[guest post by Dana]

You know I’m a fan of David French. I find him to be a sharp, insightful thinker, as well as having an extraordinary understanding of man’s fallen nature and an intimate knowledge of God’s grace. Certainly, that understanding must be what keeps him from erupting at the exasperating displays of hubris, vanity, arrogance, and self-aggrandizement by our political leaders. I also respect that he isn’t compelled to reflexively defend the Republican Party or the Christian church. David French has talked about the relationship between Christians and Trump during the past five years (and we’ve discussed it too), and in a recent (Feb.2021) interview at Vox he makes some interesting points on the subject. Here are a few of his observations:

You call this moment a particularly “dangerous time for Christianity.” What makes it so dangerous?

David French
There are a few things. I think when you see such a large segment of American Christianity, of white evangelicalism in particular, tie itself so closely to one political party and to one man, Donald Trump, you’re not exactly tying the faith to virtue. That’s obvious enough.

There’s really some fascinating research done by Ryan Burge, who is a statistician and a scholar of religion at Eastern Illinois University. He has shown how different American religious strands, whether it’s Black Christians, Mormons, atheists, Catholics, they all maintain some distance in their ideology from the party they most affiliate with. But this isn’t true for white evangelicals. It is an exact overlap. The identification between white evangelicals and the GOP is almost perfect.

That’s a problem because it means your faith is now tied to an entire array of both personalities and political positions that do not naturally flow from biblical ethics. Any time you’re going to tie faith to ideas and people who do not either personify biblical ethics or positioned to flow from biblical ethics, you’re creating a real problem. They’ve essentially politicized their faith.

But why Trump? Is he just a random but convenient vehicle for Christians? Or is there something particular about him — his celebrity, for example — that makes him a perfect fit for the modern Christian ethos?

David French
Man, that’s a big question. Part of it is simple. White evangelicals are Republicans, and Republicans are white evangelicals, which has been the case for a long time now, and Trump was just the Republican nominee, and so he had to work incredibly hard to lose their support.

I’d say he worked pretty damn hard to do just that, David —

David French
Right, you could say he worked hard to do that by engaging in all kinds of behaviors that are obviously un-Christian, that are contrary to Christian ethics, that are deeply harmful to other people. But that’s where it gets complicated. I tell people all the time that live in other parts of the country, in non-MAGA parts of the country, that they have to remember where white evangelicals tend to get their information about the world.

When it comes to politics, most evangelicals are not getting their information from the pulpit. I think it’s a misconception that a lot of people who are outside of the evangelical world have, that at church they’re getting a ton of politics. No, but what’s happening is a lot of Republican Christians are getting catechized in politics through conservative media, through Fox News, through talk radio. As I’ve told a lot of people, if you had the information inflow that a lot of my neighbors have [French lives in Tennessee], you’d be MAGA also. A lot of it is just a product of information that makes it not that hard to support Trump, if that’s your information flow.

The other thing is that a lot of these people genuinely believe, because of where they get their information, that the country is in some kind of emergency that justifies the extremism of Trump. They believe they need someone who’s willing to be very aggressive in taking on the left, their so-called enemies. Trump was also very shrewd about granting access to evangelical supporters and to outright grifters and opportunists. That’s a big part of what happened as well.

And then there is this spot-on observation by French who is asked whether it’s fair to say that Christians sacrificed their credibility and the substance of their faith when they embraced the GOP as a vehicle to power:

The embrace of political power carried with it a number of dangers that ultimately the church couldn’t escape. I’ve heard a number of people who’ve reflected on the beginning of the religious right and this decision to not just engage in politics, but to engage in politics through the GOP almost exclusively. You can engage in politics, and you can be intellectually independent, but to engage in politics through the GOP specifically in pursuit of political power was a big mistake…The right may have acquired political power, but the left was much more effective at achieving cultural power, and if you believe, as I do, that politics is downstream from culture, the quest for pure political power was always going to be limited. The religious right lost the culture and with it their ability to impact the world the way they envisioned.

The Trump years encapsulate this perfectly. The right went all-in on Trump. White evangelicals went all-in on Trump. They won the presidency. They won the House. They won the Senate. They had the judiciary. Is anyone going to say that the United States of America is now more fundamentally Christian in 2021 than it was in 2017? I don’t think so. Most people would say the cultural left has been empowered during these years. So the religious right got what they wanted in a lot of ways, politically speaking, but I don’t think they achieved their long-term goals by any stretch of the imagination.

I appreciate French’s unflinching look at the church, especially as so many Christians sacrificed their personal credibility and their witness by supporting and defending Trump. The problem, of course, is that the Christian right could easily deify another very flawed individual in 2024. Maybe even stick with Trump. After all, has their thinking really changed?

French also addresses masculinity in the church:

I’d say that there is a perverted version of masculinity that is common in Southern evangelical circles that rendered the church vulnerable to the Trumpian influence. I’ve seen that with my own eyes. There’s a deep-seated insecurity that exists about masculinity in the church for lots of interesting reasons, some of them related to the way the secular culture has cast a lot of aspersions on traditional masculinity as being “problematic.”

…

One of the things that has been so bizarre to me has been this equation of Donald Trump with virtuous masculinity. We don’t need to go into all of the details, but this is a man who evaded military service, who has serially cheated on wives, who is terribly out of shape, is so cowardly in a lot of his personal interactions, that he delegates to others the task of firing people. There’s so much that if you were going to map out who is the archetype of the masculine leader prior to Trump, he would be the opposite of that.

If I could pull something out of the Christian hat that illustrates the bizarre culmination of Trump’s influence on evangelicals and the danger of their devotion to Trump, I think it would be this crazy report about a Baptist pastor in Missouri:

Now in professional counselling, a Baptist preacher drew backlash from his congregation for a sermon he gave last month in which he told women to smarten themselves up. “Don’t ever forget this, God made (men) to look and you want them to look at you — not some hottie out there or someone on a computer screen.”

Pastor Stewart-Allen Clark said it was “really important” for men to have a beautiful woman on their arm. “Now look,” he said, “I’m not saying every woman can be the epic trophy wife of all time like Melania Trump, I’m not saying that at all,” but “you don’t need to look like a butch either.” He then advised them on makeup, hairstyles, fashion tips and sexual intimacy.

In the sermon, Clark, 55, had asked “Why is it so many times that women, after they get married, let themselves go?” He criticized them for wearing sweatpants, flip-flops and pyjamas, and not watching their weight. “Men have a need for their women to look like women,” he said.

He told his General Baptist denomination that “Most women can’t be trophy wives, but you know … maybe you’re a participation trophy.”

[Ed. I’m going to follow David French’s example of extending grace toward fellow members of the church body with whom he disagrees and exercise self-restraint by not excoriating this sniveling little pustule who made a mockery of Christ by spewing such inanities from the pulpit.]

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Last night, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius tweeted:

A bad situation in Northeast Syria is about to get much worse. Sources tell me that US officials have just informed the Syrian Kurds that Turkey is likely to attack on air and ground in next 24 hours. The US will do nothing. Targets are Tal Abyad and Ras al Ayn….

…Ironically Tal Abyad was the main supply route for ISIS in 2014-15 through an open border from Turkey. Turkey refused repeated requests from US to shut border. That’s a big reason why US decided to partner with SDF, which took the town in the summer of 2015.

…I’m also told that Turkish attack appears coordinated with the Russians. Russian-backed forces are mobilizing to invade the Kurdish area from the south — towards Tabqa and other spots. Meanwhile, ISIS is mobilizing sleeper cells in Raqqa and attacks have taken place tonight.

…And finally there is the scary issue of the thousands of ISIS detainees and families, who may be breaking out of camps and prisons after Turkish attack–with NO American back-up plan. This is a major disaster coming at us because of Trump’s decisions. Hours left to stop it…

It has already begun:

A planned Turkish military operation in northern Syria has now begun, the country’s president announced Wednesday, as Kurdish fighters say warplanes are already bombing civilian areas in the region.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that the maneuvers being carried out against Syrian Kurdish forces – which Ankara considers terrorists allied with a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey – are part of Operation Peace Spring.

“Our mission is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area,” he said in a tweet. “#OperationPeaceSpring will neutralize terror threats against Turkey and lead to the establishment of a safe zone, facilitating the return of Syrian refugees to their homes.”

A spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces says Turkish warplanes have “started to carry out airstrikes on civilian areas”, causing a “huge panic among people of the region.”

Pentagon officials have confirmed that the U.S. will not be flying air support for the Kurds, in spite of the Kurds having requested the help. Fox News is reporting that U.S. military officials said that President Trump has ordered them to not get involved:

The US military has been ordered by President Trump not to help. https://t.co/Fm0J7H9BBJ

— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) October 9, 2019

Meanwhile, President Trump is facing widespread disapproval within the GOP for his decision to pull U.S. troops from the region in advance of Turkey’s military offensive. Now, some prominent members of the evangelical community are also breaking with him on the decision. This is significant given how readily evangelical leaders have rationalized the President’s foul treatment of women and minorities, as well as choosing to look the other way with regard to his less than honorable character. Some are directly criticizing Trump for his decision, while others are taking a more diplomatic approach and carefully avoiding any direct criticism of Trump:

President Trump has committed an egregious act of betrayal in what he is doing to the Kurds. Shame on him.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 9, 2019

From Pat Robertson, host of the 700 Club:

“The president who allowed Khashoggi to be cut in pieces without any repercussions whatsoever is now allowing the Christians and the Kurds to be massacred by the Turks,” Robertson said. “And I believe — and I want to say this with great solemnity — the president of the United States is in danger of losing the mandate of heaven if he permits this to happen.”

TODAY join me in praying as the Turkish army has invaded Syria in the area that the US military withdrew from. The Turks have a dismal record on human rights & they can’t be trusted. Pray for the Kurds, Christians, & other minorities in this region. https://t.co/f0LKuCeYLs

— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) October 9, 2019

And of course, some die-hard loyalists are still willing to carry water for the President:

.@realDonaldTrump @DanScavino https://t.co/EQO9slN4rw pic.twitter.com/aD8QJlgWLG

— Jerry Falwell (@JerryFalwellJr) October 8, 2019

After Trump complimented Turkey on Twitter as a “big trading partner,” the White House announced that President Erdogan will visit the United States on Nov. 13 at the invitation of President Trump. In light of what happened outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence after Erdogan’s first official meeting with Trump at the White House, demonstrators should be prepared.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

[Posted by Karl]

It figures that days after considering whether there might be an anti-Mormon “Romney effect” in 2012, there would be fresh data from Michael Tesler at YouGov:

Media speculation abounds that Mitt Romney’s poor performance among Evangelical voters in the 2012 Primaries is rooted in anti-Mormonism—a sentiment that will surely intensify if the former governor loses this week in Alabama and Mississippi.  My analysis of seven surveys conducted by YouGov from late January to early March 2012 (pooled n=7,000, with 1,791 likely Republican primary voters), however, suggests that Romney’s religion is not the main reason why he has not won over these voters.

***

Why, then, has Romney underperformed among this group throughout the primary season?  The answer most likely resides in moral issues like abortion and gay marriage.  For, unlike attitudes about Mormons, Evangelical Republicans are much more conservative on these issues than their fellow partisans.  Moreover, and also unlike anti-Mormonism, Evangelicals are more likely to vote in the primaries based upon moral issues than other Republicans.

This is consistent with Erick Erickson’s January account of a meeting of prominent Christian conservatives — one which also suggests Team Romney played this all wrong (although Erickson is no Romney fan for a host of reasons):

If you are reading this from the media, I think the story you should tell is that Mitt Romney will probably become the nominee of the Republican Party with even less good feelings between evangelicals and him than John McCain had.

The problem for Team Romney is that the distrust of Romney is overwhelmingly about his record and shiftiness, but the Romney campaign fundamentally believes it is about his religion. When Team Romney concluded the pitch (read from an iPad seemingly without a passionate delivery) with an admonishment to not be an anti-Mormon bigot, it was game over. Several of the attendees felt like the Romney campaign was almost implying that they’d win without evangelicals and would expect everyone to line up when it was over even without Romney reaching out.

Erickson’s reference to John McCain is interesting, as ol’ Maverick also had a more difficult time with the evangelical vote than George W. Bush.  Comparing the 2004 and 2008 exit polls, it appears evangelical turnout marginally increased — as it has for decades, due in large part to the rising socioeconomic status (.pdf) of the demo — from 23% to 26% of voters.  However, Bush won 78% of white evangelicals, while McCain only won 73%. Overall, that’s a little over a percent of the electorate — which seems small, but which could matter in a very close election, depending on where those votes are located (it would likely be less significant a loss in Alabama or Mississippi than in Virginia, North Carolina or Georgia).

Of course, the exits are not detailed enough to explain the difference from ’04 to ’08, so it would be risky to assume McCain’s showing was all or even largely about evangelicals thinking he was insufficiently committed to social issues.    Evangelicals care about those issues, but not all of them are single-issue voters.  The economic meltdown of ’08 may well have played a role here.  Moreover, it is possible that the larger youth vote in 2008 brought out young evangelicals who are less socially conservative than their parents.  In these respects, the 2012 environment would likely be more favorable to Romney, should he become the GOP nominee.

The lesson here is that Romney should be able to make inroads with evangelicals if he becomes the GOP nominee.  The question is whether he is up to the task.  Maintaining his standard cool attitude about the campaign in this regard may make it tougher for someone perceived as inauthentic to build bridges with this demographic.

–Karl

[Guest post by DRJ]

Taking a page from Mike Huckabee’s appeal to the cross, David Brody article at CBN News reports that Barack Obama is reaching out to evangelicals:

“I have been telling Brody File readers for months that if Barack Obama becomes the Democratic nominee he will make a pitch to win over independent/moderate Evangelicals. Well, we now have evidence.

In Kentucky, he is making a direct appeal to Evangelicals with flyers that mention his conversion experience and they highlight a big old cross. Remember Mike Huckabee’s supposed subliminal cross in his Christmas campaign ad? Well, the Obama campaign ditches the subliminal and goes for the in your face cross. Look at the flyer here.”

I’ve always thought evangelicals have more in common with liberals than with conservatives. Abortion kept evangelicals in the conservative camp but I’m sure Obama thinks he can play them on the abortion issue. Maybe he can.

— DRJ

[Guest post by DRJ]

The AP reports that 80 as-yet unidentified conservative Christian leaders have signed a statement that will be released Wednesday saying the evangelical movement has become too politicized and has diminished the Gospel:

“The statement, called “An Evangelical Manifesto,” condemns Christians on the right and left for “using faith” to express political views without regard to the truth of the Bible, according to a draft of the document obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

“That way faith loses its independence, Christians become `useful idiots’ for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes an ideology,” according to the draft.”

Well, duh. And whose fault is this?

— DRJ

[guest post by Dana]

Jesus wept. Or maybe He’s so over it, He’s just rolling His eyes watching Trump’s latest grift: The former president, in partnership with singer Lee Greenwood, is peddling a Bible during Holy Week. [Hey, don’t judge. Man’s in a jam and needs a bundle of dough ASAP]:

Former President Donald Trump endorsed a new product, the $60 God Bless the USA Bible, in a video released on Truth Social on Tuesday.

“And this is very important and very important to me. I want to have a lot of people have it. You have to have it for your heart, for your soul,” explained Trump before insisting that “Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country.”

“Our founding fathers did a tremendous thing when they built America on Judeo-Christian values. Now that foundation is under attack, perhaps as never before,” he added. “What can we do? Stand up, speak out and pray that God will bless America again. I’m proud to endorse and encourage you to get this Bible.”The product’s website boasts that it “is the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!”

The special Trump-endorsed Bible includes copies of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Pledge of Allegiance.

A man of low moral character, practiced in the art of deception, and facing both civil and criminal charges is hardly an example of the Godly man. Yet here we are with yet another grift wherein MAGAland will fall in line, purchase the Bible, and feel good about being one of the faithful who supports the man they believe is called by God to lead this country. And Trump will reportedly get royalties from the sales while reassuring his followers that “The hand of God is on him and he cannot be stopped.”

“This is really a battle between good and evil,” evangelical TV preacher Hank Kunneman says of the slew of criminal charges facing Donald Trump. “There’s something on President Trump that the enemy fears: It’s called the anointing.”

…Christian media pressing a message of Biblical proportions: The 2024 presidential race is a fight for America’s soul, and a persecuted Trump has God’s protection.

Seeing the misguided yet ongoing idolatry in today’s church, most certainly, Jesus wept.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Mike Pence has officially launched his bid for the presidency:

I believe in the American people, and I have faith God is not done with America yet. Together, we can bring this Country back, and the best days for the Greatest Nation on Earth are yet to come! 🇺🇸 #Pence2024 pic.twitter.com/A8EkqgCDAm

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) June 7, 2023

Unfortunately for Pence, the Republican Party doesn’t seem terribly interested in his brand of conservatism, at least if it doesn’t come with clenched fists ready to brawl. However, this transition of the Party didn’t happen without Pence’s own willingness to avert his eyes:

Mr. Pence served as Mr. Trump’s yes-man for three years and 11 months. In that final month, Mr. Pence refused to follow a presidential order that was plainly unconstitutional: to single-handedly overturn the 2020 election. His loyalty to the Constitution was rewarded with people in a pro-Trump mob chanting “Hang Mike Pence” as they stormed the Capitol, while Mr. Pence and his family rushed to a barely secure room.

Instead of punishing Mr. Trump for how he treated Mr. Pence, Republican voters have made him their front-runner. More than 50 percent of Republicans support the former president in national polls. Mr. Pence draws around 4 percent. Even in heavily evangelical Iowa, where Mr. Pence is staking his candidacy, he polls around 5 percent.

…

But it’s not just Mr. Pence’s anti-populist policies that hobble him. It’s that Republican voters have sharply different expectations of their leaders than they did during Mr. Pence’s political rise as a member of Congress and then governor of Indiana.

For the past seven years, Mr. Trump has trained Republican voters to value a different set of virtues in their candidates. He has trained them to value Republicans who fight hard and dirty, using whatever tactics are necessary to vanquish their opponents. He has also trained them to avert their gazes from behaviors that were once considered disqualifying.

For four years, Mr. Pence, too, averted his gaze. He stuck with Mr. Trump through numerous controversies including the leak of the “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Mr. Trump boasted about grabbing women’s genitalia. He vouched for Mr. Trump’s character with skeptical evangelicals with whom Mr. Trump ultimately forged his own relationship.

When Mr. Trump, as president, showered praise on the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, his vice president, bound by loyalty, stayed silent. Yet recently on the campaign trail, after Mr. Trump had congratulated Mr. Kim for his country’s readmission to the World Health Organization’s executive board, Mr. Pence scolded his former boss for “praising the dictator in North Korea.”

Mr. Pence may finally feel liberated to tell voters what he really thinks about Mr. Trump. His problem is that most Republicans don’t want to hear it.

(emphasis added)

Meanwhile, Chris Christie has also entered the race. The once-Trump ally seems convinced that he alone is the candidate that will take down Trump:

I’m the only candidate who can take on Donald Trump and tell the truth.

Every other Republican thinks they can tiptoe around him. I don’t tiptoe.

Get me on the stage and get your popcorn ready: https://t.co/6bndZTT9OO

— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) June 6, 2023

As he said in New Hampshire on Tuesday (a state in which Trump easily beat his opponent in 2020…):

“I can’t guarantee you success in what I’m about to do. But I guarantee you that at the end of it, you will have no doubt in my mind who I am and what I stand for and whether I deserve it,” Christie said, partially referencing a letter from founding father John Adams to his wife Abigail Adams. “That’s why I came back to New Hampshire to tell all of you that I intend to seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2024.”

He then name-checked Trump:

Christie said other Republican candidates are treating Trump like the Harry Potter villain Voldemort, tip-toeing around criticizing him by name.

“Let me be clear, in case I have not been already,” Christie said after bashing Trump. “The person I am talking about — who is obsessed with the mirror, who never admits a mistake, who never admits a fault and who always finds someone else and something else to blame for whatever goes wrong, but finds every reason to take credit for anything that goes right — is Donald Trump.”

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Let’s do it!

First news item

In a follow-up to my post about NPR’s Nina Totenberg claiming that Justice Robert’s asked his fellow colleagues to mask up (on behalf of the diabetic Sotomayor), NPR has responded to the controversy, and we now have a case of a noted media outlet telling readers that what you read and heard isn’t really what you read and heard In other words, it’s fake but accurate news… And to make it even more ridiculous, it doesn’t even matter that the main character in this fiction has denied doing what he was accused by Totenberg of doing.

What she claimed in her NPR piece:

Now, though, the situation had changed with the omicron surge, and according to court sources, Sotomayor did not feel safe in close proximity to people who were unmasked. Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, *in some form asked the other justices to mask up.

At the writing of that post, I noted that the bolded part was strangely worded and likely to give Totenberg wiggle room if the whole of the statement was proven untrue. Boy, was I right. After Chief Justice Roberts released a statement denying that he had asked anyone to mask up, Totenberg and NPR doubled down:

On Tuesday, NPR reported that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a longtime diabetic, had indicated to Chief Justice John Roberts that because of the omicron surge, she did not feel safe being in a room with people who are unmasked, and that the chief justice “in some form asked the other justices to mask up.”

On Wednesday, Sotomayor and Gorsuch issued a statement saying that she did not ask him to wear a mask. NPR’s report did not say that she did. Then, the chief justice issued a statement saying he “did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other justice to wear a mask on the bench.” The NPR report said the chief justice’s ask to the justices had come “in some form.”

NPR stands by its reporting.

Now NPR’s public editor, employing some weaselly word gymnastics, is trying to defend Totenberg while appearing to simultaneously hold her (and the outlet) accountable for the writer’s “inaccurate verb”. Said public editor summed it up this way:

Totenberg and other Supreme Court watchers know that executive messages are conveyed with subtlety and diplomacy, not by clear edict. Adding that small detail, along with more information about her sourcing and a more accurate verb, would have provided a fuller picture. As she acknowledged the justices’ statements on Wednesday, the veteran reporter further explained her wording choice at the end of her segment on ATC.

In the absence of a clarification, NPR risks losing credibility with audience members who see the plainly worded statement from Roberts and are forced to go back to NPR’s story and reconcile the nuances of the verb “asked” when in fact, it’s not a nuanced word.

The way NPR’s story was originally worded, news consumers must choose between believing the chief justice or believing Totenberg. A clarification improving on the verb choice that describes the inner workings of the court would solve that dilemma.

So why not reveal the sources and have them go on the record with what they said? Wouldn’t that clear things ups?

But here’s another problem with the public editor’s piece: She asserts that there is dissension among the justices, which would appear to fly in the face of the statement released yesterday by Justices Gorsuch and Sotomayor:

No one has challenged the broader focus of Totenberg’s original story, which asserts that the justices in general are not getting along well. The controversy over the anecdotal lead, which was intended to be illustrative, has overwhelmed the uncontested premise of the story.

JUST IN #SCOTUS Statement from Justices Sotomayor & Gorsuch on masks. pic.twitter.com/lAKJoEqRlW

— Nicole Ninh (@nicninh) January 19, 2022

Shame on Totenberg, and shame on NPR. You may think us dumb, but it’s not us who assumed readers everywhere would buy your inaccurate verb nonsense.

Second news item

Asking evangelicals:

Some people in her own party want Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) to lose her membership on committees and even her place within her party’s conference in the United States House of Representatives, all because she won’t “move on” from her beliefs that the attempts to overturn the last election—leading up to last January’s attack on the Capitol—are a clear and present danger to democracy.

Whatever you think of Cheney (as you can imagine, I am a fan), there’s a larger point here—one that applies to many evangelical Christians in a thousand different situations in their churches and communities: At what point will you stop conserving your influence?

Third news item

A progressive case against abortion:

First, the pro-life movement gives increasing weight to science. In 1973, the Supreme Court told us that there has “always been strong support for the view that life does not begin until live birth.” Today, 95 percent of biologists affirm the view that human life begins at fertilization. Modern advances in ultrasound technology and discoveries in prenatal development have laid the Roe Court’s view to rest, rendering the decision obsolete.

Second, the pro-life movement is increasingly calling out the anti-feminist assumptions of the abortion-industrial complex. It is anti-feminist to suggest that women need abortions to succeed in a world that still hasn’t upended patriarchal assumptions in families and the workplace. Moreover, it is inconsistent with the non-violent instincts of feminism to tie the liberation of women to the elimination of any group of human beings. Girls, furthermore, are disproportionately the targets of abortion—especially in places like China, India and parts of Eastern Europe.

Third, the pro-life movement increasingly points out the economic interests of the abortion-rights movement. We respect the personal sincerity of abortion rights proponents. Sadly, however, this social movement is inextricably tied to the interests of Big Abortion, a $3 billion industry.

Fourth news item

Looking at Biden’s and Trump’s polling numbers:

Democratic voters are looking for someone other than Biden to carry their standard in 2024: 41 percent want “someone else,” while only 32 percent want Biden and 27 percent aren’t sure. But for the 68 percent of Democrats who’ve either gone off Biden or are at least starting to look around, there is not much to pick from. Gaffe-prone Kamala Harris is polling as badly as Biden with a FiveThirtyEight approval average of just 36 percent. When the University of Massachusetts at Amherst asked Democratic voters their preferences for 2024, 40 percent remained loyal to Biden — with 80-year-old Bernie Sanders the most popular choice after Biden at 18 percent, and Harris tied with Elizabeth Warren in third at just 10 percent. In a Harvard/Harris poll, Biden retained just 36 percent loyalty and Harris came in second at 16 percent. If Biden were not to run in 2024, Harris led Sanders in that poll 31 percent to 15 percent as Democrats’ first choice — with no one else in double-digits.

Trump has generally pulled ahead of Biden in the 2024 ballot test. The RealClearPolitics average has Trump leading Biden by nearly 5 points at 46 percent to 41 percent, with Insider Advantage giving Trump a lead of 8 points. Polling from YouGov and Redfield and Wilton has vacillated, but show Trump — on average — with a small lead.

And Trump does not appear to have a problem within his own party. Most Republicans want Trump to run (53 percent, according to YouGov). Trump leads significantly in all putative GOP primary polls with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis taking second across the board. The Dec. 13 YouGov poll is closest with Trump leading DeSantis 44 percent to 23 percent, but other YouGov polls have Trump in the mid 50s, leading DeSantis by over 35 points. TIPP gives Trump a 60 percent to 11 percent advantage.

But then there is this:

When you dig into the numbers, he has significant problems. For one thing, his approval rating is just as bad as Biden’s. The latest FiveThirtyEight average has Trump at 43 percent approval. In addition, most Americans don’t want to see Trump run again — even more than oppose a Biden candidacy. According to YouGov, 59 percent do not want Trump to run, while 57 percent are against Biden running.

In that same YouGov poll, 30 percent of Republicans want someone other than Trump to seek the GOP nomination — which points to a worrying trend among Republican voters. Simply put, Trump’s support is not as strong as it seems. Trump routinely polls approval in the 80s among Republicans. The most recent January YouGov poll has Trump at 81 percent favorable among Republicans. Morning Consult has Trump at 83 percent favorable. Yet in both polls, Biden’s overall approval numbers are better than Trump’s — although both are negative.

Fifth news item

Accepting arrest warrants as ID:

NEW: In a statement to @FoxNews, TSA confirms they are allowing illegal immigrants to use arrest warrants as ID at airport security checkpoints. They receive additional screening, and their DHS documents are validated by cross checking CBP databases. pic.twitter.com/U2PjCrOkgH

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) January 21, 2022

Sixth news item

Oh:

Among the records that Donald Trump’s lawyers tried to shield from Jan. 6 investigators are a draft executive order that would have directed the defense secretary to seize voting machines and a document titled “Remarks on National Healing.”

…

The draft executive order shows that the weeks between Election Day and the Capitol attack could have been even more chaotic than they were. It credulously cites conspiracy theories about election fraud in Georgia and Michigan, as well as debunked notions about Dominion voting machines.

The order empowers the defense secretary to “seize, collect, retain and analyze all machines, equipment, electronically stored information, and material records required for retention under” a U.S. law that relates to preservation of election records. It also cites a lawsuit filed in 2017 against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Additionally, the draft order would have given the defense secretary 60 days to write an assessment of the 2020 election. That suggests it could have been a gambit to keep Trump in power until at least mid-February of 2021.

Seventh news item

It’s 2022, this fool doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt from me. There’s a reason why he deleted this tweet:

Sort of related:

New York Democratic congressman Mondaire Jones said on Thursday that “we are living through the worst assault on the right to vote since Jim Crow. And yesterday, on the Senate floor, white nationalists used the Jim Crow filibuster to block voting-rights legislation.”

Last week, a different New York House Democrat, Jamaal Bowman, called Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema a “traitor” to “our democracy.”

Nice inclusive party the Dems have there…

Eighth news item

Postively, I’d be waaaaaayy more upset that a parent at my kid’s school felt okay about making this threat rather than my kid having to mask up:

The Luray Police Department charged a woman who made a perceived threat at Thursday night’s Page County School Board meeting.

According to police, Amelia King, 42, was charged with a violation of the Code of Virginia 18.2-60 Oral Threat While on School Property.

The Page County School Board met Thursday night to vote in favor of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order, making masks a choice for students.

During the public comment period, King said, “No mask mandates. My child, my children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on. Alright? That’s not happening. And I will bring every single gun loaded and ready.”

Video below:

BREAKING: Police in Luray, Virginia, just charged Amelia King with a violation of the Code of Virginia 18.2-60 Oral Threat While on School Property after she threatened to bring loaded guns to her children’s school to fight a mask mandate. 👏👏👏 #vagovhttps://t.co/hGahc3ErWM

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) January 22, 2022

MISCELLANEOUS

Simply the best:

Our day has officially been made. 😍

📹: Dionisia Garcialopez pic.twitter.com/l6VNWnVQ2x

— Some Good News (@somegoodnews) December 17, 2021

Have a great weekend!

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Here’s how Trump supporter Jared Schmeck’s Christmas Eve phone call with President Biden went down:

The phone call started cordially enough. Schmeck, 35, had called the NORAD Santa tracker like he does every Christmas Eve. Normally, the call is automated. This year, the president and first lady Jill Biden were taking calls together.

For a couple of minutes, things were pleasant. “I assume you’re a dad,” said the president. “What do you want for Christmas?”

Schmeck laughed. “Maybe a quiet night.”

“Lots of luck, Dad!” Biden responded.

The president asked Schmeck what his children wanted for Christmas… The first couple then began wrapping up the amiable call.

To make sure Santa shows up, “you guys have to be in bed by nine o’clock!” the president said, adding: “I hope you have a wonderful Christmas”

That’s when Schmeck, speaking to the leader of the free world, parroted a catch phrase that’s been adopted in conservative circles, and which, when translated, means “[expletive] Joe Biden.”

“Yeah, I hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas as well,” Schmeck said. “Merry Christmas and let’s go, Brandon.”

Biden took the remark in stride. “Let’s go, Brandon, I agree,” he said.

It certainly wasn’t difficult to puzzle out what makes Schmeck tick, even before he spelled it out:

The southern Oregon father of four who ended a Christmas Eve call with President Joe Biden by declaring “Let’s go Brandon” told a former adviser to President Donald Trump this week that he believes the verifiably false claim that “the election was 100 percent stolen.”

Despite telling The Oregonian/OregonLive on Saturday that he was not a “Trumper” and the comment was in jest, Jared Schmeck said Monday he’s “proud” of using the conservative dig against Biden at the end of a live streamed Santa tracker call and called the moment “pretty darn funny.”

“Donald Trump is my president and he should still be president right now,” Schmeck told Steve Bannon in an interview on Bannon’s program, “War Room,” which airs on a network called “Real America’s Voice.”

Schmeck wore a “Make America Great Again” hat and struck a defiant tone in the conversation with Bannon, saying that using the euphemism for “F*** Joe Biden” was a way to express his dissatisfaction with the president.

Anyway, it goes without saying that Schmeck is now considering a run for office. This is, of course, completely unsurprising, given today’s ReTrumplican Party. Schmeck will probably get some traction too because he flattered Trump by insulting Biden and now wears that like a badge of honor. Obviously, it’s impressive in certain circles. So here we are:

An Oregon man who invoked a coded vulgar insult of President Biden…is considering running for office and says he would welcome former president Donald Trump’s blessing.

“I want to pray about it, see what God has for me,” Jared Schmeck said of his political ambitions during an interview this week with conservative Christian broadcaster Todd Starnes that focused on his use of the phrase ‘Let’s go Brandon.”

“At the end of the day, I want [God’s] will for my life and the direction that it goes,” Schmeck added. “And I strongly believe that standing up is the right thing to do here as long as that message that I’m portraying is glorifying his name. And yeah, I’ll see where it goes.”

“Something tells me if you do run, you’ll be invited to a certain place in Florida,” Starnes said, referring to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, where the former president now lives.

“I would be honored,” Schmeck replied.

The real question I have is: When Schmeck says that he “strongly believe[s] that standing up is the right thing to do here as long as that message that I’m portraying is glorifying his name,” does he mean glorifying God or glorifying Trump? Because certainly, they are not one and the same, no matter how much a large segment of White evangelicals have attempted to merge the two. And most certainly, God wasn’t glorified by Schmeck’s “Fuck Joe Biden” insult.

So I guess I’ve answered my own question.

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Here are a few news items to talk about. Please feel free to share any items that you think might interest readers. Make sure to include links.

First news item

Self-canceling is a thing:

Winston Marshall, the banjoist of Mumford & Sons, is “taking time away” from the band after he was criticized for supporting a book written by controversial right-wing writer Andy Ngo.

“Over the past few days, I have come to better understand the pain caused by the book I endorsed,” Marshall said in a statement Wednesday. “I have offended not only a lot of people I don’t know but also those closest to me, including my bandmates and for that, I am truly sorry.”

“As a result of my actions I am taking time away from the band to examine my blindspots. For now, please know that I realize how my endorsements have the potential to be viewed as approvals of hateful, divisive behavior. I apologize, as this was not at all my intention,” he added.

Related:

The Catalan translator for the poem that American writer Amanda Gorman read at US president Joe Biden’s inauguration has said he has been removed from the job because he had the wrong “profile”.

It was the second such case in Europe after Dutch writer Marieke Lucas Rijneveld resigned from the job of translating Gorman’s work following criticism that a black writer was not chosen.

‘“They told me that I am not suitable to translate it,” Catalan translator Victor Obiols told AFP on Wednesday. “They did not question my abilities, but they were looking for a different profile, which had to be a woman, young, activist and preferably black.”

“But if I cannot translate a poet because she is a woman, young, black, an American of the 21st century, neither can I translate Homer because I am not a Greek of the eighth century BC. Or could not have translated Shakespeare because I am not a 16th-century Englishman.”

Also related:

The acclaimed author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld has pulled out of translating Amanda Gorman’s poetry into Dutch, after their publisher was criticised for picking a writer for the role who was not also Black.

Dutch publisher Meulenhoff had announced Rijneveld, winner of the International Booker prize, as the translator of the Joe Biden inaugural poet’s forthcoming collection, The Hill We Climb, last week. But the move quickly drew opprobrium. Journalist and activist Janice Deul led critics with a piece in Volkskrant asking why Meulenhoff had not chosen a translator who was, like Gorman, a “spoken-word artist, young, female and unapologetically Black”.

Note:

Meulenhoff said it was Rijneveld’s decision to resign, and that Gorman, who is 22, had selected the 29-year-old herself, as a fellow young writer who had also come to fame early.

The writer specifically selected said translator! She intentionally wanted Rijneveld to translate her work.

You hired the person that *you* believed to be the best person to translate *your* work. Shut out the noise. Stand tall. Don’t cave in. And be okay with the consequences. People of substance will stand by you. People who want to control you or use you will excoriate you. It’s a jagged edge upon which to find oneself, especially one so young. And the more prominent the individual, the more is at stake. But if you don’t take a stand now, you’ll soon drown in the dark, murky sea of wokeness.

Second news item

“Cuomo never let me forget I was a woman”:

Andrew Cuomo’s hands had been on my body — on my arms, my shoulders, the small of my back, my waist — often enough by late 2014 that I didn’t want to go to the holiday party he was hosting for the Albany press corps at the executive mansion.

…

He took my hand, as if to shake it, then refused to let go. He put his other arm around my back, his hand on my waist, and held me firmly in place while indicating to a photographer he wanted us to pose for a picture…I was wrong to believe this experience would last for just a moment. Keeping his grip on me as I practically squirmed to get away from him, the governor turned my body to face a different direction for yet another picture. He never let go of my hand.

Then he turned to me with a mischievous smile on his face, in front of all of my colleagues, and said: “I’m sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable? I thought we were going steady.”

I stood there in stunned silence, shocked and humiliated. But, of course, that was the point.

I never thought the governor wanted to have sex with me. It wasn’t about sex. It was about power. He wanted me to know that I was powerless, that I was small and weak, that I did not deserve what relative power I had: a platform to hold him accountable for his words and actions. He wanted me to know that he could take my dignity away at any moment with an inappropriate comment or a hand on my waist.

Wolves look for easy prey. And young, inexperienced women are most easily devoured.

Cuomo today:

“I’m not going to resign,” Cuomo said in an afternoon conference call with reporters. He instead tried to cast doubt on the women who have accused him of harassment.

“I did not do what has been alleged, period,” he said. “I won’t speculate about people’s possible motives, but I can tell you as a former attorney general who has gone through this situation many times, there are often many motivations for making an allegation, and that is why you need to know the facts before you make a decision.”

Cuomo, though, was defiant on Friday, at times beyond reasonable belief. In the Friday call, he compared to the calls for him to resign to “cancel culture.” He suggested he was not “part of the political club,” only minutes before acknowledging he’s been in politics since he was 23 years old and working for his father.

“I never harassed anyone, I never abused anyone, I never assaulted anyone, and I never would,” Cuomo said. “Now, it is possible that I’ve taken a picture with a person who after the fact says they were uncomfortable with the pose in the picture? Yes. And that’s what you’re hearing about.”

Cancel his ass and kick him to the curb. Between the nursing home deaths and groping women, he deserves it. As of now, there has been public testimony from five accusers. New York Attorney General Letitia James is proceeding with an inquiry into the allegations against Cuomo.

Jake Tapper reminds us that “there are 19 House Democrats from New York, and sixteen of them have called on Gov. Cuomo to resign. As have the two Senators, one of whom just so happens to be Senate Majority Leader Schumer.”

Third news item

Cancel this idiot too and kick him to the curb:

Blatant racism from @RonJohnsonWI here. He says he wasn’t worried on 1/6 because the majority-white insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol “love this country,” but says if they were Black Lives Matter protestors he would’ve been concerned for his safety. #WISen pic.twitter.com/V3gm4cLw8v

— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) March 12, 2021

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said in an interview aired Friday that he never felt threatened during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot because the mob was made up of “people that loved this country” instead of Black Lives Matter protesters. Speaking on the Joe Pags Show on AM radio, Johnson said, “I knew those were people that loved this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, so I wasn’t concerned. Had the tables been turned, and President Trump won the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matters and antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned.”

The Republican Party needs to strongly condemn Johnson for this. But that’s not going to happen, is it?

Reminder: it was reported that nearly 140 police officers were injured in the violent siege at the Capitol. Three police officers died after the rioting (two committed suicide, there is an ongoing investigation into the third officer’s death).

Fourth news item

Maybe actually serve before you mock those who do:

The president noted that some work would be done to retain female recruits, including “designing body armor that fits women properly, tailoring combat uniforms for women, creating maternity flight suits [and] updating requirements for their hairstyles.”

[Tucker] Carlson ridiculed the remarks on his Tuesday night program.

“So, we’ve got new hairstyles and maternity flight suits. Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the U.S. military,” he said. The longtime television journalist also made a comparison between the American military and Chinese military.

“China’s military becomes more masculine … our military needs to become, as Joe Biden says, more feminine.”

A former Navy SEAL would like a word:

If they carry me and my gear back home to my wife after I’ve been shot in combat, I don’t give a damn what gender or sex they are.

— Robert J. O'Neill (@mchooyah) March 11, 2021

Fifth news item

Asians living in fear:

An assault on an Asian woman in San Jose is being investigated as a possible hate crime. The victim of the attack at San Jose’s Diridon train station Wednesday morning is sharing her story on the alleged hate crime and assault.

The victim named Tiffany, a 26-year-old medical worker from San Jose, said she was tossed around and dragged as the suspect shouted expletives calling her out for being Asian.

At 6:30 a.m., Tiffany was her way to work in Palo Alto and poised to board a train. She said she was inside the tunnel when a man approached her from behind, grabbed her neck, pulled her hair and started cursing.

“He was saying f-u, f-u Asian, this is completely bull,” said Tiffany. “All while he was keeping me on the ground with his grip on my hair.

“He made his way to the back of my head and just pulled me back and tossing me from front to back and side to side,” said Tiffany.

Related:

A disturbing trend of violence against Asian Americans continued after a grandmother from Westchester was attacked while walking on a sidewalk Tuesday night.

Nancy Toh says her assailant came up to her — nose-to-nose, then cocked his head back and spit in her face.

Toh closed her eyes, and that’s when he punched her right in her nose.

She fell to the ground, hit the back of her head and was knocked unconscious.

Eventually a good Samaritan saw her lying there and came to her aid.

When she opened her eyes, she was covered in her own blood and drenched in her pain.

“Bleeding lots from the brain. Looks like pumping out,” Toh said.

New York City has seen a recent spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans, but Toh’s daughter says she didn’t think it was so close to home.

More:

An Asian woman who was holding a baby in Fresh Meadows Tuesday was allegedly spat at by a man who also shouted out a racist remark, police said.

The hateful act, in what appears to be the latest anti-Asian incident to take place in the city, has been condemned by U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng.

The 25-year-old woman was approached by the racist in the vicinity of 186th Street and Peck Avenue at around 10.30 a.m. before he allegedly spat in her direction and yelled “Chinese virus.”

The woman was spat at three times but the saliva did not make contact with her, police said.

It’s quite possible that the bigoted followers from which a former president galvanized support by using terms like “Kung-flu” and “Wuhan virus” are acting out on their worst impulses.

Sixth news items

Covid vaccine no-go:

An NPR/PBS/Marist poll released Thursday shows a potentially big problem in getting the country back to normal, with large members of these groups saying they will refuse any vaccine (ranked from highest to lowest percentage).

Republican men: 49%.

Trump supporters: 47%.

Republicans: 41%.

White men without a college degree: 40%.

White evangelicals: 38%.

Nearly 35 million. That’s how many Trump voters wouldn’t get the vaccine if the polling turns out to be correct, representing almost 17% of the adult population.

Former President Donald Trump released a statement this week urging Americans to get the vaccine give him the glory for the vaccine:

“I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) Vaccine, that if I wasn’t President, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful ‘shot’ for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers!”

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is unwilling to do the easiest thing in the world to help persuade Trump supporters to get the vaccine. For godsake, bite the bullet and just say it, Jan. You won’t die if you say it, but others might if you don’t:

Psaki on Biden not crediting Trump in COVID address: "Americans are looking for facts. They're looking for details. They're looking for specifics. I don't think they're worried too much about applause from six months ago when the president has already delivered that publicly." pic.twitter.com/zN34hI7D9y

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 12, 2021

Seventh news item

The word the Biden administration can’t bring themselves to say is “crisis”:

Biden administration officials said Friday they do not have the ability to quickly add thousands of shelter beds to care for the record numbers of migrant teens and children stuck in crowded Border Patrol stations, as the new administration struggles to care for the soaring number of families and unaccompanied minors crossing from Mexico each day.

…

On Thursday night, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent an urgent email to senior staff asking for volunteers quickly to deploy to US border stations and tent sites where holding cells are crammed beyond capacity.

“This situation mandates immediate action to protect the life and safety of federal personnel and the aliens in custody,” wrote Michael Meade, ICE’s acting assistant director for field operations, in an email obtained by The Washington Post.

“Start and end dates are TBD, but could begin as soon as this weekend at locations along the SWB, most likely Texas,” Meade wrote, referring to the southwest border. He also told staff the emergency conditions could persist, adding, “It is anticipated that the enforcement actions will continue to grow over the coming months.”

Miscellaneous

So cool:

A drone operator shot a short video in a Minneapolis bowling alley to rally support for the business. It was viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media and won high praise from Hollywood directors. https://t.co/1hzsXQa7ev pic.twitter.com/1SHY1HDy1d

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 11, 2021

To Be In Love by Gwendolyn Brooks:

To be in love
Is to touch with a lighter hand.
In yourself you stretch, you are well.
You look at things
Through his eyes.
A cardinal is red.
A sky is blue.
Suddenly you know he knows too.
He is not there but
You know you are tasting together
The winter, or a light spring weather.
His hand to take your hand is overmuch.
Too much to bear.
You cannot look in his eyes
Because your pulse must not say
What must not be said.
When he
Shuts a door-
Is not there_
Your arms are water.
And you are free
With a ghastly freedom.
You are the beautiful half
Of a golden hurt.
You remember and covet his mouth
To touch, to whisper on.
Oh when to declare
Is certain Death!
Oh when to apprize
Is to mesmerize,
To see fall down, the Column of Gold,
Into the commonest ash.

Have a great weekend.

–Dana