Indiana is called the “Crossroads of America,” and [Tuesday] night, it was the crossroads of 2016. The Hoosiers’ decision ended up being the final one, as Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made the difficult determination to end his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. It was certainly not an easy announcement — not for Ted to make, and not for conservatives to hear. In some of the most politically and culturally turbulent times of our history as a nation, Ted Cruz was a symbol of hope to so many Americans hungry for principled leadership.

Like millions of others, I’m disappointed in Indiana’s results and troubled by what lies ahead. But in the midst of it all, I’m grateful for men like Ted who have not — and will not — wave a white flag in the battle for the soul of America. In his heartfelt speech [Tuesday] night, Senator Cruz made it clear that the end of his candidacy was not the end of his crusade for our values.

“From the beginning I’ve said that I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory. Tonight, I’m sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed. Together, we left it all on the field in Indiana. We gave it everything we’ve got but the voters chose another path. And so with a heavy heart but with boundless optimism for the long term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign. But hear me now I am not suspending our fight for liberty…. I am not suspending our fight to defend the constitution, to defend the Judeo-Christian values that built America.”

Now, as the battle shifts to the general election, Republicans have another decision to make: will they get behind Donald Trump or will the deep divides threaten to split the party even more? This is a different election cycle than anything our nation has experienced, and obviously, there are strong feelings on both sides about the polarizing candidacy of Donald Trump. As we saw [Tuesday] night, the GOP’s presumptive nominee is on a mission to win over religious voters, which, as Indiana’s results show, is a taller task than the media makes it out to be. In the end, it doesn’t come down to his style or his personality — it comes down to his policies and his running mate. Who is going to vet his judicial nominees? What kind of agenda will he advance as president? Most conservatives, including myself, are still waiting to see the substance of a Trump administration and the vision he has for America.

As polling shows, the evangelical churchgoers who broke so powerfully for Ted Cruz are very concerned about the moral climate in our country. We can live with bad trade deals or high taxes, but we cannot live with bad judicial nominees. One look at the last quarter century and it’s painfully obvious how important the courts have become in shaping the cultural and political landscape of America. [Wednesday] on an interview on Fox Business I was asked if I was now going to support Donald Trump. I made clear my goal is not to advance a candidate or even party. My mission is to advance policies and a set of values that are fundamental to making America great again.

For more on the surprise announcement from Ted, check out my interview on Fox Business.

Originally published here.

Chain Reaction to U.S. Retailer

Target is in hot water with more than just consumers! Turns out, the retailer is the object of Texas’s ire too. After the company opened its bathrooms and dressing rooms to people of either sex, more than 1.1 million Americans protested. And 1,100,001 must be Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who is calling Target on the carpet for a potentially dangerous and unsafe public policy. In a letter to the company’s CEO, Paxton outlined his concerns. “It is possible that allowing men in women’s restrooms could lead to criminal and otherwise unwanted activity. As chief lawyer and law enforcement officer for the state of Texas, I ask that you provide the full text of Target’s safety policies regarding the protection of women and children from those who would use the cover of Target’s restroom policy for nefarious purposes.”

Given the overwhelming response to Houston’s bathroom ordinance (which voters overturned in a landslide), Paxton warns that while Target may have the freedom to create a gender free-for-all, it shouldn’t be surprised if shoppers reject it. Fox News’s Todd Starnes, who broke the news about Paxton’s letter, had the chance to talk to AFA’s Tim Wildmon about the development. And he, like us, was grateful that someone in a leadership position is standing up to ask the tough questions. While so many political leaders kowtow to the radical agenda of corporate bullies, we applaud bold conservatives like Ken Paxton for stepping in to protect innocent Americans when so many others refuse.

Originally published here.

King Lears at N.C. and Miss. Laws

Americans are well aware of what the Left is doing in the country’s bathrooms, but what about its classrooms? That’s where the latest religious liberty fight is raging, thanks to an overbearing Obama administration intent on stripping schools of their First Amendment rights. New Education Secretary John King is already making his presence felt — in a negative way for America’s campuses, unfortunately.

He started by blasting the common sense laws in Mississippi and North Carolina, calling them “a terrible mistake” at an event Monday. Like every member of the Obama administration who refuses to read the actual legislation, he regurgitated the propaganda of the Left, insisting they are “hateful laws” that “should be repealed.” In a foreboding message of things to come, he added that the policies send “a deeply problematic message to young people in schools.” These days, it’s certainly a contradictory message to what the government is sending.

In the midst of the Mississippi and North Carolina firestorms, the Department of Education has done plenty of its own bullying on the issues of gender and sexuality. Already, the DOE is duking it out with colleges over their interpretation of the Title IX rules, which the president has twisted to mean that schools must adopt his radical definitions of “gender identity” and “sexual orientation.” Dozens of universities have complained about the agency’s meddling, arguing that it censors free speech. Instead of using the force of law, both the Justice Department and DOE have threatened to pull the financial rug out from under schools that don’t comply.

Like the rest of the Obama administration, the DOE and DOJ have gotten into the habit of throwing their weight around without any accountability or justification in the law. And while one of the biggest culprits of that, Secretary Arne Duncan, may be gone, his legacy of intimidation continues. As we wrote earlier this week, even the religious schools that apply for waivers are being publicly shamed for their exemptions. Now, in an attempt to retaliate against North Carolina and Mississippi, King is claiming the state schools “will now be in direct violation of Title IX, subjecting the school districts to massive liability and putting an estimated 4.5 billion of federal funding [for the Tar Heels alone] at risk.”

Welcome to the federal carrot-and-stick. While liberals have always used federal funding as a means of exerting control over local matters (think abortion and health care), it should be pointed out that the federal government provides less than 10 percent of educational funding. Under the Obama administration, not only are they trying to use that 10 percent to control 90 percent of education policy, they want to use it to control policies for the entire state. If there were ever a time for governors to bring their expenses under control and cut ties with these federal tyrants, it’s now. The president’s sexual liberalism has already wreaked havoc on education, starting in elementary school and continuing through college. It’s time for every state to rise up and say: enough!

Originally published here.