Extraordinary Measures: Voters Tackle 155 Issues Nov. 6
Congress is important, but it’s not the only thing at stake next Tuesday!
Congress is important, but it’s not the only thing at stake next Tuesday! On November 6th, voters have the chance to cut out the middleman on key policies like abortion, health care, gender-free bathrooms, gambling, marijuana, and so much more. By Tuesday night, Americans will have weighed in on 155 ballot measures — directly deciding issues that, in at least three states, could save thousands of lives.
Instead of turning the questions over to legislators, voters in Alabama, West Virginia, and Oregon will be the final say on taxpayer-funded abortion, post-Roe v. Wade policy, and the rights of unborn children. As Michael New points out, these opportunities don’t come along every day. “Since the Roe v. Wade decision, pro-life activists have made relatively little use of direct democracy. The costs of qualifying a proposal for the ballot and running an effective campaign has discouraged many state and local pro-life groups from using the initiative process.”
Fortunately, some people refuse to be discouraged. In Alabama, voters have the chance to pass Amendment 2, a measure that would help outlaw abortion if the Supreme Court ever strikes down abortion-on-demand. Hopefully, the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh makes that an even likelier scenario. If the justices did return the issue to the states, Alabamans would be well on their way to protecting life, because they’ll have made it explicitly clear in this language that an unborn child is a person.
Out in Oregon and West Virginia, voters could do what Congress has not: stop taxpayer-funded abortion. Like Alabama, the Mountain State’s Amendment 1 makes it clear that “nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion” and adds “or requires the funding of abortion.” Likewise, Oregon’s Measure 106 would change its constitution to ban public funds from being spent on abortion “except when medically necessary or as may be required by federal law.” As Nichole Bentz, a pro-life spokeswoman for Yes on 106 says, “It doesn’t stop anyone from choosing abortion, but it gives people the freedom from having to pay for them.”
And that’s a popular idea no matter which side you’re on. The latest Marist poll on the subject showed that even 45 percent of people who say they’re “pro-choice” reject taxpayer-funded abortion. “Public funds,” Bentz argues, “shouldn’t be going to that controversial, that personal of a choice when they’re not medically necessary.” Not surprisingly, Planned Parenthood doesn’t agree. The country’s biggest abortion business — which enjoys more than a half-billion tax dollars a year — wants to keep the money flowing. According to the Oregon Elections Commission, the group has spent piles of cash — well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars — trying to stop Measure 106.
Like pro-lifers, they understand just how significant the moment is. In terms of actual lives, Michael New explains just how impactful the laws could be. “In Oregon, taxpayers have paid for over at least 3,300 abortions every year since 2002… In West Virginia, the number of Medicaid funded abortions has risen dramatically in recent years. Between 2013 and 2017, the number of Medicaid abortions more than tripled, going from 502 to 1,560. Some have speculated that part of this increase may be due to the state’s Medicaid expansion which was subsidized by the Affordable Care Act. As such, both Measure 106 and Question 1 have the ability to save hundreds of innocent lives every year.”
That’s the kind of policy Vice President Mike Pence can get behind — and Friday, at a rally with our Values Bus in Kansas City, one of the most outspokenly pro-life members of the Trump administration encouraged everyone to get out and vote on people — and policies — that keeping moving America forward.
The vice president, who spoke alongside Missouri Senate candidate Josh Hawley, FRC’s Lt. General William Boykin and Travis Weber, said nothing is more meaningful to him than when someone reaches out at the rally, grabs his arm, and says, “I’m praying for you.” He encouraged us to pray — not just for a party or an election result — but for unity, for the wellbeing of all Americans, quoting James 5:16: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Originally published here
The Caravan v. Donald Trump
There are 600 miles — and the entire Trump administration — standing between the migrant caravan and the border. The 3,600 people hoping to cross into the U.S. will have to get past border patrol, the American military, and the rule of law. Despite the odds, one extremist group thinks it can beat them — in the same place liberals always go to get their way: the courts.
As if this story couldn’t get any crazier, an American legal group called Nexus Services flew to the caravan that’s snaking its way through Mexico and recruited 12 people to sue the U.S. president. “Federal law enables migrants to apply for asylum in the United States. President Trump and his administration have used ‘increased enforcement,’ like separating families and lengthening detention to violate migrant rights,” argues Nexus’s Mike Donovan. A dozen Hondurans are claiming that their “constitutional rights” have been violated – under a constitution that isn’t even theirs! And even if it were their constitution — which it isn’t — how does enforcing the law possibly violate it?
According to one court filing, “the plaintiffs are seeking asylum, and Trump simply cannot stop them from legally doing so by using military, or anyone.” Absolutely he can. “Asylum” isn’t a magic word that gives people a free pass from U.S. laws. It’s the administration’s prerogative, through the application process, to pick and choose who comes into our country. Executive powers are broad, especially regarding national security. If it were 12 people trying to cross the border, there might be a stronger claim — but even the plaintiffs admit that it’s at least a 3,600-person caravan. The president shouldn’t have his hands tied when potential threats like this arise.
As Donald Trump pointed out Thursday, “The government of Mexico has generously offered asylum, jobs, education and medical care for people within the caravan, but many members of the caravan have refused these offers, which demonstrate that these migrants are not legitimate asylum seekers. They are not looking for protection because if they were, they would be able to get it from Mexico.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has already said, “If you do not have a legal right to come to this country, and you come as part of this caravan, you come in our country, you will be returned home.” The administration has expressed every intention to follow the law. Nexus’s attorneys know as well as anyone that even an activist court would have a difficult time finding fault with the president for that. As FRC legal expert Alexandra McPhee points out, a court would have to certify the class action first. For all we know, the judges would decide that this proposed class (essentially, all members of the caravan) is too broad. There would be too many unique issues that a class action couldn’t appropriately address.
Regardless of what the media would have you believe, no one is saying that immigrants aren’t welcome in America. What they are saying is that the way here is through the law — not around it.
Originally published here
Prayer: A Pillar for the Persecuted
Millions of us come and go to church every Sunday without a single thought that any harm might come because of it. We don’t worry about striking up a conversation about faith in public or hanging out with a church group in public. In China, those are luxuries Christians don’t have. For them, even talking about Jesus is one of the most dangerous things a person can do. And another 20 people in the Sichuan province are living proof as to why.
Last week, a group of people from the Early Rain Covenant Church decided to do some street evangelism. It was a bold act in such an oppressive country — and government officials made sure they paid for it. Believers fanned out along the streets, until the police put a stop to it, arresting almost two dozen. Wang Yi, the church’s pastor, posted, “The Gospel has been proclaimed. We gave out all the leaflets. Those brothers and sisters [in Christ] who were waiting at the police station brought more and distributed them all … We encountered another police station and got to know a group of people who believe in Christ. May the Lord’s love be with these law enforcement officers.”
The group was released later that night, but others have not been so lucky. In Cameroon, American missionary Charles Wesco was shot and killed in what officials are calling a “targeted” attack. His family is understandably shocked. His whole purpose with moving to Cameroon, his brother told ABC News, was “to share the love of Christ with people in a very poor and strife-ribbed country.”
Around the world, Christians of all kinds are being tortured, harassed, and slaughtered for their beliefs. This Sunday, on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, we’re remembering the millions of people in countries like China whose fate is so deeply tied to America’s. This election is not just about our country — it’s about the world’s people. Their safety and freedom hangs in the balance. For the first time in a long time, the persecuted have an administration fighting for them. What happens on November 6 is just as important to the president’s ability to help them as it is to help us.
Originally published here
This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Tony Perkins’ Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC Action senior writers.
