President Obama keeps talking about “rising above ideology and partisanship.” Maybe it’s time he took his own advice. More than 200 Democrats and Republicans are cosponsoring a House resolution addressing an issue they shouldn’t have to: the genocide in the Middle East. If the Obama administration were as “appalled,” “horrified,” and “concerned” about the annihilation of Christians as the White House says it is, U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Nebr.) wouldn’t have to take the unusual step of addressing the crisis before the president.

“When ISIS systematically targets Christians, Yazidis, and other ethnic and religious minorities for extermination, this is not only a grave injustice,” Rep. Fortenberry argued, “it is a threat to civilization itself. We must call the violence by its proper name: genocide.” The House vote on H. Con. Res. 75 comes ahead of the administration’s Thursday deadline, when Secretary of State John Kerry promised to have an answer on the department’s months-long legal analysis of the term. Genocide, George Mason University expert Gregory Stanton says, “packs moral force, and it requires action. And what we have here is a case where the administration is not ready to make the determination, because it is not determined to do what is necessary to really stop ISIS with the full force that it needs to do.”

America has lost its chance to lead on the crisis now that much of the Western world has already weighed in. But we can’t afford to be left totally behind on such a crucial issue either. Just imagine, Kathryn Jean Lopez writes, what’s happening right now to the people targeted by ISIS. The new report from the Knights of Columbus details some of it. “Among the images that jump off of the near 300 pages: A Christian man from Mosul who committed suicide after ISIS fighters ‘brutally raped his wife and daughter in front of him.’ Or the woman who ‘was victimized so often that she resorted to defecating on herself to make herself less desirable, and had to be trained to use the bathroom again after she escaped.’ Or the buying and selling of sex slaves, including children. According to the report, ‘ISIS is estimated to have taken over 1,500 Yazidi and Christian girls as sex slaves. They are bought and sold on an open slave market, and are often raped in rapid succession by a number of fighters in a single night.’”

These are just some of the nightmares that continue during the administration’s silence. And while the word “genocide” alone won’t stop the suffering, it will certainly go a long way to sparking actions that will. Through mostly non-military means, we can bring help and hope to our Christian brothers and sisters who are suffering for nothing more than following Jesus.

Originally published here.

Primary Motives: Voters Gear up for Winner-Take-All

It may have been a warm-up to Tuesday’s main event, but Saturday’s primaries still held plenty of intrigue. From the polling lines in D.C. to Donald Trump’s single delegate, the trio of regions casting their ballots helped tide pundits over until [today’s] do-or-die contest in five states.

For the front-runner, the weekend’s performance was very forgettable — taking third place in Wyoming, D.C., and potentially Guam (where Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, won the only delegate currently up for grabs). Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is clawing to stay alive in his home state, won the District of Columbia, which was either good or bad, depending on your perspective. In a race where candidates seem to be competing for “Washington outsider,” Senator Cruz quipped that coming in fourth only solidifies his standing as a man willing to take on the political establishment. “According to Washington, D.C., I am dead last. That result didn’t surprise me at all,” he told a North Carolina crowd. “If you have an election of lobbyists, they’re going to elect their interests. When you get out of Washington, D.C., and you actually get into America, the reaction is going to be a little bit different.”

By day’s end, Senator Rubio edged out Cruz with 11 delegates to Cruz’s 10 (nine of which came from his landslide victory in Wyoming, where he won 66 percent of the vote to Rubio’s 19 percent). Of course, the real prizes will be doled out [today], when the delegates from Florida (99), North Carolina (72), Illinois (69), Ohio (66), Missouri (52), and the Northern Mariana Islands (9) are assigned. And while Ohio and Florida are attracting all of the attention, the Governor John Kasich’s ® and Senator Rubio’s home turfs are just part of the 367 delegates on the line — leaving plenty of wiggle room for any number of scenarios to play out.

Of course, the burning question on most people’s minds is what the day will mean for the campaigns on the political ropes. While the Ohio governor is staying on his feet in the Buckeye state, polls tell a different story for Rubio. In the end, though, polls don’t elect leaders — people do! If you live in any of these states, get out there and vote your values. (But make sure you’ve read FRC Action’s Presidential Voter Guide first!)

Originally published here.