Editor’s Note: This piece was originally written Thursday, Dec. 1.

Monday’s attack in Columbus, Ohio, by a Somali Muslim whose family migrated to Pakistan and then to America once again demonstrates that we are not adequately vetting immigrants. This is not an insignificant issue.

As we have noted before, two-thirds of those convicted on terrorism-related charges since 9/11 were foreign born. In other words, tighter border controls could dramatically reduce the danger our homeland faces from radical Islamic supremacists.

Donald Trump is right to demand “extreme vetting” of new immigrants and refugees coming from areas infested with Islamic extremism. However, there is no vetting adequate enough to sort out which Muslim immigrants may at some future point have their hearts stirred by the call to jihad.

Regardless of what our politically correct cultural and political elites tell us, jihad for the sake of Allah — waging war for the sake of Allah — is a consistent pattern of Islam’s history. Why would this surprise anyone? The founder of the faith was a warrior.

While Christianity is not pacifistic, and the concept of just war is well-accepted within Christian theology, Christ never advocated taking up the sword to spread his message. For Mohammad, holy war and the subjugation of defeated enemies into slavery or dhimmitude was an accepted practice.

To deny this is wrong, and people are dying as a result.

But radical Islamists are well aware that they have other weapons at their disposal than bombs, bullets, cars and butcher knives. One way to defeat the militarily superior West is to use our immigration policies against us.

In a new book, CIA contractor James Mitchell details the interrogations he conducted with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM) and other Al Qaeda operatives. While Mohammed was proud of the 9/11 attacks, he understood that it was “not practical” to defeat America militarily. But he had a plan. Consider this excerpt from Mitchell’s book:

“He said the terror attacks were good, but the ‘practical’ way to defeat America was through immigration and by outbreeding non-Muslims. He said jihadi-minded brothers would immigrate into the United States, taking advantage of the welfare system to support themselves while they spread their jihadi message. They will wrap themselves in America’s rights and laws for protection, ratchet up acceptance of Sharia law, and then, only when they were strong enough, rise up and violently impose Sharia from within… ‘Eventually,’ KSM said, ‘America will expose her neck to us for slaughter.’”

Those familiar with the Holy Land Foundation trial will recognize that Khalid Sheik Mohammed was not necessarily articulating a new thought. Look at the problems mass migration have caused in Europe — from the New Year’s rapes to terrorism.

Recently, an Arabic translator working in German refugee camps decided to expose the “pure hatred” she experienced from Muslims toward Christians. Once again, I have to ask what public policy purpose is being served by importing such hatred into our own country?

It is well past time for our elected leaders to confront this reality. And I promise you, we look forward to working with a new administration that is committed to putting America first and serious about border security.

Hope & Change

By complete coincidence, I am in Indianapolis for a meeting arranged weeks ago. But today Vice President-elect Mike Pence and President-elect Donald Trump are coming to town. I really wish you all could be here. The change in the air is really palpable. There is tremendous hope and for good reason.

Trump and Pence are going to the United Technologies Carrier plant, where I can confidently predict they will be greeted as heroes. Everyone I have talked to in this quintessential Mid-Western city is excited and optimistic about the future with a new administration that won by unapologetically promising to put America first and to restore American greatness.

Evidently, they are not the only ones. After the election, consumer confidence soared to the highest level since 2007. It seems Americans are eagerly looking forward to real hope and change.

This morning, I heard a black employee at the Carrier plant tell a reporter what it felt like when he heard the news that the Carrier plant would be saved. He said, “It meant we could maintain our jobs, keep our homes and take care of our families again.”

I’ll let the pointy-headed academics in their ivory towers and the TV talking heads debate whether this is appropriate economic policy. No doubt some libertarians will be offended by what they perceive as government intervention in the economy.

But the bottom line is that the greatest proponent of liberty in the world is the United States. Unless we thrive and prosper, this experiment in liberty will fail. The policies we have been following in recent years are leaving millions of Americans behind, and you can’t be a great nation if you don’t build things.

Democrats Debate Future

House Democrats huddled together yesterday to debate their future. Amid growing concerns that theirs is increasingly a regional party confined to the Northeast and the Left Coast, House Democrats decided to embrace that vision by reelecting San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi as their leader. Senate Democrats will be led by New York’s Chuck Schumer.

There’s another debate raging for control of the Democrat National Committee. A leading contender for DNC chairman appears to be Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who burst onto the political scene in 2006 by becoming the first Muslim elected to Congress.

The media went to great lengths this past year to portray Donald Trump as an extremist. They brought up alleged radical connections over and over again, whether it was David Duke or other people no one had ever heard of. The charges were absurd, as were the attempts to smear Steve Bannon and the Breitbart media outlet. After Trump won, the media resurrected decades-old slanders against Jeff Sessions.

But when it comes to someone on the left, there’s silence. For example, why aren’t the media talking about Ellison’s well-established links to the raving anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan and his Nation of Islam?

Given all the media’s hyperventilating about “white nationalism” and the “alt-right,” why aren’t they asking about Ellison’s past call for a black state?

As Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz recently noted, Ellison’s voting record is distinctly hostile to Israel. Among other things, Ellison refused to support a resolution recognizing Israel’s right to self-defense. He was also among a group of delegates at the Democrat National Convention who tried to further weaken the party’s position on Israel.

Earlier this week, Ellison defended Fidel Castro, saying his legacy was “a mixed bag” and it was “all wrong” to suggest the brutal communist dictator was “all bad.”

You’d think the media would be eager to expose and challenge a politician with such radical connections and bizarre views. But when it comes to scrutinizing Republicans and Democrats, the media have a clear and disgusting double standard.