There are a lot of controversies in Washington that make headlines for a couple of days. But after a while, we realize they were just sideshows that didn’t matter much in the big picture. 

I’d like to share two controversies here, one from the Obama administration and one from the Trump administration. Both are incredibly meaningful for how they demonstrate each president’s understanding of the war over the meaning of America.

Let me take you back to May 31, 2014. Then-President Barack Obama appeared in the Rose Garden to announce the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Obama traded five Taliban leaders for this deserter who abandoned his post and walked into enemy territory. 

The people most upset by this trade for a traitor were conservatives, Middle America, and the soldiers who risked their lives searching for Bergdahl. The media, of course, rallied to Obama’s defense and portrayed Bergdahl as a sympathetic figure. 

Then there’s Eddie Gallagher. He was deployed eight times and never once left his post or abandoned his fellow SEALs. His crime was that he was too aggressive in fighting the enemy. President Trump commuted his sentence, restored Gallagher’s rank and pay, and ensured that he would keep his Trident pin.

A lot of pundits today are chattering about the “rule of law.” I just want to reiterate that the president is at the top of the chain of command. There is no military court or four-star officer at the Pentagon who outranks the commander-in-chief.

Barack Obama set out to satisfy the lawyers and social-justice warriors. His action in the Bergdahl case sent a clear message about what priorities mattered in his America. (And don’t even get me started on Chelsea Manning!) 

In contrast, Donald Trump is standing with those in the trenches. He’s taking the handcuffs off of our war fighters and sending the message that the era of no-win wars and ACLU-vetted generals is over. 

Speaking of Priorities…

Fox News reported Monday night that the Trump administration may make U.S. foreign aid contingent upon the recipient country’s respect for religious liberty. 

This is a major change that I and other members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom have advocated for some time in order to more aggressively defend religious freedom around the world. I believe Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ambassador Sam Brownback support the idea.

But don’t miss the crucial contrast, my friends. This president wants to make foreign aid dependent on the promotion of religious liberty. The left wants to make it contingent on the promotion of abortion and gay marriage. 

And Israel is in a separate category all by itself, where the left demands that the Jewish state must surrender land Jews have lived on for centuries or give up U.S. military aid. If that’s not extortion, I don’t know what is! 

Meanwhile, the president demonstrated another of his key priorities by declaring this week to be National Family Week. In a proclamation, President Trump declared:

The strength of our Republic is not measured only by our military might and robust economy but also by the strength of our family bonds. Families shape our values, develop our character, and teach us to love, forgive, and become productive citizens and responsible members of society.  During National Family Week, we pause to reflect on the importance of the family — the bedrock of our Nation.

Nadler’s Next

In a letter to House Democrats on Monday, Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, informed his colleagues that his staff is preparing a report that will be sent to the House Judiciary Committee to determine whether articles of impeachment are warranted. 

Jerry Nadler, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, announced that a hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, December 4th. But what happens next remains to be seen.

As we noted yesterday, impeachment is a big loser with independent voters. And Politico laments that after days of “explosive testimony,” there is “no groundswell of new support” for impeachment in the latest polling data. 

Perhaps that is why Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), who voted for the impeachment inquiry last month, suggested over the weekend that it should stop. 

Meanwhile, Democrat strategist and Clinton pollster Doug Schoen is “praying” that Nancy Pelosi will slam the breaks on impeachment and opt instead for a censure resolution. I’m not sure she can do that.

Pelosi painted herself into this corner. When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez jerked her chain, the speaker went all-in on impeachment. Her progressive socialist base (as Rep. Lawrence discovered) would feel betrayed by a censure resolution now.

Who’s in a Cult?

The media are furious that Trump’s conservative base won’t crack and abandon the president. So, now they are referring to Trump supporters as a “cult-like group.” Because, after all, who wants to be in a cult? 

Once again, the left is trying to demonize conservatives. You’ve been called “deplorable and irredeemable.” You’ve been called “Nazis,” “bigots,” and “alt-right.” Now you’re members of a cult.

Describing half the country as a cult is really rich. But I can think of all kinds of things on the left that are cult-like. 

The transgender movement denies science and demands that all of society bend to its wishes by insisting that we call some men “women” or vice versa. And if you don’t think that “men” can have babies, these so-called “progressives” insist that you should lose your job.

While millions of people are concerned about the environment, the cult of climate change is a religion to many on the left. Like the doomsday cultists of recent years, they are constantly telling us when the world will end, usually in 12 years. And yet all of their alarmist predictions have been wildly wrong. Why do we keep listening to these people?! 

Again, my friends, it’s not just that the left hates Donald Trump. The left hates YOU and everything you stand for. Wear that hatred as a badge of honor, but never forget what the left intends to do if it regains power in 2020.