Donald Trump put a lot of names in the pipeline to head the State Department, but few have fueled more controversy than ExxonMobil CEO and Chairman Rex Tillerson. The oil mogul, who’s spent his more than 40 years with the company, is one of the many names floated for the most-watched nomination of the new administration.

The Left, which doesn’t usually need a reason to oppose Trump’s choices, won’t find many here, since the ExxonMobil executive may be the greatest ally liberals have in the cabinet for their abortion and LGBT agendas. That should be particularly alarming to conservatives, who’ve spent the last eight years watching the State Department lead the global parade for the slaughter of innocent unborn children and the intimidation of nations with natural views on marriage and sexuality. No sooner had Hillary Clinton taken over the State Department in 2009 than the White House ordered her to use the agency as a club to beat other nations into submission on sensitive culture issues — a tradition that successor John Kerry has been all too eager to continue.

Now, after two terms of exporting radical social policy, Americans could finally see the light at the end of the Obama administration tunnel. To hear that Donald Trump may be appointing a man who not only led the charge to open the Boy Scouts to gay troop leaders but whose company directly gives to Planned Parenthood is upsetting at best. FRC knows Tillerson all too well, having worked for years to put the brakes on his reckless agenda for a scouting organization that was already dealing with staggering numbers of sexual abuse cases. Unfortunately, the BSA, under Tillerson, ultimately caved to the pressure of the far-Left, irreparably splitting the Scouts and destroying a proud and honorable American tradition. Under his chairmanship, ExxonMobil’s score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate “Equality” Index has also skyrocketed to 87 percent. Still, Trump calls Rex a “world class player and dealmaker,” but if these are the kinds of deals Tillerson makes — sending dollars to an abortion business that’s just been referred for criminal prosecution and risking the well-being of young boys under his charge in an attempt to placate radical homosexual activists — then who knows what sort of “diplomacy” he would champion at DOS?

Meanwhile, it seems Tillerson will have plenty of GOP opposition over his ties to something (or rather, someone) else: Russian President Vladamir Putin. The pair’s friendship, which started in the 1990s, is raising plenty of eyebrows on Capitol Hill, where senators like Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) weren’t shy about their objections. “It’s a matter of concern to me that he has such a close personal relationship with Vladimir Putin,” McCain said Sunday, pointing out the “enormous deals” the two had done together. “That would color his approach to Vladimir Putin and the Russian threat.” Rubio echoed those concerns, tweeting, “Being a ‘friend of Vladimir’ is not an attribute I am hoping for from #SecretaryOfState.” According to The Wall Street Journal:

“Mr. Tillerson has known Mr. Putin since he represented Exxon’s interests in Russia during the regime of Boris Yeltsin. In a sign of the close relationship, the Kremlin bestowed the country’s Order of Friendship decoration on Mr. Tillerson after he struck a 2011 deal that gave Exxon access to prized Arctic resources and allowed Russia state oil company OAO Rosneft to invest in Exxon concessions around the world… Mr. Tillerson’s past opposition to sanctions on Russia is likely to trigger blowback among Senate Republicans, many of whom have rejected Mr. Trump’s more conciliatory stance toward the country and its president.”

Russia is just one hurdle Tillerson will face in his confirmation hearings with Senate Republicans. He’s also supported the carbon tax and, like President-elect Trump, has never held political or diplomatic office. For groups like FRC, who are tired of the State Department being used as a weapon in the global war on values, the problems run much deeper. The agency already has an image problem after almost a decade of failing to respect the traditions and beliefs of other countries. The last thing Americans need is a leader who would continue to advocate (however subtly) the leftist social policy of the Obama years.

Originally published here.

Heartbeats in the Heartland

This Christmas, Ohio isn’t trying to celebrate one birth — but several! Before the Buckeye legislature wraps for the holidays, locals are hoping Governor John Kasich (R) lives up to his pro-life promises and signs two bills that would help protect the Heartland’s unborn.

The first bill is one that should be very familiar to conservatives: a 20-week abortion ban that would outlaw the procedure when the baby can feel pain. The second, which has been championed by the youngest member of the Ohio legislature — 28-year-old Christina Hagen — takes aim at abortion even earlier, when the heartbeat is first detected. “President-elect Trump has drastically shifted the dynamics,” Christina, who’s served in the legislature since 2011, told The New York Times. “I honestly could not have foreseen this victory a week or a month ago.” As pro-life members have argued in Congress, there are only seven countries in the world that allow the killing of unborn children at or beyond five months of pregnancy, the age at which unborn babies can feel excruciating pain. At this point in pregnancy, the most common method of abortion is dismemberment, which tears a baby apart, piece by painful piece.

The United States of America, founded on the basic principle of the God-given, unalienable right to life for all, joins North Korea, China, and Vietnam in this inhumane practice. And while the U.S. House has done its part in trying to end America’s inclusion in this deadly club, they haven’t had the benefit of a pro-life president. In the void, several states have stepped in to stop the brutality within their borders.

As FRC’s Arina Grossu points out in a detailed paper about the science behind bills like Ohio’s:

“There is no question, biologically speaking, about whether an unborn child can feel pain by 20 weeks post-fertilization. By 18 weeks post-fertilization, nerves link pain receptors to the brain’s thalamus (the pain processing center). By 18 weeks post-fertilization, the cerebral cortex (the region of the brain associated with higher mental functions) has acquired a full complement of neurons, meaning all of the neurons are present, though not all the connections in the cortex are fully developed until later. EEG activity, a recording of electrical activity in the brain, appears for the first time at 18 weeks post-fertilization, showing the integrity of the circuitries of the cortex and the thalamus.”

Practically speaking, if babies couldn’t feel pain, why would doctors administer anesthesia in utero? “The common practice is based on the science of fetal development and the observation that unborn children who are not given anesthesia elicit a hormonal stress response to painful stimuli, which is alleviated by the effects of anesthesia as it is in adults,” Arina explains. If Kasich signs it, Ohio would become the 18th state with a pain-capable law on the books. Throughout the presidential campaign, the Buckeye governor boasted about his pro-life credentials. Now is the time to prove it!

If you’re an Ohio resident, sign here to urge Governor Kasich to protect life!

Originally published here.

Pastor Seibert Gaines Ground

If liberals were hoping to give Chip and Joanna Gaines the same holiday heartburn they gave the Robertsons a few years ago, they must be pretty disappointed. The stars of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper” (like “Duck Dynasty”) emerged from BuzzFeed’s manufactured controversy stronger than ever, after millions of fans came to the Christian couple’s defense. After taking heat for the church they attend in Texas — one that (gasp!) actually teaches from the Bible — Pastor Jimmy Seibert and his celebrity congregants didn’t back down. On “Washington Watch” with me, one of the few media interviews he did on the story, Pastor Seibert explained how grateful he was that BuzzFeed drew attention to the sermon. Because of the traffic to the website, he explained, “Thousands and maybe hundreds of thousands of people are now getting some Scripture, getting some clarity, some truth and some thought on this issue or marriage and life and sexual identity and all that. In a weird way, we are grateful that message is getting out.”

Thirty-four thousand of you sent your thanks to Pastor Seibert for not backing down. “Pastor Seibert didn’t back down, because he knew what all of you at Antioch Community Church know — that God’s Word changes lives, and it is a firm foundation on which to stand. And now, because he spoke the truth, the world is listening — not to the media, but to what the church has to say. We at FRC will stand with any pastor who comes under attack for speaking biblical truth, and we commend you, Pastor Seibert — and Antioch Community Church — for your courageous and gracious stand for truth.”

Originally published here.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.