray for another Great Awakening in America , that's what it will take to turn the socialization of America hidden in the guise of globalism and diversity around.

I will renew my Prayer for your father and others like him.

Peace be with You and your Father

You're right. One of my campaign themes will be that I am a better Republican than Davis. I believe in limited government and take very seriously the enumeration of powers in Article 1 Sec. 8 of the Constitution. I support the pro-life plank in the Republican platform, which has been there since the 1940s and which "moderate" Republicans like Davis keep trying to remove or water down. I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, which all good Republicans should uphold by voting against the various gun control schemes the liberals pour forth. Davis waffles on these schemes, or comes right out and supports them.

Thanks for wishing me luck. I'll need it.
The Founders, actually, did create a living Constitution by giving it an amendatory procedure, the Bill of Rights being the first instance of that "life", having been adopted in order to satisfy the concerns of those states that were reluctant to ratify the Philadelphia Convention's handiwork as written.
I agree with you that the contemporary understanding of a "living Constitution," with Justices making new law from the bench, with presidents legislating through executive orders, and with Congress legislating far beyond its enumerated powers, is a stake in the heart of our constitutional order.

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