Fighting For Our Values

Gary L. Bauer
American Values

My remarks at last week's Susan B. Anthony List gala are getting attention from the Washington Post and National Review. Here's the context of my remarks.

As I have frequently mentioned, I am tired of libertarians and some corporate elites who insist that values issues are losers. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is now selling the snake oil of a so-called "values issue truce." Sadly, even some social conservatives have bought into this misguided thinking. Truce? Tell that to the left, which is attacking marriage, the sanctity of life and religious liberty 24 hours a day.

That is why I have been making an effort in every speech to push back against those who want to hide values voters in the closet. My position is backed up by polling data showing that the country is at worst divided 50/50 on values. But major items on the libertarian agenda and on big business's agenda are deeply unpopular.

More Americans are pro-life than believe Social Security checks should be smaller.

More Americans believe marriage should remain the union of one man and one woman than believe billionaires pay too much in taxes.

More Americans believe in religious liberty than oppose raising the minimum wage.

Just so there is no confusion, I believe everyone is taxed too much. I believe there are reasonable adjustments that could be made to entitlement spending. But I vehemently disagree that values issues should be dropped from our public policy discourse.

In fact, I can make a case that the popular values issues are being dragged down by a deeply unpopular economic libertarianism that most Americans on Main Street can't relate to.