Praise God and Kill the Pedophiles
January 27th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst shared the stage with Gov. Rick Perry at a “Pastor’s Policy Briefing” of the Texas Restoration Project on the night before they were inaugurated. Modeled after similar organizations that have sprung up in Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, Florida and Minnesota, the Texas Restoration Project is designed to get pastors and congregations on the religious right involved in the political process. If Dewhurst runs for governor, he’ll be depending on organizations like this to help put him in the Governor’s Mansion.
About 1,500 pastors from around the state were scheduled to attend the briefing, but only about 700 showed up because of bad weather. The project picked up the bill for hotel, dinner and breakfast, a hefty tab that could run into thousands of dollars. The organizers of the Texas Restoration Project have consistently refused to say who the project’s
funders are.
In his speech, Dewhurst heaped praise upon the pastors, saying that without their support Texas would have been unable to pass laws aimed at curbing abortion and keeping prayer in the schools. But no mercy should be extended to child molesters, he said. “And God forbid, if these monsters molest a child a second time, prosecutors can seek the death penalty. Two strikes and you’re out forever.” The transcript from the speech follows.
Texas Restoration Project
January 15, 2007Thank you, Dr. White, for that kind introduction and for inviting me to be with you this evening. It’s an honor for me to join with 700 pastors and their spouses to visit with you about some of my priorities for the 80th Regular Session, but more importantly, to thank you for preaching and sharing the Gospel and for contributing your time to the Texas Restoration Project.
There is nothing more important to me than your sharing the Gospel message. The Lord has made a difference in my life. I know each of you make a difference in other people’s lives everyday. Bless your hearts for what you do. May God bless you and your families for your work.
Es un honor para mi estar con ustedes. Ustedes son los lideres de la fe, nos ayudan a mantener nuestra devoción a Cristo.
I’m here this evening as a Christian, and I’m here this evening as your Lieutenant Governor. But I have to tell you, sometimes I’m bewildered when I hear folks at church complaining about what’s happening in government today. Too often those doing the complaining refuse to get off the sidelines and into the game. Sometimes they brag they’re too smart to vote.
That’s why I commend each of you for being here tonight. You are carrying out Christ’s command to be “salt and light” in the world around us. You realize that our faith not only allows us to speak out on vital issues—it requires us to do just that.
Without your leadership, we would not have passed the Defense of Marriage Act that maintains the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. This act was the foundation of the constitutional amendment that was overwhelmingly supported by Texas voters.
Without your support, we would not have passed the “Women’s Right to Know Act”, which requires physicians to provide vital medical information to pregnant women seeking abortions, and a mandatory 24-hour waiting period before they will perform an abortion.
Without you, we would not have passed the Parental Notification Act which gives parents the right all mothers and fathers should have: that’s being told if their daughter is seeking an abortion. Without you, we would not have passed the Parental Consent Act, which requires doctors to obtain parental consent to perform an abortion on a minor.
Without your faithful leadership, we would not have required our students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America with the words “under God.” Nor would we have passed legislation allowing for a moment of silence in our schools to pray and reflect.
These legislative victories cover the spectrum of our issues, but our victories do not end there. Folks, the Texas Legislature has a lot of challenges facing it this session, and we need your prayers. So I want to visit with you tonight about some of my top priorities to make Texas a better place to live, raise a family, and grow a business.
Like many of you, I believe that Texas children are the future of our great state. By protecting our children, we protect our future. Safe, healthy children learn. That’s why I created my Texas Children First Plan. Because the bottom line is safe, healthy children learn.
So first, we have to keep our children safe. Folks you won’t believe these numbers. They are heartbreaking. There are 46,000 registered sex offenders in Texas, and more than half of them have molested children. That’s why I’m going to ask the legislature to pass the strongest Jessica’s Law in the nation. 26 states have passed a Jessica’s Law. Jessica Marie Lunsford was a precious, little, 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped by a worker at her school, raped, and buried alive.
I’m going to ask the legislature to put molesters of children under 14 years old behind bars for a minimum of 25 years. And if they are ever paroled, lifetime GPS monitoring. And God forbid, if these monsters molest a child a second time, prosecutors can seek the death penalty. Two strikes, and you’re out forever.
And we have to increase the penalty for internet sexual solicitation of a minor from a misdemeanor to a felony. We have to send a message to child molesters and internet sexual predators, “Not in Texas!”And we want to keep these monsters out of our public schools. Everyday our children come in contact with teachers, bus drivers, librarians, and third party contractors. That’s why I’m going to ask the legislature to require criminal background checks for every person working on a Texas public school campus. As I said earlier, safe, healthy children learn.
I want every school to have at least one “automatic external defibrillator” along with one school employee trained in its use. Let’s save lives by putting defibrillators in schools and taking illegal steroids out through mandatory, random drug testing.
As Lieutenant Governor, there is no greater responsibility than to protect and preserve the future of our children. My plan to keep our kids safe and healthy is a message to our children that they’re going to have every chance to succeed. We will let nothing stand in the way of their happiness and their heroic ambitions.
As we put Texas Children First, I want you to seriously consider and pray about a pilot program by my good friend Dr. Jim Leininger, for the legislature to enact to help youngsters who are trapped in failing schools. To get young girls out of schools where they’re trapped and scared of gangs that want to hurt them.
I’ve personally contributed to Jim’s Foundation helping at-risk children, and I’ll never forget how when I went to visit them, these little children hugged me like I was their savior. It embarrassed me but made me want to help Jim and Cecilia even more.
We have a lot of work ahead of us over the next five months, but working together, we can turn the state’s challenges into opportunities. I’m so proud that in Texas we can keep faith with our respective ideas individually. We will fight for what we believe in, but we will not let partisanship stand in the way of progress.
I met in Houston last Friday with some pastors. They felt there are no coincidences in life. God works through all of us, pastors—this Lieutenant Governor and this Governor. They prayed, and I ask you to pray that God use me and each of us to do His will. I make you this pledge: I believe that our best days are ahead of us. As former President Ronald Reagan used to say, “America remains a Shining City on a Hill. And I believe Texas is its brightest light.”
May God bless you, and God bless the great State of Texas.
January 27th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
OT: I hear Molly Ivins has been hospitalized per a report today, I think in Austin. Can someone at TO find out if she can receive messages/flowers/etc?