A Protest of Wills
If Donald Trump is the problem in Iran, liberal Democrats are the only ones who think so. After days of trying to extract a pound of flesh from the president for killing a terrorist mastermind, the far-Left is surprisingly quiet now that the Iranian people are mobbing the streets shouting “Death!” to something other than America.
If Donald Trump is the problem in Iran, liberal Democrats are the only ones who think so. After days of trying to extract a pound of flesh from the president for killing a terrorist mastermind, the far-Left is surprisingly quiet now that the Iranian people are mobbing the streets shouting “Death!” to something other than America. Turns out, the country’s crusade for freedom isn’t nearly as useful to their 2020 hopes as painting Trump as a universally-hated warmonger — something these weekend demonstrations go a long way to disproving.
They poured out to the streets by the hundreds — all of them risking execution just for the opportunity to speak out. Oppressed and lied to for decades, angry Iranians snapped after the attack and cover-up of the downed commercial airliner. After days of insisting it didn’t shoot down the Ukrainian plane that plunged into the ground near Tehran, killing 176 people, Iran officials finally admitted Saturday that its military was responsible for the accident — prompting a fury of outrage inside — and outside — Tehran. Leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps apologized for mistakenly targeting Flight 752, but it was too late. The country had already erupted.
While Iranians dodged bullets and tear gas to challenge the regime, six thousand miles away, Democrats were dodging something else: public comment. Their silence was a start contrast to the president, who posted a series of messages in Farsi standing in solidarity with the protestors in Tehran. “To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I’ve stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely and are inspired by your courage… To the leaders of Iran — DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching.”
For the far-Left, the images of protestors were another significant political blow. As Michael Goodwin announced in the New York Post, all of this proves, once again, “The chicken littles got everything wrong on Trump and Iran.” In a matter of hours, the entire script had flipped, he exclaims, shredding “the claim that the Obama nuke deal was effective and confirm[ing] the wisdom of Trump’s decision to eliminate Soleimani. Contrasts between competing policies don’t get any sharper,” he writes. “Nor does the clarity of the result.” This, he insists was a “disaster for the Dem 2020 candidates. Their knee-jerk criticism of the Soleimani strike and embrace of Obama’s appeasement of Iran is another mark against them.”
As usual, the Democratic party is so focused on beating Trump that they’re missing the big picture of freedom for the Iranian people. While the citizens of Tehran put everything on the line to expose their leaders and get the world’s attention, America’s liberals — like Obama before them — have turned their backs. Journalist Yashar Ali, of Iranian decent, lashed out at the hypocrisy and opportunism in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) ranks, wondering — in a series of viral tweets — where all the Democrats, who had such “deep concern” for the future of Iran, had gone.
“Iranians are being used by certain people on the Left (I didn’t say all) as a tool to attack President Trump. But these same people don’t seem to care to… support their right to protest?” Ali asked. “It seems to me, the protests were inconvenient for some of these [Democrats] today. They were placing the blame on the Iranian leadership — who lied repeatedly about what happened… So it wasn’t worth it to bring attention to [the protestors] or support them?… These aren’t serious individuals… They aren’t interested in providing any semblance of moral clarity. They’re just obsessed with Trump.”
For Pelosi, who continued to insist on the Sunday talk shows that Trump escalated the situation unnecessarily, the optics of her party’s blackout are devastating. On one hand, the world is watching video of Iranians refusing to step on the American and Israeli flags — the ultimate defiance — and on the other, scores of American extremists, sitting on their hands during a democratic movement that could reshape the entire landscape of the Middle East. Where is the so-called “party of women” when the most decorated Iranian female athlete defects to the Netherlands, decrying the “oppression” of women in Iran? What happened to the siren calls for resistance?
Like the people in Tehran, who shout, “They are lying that our enemy is America!” Democrats are lying that our enemy is Trump. The president is the picture of peace through strength. And everyone in the world seems to understand the importance of that — except them.
Originally published here.
Grand Center Nation
Conservatives sometimes feel alone, but a new Gallup poll on the ideological balance of America shows they’re anything but! While the liberal media pumps out stories designed to keep us feeling isolated, the reality is, conservatives make up the biggest contingent in the U.S.
America, the survey house declares, “remained Center-Right, Ideologically, in 2019. After calling more than 29,000 adults, researchers were a little surprised to realize that not only was the country conservative, but the number had actually gone up! "The percentage identifying as conservative in 2019 was up two points from the 35 percent measured in 2018, while the percentage liberal was down two points from 26 percent.” These numbers, Gallup points out, do happen to be statistically significant — but will they stay at that level? Only time will tell.
Another interesting point, the report makes, is that while America as a whole is “Center-Right,” Republicans as a party are overwhelmingly conservative. That’s a major distinction from Democrats, who have a much tighter breakdown philosophically. “Liberals” (49 percent) still make up the bulk, but at 36 percent, “moderates” are a much larger share than the media (or candidates) give them credit for. Republicans, on the other hand, are completely lopsided. Seventy-three percent call themselves “conservative” versus just a 21 percent share of “moderates.”
Why does that matter? Well, for starters, it means that the national party is only speaking to half of its base. While the 2020 field drones on about open borders, infanticide, transgenderism, climate change, and so many other wildly extremist agendas, they’re only appealing to a narrow segment of voters.
When political strategists and heartland Democrats worry that Trump’s challengers have veered too far Left, this poll at least seems to suggest their fears are well-founded. In a party that already has an abortion problem, a socialism problem, a Green New Deal problem — so much more — Republicans aren’t the only ones looking at this crop of contenders and thinking: Isn’t anyone paying attention? Liberalism may be the majority position of candidates, but it’s a far cry from the values most Americans hold.
Originally published here.
Sermon on the Mound
It may be the off-season for baseball, but St. Louis Cardinals’ player Adam Wainwright is pitching something else: a Bible-reading plan for fans. The 38-year-old veteran, who just signed a 2020 contract with the team, is hoping people step up to the plate for a year-long trip through the Scriptures.
Wainwright, who’s lovingly known as Waino, announced the idea on Twitter. “Hey everybody. This won’t be for everyone, but it’s an important part of my life. Most of y'all probably just want to talk baseball, etc. BUT, if you want to read through the Bible with me In one year you can join my other twitter account… @walkingwwaino We’ll start Jan 12.” Before the plan kicked off on Sunday, Adam had more than 12,000 followers. He explained that it was a “is a cool opportunity for me to walk through God’s Word in community with you. It’s my prayer that this would be a blessing and a daily encouragement to you all. I can’t wait to start…!”
For Wainwright, he set foot on his spiritual journey almost 20 years ago when he decided to go to a conference in Dallas. As he told reporters later, he “really” didn’t want to be there but decided to go and “see what happens.” What happened was a complete life transformation. “During the night sermon, the pastor was preaching on the relationship that was meant to be with Jesus. And for whatever reason, God finally opened my ears and I bought in on the spot. As I was listening to him talk, it sunk in and it punched me right in the face, and it punched me so hard that I had to look around and make sure that I wasn’t talking to Jesus himself.” God, he said, “had me there for a reason… Everything in my life led to that conference.”
Today, he’s inviting others to share in that same passion. Of course, he joked, there’s some accountability that comes with it. When you lead a year-long Bible-reading plan, “you can’t miss a day,” Wainwright laughed.
Well, great minds must think alike, because at FRC, we’re also encouraging people to read through the Scriptures — but unlike Adam, we’re giving you two years to do it! It’s all part of our Stand on the Word initiative. Now, some of you might wonder: what’s a public policy organization in Washington, D.C. doing promoting the Bible? Well, first and foremost, we’re a Christian organization. That’s our foundation. And I believe that the foundation for all that we do, whether it be in our public policy work, our careers, our family, or entertainment — whatever we do we’re to do to the glory of God. And how do we do that unless we know what God has to say about these issues?
If you’ve not yet joined with us in this Stand on the Word two-year Bible study program, I encourage you to sign up! We’ve already seen how this has helped spark conversations in our family and even here at the office. Maybe you have a group of friends who want to experience God’s Word together. Either way, visit our website and sign up for daily readings and discussion questions. Follow our plan, follow Adam’s plan, just follow the plan — God’s — and start applying it to your life today!
Originally published here.
This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.
