Midterm Elections—A Disaster for America

Last November’s midterm elections marked a disaster in American history.

President George W. Bush won the last two presidential elections by razor-thin margins. Republicans have dominated both chambers of Congress for 12 years. But in November, the American government underwent a sea change. I believe the 2006 midterm elections changed American politics forever.

In the run-up to the elections, it seemed that nearly every critical race could go either way. But on Election Day, the Democrats made virtually a clean sweep.

God may well have had a hand in these results.

You don’t need deep biblical understanding to realize that something is dreadfully wrong in this country. America is being cursed!

Times have never been more dangerous for America. We face wars on multiple fronts. Do you think a government dominated by antiwar politicians can save America from its enemies?

The election of the Democrats, I believe, reveals the desperate lack of will in our people more than any other single event. This election sent a message to terrorists just as surely as Chamberlain sent a message to Hitler when he traveled to Munich before World War ii and accepted a paper promise of “peace for our time.” Most of the British people were hysterical with joy! But oh, how short-lived that “peace” was.

President Bush has not been successful in Iraq, but at least he used some measure of force. He could have achieved more if our people had supported him. Now extreme liberals dominate our government.

Time will prove this to be a deadly curse on the United States!

War, What War?

In these elections, the United States surrendered to Iran and the terrorists.

The Democrats won because they vehemently attacked President Bush over the war in Iraq. But the Democrats have no plan to fight these raging enemies. Many don’t even believe we are in a war with radical Islam. How can they defend this nation against an enemy they don’t even believe exists?

Do you think these new leaders see the gravity of the problem in Iran? Tehran is run by a madman and is the obvious king of radical Islamic terrorism—yet Democrats do not comprehend the seriousness of this situation. Even most Republicans do not!

Three days after the election, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called Bush’s defeat a victory for Iran. He said the election was “not a purely domestic issue for America, but it is the defeat of Bush’s hawkish policies in the world. … Since Washington’s hostile and hawkish policies have always been against the Iranian nation, this defeat is actually an obvious victory for the Iranian nation” (Reuters, Nov. 10, 2006; emphasis mine throughout). America doesn’t see the victory it has handed to Iran, but this man does.

Reuters also reported on how al Qaeda “gloated over the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld,” and vowed to attack Washington. “I swear by God we shall not rest from jihad until we … blow up the filthiest house known as the White House,” declared the leader of Iraq’s al Qaeda wing.

We are in a war against terrorism, and top terrorist leaders are rejoicing and celebrating with the Democrats.What is happening in America? What does this mean?

Liberals attacked Mr. Rumsfeld as a warmonger, but the fact is, as imperfectly as President Bush and Mr. Rumsfeld have conducted their campaign against radical terrorism, their efforts and their perseverance have meant America hasn’t suffered a terrorist attack at home since 9/11.

This is why Iran and its terrorist henchmen rejoiced when President Bush was politically punished and Donald Rumsfeld was removed from the picture.

Have you considered why terrorists would be happy about the electoral success of the Democrats?

Could it be that President Bush and the Republicans made it very difficult for Iran and the terrorists to attack America? And now the terrorists are excited because they know the Democrats will have a soft approach to radical Islam?

Former President Clinton recently joked that Republicans see a terrorist on every block, and when they start to run away, they trip over an illegal immigrant. But these problems are not funny. We are at war with radical Islam, and our nation is being overrun by immigrants—some of whom are hardened, violent criminals and terrorists!

America is surrounded by nation-destroying crises. Is this the time for our leaders to be joking about these problems? Remarks like this should make us wonder if the Democrats truly comprehend the gravity of the crisis threatening the United States.

San Francisco Values

The new speaker of the House is a Democrat from San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi. This woman, who is now second in line for the presidency after Vice President Dick Cheney, is pro-abortion and pro-homosexual marriage; she wants to allocate federal spending for stem-cell research, which involves experimenting on unborn babies.

Democrats are excited by the fact that endorsements of “San Francisco values” now echo through Washington’s halls. Is this what America needs? Prior to the elections, one newspaper stated, “If Democrats win, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will be speaker and her far-left San Francisco values—gay marriage, cutting and running from Iraq, coddling terrorists, raising taxes, amnesty for illegals—will become the House agenda” (Augusta Chronicle, Oct. 28, 2006). San Francisco values will now permeate every major decision made by the American government.

San Francisco is the homosexual capital of America. It is a seat of liberalism and one of the most morally and spiritually bankrupt cities in the country. Now a leader saturated in San Francisco values and beliefs is one of the most powerful politicians in the land.

Pelosi has sharply rebuked the president, calling him an “incompetent leader” and saying he is “not a leader” at all (San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 10, 2006). She has called Bush “immoral” and his administration a “freak show.” This from the mouth of a strong liberal who hails from the immoral city of San Francisco.

Pelosi is also very ambitious. A 2003 story in the National Catholic Reporter said that her mother “encouraged her to pursue a religious vocation,” but she had her doubts. “I didn’t think I wanted to be a nun,” Pelosi said. “But I thought I might want to be a priest. There seemed to be a little more power there ….”

She once told Time magazine, “Anybody who’s ever dealt with me knows not to mess with me.”

At the same time, Nancy Pelosi is strongly antiwar.

Whether we accept it or not, radical terrorists are waging war on America. How can a politician be antiwar when, like it or not, we are in a war?

Lame-Duck Presidency

Prior to the midterm elections, when it was obvious that Republicans would suffer serious losses, Dr. George Friedman wrote, “George W. Bush is a lame duck in the worst sense of the term. Not only are there no more elections he can influence, but he is heading into his last two years in office with terrible poll ratings” (Stratfor, Oct. 31, 2006). If the Republicans lost the House, commented Friedman, this would be a “loss that will generate endless hearings and investigations on foreign policy, placing Bush and his staff on the defensive for two years. Making foreign policy in this environment will be impossible.

Massive crises loom over our shores, yet our government, weighed down with internal crisis and friction, has become a lame duck.

The American legislature has been taken over by a political party with a history of weak, inept foreign policy.

In an October 10 piece, Dr. Friedman wrote, “Diplomacy without a realistic threat of significant action, in the event that diplomacy fails, is just empty chatter.” You can be sure that’s all we will hear from the U.S. over the next two years—empty chatter—because President Bush doesn’t have the power to do anything.

Meanwhile, foreign threats such as Iran, Iraq, North Korea, China, Russia, radical Islam and Europe will intensify unabated. That is an indescribable disaster for America—and the world!

What Is a Liberal?

The U.S. midterm elections were significant from a foreign policy and national security point of view. There is a point of view that is far more important, however.

What did God think of these elections? What does God think of the liberals now dominating the American government?

The answer to these questions can be found in Isaiah 32. Read the entire chapter. The first four verses show that this is a prophecy for the end time, the time just before Jesus Christ, the “king [that] shall reign in righteousness,” returns to Earth to establish His perfect government.

Verse 1 is speaking about Christ’s Second Coming. But God allows some terrible things to unravel just prior to that magnificent event.

Notice that! This election marks the final chapter for the United States. We mourn to see America’s downfall. We are about to see a tsunami of problems sweep over the world! But it should not discourage us. God is going to bring purpose and direction and hope out of that chaos! These problems are prophesied to occur just before the greatest event in history: Jesus Christ’s Second Coming.

Verse 5 reads, “The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.” The word liberal implies goodness—something noble or generous.

Democrats are often called liberals, and their values and beliefs are called liberal. Time magazine quoted Nancy Pelosi saying, “I pride myself in being called a liberal,” and “I don’t consider myself a moderate.” The problem is, much of what we call liberal is actually vile! Democrats have some of the vilest values and beliefs there are.

Isaiah 32:5 is about God making sure that people with vile values will no longer be called liberal. God calls them repugnant and vile, because that’s what they are.

Vile values predominate in Washington today, but they are foisted off on a naive people as being good and noble. “San Francisco values” could not be further from what the word liberal actually means.

Vile means wicked or ungodly. It means to become withered or faded; it implies falling down, fainting or losing strength, or the decay associated with acting foolishly and impiously. This word applies to America and the other modern nations descended from ancient Israel, as well as to God’s unrepentant people. According to God’s values, America is decaying and withering like a dying flower—rotting at the core—losing its strength to survive!

Churl means withholding or stingy. American society is all about getting, not giving. The word also implies fraud and deceit—something we see today in both political parties in the U.S. The Republicans often tout their “family values,” for example, while committing shamefully immoral acts.

“For the vile person will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail” (verse 6). Gesenius’ Lexicon defines villainy as a shameful act of wickedness such as rape or incest! God likens the vile views and beliefs of prominent leaders to some of the most hideous acts a human being could commit. These leaders “work iniquity”—they are lawless, doing all they can to force their San Francisco values on this nation and on this world! They “utter error” against God, openly defying His law and biblical truths. They “make empty the soul of the hungry.” As people hunger for purpose in life, these leaders provide vile values, leaving them spiritually empty.

This is the party Americans elected in November.

Verse 8 is clearer in the Revised Standard Version: “But he who is noble devises noble things; and by noble things he stands.” The beliefs and values of a true liberal—a person seeking to live by God’s standards—are noble and good. Godly beliefs are the foundation of a true liberal—someone who is upright, wholesome and noble.

Who behaves this way today? Who stands by God’s noble values?

Do you see that in Washington today? Many of America’s leaders are lawless; their foundational beliefs and values are as far from being noble as you can get. This spiritual and moral crisis worsened dramatically on November 7, the day “liberal” Democrats gained massive influence in the American government.

The Way of Rome

It is a law of history that nations rife with vile beliefs and values will be overpowered and conquered. Barbarians from northern Europe overpowered ancient Rome in the fourth and fifth centuries when Roman leaders, preoccupied by wealth, materialism and vile and lascivious behavior, became disunited and distracted.

When “San Francisco values” dominated Roman society, the empire fell!

Nobody talks about this history today. Winston Churchill said nations that neglect history are destined to repeat it. History today has become despised and maligned in America’s educational system.

A 1999 survey showed that students could graduate from 78 percent of America’s elite colleges without taking one history course. None of these top 55 schools required American history. College students are graduating without understanding history. Embarrassingly, many of our leaders lack even a mediocre understanding of history!

There is a war against history in education and politics today. Why would anyone attempt to destroy history?

The main reason is, without history as a guide, there is no one to tell a nation or people what is right and what isn’t, what works and what doesn’t.

History teaches that San Francisco values and beliefs do not work. People who fail to look to history do not learn the lessons it provides.

In an introduction to Winston Churchill’s biography of his ancestor Marlborough, Henry Steele Commager wrote, “[Churchill] cherished as a law of history that a people who flout these virtues [order, justice, resoluteness, magnanimity] is doomed to decay and dissolution, and that a people who respect them will prosper and survive.

Learning lessons from great leaders of the past is critical to our national well-being. If we flout those heroic virtues, our nations are doomed to “decay and dissolution.” But if we respect and emulate them, we will “prosper and survive.”

What would Churchill say about America’s recent election?

Loss of Will

History shows that leadership defines national success. High-quality leadership is a blessing from God that results in wealth, peace and prosperity. Poor leadership is a curse that destroys nations.

In The United States and Britain in Prophecy (which we will give you for free upon request), Herbert W. Armstrong showed how America and Britain received spectacular national blessings because of the obedient example and quality leadership of Abraham.

Today, America sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. God is cursing America for its rank vileness by taking away quality leadership.

The leaders sweeping into power today are the opposite of the God-fearing leaders that made this nation great. Their widely touted vile values and beliefs are blatantly anti-God.

God specifically talks about the state of America and Britain today in another prophecy in Isaiah 1: “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward” (Isaiah 1:4). America is laden, or worn down, with sin!

This has provoked God to anger!

People like to think God doesn’t care much about this world and that He isn’t really involved with the affairs of nations. Americans talk about God a lot, but few really believe He is involved in their affairs. This is a false and twisted belief.

God loves this world beyond what you can imagine—and it pains Him to see it unraveling like it is. But He is also angered by what He sees. Rampant sin is tearing the United States apart, and this provokes God to anger!

Twisted San Francisco values and beliefs are flowing like a river out of America today. Such sin infuriates God.

Does it infuriate you? Does it provoke you to anger? It should!

“Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint” (verse 5). God is telling us that America’s leaders are sick, and the people who elected them are faint! The whole head is sick! The whole heart is faint!

God is cursing America today by removing quality leadership and destroying the collective willpower of the people. In Leviticus 26:19, God specifically warns that if we disobey Him, He will break our pride in our power and take away our courage to stand up to our enemies. This prophecy is unfolding right now—just as deadly threats like Iran, North Korea and radical Islam are mounting and threatening our peace and well-being.

In the November elections, God took away a leadership that was at least prepared to confront these threats, and allowed it to be replaced by antiwar, morally bankrupt leadership.

America is facing a kind of war unprecedented in its history. A terrorist attack could occur at any moment, in any location. But we are now led by a liberal leadership that refuses to acknowledge the threat of war.

Winston Churchill believed that the test of greatness is war. “All great struggles of history have been won by superior willpower wresting victory in the teeth of odds,” he wrote in Marlborough. “The story of the human race is war.” Churchill knew that possessing strong willpower is critical to winning wars.

When the American people handed antiwar Democrats control of Congress, they revealed their unwillingness to stand in the face of adversity. They exposed a massive deficit of willpower and determination!

In 1938, one of Britain’s lords wrote in a letter to Churchill this comment, which shamefully applies today: “The public is so terrified of being bombed that they will support anyone who keeps them out of war. I always knew they had no desire to stand up to the dictators, and I always knew that when there was a sharp issue of peace or war, 95 percent of the electors would rally to the peace policy, however humiliating such a policy might be.”

The Democrats’ post-election celebrations will be terribly short-lived. A person only has to know a little bit about leadership and history to know that this nation cannot handle the problems America is about to face!

Saddam Hussein said, “You Americans can’t take the blood.” He is right! The majority of Americans have proven that they cannot handle some of our soldiers—the best of our best citizens—spilling their blood. That lack of willpower means the nation is destined to die! Rather than a few soldiers, the blood of the whole nation will flow in rivers!

Loss of Leaders

A prophecy in Isaiah 3 speaks even more specifically to America’s problem today. “For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator” (Isaiah 3:1-3). Quality leadership in the U.S. today is gone—wiped away! America lacks a great war-time leader like Winston Churchill. There is no great orator rousing the American people to action.

“And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them” (verse 4). That is precisely what we have. And these latest elections may have helped pave the way for this nation to have its first woman president take office in two years.

The government in our nation has been overturned and is upside down, from the highest levels of federal government all the way down to the family unit. Look at the mainstream media, the movies, the music, the clothing, television—it is all teen-dominated. Society is upside down; adults are subject to children and teenagers.

“The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves” (verse 9). America trumpets its sins before the whole world!

This nation is defying God in the most repugnant ways possible. Ms. Pelosi called President Bush “immoral.” What standard is she using? She is judging with “San Francisco values,” which God likens to those of Sodom and Gomorrah!

Why is God talking about Sodom in this prophecy? Because that was a society so sick with homosexuality and other sins that God destroyed it!

This is a terrifying warning!

“Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10). God says America’s leaders must receive this warning!

God is provoked—and so should we be. We ought to be provoked enough, angry enough, to deliver this warning from God to the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah!

All Fall Together

Biblical prophecy reveals that Britain and the nation called Israel today will rapidly decline at the same time America falls. Britain, its dominions and Israel are suffering from the same leadership crisis as America.

“And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. … Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be” (Hosea 5:5, 9). Because of their sins, all three of these nations will fall together.

Many observers believe that the results of the midterm election mean America’s support for Israel could wane in the coming months. Israel is surrounded by an arc of hate-filled enemies whose hearts are committed to bulldozing the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea. Only America’s support over the years has prevented Israel’s demise.

Who will Israel turn to when America removes its support? “Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim [and Judah] to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound” (verses 12-13). This prophecy tells us that both Ephraim (Britain today) and Judah (the nation of Israel) will run to the Assyrian (Germany) for assistance. This prophecy speaks of a time when the U.S. will lack the power and the will to assist its allies.

November’s election results prove we are witnessing the demise of American global leadership. President Bush will not be able to accomplish anything of substance again. Internal crisis and division will prevent the U.S. from conducting a respectable foreign policy.

America’s geopolitical decline will create a global leadership void. As Hosea and many other biblical prophecies note, another nation will step up and fill this void: Germany. This nation is about to replace America as the global superpower.

After World War ii, Mr. Armstrong said the U.S. would never win another war.

I believe that after we retreat from Iraq, America will never FIGHT another war!

We simply don’t have the fortitude to survive. Our new leaders are afraid to even call a war a war!

In Ezekiel 7:14, God says that the warning trumpet will sound, but nobody will run to battle. That is because God’s wrath is upon us!

This election marked a monumental turn in America’s history. We live in the midst of the most eventful moment in human history! God’s warning must be delivered before this tidal wave of catastrophes descends.