Politics of Stephen P. H. Frakes

Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

I loved Judy Baar Topinka. She was the first female Illinois State Treasurer. She did a lot for the office. It wasn't until Judy that the Illinois State Treasurer's office actually used computers. Judy was re-elected to the office for as long as she ran for it. She was then elected Illinois State Comptroller in 2010 and was just re-elected.

I will really miss her. She was a good person.

THE GRAND 'OLE' PARTY

I had been involved in Republican politics for many years. As a moderate Republican, I served three years as chairman of the Greater Marion County Young Republicans. I was also Region 5 Director for the Federation of Illinois Young Republicans, which covered the 24 southern counties of Illinois, serving in that capacity for three years. I was voted 1996 Illinois Young Republican of the Year, which was a very pleasant surprise for me, receiving my award at the FIYR Convention in Peoria that year. I served as an officer of the St. Louis Log Cabin Republicans.

The Republican Party that I have always known has disappeared in the last few years. I have found myself voting more and more for those running against republicans. I feel that many of the leaders of the Republican Party have been leading our beloved GOP away from it roots and have been heading us in a very dangerous direction. I just hope that the party can rid itself of those who wish to use the Constitution of the United States as a weapon of hate and inequality. To write, for the first time in our American history, into the United States Constitution, a discimnatory law. The Party of Lincoln, which stands for freedoms, equality, less government, fiscal responsibility, strong military, fewer taxes, is the party I'm hoping will once again be the GRAND OLE PARTY. Until then, I have become an Independent. No loyalty to a party. If a candidate wants my vote, they will have to earn it.

Sen. Barry Goldwater
(2 January 1909 – 29 May 1998)
The GOP Godfather of Conservatism

    **"I am a conservative Republican, but I believe in democracy and the separation of church and state. The conservative movement is founded on the simple tenet that people have the right to live life as they please as long as they don't hurt anyone else in the process." (in a 1994 Washington Post essay)
    "The religious factions will go on imposing their will on others,"
    **"I don't have any respect for the Religious Right."
    **"Every good Christian should line up and kick Jerry Falwell's ass."
    **"A woman has a right to an abortion."

"There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.' " US Senator (R-Arizona) Source: Congressional Record, September 16, 1981

The five-term U.S. senator from Arizona was equally unimpressed with TV preacher Pat Robertson. When Robertson sought the GOP nomination for president in 1988, Goldwater wasn't about to say amen. "I believe in separation of church and state," observed Goldwater. "Now, he doesn't believe that . . . I just don't think he should be running."

A few years later he told The Advocate, "I don't have any respect for the Religious Right. There is no place in this country for practicing religion in politics. That goes for Falwell, Robertson and all the rest of these political preachers. They are a detriment to the country."

In 1994 he told The Los Angeles Times, "A lot of so-called conservatives don't know what the word means. They think I've turned liberal because I believe a woman has a right to an abortion. That's a decision that's up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders or the Religious Right."

Goldwater, an Episcopalian, had theological differences with greedy TV preachers. "I look at these religious television shows," he said, "and they are raising big money on God. One million, three million, five million – they brag about it. I don't believe in that. It's not a very religious thing to do."

But Goldwater was also deeply worried about the Religious Right's long-term impact on his beloved GOP. "If they succeed in establishing religion as a basic Republican Party tenet," he told U.S. News & World Report in 1994, "they could do us in." In an interview with The Post that same year, Goldwater observed, "When you say 'radical right' today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican Party and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye."

But most importantly, Goldwater was deeply concerned about the Religious Right's relentless war on the Constitution and basic American freedoms. In a Sept. 15, 1981 senate speech, Goldwater noted that Falwell's Moral Majority, anti-abortion groups and other Religious Right outfits were sometimes referred to in the press as the "New Right" and the "New Conservatism." Responded Goldwater, "Well, I've spent quite a number of years carrying the flag of the 'Old Conservatism.' And I can say with conviction that the religious issues of these groups have little or nothing to do with conservative or liberal politics. The uncompromising position of these groups is a divisive element that could tear apart the very spirit of our representative system, if they gain sufficient strength." Insisted Goldwater, "Being a conservative in America traditionally has meant that one holds a deep, abiding respect for the Constitution. We conservatives believe sincerely in the integrity of the Constitution. We treasure the freedoms that document protects. . . "By maintaining the separation of church and state," he explained, "the United States has avoided the intolerance which has so divided the rest of the world with religious wars . . . Can any of us refute the wisdom of Madison and the other framers? Can anyone look at the carnage in Iran, the bloodshed in Northem Ireland, or the bombs bursting in Lebanon and yet question the dangers of injecting religious issues into the affairs of state?"

Goldwater concluded with a warning to the American people. "The religious factions will go on imposing their will on others," { he said,} "unless the decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in public policy. They must learn to make their views known without trying to make their views the only alternatives. . . We have succeeded for 205 years in keeping the affairs of state separate from the uncompromising idealism of religious groups and we mustn't stop now" { he insisted}. "To retreat from that separation would violate the principles of conservatism and the values upon which the framers built this democratic republic." from CHURCH & STATE July / August 1998

Goldwater on Gay Issues:

“It’s time America realized that there was no gay exemption in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence” — Barry Goldwater

In a Washington Post editorial in July 1994 titled “Job Protection For Gays,” Goldwater stated: “Gays and lesbians are a part of every American family. They should not be shortchanged in their efforts to better their lives and serve their communities. As President Clinton likes to say, ‘If you work hard and play by the rules, you’ll be rewarded’ and not with a pink slip just for being gay.”

In June of 1993, Goldwater wrote another editorial, “Ban on Gays is a Senseless Attempt to Stall the Inevitable,” published in both the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. It was in this editorial that Goldwater made his now famous statement in favor of gays serving honestly in the military, writing “You don’t need to be ‘straight’ to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.”

    Berry GOLDWATER was born the 2nd of January, 1909 in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, son of Baron M. and Hattie Josephine "JoJo" (WILLIAMS) GOLDWATER. Berry's parents were married in the Episcopal Church.
    Berry's father was Jewish, the family who founded Goldwater's, the largest department store in Phoenix. The family name was Americanized from GOLDWASSER. Berry's paternal grandparents were Michel and Sarah (NATHAN) GOLDWASSER, who had married in the Great Synagogue in London, England.
    Berry's mother's family was Protestant and descended from the old Yankee family and founder of Rhode Island, Gov. Roger WILLIAMS. Roger WILLIAMS was also the founder of the Baptist church in America. He also saw to it that Rhode Island would be a place of religious freedom, making it a safe haven for Baptists, Sabatarians, Quakers and Jews.
    Berry GOLDWATER on being religious, "If a man acts in a religious way, an ethical way, then he's really a religious man—and it doesn't have a lot to do with how often he gets inside a church".

Home Page of Stephen P. H. Frakes