Election Day, 2005

Election Day, 2005, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

We hope you all got out to vote today in your state and local races. We usually stay out of those because you know your turf better than we do. But in California, there's a ballot measure that may affect your life wherever you live.

First the background. As you may know, the far left in America is increasingly well funded by billionaires like George Soros and Peter Lewis. Their money has bought them power on the Internet and in political races. The elite media is often simpatico with the far left agenda, giving it even more traction.

One hallmark of the radical left is to weaken the traditional family unit by diminishing parental authority. The radical Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled just last week that schools have a right to impose sex education on your child, that parents are not the sole authority in that area.

And today in California, Prop 73 if defeated would allow girls of any age to have an abortion without telling parents. 20 years ago, undermining parental authority in something as serious as abortion was unheard of in this country, but today the vote will be close. So what has happened?

Well, despite built-in legal protection for girls who fear their parents, the abortion issue is sacred for the radical left. Any restraint is considered a disaster.

Also, the left-wing media has been able to convince millions of Americans that the government knows what's best for families, not the parents. The government should be the primary guardian of a child's welfare, not the parents.

That kind of thinking undermines the traditional American family. The radical left wants a wedge between children and their parents to erode traditional values, which are often opposed to secular progressive values.

Now all this is complicated and subtle. And many of us are not even aware of the raging culture war. If California votes down Prop 73, parental rights will be dealt a huge blow and the trend will spread. So this vote's very important. We'll have more on it coming up. And that's "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

No "Most Ridiculous Item" on November 7.

—You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com