Several things I heard or read in the days around July 4^th led me to the topic of today’s article. On Independence Day itself, a Sunday as you will recall, the pastor of my church called out those who said that Christians should not be involved in government or politics. I agree with my pastor.

His comments reminded me of a Facebook exchange I had a few days earlier. My Facebook friend said, “Many think the church should stay out of politics. With the way that politics has gone of late – many politicians need to stay out of politics.”

My response to that was, “⁠The way politics has gone of late is a good indication that the church has already done too much ‘staying out of politics.’”

Politics is never mentioned by name in the Bible. However, the Bible does give us some overriding directives that are not erased by current events. Jesus “said to [His disciples], ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 15:16). Nowhere in the Bible are we told “except for the world of politics.” Frankly, the world of politics could use the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just think about how politics would change if Christians would go into that world to demonstrate “the fruits of the Spirit.” The Bible says this, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”  (Galatians 5:22-23).

Just imagine if politicians would practice “the fruit of the Spirit.” That would put a whole different face on the world of politics because it would put a whole different heart into politicians. But it will never happen until Christians who demonstrate those qualities involve themselves in politics in all the right ways and for all the right reasons.

One of my former students, Rick Boyer, who is now a lawyer, recently wrote:

“I was asked to give a lesson on one of our Christian founding fathers in Sunday school yesterday. I lucked into Rev. John Witherspoon.

“Witherspoon understood this crucial truth. Liberty has an essential cause. Without the cause of liberty, you cannot long enjoy the blessings of liberty. And once the people reject the cause of liberty, they must inevitably lose that liberty.

“The Founders understood exactly what, or Who, that great Cause is. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’

“Today, Americans want the blessings of liberty while attempting to banish the great Cause of that liberty from our public and private life.

“If you rid our free country of God, you destroy that free country. Witherspoon understood this. ‘Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, I scruple not to call him an enemy to his country.’”

Rick – and Witherspoon – were right. The far-left political forces in our country who want to destroy our freedoms have been working for years to destroy the influence of the church – thus the big to-do about keeping the church out of politics. The church and the attributes (fruit) of Christ’s followers, were a huge mover in the efforts to create our country and our freedoms in the first place, so of course our enemies want the church to remain silent.

The church of today needs to rediscover its responsibility to the country. More importantly, it needs to rediscover its relationship with the Spirit of God. Only then will the church regain the voice God gave her. Only then will the church learn how to use that voice to make America and the world a better place.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

On Thursday, June 24^th, the Sixth Congressional District Republican Committee (CD6) did something that we have done only one other time in the age of Covid: we held an in-person committee meeting. (At our meeting the night before our convention last summer only about half of us were in the room, and the other half teleconferenced in.)

At last week’s meeting a few people were not present. Five members of the committee sent proxies. There was a conflicting event in Warren County, so no one was able to attend from there. Otherwise, almost everyone was present or accounted for. It was good to see everyone again.

The meeting was generally low key with no drama.

Treasurer Donna Moser provided a report on the Committee’s finances. They are in good shape for now, but with the November election approaching, we can always use additional funds to help our statewide, Delegate, and local candidates win. Donna also asked for approval to pay a couple of bills that came in. Her request was merely a formality since all of the items had previously been budgeted.

Jack Collins, the College Republican Federation of Virginia representative to CD6, informed us that College Republicans (CRs) all over the nation are interested in the election in Virginia because they believe we really have a chance to win in the fall. As a result, CRs from all over will be joining our Virginia CRs in up to ten deployments between now and November. During the deployments, CRs do door-to-door and other campaign work for specific candidates in local races as well as for our statewide candidates in every area they target. The CD6 Committee members found this news hugely exciting. CD6 voted to donate $500 to Virginia CRs to help fund the expenses of the deployments.

Chairman John Massoud gave his remarks which included a listing of some upcoming events. His main point though was that we have to work together without letting personal issues get in the way if we want to win in November.

The Resolutions Committee presented a resolution to commemorate the life of August County Vice Chair Ann Seaton, who was killed by a drunk driver a few weeks ago. The resolution passed with no opposition although a few people abstained for personal reasons.

Vice Chairman Ken Adams then read a letter from the Committee’s lawyers in the Federal Election Commission complaints. The FEC found two of the complaints to be unfounded. They chose not to prosecute the third complaint because even though the process had been a technical violation, there was no actual violation of the spirit of the law because we did not use impermissible money for federal candidates. [I reported on this in my June 4 newsletter.]

Then to our surprise and to many committee members’ delight, Senator David Suetterlein’s legislative aide, Michael Walsh, informed us that the Virginia State Senate passed a resolution that was introduced by Senator Suetterlein, which celebrated the life of former CD6 treasurer Al Tucker. Al died of a heart attack last year while working on the sound system at his church. He had been one of the named defendants in the FEC complaints.

Mike Walsh read the lengthy resolution for us. It was very nicely written. Since Al was a close friend of mine – I still miss his horribly corny jokes – I was quite gratified that Senator Suetterlein had gone to the trouble to do this in Al’s memory. You can read the full resolution at https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?202+ful+SR554ER.

We finished the meeting with announcements about a “Make Virginia Red Again Rally” at Peaks View Park in Lynchburg on Saturday, July 10, from noon to 4 p.m. The organizers list a dozen speakers and several music groups. More information is available at www.MakeVirginiaRedAgain.us.

The final announcement spoke of a “grassroots muster” tentatively scheduled for the first weekend in August. It’s not a firm event or date but keep an eye out for information on it. Organizers want it to be a statewide event.

We then adjourned the CD6 meeting. It was a good step in working together to win in November. Let’s do it!

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

 

According to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, all Christians should vote Republican. The IRS didn’t actually say it that way, but simple logic leads to that conclusion.

A prayer group based in Garland, Texas, named Christians Engaged, encourages church members of all denominations to pray for government leaders regardless of party affiliation. Christians Engaged is recognized by the State of Texas as tax-exempt.

That did not deter Stephan Martin, director of the IRS Office of Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements, from denying the group federal tax-exempt status. He claims that the group’s activities benefit the Republican Party. In a letter dated May 18, Martin declares that the organization does “not qualify as an organization described in IRS Section 501(c)(3). You engage in prohibited political campaign intervention.”

Martin continues, “You are also not operated exclusively for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3), because you operate for a substantial non-exempt private purpose and for the private interests of the [Republican] party.”

Martin claims the group continues to “educate believers on national issues that are central to their belief in the Bible as the inerrant Word of God.” With that statement, the IRS appears to be infringing the First Amendment Freedom of Religion rights of Christians Engaged because Christians Engaged believe the Bible.

Martin tries to explain his reasoning by adding, “Specifically, you educate Christians on what the Bible says in areas where they can be instrumental, including the areas of sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, biblical justice, freedom of speech, defense, and borders and immigration, U.S. and Israel relations…. The Bible teachings are typically affiliated with the [Republican] party and candidates. This disqualifies you from exemption under IRS Section 501(c)(3).”

Lea Patterson, the attorney who is filing Christians Engaged’s appeal of this ruling, says, “The IRS states in an official letter that Biblical values are exclusively Republican.” He adds, “Only a politicized IRS could see Americans who pray for their nation, vote in every election, and work to engage others in the political process as a threat. The IRS violated its own regulations in denying tax-exempt status because Christians Engaged teaches biblical values.”

During the Obama reign, the IRS delayed the applications for tax-exempt status of hundreds of conservative and evangelical organizations. Even the Department of Justice admitted that the IRS had abused the groups with “heightened scrutiny and inordinate delays” on the basis of their political and religious activities and beliefs.

So apparently, Democrats (at least their leadership) do not appreciate or even like the influence the Christian church has on society. Even a cursory look at the Democratic Party Platform shows how far out of sync the Democrats are with evangelical Christians. On the other hand, Republicans (for the most part) do like and appreciate the influence of the Christian church because the Christian church and the Republican Party Platform agree in so many areas.

It would seem logical that since the IRS has declared that Christian beliefs support Republican policies, then Christians would support the political party, i.e., Republicans, who support Christian beliefs. Bible-believing Christian believe in the sanctity of life, that God intends marriage to be between one man and one woman, that biblical justice should prevail (i.e., that we are created by a loving God who has ultimate authority in our existence), that we should see our families and our property and our country as blessings from God and that we should defend them accordingly, and that the nation of Israel has an important place in our country’s defense. That being the case, it is only logical for Christians to vote for candidates who support the ideals that spring from their faith. What does not make sense is for Bible-believing Christians to still vote for Democratic candidates who are totally antithetical to what Bible-believing Christians claim to believe.

Granted many non-Christians support the ideals of the Republican Party. But Christians, whose faith should be shown through their actions, need to actively support those who support their beliefs. It’s only logical.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

John Massoud either never sleeps or somehow manages to clone himself about three days a week. John is Chairman of the Sixth Congressional District Republican Committee, an office to which he was elected just about a year ago. Prior to that, John served as Vice Chairman of the Committee.

John is a veritable whirlwind of activity. He is constantly on the phone with people around the district. He frequently shows up at local unit meetings. He talks with people at Republican events all over the district – and outside of it as well.

John’s responsibilities as Chairman include representing the Sixth District on not only the State Central Committee (SCC) but also on the Executive Committee of the SCC. You may remember that the SCC had some rather, er, vigorous discussions for the six months ending in May of this year. In addition, John took part in a number of conversations outside of the regular SCC meetings trying to create strategies by which we could reach a conclusion to an altogether much too absurd logjam.

Additionally, John is a member of the Strasburg Town Council where he has had an extremely important role in reducing the town’s budget, strengthening the police department, and defending our Second Amendment rights. He also has had a prominent role in increasing Republican voting percentages at a time when Democrats are moving to the town as a bedroom community to the Washington, D.C., megopolis.

John also makes that commute because he is Vice President of a very large company that took a huge hit during the quarantine. Even though receipts were down significantly, John took care of his employees at the same time he worked tirelessly to keep his company afloat through the nightmare that has been Covid. And he maintained his generosity. He never backed out on a financial commitment to non-business causes just because business was tight.

John is constantly on the phone with the people of the Sixth District. He does it in part because he genuinely likes people. But more importantly, he does it to figure out what the people of the Sixth need him to do as Chairman. Staying in touch and listening is one of the greatest attributes of a leader.

Another great attribute of a leader, at least in political circles, is recruiting people to do the work that needs to be done. John has worked tirelessly (there’s that word again) to make sure we have Republican candidates for every public elected office. He also consistently recruits volunteers to do the work that needs to be done in order to elect those candidates.

More importantly, and unlike some chairmen with whom I have worked over the years, John does much of the work himself – but then that is the point of this article. Some people show up at meetings, get recognized, accept the applause, and then take credit for other people’s work. John is the opposite. He downplays his role in the District’s success while giving credit to the many people who believe as strongly as he does that America is worth saving.

John is impressive in how well he knows what is going on around the District. His knowledge of people and their interactions as it relates to getting the GOP’s job done simply amazes people who recognize what goes into that kind of awareness about the intricacies of the job.

I could say more, but John will probably fuss at me as it is for even making him the subject of my article. If he does, I’ll probably just give him the raspberry in return.

I’m not writing this to curry favor with John. I don’t need to. I am blessed with having John as a friend, but more importantly, Republicans of the Sixth District, and indeed the entire Commonwealth, need to know John as well. He is a hard-working, intelligent, well informed chairman who does the people and the Party proud.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to meet him, show up at one of your local unit meetings. He will probably be there – unless there is another meeting or two the same night, then he might be at the other meeting instead. (I was kidding about John cloning himself. Imagine what he could get done if he did have clones.) John Massoud is a good man and a good leader. I’ve worked with enough people who are neither that I know how valuable that is.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

The people who operate the polls on election day get up very early so they can be at the polls by 5:00 (yes, a.m.) to get everything set up for the 6:00 opening. After the polls close at 7:00 p.m., they stay for another hour or so to call in the results, do all the legal paperwork, process the drop box, pack up the equipment, and go home. Well, everyone gets to go home except for the precinct chief and one other election official.

The chief has to check everything back in at the Registrar’s Office, and if something is not right, the chief will be called into the Electoral Board meeting the next morning to straighten out the problem.

The election official who accompanies the chief is along for one purpose. Under Virginia law, the drop box has to be supervised by two people at all times. That means two people have to be with the drop box, even on the drive back to the Registrar’s Office. Then the chief has to drive the other election official back to the polling place to get his/her car, after which those two can finally, after a very long day, go home.

And for primaries, polling places are usually lightly staffed – frequently as few as six. However, since two election officials must always be outside with the drop box, that leaves four election officials inside. And if one happens to call in sick – as happened in several precincts last week – that leaves only three inside, one of whom is the chief, whose job it is to make everything run smoothly and fix problems that come up. That makes things interesting when an official needs to take a bathroom break or wants to eat lunch.

But there are compensations. Election officials get paid for their day at the polls and the required training they attend prior to each election. It isn’t much, but it might meet Virginia’s new minimum wage standard – maybe.

Election officials also enjoy their interaction with the voters, most of whom are great people – many of them are friends and neighbors – but state law still requires election officials to check each voter’s ID no matter who they are.

And there are memorable voters. A number of voters will come in not knowing at what address they are registered because they have moved so many times since the last election. A few don’t even know whether they are registered to vote. They just wander in. These are the folks who get to chat with the chief.

Chiefs really do want to make sure that every person who is supposed to vote gets to vote (and that those who are not eligible to vote do not), but it has to be done according to the law. The chief is the problem solver. If there is a legal way for the prospective voter to vote, the chief will make it happen.

Primaries, like the one last week, are held solely to determine who will be the nominees from each political party in the November election. Some parties choose their nominees by other methods. This year, Republicans chose their nominees for statewide office at a convention in May. In a few precincts across the state, there were primaries to select the Republican candidate for House of Delegate seats and for local Constitutional Officers. In many other precincts, Republican voters came to vote, but discovered that there were no Republican candidates on the ballot in their precinct. One of the more common responses to that information was, “Well, where can I go to vote for Republicans?” The answer is “Come back in November.” Voters can only vote in the precinct where they are registered and for the candidates who are on the ballot assigned to their precinct. These Republican voters felt better after they understood that their nominees had already been selected, and they could come back and vote for them in November’s general election.

And speaking of only voting in your own precinct, this “head scratcher” occurred a couple of years ago. A man came into a particular polling place. The officials could not let him vote because his name was not on the voter list for that precinct. They did find him on the list for the next precinct over. He responded that he knew he was registered at the other location, but he happened to drive past this polling place on his way to the other location. When he saw the flags and signs in front of the first location, he thought he would check to see whether he could just vote at that location and save himself the extra mile he would have to drive to his assigned polling place. Some days can be a real adventure for election officials.

Think about becoming an election official. Many localities need more officials. And it really is an interesting job.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.