SGP: What is United Families International, UFI, and why was it started?

BR: United Families International was started thirty years ago in response to the pro-ERA forces. When the backers of the Equal Rights Amendment were not successful in getting the amendment ratified, they turned their focus to the United Nations with the thought that they would have better luck there. UFI leaders testified before Congress on the ERA and then began working at the UN to combat the anti-family voices there.

SGP: What are the primary issues that UFI currently stands for or against?

BR: United Families International works on five issues which are the basic tenets of our orgniazation. They are: Traditional Marriage, Sanctity of Life, Parental Rights, Religious Liberty and National Sovereignty. These are the same tenets which are fought against us by the anti-family forces at the UN, in Congress, in State Legislatures and in governing bodies around the world.

SGP: What issue poses the single greatest threat to families under the new administration?

BR: We feel that the greatest threat to the family that the Obama administration brings is the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. If this is repealed, then all the marriage amendments and statutes that have been enacted by state and local governments will have no validity. Without this protection we feel that marriage will be undermined, religious liberty will be weakened, and parental rights will be diminished. The agenda of the radical gay movement is to take away many of the rights that currently protect families.

SGP: What are your organizations fears if the new administration loosens the controls on all forms of abortion?

BR: The problem with the administration loosening the controls on all forms of abortion is that is will have world-wide repercussions. While abortion is legal here in the US , there are many countries across the globe where it is not legal. These countries have been able to withstand the pressure of many organizations and countries to legalize abortion because of the support they have enjoyed from the US these past 8 years. However, with the new administration, that support will vanish and many countries will feel they have no choice but to embrace the culture of abortion. Additionally, here in the US , doctors will be forced to perform abortions regardless of their religious beliefs and parents will lose the right to be informed when their child is seeking an abortion and finally, abortions will be allowed through the full pregnancy term. People will become desensitized to the destruction of life in the unborn.

SGP: United Families International is against same-sex marriage. However, does the organization support civil unions? Why or Why not?

BR: We are opposed to anything that causes damage to the family. There is a movement throughout the world to redefine “family”. We support the definition of the “natural family”. Social science research shows that children do best in families that have a father and a mother. One of the problems with supporting civil unions is that it is an attempt to redefine what a family is. When civil unions are accepted then other changes to family life begin to be accepted. Soon people are saying that any two people who live together, love each other and are committed to each other should be considered a family unit. It is a slippery slope and the opposition understands this better than our side does. Whenever society accepts counterfeits to the natural family, they then find themselves giving additional credence to the idea that family can mean many things.

SGP: UFI is an advocate for family issues at the United Nations. What do you believe is the biggest challenge families face from United Nation members and policies?

BR: The biggest challenge we face at the United Nations is the attempt to reinterpret the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document, which was adopted by the UN sixty years ago is an amazing document. In this document the countries of the United Nations agreed that the family is the fundamental unit of society; that marriage between a man and a woman should be protected; that motherhood and childhood should be protected; that parents have the right to raise and educate their children; and that all people have the right to practice their religious beliefs. It is an astounding document in its breadth and depth of addressing the human rights of families. The forces at the UN would like to have that document reinterpreted to fit the times of today. They suggest that abortion, sexual orientation and gender identity should be human rights. They would like to have it be a criminal act to restrict anyone from enjoying these rights as human rights. If they are successful in persuading the UN countries to accept this reinterpretation then we will find that the protection that families currently enjoy will be severely curtailed.

SGP: What do you believe is the leading cause of the decline of the American Family today?

BR:I believe that many people are simply not educated on the issues. Many people are not aware of what is happening – not only in our own country – but also in countries and governing bodies around the world to destroy the family. There is an agenda out there that seeks to establish a genderless, parentless society. It will be a society where the state will have say over what children learn and believe. It is a society that wants to free all women to be able to work outside the home unencumbered with the responsibilities of rearing children. It is a society that seeks to curtail the old, tired verbiage of the religious organizations, in favor of new verbiage that talks about the secular nature of our world. It is a society where families, as we know them today, do not exist but have been replaced with varying forms of relationships that meet the physical needs of the adults involved. There is an urgent need for people who believe in families to become educated on the issues and join with others to fight the creation of this society.

SGP: What can members of SGP do to support your organization?

BR: Members of SGP are welcome to visit our website, sign up for our weekly emails and learn all they can about the issues. We are currently in the process of setting up leadership in all 50 states and abroad. We are looking for people who are interested in helping to lead the efforts in their states. We would love to hear from anyone who might be interested in helping with this effort. Most importantly, we want everyone to become educated on the issues affecting today’s families. Societies are only as strong as the families within those societies. United Families International is dedicated to helping protect and defend strong families.

Follow UFI: Blog Twitter Facebook YouTube Website E-Mail Alerts Smart Girl Politics would like to thank Beverly Rice for her time and agreeing to be interviewed for our Profile in Conservatism series.

Smart Girl Politics, SGP, is thrilled that Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann agreed to be the first person interviewed for our A Profile in Conservatism series.
Congresswoman Bachmann was gracious enough to respond to questions submitted to her by members of SGP. It is truly apparent from her answers that she was the obvious choice to be the first person profiled.

Congresswoman Bachmann is currently serving her second term as the representative from the 6th District of Minnesota.

SGP: What is the most important thing you learned during your campaign this past year?

CMB: As much attention as the press pays to the resurgence of big government liberalism – portraying President Obama as the next FDR – it was refreshing to see the outpouring of support I received from conservatives all across the country who rushed to my side when things got tight in the last couple weeks of my campaign. This cuts into question 2 a little bit, but I saw firsthand that conservatism is not dead; it just needs to be reignited and given a direction.

SGP: There seems to be a struggle going on for the Republican Party. What are your thoughts on the current direction of the party? Should it continue to be more centrist or move back to conservative principles?

CMB: As I said in the first question, conservatism is not dead, no matter how much the main stream media, liberal elites, and others may want it to be – it just needs to be reignited. Republicans squandered our opportunity to lead our country for decades to come because we threw conservative policies and principles aside in place of big government programs and spending. Plain and simple, we governed like liberals. Spending skyrocketed, the size of government multiplied, the debt grew, and the conservative ideals Republicans came to power on were left by the wayside.

Interestingly, the Democrats co-opted our ideas for their message and grew their majority. The ranks of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats in Congress have swelled, and simultaneously, the numbers of centrist Republicans have diminished greatly.

SGP: What are your thoughts on the Republican National Committee Chair race and are you publicly supporting a candidate?

CMB: I am not publicly supporting any candidate and obviously don’t have a vote in this race, but I do hope that whoever is chosen understands the need for true conservative leadership and sees the value in developing our message through the latest technologies and communication. We can’t afford to let the youngest generation of voters continue their love affair with the Democrat Party. We must make it clear that we are the real party of change; we are and always have been the real party of reform and innovation. We have to get the message out to the online generation that conservative policies give us the ability to keep more of our money … and more of our freedom. We must remind Americans that they don’t answer to government, government answers to them.

SGP: Minnesota has always been well respected for its fair elections. In light of the Coleman/Franken race, are you confident that the people of Minnesota can trust in the election systems and that their votes will count?

CMB: I think this process has been an utter embarrassment. We made up the rules of the game as we went along. Democrats have claimed to be the party upholding the “one man, one vote” principle; but this race has made it clear that that principle only holds for them when it benefits them. I would like to say how proud I am of Norm Coleman, who has been a good Senator and a good friend. He has conducted himself with dignity throughout this process, while assertively fighting for what’s right.

SGP: How do you move forward with your agenda in the wake of the partisanship being played today? Do you believe that President-elect Obama will truly reach across the aisle and work with Republicans?

CMB: To be honest, the partisanship of the White House doesn’t scare me half as much as the partisanship of the Democrat leadership in the Congress. I expect that they will look to seize this opportunity to ram through enormous spending bills, Big Labor agenda items, and liberal social policies.

Just look at the first couple of weeks of the 111th Congress: The Senate pushes through its land grab; both houses push through massive changes to employment law that benefit no one but trial lawyers; the so-called $825 billion stimulus package is rushing into law. This is likely only a preview of the next two years.

SGP: With the losses in November, grassroots organizations, such as SGP, have sprung up all over the internet. You, yourself, are participating on Twitter. How do we quickly modernize the Party to meet the tech and communication challenges into 2010, 2012, and beyond?

CMB: Early in 2007, I brought on a staffer to map out and administer an effective new media strategy and its paid enormous dividends. It helps me to communicate with my constituents in ways that are convenient and useful to them. Most people don’t realize that when the Democrats took over Congress they instituted a 5-day Washington workweek. Unlike the Republicans, who worked 3 long days in Washington and then sent Members home to their districts for 4 days to talk to their constituents, the Democrats believe that all good ideas come from inside the Washington Beltway. By using new media outlets – like Twitter and Facebook – as well as new technologies, like telephone townhalls, I can keep in touch with my constituents even when I’m not able to be with them face-to-face.

If nothing else, the 2008 elections revealed to everyone how far ahead the Democrat Party is in embracing the latest forms of communication and technology. I hope the incoming RNC Chairman sees this and makes fixing this one of his top priorities, and that more members in the House and Senate embrace these highly effective media tools.

Fortunately, I’ve already seen in the first two weeks of the 111th Congress a greater emphasis from Republican House Leadership on new media, urging every Member to develop their own outlets like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. As hard as this may be to believe, some Members here on the Hill are still adjusting to email, never mind Facebook; so it will be a longer process for some. But as our leadership makes the transition, that will only help each Member do the same.

SGP: With all the debt we have created through the bailouts, it seems the only way out is to grow the economy. Is energy independence (developing our natural energy resources as well as building nuclear plants, etc) still the “magic bullet” to get America’s economy on the right track?

CMB: It’s certainly a key part. Now that gas prices have subsided, nobody wants to talk about energy anymore. This concerns me because once the global economy begins to stabilize, we are going to be right back where we were in 2007 paying $4 a gallon or higher if we don’t enhance our production and utilize America’s own resources.

Not only would increased domestic production be an enormous job creator, but it would put our nation on a path towards greater energy independence which only helps our economy in the long run – not to mention our national security.

SGP: Only 7% of the candidates who ran under the Republican ticket this year were women. How do we encourage more young women to get involved in politics? What steps can we take to identify and support women candidates for office?

CMB: That’s a great question in which there’s no simple answer. I don’t think the problem is that Republican women aren’t involved in the political process – as activists around the country and Congressional staffs are certainly not underrepresented by women – but it’s making that leap to actually run for office where Republicans are lacking. I think as time goes on, more and more Republican women will run themselves as more Republican women make the national spotlight. And, what a great boon that will be not only for our Party, but for the country. Republican women bring a special perspective to the way we govern, and that’s a perspective we can use more of.

SGP would like to thank the Congresswoman for her time and participation. Please continue to check back for more interviews in the “A Profile in Conservatism” series.