Former Senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum has a new book out about Blue Collar Conservatives. He covers lots of ground in the book, but I found his comments about political messaging relevant, especially in this election year.

In his book and on my radio program he pointed out how Americans perceived the two presidential candidates in 2012. Those who voted for a candidate because he “cared more” about people like them chose President Obama over Governor Romney by a margin of 63 percent. Rick Santorum concludes: “Even if you win the argument on political philosophy, leadership, and managerial competence, it’s hard to win an election when most voters don’t think you care about them.”

At a time when there was so much discussion about the 99 percent versus the 1 percent, this perception wasn’t helpful. As some critics said, Mitt Romney often reminded people of the man who fired their father or closed their business.

But there wasn’t just a problem with the messenger. Rick Santorum argues there was also a problem with the message. The message of tax cutters from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan was that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” While that might have been an effective message in previous decades, it doesn’t seem to resonate today.

Rick Santorum acknowledges that the tide may be rising, “but many boats have holes of various sizes—for example, a lack of skills or experience, an unstable family, or no high school degree. They are sinking or are stuck on a sand bar.” The solution is not raising more taxes and squeezing American families even more. He says we should be renewing the pursuit of happiness and work at raising hope instead of taxes.

He also rejects the idea of focusing just on the “middle class.” We shouldn’t be talking about social and economic classes. And the term is almost meaningless in light of the demographics on America. He merely chooses to talk about working Americans.

During this campaign season, candidates and voters can learn a great deal from Rick Santorum’s book.

The VA scandal has been in the news for a few weeks, and you would think that the discussion about it would surface some meaningful solutions. So far there has been some political posturing and some calls for some in the Veteran’s Administration to resign. But the main problem in the VA isn’t the leadership; it’s the system. I know very good people who work at the VA. But when you put good people in a bad system, the system wins.

Here a few facts that should be considered in this scandal. The Veteran’s Administration is a very large bureaucracy. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich puts this in context. The VA workforce is larger than the Marine Corps. And I might add, the VA is a lot less disciplined than the marines.

The VA treats some six million veterans a year at more than 1400 different sites including hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. It also helps train 90,000 health professionals every year in its medical centers. More than half of all American physicians have had some training in the VA system.

Unfortunately, this government system is tangled in bureaucracy and inefficiency. Michael Tanner (Cato Institute) discovered that more 344,000 claims for veteran’s care are backed up and waiting to be processed. It takes an average of 160 days for a veteran to be approved for health benefits. And when someone enters a VA facility, that veteran must wait twice as long as the national average waiting time in an emergency room. In some facilities, their wait is 12 times longer than the national average waiting time.

So far, all attempts to integrate Department of Defense and VA medical record systems have failed. That is one reason why it takes so long to transition active duty health services to VA health services.

Of course these issues aren’t even at the heart of the scandal. Dozens of veterans died while waiting months for vital treatment, and VA bureaucrats covered up these unacceptable wait times. As I hope you can see, the scandal is only part of a larger problem at the Veteran’s Administration.

Are there certain careers that Christians should avoid? In the past, that list might have included jobs that would require you to engage in a practice that was illegal or immoral. A recent AFA Action blog post reminds us there are other common careers Christians might not choose because of homosexual activism.

Photography used to be a career Christians could pursue. Some might reconsider after a Christian photographer in New Mexico was fined for declining to photograph a lesbian commitment ceremony.

What about being a baker? A Christian baker in Oregon is facing both civil and criminal penalties, including jail time, for declining to bake a cake for a gay wedding ceremony. Her business has closed.

Would you like to be a florist? The attorney general in Washington is suing a Christian florist who declined to prepare an arrangement for a gay wedding ceremony.

You might be interested in serving people in the hospitality arena. But you might want to reconsider being an innkeeper. The Wildflower Inn in Vermont was fined $30,000 and forced to shut down its wedding reception business after declining to host a lesbian ceremony.

How about a career in counseling? One student was dismissed from the counseling program at Augusta State University for her religious reservations about the homosexual lifestyle.

Want to be a teacher? One student was kicked out of the doctoral program in education at Roosevelt University for expressing in class her belief that homosexuals aren’t born gay.

These stories and many other stories illustrate how gay activists have been working to intimidate and marginalize Christians. In many cases, these were deliberate attempts by activists to force Christians to compromise their beliefs or else pay a penalty for their beliefs.

We still enjoy a great deal of religious freedom, especially in other states where this intimidation hasn’t been successful. But these stories remind us how gay activists are working in education and business to advance their agenda.

Representative Lamar Smith of Texas said, “This would be considered the worst prison break in American history, except it was sanctioned by the president and perpetrated by our own immigration officials. They willfully and knowingly put the interests of criminal immigrants before the safety and security of the American people.”

What he was talking about was the wrong-headed decision to release convicted illegal immigrants back into society. Last year 36,007 criminal illegal aliens were released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, also known as ICE. A CBS News report documented that these individuals “represented nearly 88,000 convictions, including: 193 homicide convictions, 426 sexual assault convictions, 303 kidnapping convictions, 1,075 aggravated assault convictions, and 16,070 drunk or drugged driving convictions.”

No wonder Congressman Smith called this “the worst prison break in American history.” Releasing criminals (legal or illegal) back into society will certainly increase the number of crimes committed by these individuals. In fact, we don’t have to guess since a previous study has shown just that.

Two years ago, a House of Representative report on the effectiveness of the Secure Communities program analyzed data on 159,286 legal and illegal immigrants arrested by state and local police. This included 7,283 illegal aliens who could have been deported but were taken into custody by ICE. These released illegal aliens went on to commit 19 murders, 142 sex offenses, 1,420 drug crimes, 682 cases of burglary or theft, and 48 arms charges.

Government policies and bungling bureaucrats have contributed to the rash of recent scandals ranging from Fast and Furious to the IRS scandal to the scandal surrounding the Veteran’s Administration. This immigration scandal may be the dumbest and the most dangerous of them all.

Today is Memorial Day. For many Americans, it is merely a day off. For others it marks the start of summer. But hopefully for many of you, it is a day to honor those who fought for our freedom and especially for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Sure we can enjoy our picnics and go for a walk or go for a swim. But we should take some time to put up a flag, make a banner, and perhaps participate in a parade honoring our military.

Certainly those in the military feel more loved than the vets who returned from the Vietnam War. But it wouldn’t hurt to thank those who have served our country and to make them feel appreciated. We will never be able to repay them enough for their service.

What else can we do? If you visit a few websites, you will find all sorts of suggestions. Here are a few to consider. Participate in a “National Moment of Remembrance” at 3 PM today. Pause, listen to taps, and reflect. I was in London’s Heathrow airport on Veterans’ Day. When time came to stop and reflect, the airport was absolutely quiet for a minute or so. I was impressed. We can learn something from the British and their reverence for their war dead.

You might encourage your friends, neighbors and family to visit cemeteries and perhaps even place flags on the graves. I have been to military cemeteries in Hawaii and the Philippines and have seen what is done there. We need to do the same back home.

Those of you who live near the nation’s capitol might visit one of the memorials for the Vietnam Veterans, the World War II veterans, or the Korean War Veterans.

I will let you consider what you might do to make this day special. The point is to make this day special. Too often we come to think about it as nothing more than a Monday holiday or the kick off for summer. It should mean so much more for us.

What happened to the word shame? Why aren’t people ashamed of some of the things they do? It is a good question. Columnist John Hawkins believes there are things that we should be ashamed of doing. He deserves accolades not only for writing the column, but also for starting with a quote from Proverbs 6:16-19. Let me comment on a few things he mentions. Two are cultural, and two are political.

First, people should be ashamed of acting like a skank in public. We can think of other words to describe the behavior of singers like Madonna or Miley Cyrus, but this word is good enough to illustrate the point. Young girls who followed the fun story of Hannah Montana are treated now to a young woman who has tossed every bit of that wholesome image. I feel for mothers trying to raise daughters in this cultural rot.

Second, parents should be ashamed for allowing their children to inconvenience others. You certainly know what I mean if you fly on airplanes or walk in a mall or stand next to the checkout counter in a grocery store. Screaming children with temper tantrums are on the increase. Parents seem unable or unwilling to discipline their kids. Spoiled, selfish kids apparently are running these households.

Lying politicians are a third group that should be ashamed. John Hawkins reminds us that politicians have lied to voters in the past. That is no new revelation. The difference is the willingness to consider routine lying to the American public as just part of the political spin that must take place.

Another political issue is the entitlement mentality of so many on welfare. John Hawkins illustrates this from a scene in the movie Cinderella Man. I’ve mentioned this in previous commentaries. James Braddock is forced to get welfare to feed his family. He is humiliated by the experience and eventually goes back and repays the money he received. Today many on welfare feel no shame in staying on the dole for a lifetime.

We may have lost the idea of shame, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things we should be ashamed about.

Most of us who are Bible teachers usually teach from the Bible. But it is also important to teach about the Bible. Kevin DeYoung takes his readers on a journey through the doctrine of Scripture in his new book, Taking God At His Word. He was on my radio program to educate and inform us about God’s Word.

He begins with a love poem. He didn’t write it. God did. Psalm 119 is not only the longest chapter in the Bible; it is also the poem about the Bible and why we should love it. It also reminds us in various verses that we should love the Word, speak the Word, study the Word, store up the Word, and obey the Word.

He uses the acronym SCAN to illustrate some important truths concerning the doctrine of Scripture. First, there is the sufficiency of Scripture. The Bible contains everything we need for knowledge of salvation and godly living. We don’t need any other revelation and can reject the cultic ideas of “the Bible plus.”

Clarity is another attribute of God’s Word. The saving message of the gospel is clearly communicated and should be plainly taught. Those who hear it and read it can understand it. We don’t have to accept postmodern skepticism that argues that since we can’t know anything fully, we don’t know anything at all.

The authority of the Bible is also important. The last word in any discussion should go to God’s Word. We may not always understand how the Bible fits with the latest fads in science or biblical scholarship, but we should give the benefit to Scripture.

Necessity is the fourth attribute. We need God’s Word to tell us about Jesus Christ and how to be saved and how we should live. We may find knowledge in the world, but we find true wisdom in God’s Word.

His book is a powerful reminder that Scripture is inspired (God breathed) and is indeed profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

What are the consequences of marijuana legalization? Some states are legalizing marijuana, while others are decriminalizing it. Are there social and medical costs that many legislators are not considering?

Kevin Sabet takes on the seven myths about marijuana in his book, Reefer Sanity. He has served under Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama at the White House Office of National Drug Policy. He was on my program to give a counter argument to those who are convinced that legalizing marijuana is good public policy.

The first myth in his book addresses the commonly held idea that marijuana is harmless and non-addictive. His book has pages of studies demonstrating the health risks. And while it is true that marijuana is not as addictive as tobacco or heroin, there is a noticeable addiction rate.

Another myth is that smoked or eaten marijuana is medicine. Some proponents of marijuana legalization have admitted that the use of medical marijuana was used as a first step in the process of legalization. He also reminds us that people don’t have to smoke opium to derive the medical benefits of morphine.

He also takes on some of the public policy issues associated with marijuana legalization. Some argue that too many people are behind bars simply for smoking marijuana. Others argue that the legality of alcohol and tobacco strengthen the case for legal marijuana. He shows in his book that both of these arguments are myths.

He also deals with some of the economic arguments for legalizing marijuana. Proponents argue that it will solve the government’s budgetary problems. Others point to the supposed success of legalization in European countries. He also shows that these are myths.

Finally, he deals with the slogan that the war on drugs and drug treatment is a failure. Many argue that prevention, intervention, and treatment are doomed to fail. He disagrees and provides evidence to the contrary.

Before state legislatures move ahead to legalize marijuana, they should read his book.