By Kathleen Gilbert
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 5, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Amid the maelstrom of emotion following Sen. Barack Obama’s successful bid for the White House Tuesday night, pro-life and pro-family leaders around the country are exhorting their constituents to engage the next chapter in the pro-life movement with renewed determination, as the country now hails the most pro-abortion president in history.
President of the Susan B. Anthony List Marjorie Dannenfelser issued a statement acknowledging the new challenges that pro-life women, inspired by the example of Gov. Sarah Palin, face in the election’s aftermath. “With the entire federal government under the control of one political party that is hostile to our values, clearly the women of Team Sarah face an intense battle on many fronts,” said Dannenfelser.
“Thanks to Gov, Palin’s leadership, there are more women in this battle than ever before. The very women whom the women’s movement had convinced were invisible now know their power.” Team Sarah is a grassroots coalition of conservative women originally founded to advance the Vice presidential candidacy of Sarah Palin.
USCCB president Cardinal Francis George wrote a letter of congratulations to President-elect Obama on behalf of all U.S. bishops, in which he urged him to attend to the needs of the most defenseless and vulnerable American lives.
“The people of our country have entrusted you with a great responsibility,” wrote Cardinal George, who shares a Chicagoan heritage with Obama. “We stand ready to work with you in defense and support of the life and dignity of every human person.
“May God bless you and Vice President-elect Biden as you prepare to assume your duties in service to our country and its citizens.”
Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for life took a more somber tack, calling the election “one of the biggest mistakes that the American people have made in the entire history of our nation,” saying that “the biggest reason why that’s true is that here we have a president-elect who cannot tell the difference betweens serving the public and killing the public. See more Fr. Pavone comments in https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08110501.html.
Operation Rescue President Troy Newman agrees. “We trust in God that He has His hand on the affairs of men, and that one day there will be justice for the pre-born,” said Newman. “Now is not the time for discouragement, but a time to roll up our sleeves and continue the fight, having peace knowing that the results in God’s hands and, ultimately, victory is assured.”
Some conservative voices even reacted positively to the Democratic takeover, taking it as a golden opportunity to rebuild the shattered image of America’s conservative leadership. Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, says he believes that Americans’ enthusiasm over the new president is bound to cool when they recognize the true extremism of his beliefs.
“The majority of Americans looked beyond race to elect Barack Obama. They also looked beyond the content of his character and his left-wing agenda, because they were fed up with the current leadership and preferred change over substance,” said Staver.
“The majority of the American people share conservative values and are center or right of center. Conservative leaders have failed to remain true to these core values, and the people punished them. Today, we begin to rebuild the base.
“Over the next four years the people will work to hold back Obama’s liberal social and economic agenda from advancing too far. In the end, he will find his liberal agenda to be a lonely island,” concluded Staver.
Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Alliance Action and Liberty Counsel, called upon Obama to join the fight to protect marriage in the U.S., observing that a large number of his own supporters voted for same-sex “marriage” bans in California, Arizona and Florida.
“Although president-elect Obama has indicated his opposition to both the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and all constitutional marriage protection amendments, this election proves that he is sorely out of step with the American people on these issues.”
“Obama has said he opposes ‘gay marriage,’” said Barber. “It’s time for him to put his money where his mouth is. The passage of these three state constitutional amendments is an indicator that Obama, who has pledged full support for every single demand of extremist homosexual pressure groups, must recalibrate his far-left positions on these and other social issues if he wishes to be an effective leader.
“Exit polls indicate that in the Democratic strong-hold of California, African-Americans, over 90 percent of whom voted for Obama, also supported California’s marriage protection amendment (Proposition 8) by an overwhelming 70 to 30 percent.
“President-elect Obama owes his African-American supporters and the rest of America assurances that he will work to protect the cornerstone institution of legitimate marriage and reject the free-speech killing, religious liberties chilling agenda of the radical homosexual lobby.”