The Measure of an Effective Conservative Politician

As a pastor, I am often asked by people in my congregation how they can avoid the attacks of Satan. My standard answer is: Go hang out in a bar and guzzle some suds. Chase some women while you are at it. And get stinking, staggering drunk and spend all your paycheck so you don’t have any left to take of your family. Satan will leave you totally alone, guaranteed. Why should he bother with you? He has you right where he wants.

On the other hand, if you want to provoke the attacks of Satan, get busy and serve God. The more effective you are in serving God, the more vehement the attacks of Satan will be. Why? Because you are horning in on his territory. You are hurting his cause. You are hitting him where it hurts.

Scripture bears this out. 2nd Timothy 3:12 states: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Not every Christian will suffer persecution, only those who “desire to live godly.” They become the nail that sticks up in the floor that must be pounded down. They become the irritant to the world that doesn’t want to be reminded about God, or what moral living is all about. And Satan will provoke an attack. But Christians who want to fit in with the world will never experience persecution. The world might even laud them as great examples.

Not let’s turn the corner and look at conservative politicians. Many claim, as they campaign, to be genuine social and economic conservatives. But once they get elected, they are quick to adapt and fit in with the climate in either Washington or Augusta. They get along quite well with those across the aisle, and are often lauded for their bi-partisanship. Senator John McCain and his kind come to mind. But those rare few who continue to stand on their values and try to retain their integrity, they will be attacked viciously by the left.

An example of an effective legislator is Larry Lockman in his first term in Augusta. Rep. Lawrence E. Lockman, R-Amherst, represents District 30 in the Maine House of Representatives and serves on the Labor, Commerce, Research & Economic Development committee. Larry has always been a prolific writer, and his op-ed pieces have been found in the various newspapers around the state for decades. Frequently, you can hear him on the George Hale, Rick Tyler show on the Voice of Maine. Larry has a sharp mind and a sharp wit, which comes through in his writing. Certainly he has refined sarcasm to an art form.

But, how do I know Larry is effective? I know because the left has gone to so much trouble trying to destroy him. Mike Tipping, who works at the Maine People’s Alliance and Maine People’s Resource Center, is also a blogger and columnist for the Bangor Daily News. Tipping researched everything Larry has written since the 1980s and gleaned as many inflammatory remarks as he could find. These were written up in the Bangor Daily News, and even the Huffington Post picked up on the articles. Democrats were quick to call for Larry’s resignation.

Perhaps the quote that received the most ire was this one from Larry:

 “If a woman has [the right to an abortion], why shouldn’t a man be free to use his superior strength to force himself on a woman? At least the rapist’s pursuit of sexual freedom doesn’t [in most cases] result in anyone’s death.”

The critics charged that Lockman was advocating rape, which he certainly wasn’t. The critics obviously don’t know how to read the nuances of adult language (Or if they do, deliberately try to mischaracterize it). Anyone should be able to understand that Lockman was criticizing those pro-abortion positions that advocate the destruction of an innocent, unborn baby in the womb. Why should that be a right? Rape, which we all consider horrendous, usually doesn’t result in death.

Nonetheless, they had their smoking gun. So taking the quote out of context and misrepresenting it, they tried to make Lockman seem in favor of rape, when in fact it is the liberals who have always advocated for lesser punishment for the rapists.

Lockman responded to the attack by saying,

 “I was appalled to read how my statement about rape was torn out of context and turned on its head. In fact, I have argued in favor of long prison terms for the heinous crime of rape, and I’m old enough to remember when rape was a capital crime in many states. Believe me, there was a lot less rape in those days.”

Lockman went on to say:

 “Make no mistake: Tipping’s blog wasn’t prompted by anything I wrote 20 or 30 years ago. This political fight is all about what I’ve said and written in the last two years on the urgent issues facing Maine state government.”

The attacks have been vicious. Since the Huffington Post article, Lockman has received dozens of voicemails and emails every day that he has characterized as “very nasty, vicious, threatening, almost entirely from out of state.”

Rush Limbaugh is right. You can tell who the left fears by who they try to destroy. They must fear this freshman representative from down east, because the effort to destroy him has been great.

Even Tipping in his article admitted to Lockman’s effectiveness. He wrote:

 “Representative Lawrence Lockman of Amherst is in his first term in office, but he has quickly established himself as a vocal leader of the GOP’s tea party wing. He led the group of 26 Representatives who recently launched a ridiculous attack on House Speaker Mark Eves, he was one of only 21 Representatives who stood with Governor Paul LePage and voted against the attempt to restore revenue sharing to Maine towns and he introduced and fought for two new anti-union “right to work” bills this session despite the fact that similar legislation couldn’t pass even when Republicans held majorities in both chambers. He has also consistently been one of the loudest defenders of some of Governor LePage’s most controversial actions and positions.”

By their actions and words, the left fears Larry Lockman. Therefore I conclude that Rep. Lockman is being effective in standing for conservative principles. He deserves our support.
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Rev. Daniel Packer has been a pastor for twenty years (Currently he serves as pastor of the Orrington Center Church in Orrington, Maine). He is an active proponent of Biblical morality. His e-mail address is pastordan@roadrunner.com.

This entry was posted on April 2, 2014 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.