When Brett Kavanaugh dreamed about being sworn in as a Supreme Court justice, he probably didn’t picture dozens of screaming protestors trying to break down the door to the chamber inside. But then, there’s a lot about the last three weeks that the Kavanaughs would have never imagined — or most Americans for that matter. And while no one can turn back time and give him the respectful treatment he deserves, there is some small comfort in knowing that the Left set out to expose Brett Kavanaugh — and revealed themselves instead.

If there’s any good to come from the Left’s search and destroy mission of an innocent man, it’s showing the world who the president’s opponents really are. The “resistance” is not about playing within the rules. It’s about a ruthless, vindictive, violent faction who’s willing to do anything — or hurt anyone — to get their hands on the levers of power. These are men and women who break through police lines to claw at the doors where Kavanaugh is. They’re the ones screaming like animals inside the Senate chamber, or sending Republicans’ wives pictures of beheadings after their private information is posted online.

Organizations that used to at least put on a civil face in public are just as unhinged as the rest of them, posting open threats like Planned Parenthood’s: “Roses are red, violets are blue; senators vote no on Kavanaugh or else we’re coming for you.” We’re coming for you? Like “how [Rand] Paul was attacked in his yard?” Dana Loesch asks. “Or Cruz ambushed in his restaurant? Or McConnell at the airport? I’ll omit the baseball field. You should clarify this. The Left interprets everything to mean violence, except when they say it.”

Eventually, the paid mobs that shouted their way through the Senate hallways even took a toll on staffers. Offices like Senator Susan Collins’s (R-Maine) took the worst of it. Apart from the 1,000 spray-painted red coat-hangers pro-abortion groups delivered, there were genital cutouts with the words “F— you.” Death threats, staged “die-ins,” protestors shouting at female staff that they “don’t deserve a uterus!” It all got to be too much. Making dinner one night, Collins’s staffer Kate Simson told the Washington Post that she just started sobbing. “I was just mentally and physically exhausted.”

“You have every right to express yourself,” Senator Lindsey Graham said, “but the way you do, matters… You can’t have a process where just yelling overcomes the facts.” Besides, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) points out, the yelling isn’t working. “I think there’s no question that the tactics have energized our base like we were unable to do before this. Not only the tactics of the Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, but then those who literally have our members under assault. I mean — they’ve come to our homes…”

Liberals are beside themselves because they aren’t accustomed to conservatives fighting back. But so far, their intimidation tactics are having the opposite effect. They’re galvanizing the resolve of conservatives to stand with the president and his nominees. They understand that the same people clawing at the door of the Supreme Court are the ones that have been kicking down the doors to our schools and other public institutions on their mission to drive Christianity from public life. The resounding message from conservatives seems to be this: we are not giving another inch. We will no longer surrender our First Freedom at the demand of the Left. History tells us that such a capitulation has never resulted in the preservation of our liberties.

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are as determined as ever. If these last few weeks were supposed to scare off Leader McConnell, it backfired. There are 30 more lifetime district and circuit court nominees ready for floor action — and his party intends on moving them. “There are still tools that I have available — that’s why I canceled the August recess,” McConnell said about moving more nominations. “Of course” more judges will be confirmed before November 6, he promised. These judges are “the most important thing that the Senate and an administration of like mind… could do for the country,” he told reporters. “Putting strict constructionists, relatively young, on the courts for lifetime appointments is the best way to have a long-term positive impact on America. And today is a seminal moment in that effort.”

For more on how the Kavanaugh hearings have been an assault on civility, check out Ken Blackwell’s interview over the weekend with Fox Business’s Neil Cavuto.

Originally published here.

Library’s Response to Drag Queens Overdue

It was a headline that sounded more like a parody than real life: “Louisiana Library Plans ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ for Children.” Unfortunately for the town of Lafayette, it wasn’t a joke. It was an honest-to-goodness public event, scheduled with the help of the taxpayer-funded library.

“It’s important for young kids to understand this is normal behavior, even if it may be different to some,” said student Brad Parfait, a sophomore at UL-Lafayette whose LGBT-focused fraternity was sponsoring the event. But there’s nothing normal about having grown men in women’s dresses read to little children. And once the community found out, it sent that message to local leaders loud and clear. Residents were so outraged by the idea that Lafayette Mayor-President Joel Robideaux issued a statement hinting that the event would be canceled. It wasn’t.

Instead, he hosted a standing room-only public parish meeting. “This library is an innovative, progressive beacon here in Lafayette,” said one mom. “Its job is not to make everyone comfortable with every single program. If you don’t like it, don’t go — or just pretend it’s not happening.” You can’t pretend it’s not happening, argued others, when the library’s funded by taxpayer dollars. The debate over the event, which targets kids ages three to six, got so heated that the president of the library’s board of directors resigned.

When the city’s meeting didn’t resolve it, two Christian groups filed a federal lawsuit. Another 50 pastors signed a letter to members of the Lafayette City-Parish Council. Others, like Catholic student groups and local conservative groups, racked up almost 20,000 signatures on a petition calling on leaders to cancel the October 6 event. By the end of September, the issue had become so radioactive that the library announced it was moving Drag Queen Story Hour to South Louisiana Community College, a venue, it argued, that could deal with larger crowds. (A decision that was hardly necessary, given how few people are showing up at similar events around the country.)

Late last week, even SLCC seemed wary of the idea and announced — to the cheers of parents everywhere — that it was postponing the event “indefinitely” due to so-called “security concerns.” Gene Mills, the president of the Louisiana Family Forum, who helped lead the fight, doesn’t care what reasons they give, as long as this twisted idea is off the table for now.

“What we have witnessed in this debate,” he said, “is the importance of Christian engagement in government! Courage begets courage, and your voice emboldens others! What we also witnessed was the brokenness and vulnerability in the culture around us. A brokenness for which there is only one solution — Jesus Christ. We must pray for those who struggle with their identity and we must speak in a spirit of love while balancing that love with the truth that sets men and women free rather than offering empathetic bondage.”

Although the battle isn’t over — not in Lafayette, and certainly not in towns across America — Gene’s right. There’s no limit to what Christians can accomplish when they get involved in standing for truth! Way to go, Louisiana — and other states: take note!

Originally published here.

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