Donald Trump has spent his career in real estate, and [Thursday] he became the sole owner of the GOP’s most valuable property: the Republican nomination for president. Late [Thursday] night, delivering a speech few thought possible, the question of Hillary Clinton’s opponent was formally settled, after what will almost certainly go down as one of the most unpredictable seasons of presidential politics in history.

Just before midnight, balloons and confetti rained down on stage, closing out a significant two-week stretch for the GOP. To the relief of conservatives, it was a stretch that included the strongest statement of principles by a Republican platform to date. Against all odds (and even more Establishment money), a coalition of pro-family groups led by FRC Action beat back the attacks on our values and emerged with a document more clear and compelling than any in party history.

Regardless of what the media might make out of this week’s program, the GOP platform — not the Convention’s speakers — are what guides the party, and we were proud to help lead the charge in firmly planting the flag for life, marriage, and religious liberty in the planks of the GOP’s governing document. Long after the streamers are cleaned up and the delegates have gone home, that will be the legacy of this Convention. And thanks to your support, we helped shaped that legacy. As even the New York Times pointed out, these past two weeks would have been very different had we not been involved.

But the GOP platform wasn’t the only place where social conservatives played a prominent role. On the final night of festivities — while some were beating the tired drum of evangelicals’ waning influence — I was invited to speak. Despite the obituaries the press continues to write about our movement, it was a visible reminder that pro-family conservatives continue to influence the Republican Party by being a witness for transcendent and unchanging truths. It was such a significant moment, in fact, that The Hill included it in its five reasons for the Convention’s success. After leading the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance, I had the opportunity to talk about what makes that tradition so meaningful. (To see the video, click below.)

From the Christian Post to the Washington Times, the media agreed: offering evangelicals such a primetime spot on the program spoke volumes about the direction of the party. “Christianity Takes Center Stage at the Start of the Final Night of Trump’s Convention,” The Daily Caller headline read. We will continue to work to ensure the concerns and values of families across this nation remain a key part of the policies, debates, and months leading up to November.

DISCLAIMER: Tony Perkins was speaking in his personal capacity and not on behalf of any of the nonprofit organizations he leads.

Originally published here.

The GOP’s Big Tent

[Thursday] night, I could hardly walk 20 feet on the convention floor without being stopped by a reporter. They all asked the same question: Was I outraged that Peter Thiel, an openly gay businessman, was speaking at the RNC Convention after me? My answer — no. While I may disagree with someone’s choices, this is a political party (unlike the Democrats’) that allows people with differing views to take part.

That said, the stated principles of the Republican Party clearly reflect the view of the majority of Republican voters, which is that natural marriage and sexuality are sacred. While most of the press were looking for an opportunity to divide conservatives and create controversy, Thiel’s speech highlighted a significant contrast between the GOP and Democratic parties. Does anyone honestly believe that the Democratic National Convention would allow a proponent of natural marriage to speak on next week’s program? Of course not. As I explained last week, the GOP Platform Committee allowed these minorities’ views about homosexuality to be introduced and debated, and the result was that the elected delegates from the states soundly rejected them.

To suggest that the Republican Party shouldn’t allow people to participate because we disagree with them is unreasonable. If we’d invite them to our churches, which we absolutely should, why not a political party? Of course, the purpose of inviting them to join us in our churches is to introduce them life-transforming truth of the gospel. Likewise, we should use the opportunities within the confines of the GOP to have a conversation about those same truths. This means we have frank conversations; we challenge views where necessary. For example, Thiel’s claim that “Fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline,” is…well a fake claim. Social science has proven, quite convincingly, that the attack on moral values and faith is real. And it’s the demise of those faith and family bedrocks that’s helping to drive our nation’s economic decline. We cannot tax, spend, and borrow enough to substitute for marriage, as MARRI’s data makes quite clear.

Most of us think of marriage as a cultural and religious institution — but it’s also an economic one. And what happens to the family has big implications for federal and state spending. Each year, as Georgia State University found a few years ago, the government has to fork over $112 billion dollars in welfare, anti-poverty programs, criminal justice bills, and education initiatives just to keep broken families afloat. In one decade, that means the decline of marriage is taking $1 trillion dollars out of taxpayers’ pockets.

Unlike the Left, we aren’t afraid to have the conversations — and even the debates — about our positions because we stand on the side of truth. We must simply refuse to be silent, because silence is no longer an option.

Originally published here.

NBA Guilty of Traveling

While the rest of America fights the president’s outrageous bathroom order, the NBA is showing fans whose team they’re on. In a stunning announcement [Thursday], the League informed everyone that it was pulling the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte because of the state’s decision to put the safety of women and children ahead of the extreme transgender agenda of this White House. While almost two dozen states are going to the mat to stop the president from opening up public school showers, locker rooms, and bathrooms to both genders, the NBA is proving how far outside of the mainstream the sport is.

“While we recognize that the NBA cannot choose the law in every city, state, and country in which we do business, we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in the climate created by H.B. 2.” Of course, H.B. 2, as most everyone knows by now, was North Carolina’s response to Charlotte’s mayor, who tried to force this radical gender makeover on the city’s local businesses and schools. After weeks of ignoring the legislature’s warnings, the city passed the policy anyway, triggering a statewide backlash. Almost immediately, leaders convened and repealed the ordinance — as they vowed to do — with H.B. 2.

Despite a flash of opposition from Hollywood and a handful of entertainers, North Carolina leaders like Governor Pat McCrory (R) and Lt. Governor Dan Forest (R) stood firm, which helped kick off a nationwide protest to the Left’s lunacy. After weathering the storm — and picking up millions of allies — North Carolina isn’t about to flinch just because a sports league beholden to the Left’s cultural bullies is picking up their ball and leaving town. In a statement, Governor McCrory showed who the real cowards are.

“The sports and entertainment elite, Attorney General Roy Cooper, and the liberal media have for months misrepresented our laws and maligned the people of North Carolina simply because most people believe boys and girls should be able to use school bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers without the opposite sex present. Twenty-one other states have joined North Carolina to challenge the federal overreach by the Obama administration mandating their bathroom policies in all businesses and schools instead of allowing accommodations for unique circumstances. Left-wing special interest groups have no moral authority to try and intimidate the large majority of American parents who agree in common-sense bathroom and shower privacy for our children. American families should be on notice that the selective corporate elite are imposing their political will on communities in which they do business, thus bypassing the democratic and legal process.”

If losing the NBA All-Star Game is what it costs to keep the Tar Heels safe, so be it. It’s a small price to pay for even one child’s innocence. And here’s the irony: the state legislature firmly supports businesses like the NBA making their own decisions — which anyone who reads the law knows H.B. 2 is all about! North Carolina (like most states) doesn’t believe the government should be telling executives how to run their businesses, especially on policies that carry as much liability as this one.

But the NBA isn’t just on the wrong side of North Carolina law, it’s also on the wrong side of public opinion. In polling conducted just this month, two-thirds of Americans said they oppose the government’s efforts “to force businesses and schools to allow restroom, locker room and shower access to people of the opposite sex — including,” as the Washington Times points out, “52 percent who strongly oppose such measures.” If basketball was hoping to rebound with the support of young fans, they’re mistaken. Millennials are just as frustrated by the president’s push, disapproving by a 55-37 percent margin.

What inconsistency, blasts Congressman Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.)! The NBA rails about North Carolina’s law while being quite content to host preseason games in China, which has a far worse record on LGBT issues. “Is the NBA implying China’s abhorrent violation of basic human rights is acceptable, but North Carolina saying men shouldn’t use the girls’ locker room is a bridge too far? What is the NBA’s true priority? The unmistakable hypocrisy is clear to me,” he wrote in a letter to the League. Meanwhile, North Carolina’s fans have a message for the League: if they want to walk out on fans in the name of political correctness, that’s their choice. Don’t let the bathroom door hit you on the way out.

Originally published here.