Mount Rushmore Rally: The Rocks Cry Out
Pro-family supporters rally at national monument for life, marriage
By Bob Ellis Dakota Voice Nov.5, 2006
MOUNT RUSHMORE--Over an hour in advance, people were already streaming
into the amphitheatre at Mount Rushmore this morning for the Rushmore
Rally, featuring speakers such as Rick Scarborough, Janet Folger, Alan
Keyes, and Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family.
Running against the norm for November in South Dakota, the temperature
was moderate and the skies were sunny and blue, causing many to remark
that God's favor seemed to be upon the weather.
The event in support of Referred Law 6 (the abortion ban), Amendment C
(the marriage protection amendment), and Initiated Measure 7 (video
lottery repeal) got underway shortly before 10:00 am with some
powerful praise and worship music led by seven enthusiastic musicians.
When Robert Regier, executive director of the South Dakota Family
Policy Council opened the rally, he asked, "Should men be able to
marry men?" and the crowd of about 1,500 cried "No!" He asked if we
should be able to kill our babies, and again the crowd cried, "No!"
Regier asked if we should fund government on the backs of gambling
addicts and the crowd once more cried, "No!" Regier then said, "If you
said 'no' to all these, then vote 'yes' to all these measures!"
Regier spoke about when, as a younger man, he had paid to have his
unborn child aborted, but said that the place where he had killed his
child eventually became a crisis pregnancy center started by Leslee
and Allen Unruh. Regier gave her credit as the person who had led the
effort that helped pass HB 1215, the abortion ban, in the state
legislature earlier this year.
When Unruh took the podium, she deferred, stating she was just being
obedient to God. She said that even today, as the rally was going on,
there were many volunteers all over the state who were going out,
telling people about Referred Law 6 and working to get out the vote.
"Get on your knees," Unruh encouraged the crowd. "Then get on your
feet and get to work." She said people should, even going through the
drive-through at Burger King, be asking people if they were going to
vote "Yes" on Referred Law 6. Unruh said it shouldn't be taken for
granted that people understood the measure.
Unruh told of an 82-year-old woman who had come to her office
recently, stating that she had voted early by absentee ballot, but
that she had not been as informed as she should have been. The lady
told her that though she opposed abortion, she had mistakenly voted
"No" to Referred Law 6, thinking that she was saying "No" to abortion.
Unruh saluted the many post-abortive women, counting herself among
their number, who have taken a stand this year for life. She said many
post-abortive women from around the country have made donations to the
VoteYesForLife.com campaign in the same amounts as they paid for their
abortions.
She said that on Nov. 8, the Fleet for Little Feet women's clinic bus
was going to be traveling the state of South Dakota, doing free
ultrasounds for pregnant women.
President of Vision America Rick Scarborough told the rally attendees
that the rally was not their work, but that leaving the rally to make
phone calls and go door-to-door was what they should do.
Scarborough told the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and how Abraham had
pleaded with God for a reprieve from judgment. He said that he
believes God is withholding judgment on America, waiting to see what
South Dakotans will do on November 7. He said that in three days,
South Dakota will have a chance to overturn Roe v. Wade and asked,
"What will you do, South Dakota?"
As he introduced, Janet Folger, founder and president of Faith2Action,
Regier asked, "Could these men on Mt. Rushmore have imagined the day
when it would be legal for men to marry men? Could they have imagined
a world where it would be legal to kill your own child in the womb?"
He introduced Folger as the woman who had helped pass one of the first
partial birth abortion bans in the nation in Ohio.
When Folger reached the podium, she proclaimed, "This is South Dakota,
and the killing stops here!"
Folger lifted her hands to indicate the memorial behind her on the
mountain and said, "There are some things so engrained in our history
that even the rocks cry out!"
She quoted George Washington as saying, "The fate of unborn millions
will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army."
She then quoted Thomas Jefferson: "The care of human life and not its
destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good
government." Folger said, "Get government out of this issue, some say?
This is why we have government!"
Continuing, Folger quoted Theodore Roosevelt: "I cannot stand idly
while directly or indirectly an apology is made for the murder of the
helpless."
And finally, she quoted Abraham Lincoln: "No one has the right to
choose to do what is morally wrong."
"America, the rocks are crying out!" Folger declared.
Folger also said that just as the flags of the 50 states line the path
to the terrace overlooking Mt. Rushmore, so the other states are
waiting to see what will be done in South Dakota on November 7.
Sylvia Rhoden of Union Center, South Dakota then spoke and said that
two years ago, when the abortion ban almost passed at that time, she
realized that she had to tell of when she and her husband John had, as
she put it, "surgically murdered" their child in her womb.
Rhoden said that right after she had done this, she realized too late
that she had "entered a realm where no woman should tread." When she
found healing, she said, "It flooded my soul to know that God loved me
so."
Author and speaker Bill Federer recounted how the Republican Party was
founded in the 1800s to oppose slavery and polygamy, standing for the
rights of all people and proclaiming that marriage was between one man
and one woman. Federer said that even then, some had argued that while
they disapproved of slavery, they also argued that the "choice" to own
slaves should remain legal.
When former ambassador Alan Keyes spoke, he said that people are not
declared persons by any facet of government, but by our Creator to
have certain "inalienable rights." Keyes also said the claim of a
"separation of church and state" was not "a law, but is a lie."
Keys said that marriage is the context within which procreation
occurs, and a situation in which procreation cannot occur has no
meaning as marriage.
Speaking of the Roe v. Wade decision, Keyes said the Supreme Court had
made abortion legal, but that the Supreme Court is supposed to derive
its authority for their rulings from laws that have been passed, or
from the Constitution. He said that Judge Harry Blackmun had
acknowledged that if the personhood of the unborn could be
established, there could be no right to abortion.
Reviling the fact that government had been taken out of the hands of
the people by the Supreme Court, Keyes said, "We are not peasants! We
are not slaves! We are not serfs! We are people with the right to
govern ourselves!"
"The Constitution does not belong to the judges," he continued. "The
Constitution does not belong to the lawyers. It belongs to the people
of the United States!"
Keyes pointed out that the preamble of the U.S. Constitution says that
the constitution was established to "secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity." He said "posterity" is defined as
those who come after us, or our children. "For God and our posterity,"
he said we were fighting, his voice breaking.
Keyes had the crowd on their feet in thunderous applause many times,
then took a parting but direct shot at the liberal media, stating, "If
the media were not the tools of Satan, they would be spreading this
truth!"
Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family then took the stage. He said
that these were interesting and distressing times. He said he had
never seen "such hatred as I've seen expressed recently." Dobson
mentioned some of the things he's said being taken out of context by
the media, and also of the death threats made against some pro-life
leaders in South Dakota.
Dobson said this hatred had its roots in the year 2000 when the Left
lost the White House, and again in 2004 when their hopes were thwarted
by "values voters." He said liberals had been surprised by these
"values voters" and had since sought to identify them so they could
convince them not to vote.
Speaking of recent scandals including that of Congressman Mark Foley,
Dobson said the headlines were being designed to convince values
voters not to vote. Of the Foley scandal, Dobson asked, "What's that
got to do with the issues we're faced with today?"
Dobson then asked the crowd if they were going to vote on Tuesday, and
was answered with a loud, "Yes!" This was immediately followed by the
loud bark of a Park Service police dog, possibly signaling his desire
to vote, too, Dobson mused.
Serious once again, Dobson said too much was at stake for "values
voters" to stay home. He mentioned the possibility that one or two
Supreme Court justices could retire in the near future, and that if
the U.S. Senate is held by a liberal majority, President George W.
Bush will be unable to fill those vacancies with good judges.
Dobson also recounted the threats faced by our nation such as nuclear
proliferation, the belligerence of North Korea and Iran, and threats
from some Muslims who want to kill non-Muslims, and asked if the reins
of government could be entrusted to those in Congress who do not
understand these threats.
Dobson then spoke of South Dakota's newest senator. "Senator John
Thune is my friend, but John Thune should have been here today."
Dobson said he had already talked to Thune and told him he would be
saying this today, expressing dismay that Thune had not taken a
stronger stance in support of important state measures such as
Referred Law 6.
On the subject of Roe v. Wade, Dobson said the case had been based on
a lie, and continued in a lie to this day. He said that Norma
McCorvey, the woman behind the case, has since become a Christian and
admitted that she lied about having been pregnant from a gang rape.
A recent Pew poll shows that 73% of people say abortion is wrong,
Dobson said. He also said 67% say abortion should be curtailed or
banned. Dobson said the pro-life movement is winning, but, "We must
not lose momentum, and much of that momentum will depend on what you
do on November 7 in South Dakota."
Dobson said that we must be compassionate to the rape victim, and that
rapists should go to jail for the rest of their lives. Yet, he said,
"You don't punish the baby for the sins of the father."
In support of marriage, Dobson quoted Genesis regarding the foundation
of marriage since the beginning of the human race, and said cultures
and religions across the entire earth throughout history have
recognized this. He said that studies have proven that children do
best in homes with a committed father and mother, and this stable home
environment helps curb delinquency, school dropouts, and fosters
better academic performance.
Dobson warned of a new idea that would be coming our way soon called
"gender fluidity." He said a new push for this concept was coming out
of California, and would likely try to find its way into every other
state. He said that the idea behind "gender fluidity" is that sex
isn't genetically determined, but is chosen. He said that adherents to
this philosophy don't want 5-year-olds to be told that they are boys
or girls, but instead be told that they can work out their gender for
themselves. Dobson said this involves unisex bathrooms and not
determining whether children dress appropriate to their sex.
Pointing out that his wife Shirley is the head of the National Day of
Prayer, Dobson said that Sunday November 5 had been designated as a
National Day of Prayer and Fasting for the nation. He asked that even
if people could not fast tomorrow, for whatever reason, they should
please pray for the election.
And on Tuesday, "Go to the polls and take five people with you. Five
to the polls to accomplish our goals," Dobson rhymed.
As Dobson asked the people if they would vote for Referred Law 6 and
Amendment C, their shouts of "Yes, yes!" could be heard echoing off
the granite sculptures of Mt. Rushmore, making it seem that the rocks
were indeed crying out.
"Let's give everybody a shock on Tuesday night," Dobson encouraged, as
the rally drew to a close.
