The future of the Republican Party

(To the editors, WSJ, Nov. 17) The 11 letters to your newspaper today read like they were churned out of a Democratic talking points focus group. So, the Republican party will become a successful enterprise whenever it abandons its core principles? All this while "going back to its roots?" Anyone who thinks that abandoning the powerless unborn children and the endangered institution of marriage is somehow in line with Republicanism knows nothing about its true roots. Back in 1854, when the ruling Democratic Party committed itself to aiding and abetting the spread of slavery into Western territories and, in principle, to all states, old as well as new, North as well as South, the anti-slavery members of the Democrat and Whig parties coalesced into what soon became the Republican Party. If ever there was movement which appeared to be unlikely to succeed, this was it. A Democratic President, a Democratic Congress and, yes, a Democratic Supreme Court were poised to make slavery national.

Contrary to the naive theory of "progress" so alluring to many of our elites today, the Negroes' prospects for justice were worse, not better, than they were in 1776 or 1789. The reigning opinions and even the science of the day had decreed that blacks were inherently inferior and could never be accorded the same civil rights as whites. Leading Democrats like Sen. Stephen A. Douglas were amazed that Republicans would cause such a fuss for the sake of the rights of "a few miserable Negroes."

But Republicans in the beginning stuck to their guns and prevented the nation from acquiesing in the triumph of the slave power. Today's Republicans should be no less steadfast. As the Republican Party of 1856 declared its opposition to slavery and polygamy, those "twin relics of barbarism," so should the party of 2008 stand for the natural rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness against the threats posed by the cultures of death and immediate sexual gratification.

Straws in the wind from California

"Last night’s results give me encouragement that the next conservative resurgence is only one election away," writes Republican state assemblyman Chuck Devore from California, where I knew him as a Claremont Institute Lincoln Fellow. Devore's blog post on Wednesday morning highlighted the solid passage of Proposition 8, which annuls the recent state Supreme Court mandate for same-sex marriage; the likely passage of Proposition 11, which would set up competitive legislative districts in the Golden State after the next census for the first time in memory; the likely election to Congress of Tom McClintock, conservative hero who contested Schwarzenegger to the finish line in the 2003 recall election...

...and above all, the untenable contradiction between California voters' big margin for Obama, an apparent liberal affirmation, and the inherently conservative message sent by their approval of Prop 8.

Out there on the left coast, something clearly has to give.

Want to fireproof your marriage?

In the new movie "Fireproof," Caleb is a fire captain and Katherine is PR director for a hospital. Their marriage is crashing after seven years. Whose fault is it? Probably more his than hers, but it's not clear. He has an anger problem and a pornography problem. She's aloof, too perfect, and has a wandering eye at work. But when Kat asks for a divorce, it's Caleb who digs in to fight for their marriage, with encouragement from his dad, a new Christian. "The Love Dare," a 40-day rescue plan, is what slowly turns him, and the relationship, around.

Through plot twists we learn that the rescue plan has been found to work as well for a woman on the brink as for a man, and for couples a generation older than the young Holts. Caleb's lieutenant, a black guy named Michael, turns out to have it together a lot better both spiritually and maritally than his boss.

While the movie makes a direct but non-pushy evangelistic appeal, this isn't church or a revival meeting -- it's terrific entertainment. What could be a heavy couple of hours is deftly lightened by Kat and Caleb's funny coworkers at the hospital and the firehouse, as well as by the deadpan neighbor who is always outdoors at the wrong time.

"Fireproof" was shot on a shoestring budget and with few professional actors. It's the third feature film from Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, which previously shook up the cinema world with "Facing the Giants." At their website, FireproofMyMarriage.com, the "Love Dare" book is also for sale.

Donna and I loved this movie because, like most couples, we've had to learn a lot of lessons about marriage the hard way. We're encouraging all our friends to see it and talk it up. Its theater run won't be very wide or long, given the bias of Hollywood and big distributors toward a totally different ethic and message. Catch it while you can, or if necessary, get the DVD later on. This one's worth owning and seeing again!