The Brody File

Congress Hears from Diverse Christian Leaders on Healthcare and Abortion

David Brody — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:13:10 GMT

With the healthcare reform bill tangling by a thread, a couple dozen moderate and liberal Christian leaders have sent a letter to Congress and their message is pretty simple: the language on abortion will do just fine so just vote for the bill!

Millions of conservative Evangelicals would beg to differ with their conclusions but because The Brody File always listens to both sides of a debate without further adieu I give you some of the full letter to Congress.

Read the whole letter here including the Christian leaders who signed the letter and the abortion related provisions in the bill that they say is good enough for them.

Dear Member of Congress,

As Christians committed to a consistent ethic of life, and deeply concerned with the health and well-being of all people, we want to see health care reform enacted. Our nation has a rare and historic opportunity to expand coverage to tens of millions of people, make coverage more affordable for all families, and crack down on many of the most harmful practices of the health insurance industry.

We are writing because of our concern about the lack of clear and accurate information regarding abortion provisions in the health care reform bill passed by the Senate on December 24, 2009.

Reforming our health care system is necessarily complex, and the provisions related to abortion, or any other issue, require careful examination of the facts as they exist in the legislative language. We believe that the provisions below provide extensive evidence that longstanding restrictions on federal funding of abortion have been maintained. Furthermore, this bill provides new and important supports for vulnerable pregnant women.

We are now at a critical moment in the history of our country. More than 30 million Americans may finally gain access to a health care system that is affordable -- providing families, children and seniors with fundamental care that is essential to human dignity. We respectfully ask that you make an informed decision about this legislation based on careful deliberation guided by facts.

Eric Cantor to Brody File: Rahm Emanuel Should "Know Better"

David Brody — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:59:45 GMT

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor tells The Brody File that Rahm Emanuel gave the President poor advice on the healthcare bill and should have “known better”

The Brody File spoke to Cantor in his Capitol Hill office.

Rep. Cantor will be a guest on this week’s edition of The Brody File that will air Monday March 15th on the CBN News Channel.

The video is below along with a full transcription.

David Brody: There have been a lot of stories about Rahm Emanuel. There have been a lot of stories about him. I know you’ve had conversations with him. What is he like exactly because there’s been a lot of ways people are painting him specifically. The reason I ask that is because I’m wondering how much The White House has kind of pulled back in reaching out to folks like you and Minority Leader Boehner.

Rep. Eric Cantor: "There’s been very little outreach from The White House as far as trying to work together in a bi-partisan basis. That’s reflected in this healthcare situation. If there was a bi-partisan effort, if there was a bi-partisan project we were talking about we wouldn’t be here today mentioning reconciliation so you know Rahm Emanuel is a creature of the House of Representatives. I would think he’d know better than to allow the administration to conduct a policy that is really my way or the highway that the majority of Americans now feel that their opinions have been ignored.”

Eric Cantor to Brody File: Republicans Must "Seize the Opportunity" to Lead Again

David Brody — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:46:17 GMT

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor tells The Brody File that Republicans have to now “seize the opportunity” to lead Congress after years where they didn’t have a “great record to brag about.”

The Brody File spoke to Cantor in his Capitol Hill office.

Rep. Cantor will be a guest on this week’s edition of The Brody File that will air Monday March 15th on the CBN News Channel.

The video is below along with a full transcription.

David Brody: Do you feel Republicans are ready to step up and lead?

Rep. Eric Cantor: "There’s no question that in ’06 Republicans were fired from the majority. In ’08 the country said we’re not ready for you to re-assume the presidency either. I do think though that the frustration that has now reached a fever’s pitch is focused on the fact that the promise of hope and change has not been delivered upon by the majority in this town, has not been delivered upon by the administration and the country realizes through the stimulus bill, through the proposal of the cap and trade bill, the national energy tax, the healthcare bill and all the other things that have been proposed including the position the administration is taking on the Mexico City Policy and the rest these are not reflective of how we are as America and I do think that Republicans have demonstrated this year that we now understand that there wasn’t a great track record to brag about perhaps in the past but we’ve got to at this point seize the opportunity and rewrite the ship because if we don’t do that I’m very fearful for the future of the American ideal which is to make sure that the next generation has a better life than we do.”

Eric Cantor to Brody File: “I think we can take back the majority.”

David Brody — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:28:47 GMT

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor tells The Brody File that he thinks Republicans will win back the House of Representatives.

The Brody File spoke to Cantor in his Capitol Hill office.

Rep. Cantor will be a guest on this week’s edition of The Brody File that will air Monday March 15th on the CBN News Channel.

The video is below along with a short partial transcription. Please watch the entire clip to get the full answer.

Rep. Eric Cantor: "David, I think we can take back the majority. I think in this country is very much desirous of a new direction."

Rep. Eric Cantor: “Then it will be up to Republicans to step up and demonstrate that we listen to the people and that we are going to be executing a vision that will allow us to return to this sense of security in the pursuit of that American dream.”

Eric Cantor to Brody File: White House Hypocrite Charge Against Him is "Preposterous"

David Brody — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:18:02 GMT

In an interview with The Brody File House Minority Whip Eric Cantor blasts The White House and Democrats by trying to paint him as a hypocrite on the stimulus bill.

The White House and the DNC say while Cantor opposed the stimulus bill he is supportive of the money inside it that will provide for high rail train service in Virginia which will lead to jobs in his state. Cantor vehemently defends himself below.

Rep. Cantor will be a guest on this week’s edition of The Brody File that will air Monday March 15th on the CBN News Channel.

The video is below along with the full transcription.

Rep. Eric Cantor: “Ever since I’ve come to Congress I have been supportive of a high speed rail project for Virginia. It is a gateway of the Southeast corridor in the United States. It’s something that study after study has indicated would produce hundreds of thousands of jobs for our state. Way before the stimulus bill was even discussed I supported that project so somehow the notion that I shouldn’t be for a project that represented a very small portion of an 800 and some billion dollar bill I mean I don’t think that necessarily I would need to be bought off if you will by voting for an 800 and some billion dollar bill on the part of my constituents just so I could continue to advocate for a project that would create jobs in my state. That doesn’t make any sense. I think the argument is preposterous and I think the other one that they continue to try and suggest is that somehow I shouldn’t be for promoting job fairs in Virginia because entities that may want to participate in those job fairs could have benefited from stimulus money. Well you know what? I’m about trying to make sure that I do everything I can to see my constituents get back to work so again I think that their argument is falling on deaf ears. If they’re talking about negativism and obstructionism I think that’s the kind of politics that the people in this country are tired of.”

Eric Cantor to Brody File: Time to Clean Up Earmark Process

David Brody — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:48:57 GMT

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor tells The Brody File that it’s time to deal with controversial spending earmarks.

The Brody File spoke to Cantor in his Capitol Hill office.

Rep. Cantor will be a guest on this week’s edition of The Brody File that will air Monday March 15th on the CBN News Channel.

The video is below along with a short partial transcription. Please watch the entire clip to get the full answer.

Rep. Eric Cantor: “The leader and I last year had proposed a moratorium as well and we will do so again this year. I do think that we will be successful in imposing that one year moratorium so that we can clean the process up. Let’s realize. There are good earmarks and there are bad earmarks. Unfortunately the process has become entirely tainted.”

Eric Cantor to Brody File: Hopeful That Stupak Will “Stay Committed” to Healthcare Abortion Fight

David Brody — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:27:20 GMT

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor tells The Brody File that he’s hopeful Congressman Bart Stupak will “stay committed” to fighting for his pro-life principles on the healthcare and abortion issue. He tells The Brody File that he has discussions with Stupak about this crucial issue.

The Brody File spoke to Cantor in his Capitol Hill office.

Rep. Cantor will be a guest on this week’s edition of The Brody File Show that will air Monday March 15th on the CBN News Channel. Watch the entire interview then but here's a little preview.

The video is below along with a short partial transcription.

David Brody: Do you believe he (Bart Stupak) is going to hold firm on this?

Rep. Eric Cantor: I know that Bart Stupak has always been an upstanding individual and true to his principles. I know that this issue has been a lifelong commitment of his. I am encouraged that Bart will stay committed. I’m hopeful that we can see that.”

Evangelical Pastor Sending President Obama Bible Verses from Book of Mark

David Brody — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:55:41 GMT

Rev. Joel Hunter, one of the main influential Pastors in President Obama’s inner prayer and faith circle tells The Brody File that he is going through the Book of Mark with the Commander in Chief. Watch the video clip below as well as a partial transcription. (Hunter will be a guest on this week’s edition of The Brody File Show)

Hunter is considered one of the more conservative Evangelical members of President Obama’s Faith Council. He gave the Benediction at the 2008 Democratic Convention and has taken some heat from fellow conservative Evangelicals for partnering with the administration. But sharing the Gospel with the President? (or anyone for that matter) Who can take issue with that?

JOEL HUNTER/SENIOR PASTOR, NORTHLAND CHURCH

"I send probably two or three devotionals a week. He gets a devotional everyday on his blackberry and so I'm going through the Gospel of Mark with him and then there are other conversations I can’t tell you how many that have to do with how do you in his position continue your spiritual growth in Christianity.”

JOEL HUNTER/SENIOR PASTOR, NORTHLAND CHURCH

"Months and months ago he invited me to do daily devotionals and I just decided it would be more consistent to go through a Gospel with him so that I could talk about Jesus because Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. We fix our eyes on Jesus and so I just decided that Mark was the Gospel that I would go to because it was short and to the point and it had all of the essentials.”

White House Statement on Faith Council Report

David Brody — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:47:09 GMT

The White House has just released the following statement from Faith Based Office Director Joshua DuBois. Read below.

The White House also released a picture.

The full report by the Faith Council is also below

Joshua DuBois/WH Faith-Based Office Director:

On Monday, the first year of the President's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships came to a close . The President extended his warmest thanks for the time, talent, and wisdom that has been brought to the process and to the recommendations made by the Advisory Council. The White House looks forward to working with partners across government to review the recommendations from this extraordinary group of leaders.

When President Obama launched the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, he wanted to make sure this effort was informed by the expertise and experience of our nation’s leading non-profit organizations and religious leaders from across the political and religious spectrum.

These organizations are indispensable partners to the U.S. Government in solving the common challenges facing our nation and our world. However, the Federal Government had never taken a step back and assessed how it partners with these organizations, and how it might improve these partnerships to have a greater impact on our common challenges.
With this in mind, President Obama formed the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships to create an avenue for the Administration to receive the advice and expertise of our country’s leading non-profit and faith-based voices on how to improve partnerships with the U.S. government.

The Council and Taskforce members joined together across religious, political and ideological lines to achieve an incredible amount of consensus recommendations in six different areas. We note with pride the respect and civility Council and Taskforce members have shown one another throughout this process, even as they worked to provide advice on some of the toughest issues we face as a nation.

The report is here. It is long. Grab a bag of Oreos.

Ralph Reed: Not Running for Congress

David Brody — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Ralph Reed will NOT be running for Congress.

The Brody File has Ralph Reed's statement. It's hot off the press and first on The Brody File. Read below:

STATEMENT BY RALPH REED ON GEORGIA’S SEVENTH DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL RACE

“After much thought and prayer, I have decided not to be a candidate for Congress in Georgia’s Seventh district in 2010. I believe I can best advance conservative principles by continuing to serve as CEO of Century Strategies, LLC, and founding chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. Century’s voter contact subsidiary and grassroots team will be involved in a number of races in 2010. FFC is growing rapidly, with over 150,000 members and supporters already, currently adding one new state chapter a week and 1,000 new members a day.

In 2010 and 2012, FFC will register an estimated one million new faith-based voters and make tens of millions of voter contacts in what may be the largest conservative get-out-the-vote effort in modern political history. These nationwide efforts offer a much better prospect for changing the direction of the country than winning a Congressional race myself. In the end, I concluded I cannot run for Congress and carry out the plans I have for Century Strategies and Faith and Freedom Coalition at the same time. I had to make a choice. I believe electing 50 to 100 men and women of character and conservative beliefs to Congress and statewide office over the next two election cycles is a more efficacious way to advance the conservative agenda than seeking public office myself in 2010.

Should that door open in the future, perhaps I will arrive at a different decision, but I know this is the right decision at this time for me and the Reed family. Jo Anne and I have been deeply moved and encouraged by the expressions of support we have received from so many. We are proud to call Georgia our home and we look forward to continuing to be involved in the civic life of our state and the nation. God bless you as we work together for an historic victory in 2010.”

The Brody File has been following Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition for months now and i can tell you that it is indeed poised to be a major player in the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Reed is traveling to a couple states nearly every day. This new Coalition is a huge commitment. The Brody File was told that he informed his State Coalition Directors in a conference call 15 minutes before the announcement came at 11am.

Don't underestimate Ralph Reed and his ability to galvanize conservative Christians.