The Patriot Post® · (Dis)Respecting Marriage

By Gary Bauer ·
https://patriotpost.us/opinion/92903-dis-respecting-marriage-2022-11-16

We’re a week past the elections and the radical left is wasting no time insulting men and women of faith and attacking our traditional values.

Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer Monday night filed a motion to bring the (Dis)Respect for Marriage Act to the Senate floor for a vote, which is expected to take place today.

The legislation would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and codify same-sex marriage into federal law.

There is talk of amendments to respect differing views, but talk is cheap. There is no doubt that additional federal legislation promoting same-sex marriage dramatically raises the risks that faith-based organizations and individuals already experience if they refuse to affirm or participate in same-sex weddings.

Justice Samuel Alito addressed these dangers when the Supreme Court took on the same-sex marriage issue in 2015. Lawyers for the federal government admitted that an organization’s tax-exempt status was “certainly going to be an issue” in the future.

If passed, the left will use this legislation as yet another cudgel against churches, religious schools and Christian business owners.

This extreme measure stalled in the Senate because there were not 60 votes to cut off debate and force a vote. To get 60 votes, Schumer would need 10 Republican senators to join all 50 Democrats in voting to advance the bill.

Action Item: Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard now at (202) 224-3121. Ask to be connected to your senator’s office. Tell the aide who answers that you expect your senator to vote “NO” on the so-called Respect for Marriage Act.

Biden Bows To Xi

There was a very important meeting Monday in Bali, Indonesia, between Joe Biden and Hunter Biden’s primary benefactor, Xi Jinping, the leader of communist China. This was a meeting with incredible implications for the United States. Tragically, there was no one actually representing America — you and me — at this meeting.

Premier Xi is totally committed to doing whatever he has to do to make communist China great again. That’s all that matters to him. If anyone told him that was an inappropriate goal, he would laugh them out of the room.

Biden, who pretends to represent us, gets up every day totally committed to climate change. So, Biden walked into the meeting and began talking about how China and America must work together to prevent global warming. It must have been hard for Xi and his colleagues to not break out in laughter.

The tone was set even before the meeting began. As Biden and Xi posed for pictures, an ABC News reporter asked Biden if he was going to bring up human rights in the talks. A member of the Chinese delegation knocked her to the ground.

That never would have happened if Donald Trump was president. So, why did the Chinese feel free to physically assault an American reporter in Biden’s presence? I think we all know the answer.

There was no joint statement issued after the meeting because Biden got nothing from Xi. There was nothing to announce because Biden didn’t bring up the ways communist China is hurting our country, and even killing Americans.

He did not bring up the deadly Chinese Fentanyl pouring over our open border killing tens of thousands of our children.

He did not bring up COVID, which killed one million Americans and cost us untold billions in economic losses because of China’s irresponsible virus research.

He did not bring up communist China’s slave labor or the oppression of the Chinese people.

Donald Trump was not afraid of confronting communist China, and making the case for freedom. He always put America first.

But because of Republican incompetence in this year’s elections, voters just empowered the buffoon we have as president for two more long years.

That’s what happens when you let the media browbeat you into thinking you can’t question cheating or you are the enemy of democracy. It’s cheating that is the enemy of democracy, not asking questions.

The real-life consequences of last Tuesday’s failures are not who gets to lead the Senate or who is the next speaker of the House. The real-life consequences are dead Americans, a less safe country and a less safe world as communist China challenges an America led by a weak, compromised president.

But the GOP establishment is far more interested in stopping Donald Trump than it is in stopping Xi Jinping. I understand why the Chamber of Commerce wants to stop Trump. Its members are getting rich off communist China, just like Joe Biden.

What’s 100,000 dead Americans compared to a fatter bottom line? Only a bunch of funerals that none of these woke CEOs will ever have to attend.

Where’s The Outrage?

The Red trickle is now just one seat away from securing the House majority. But there are still multiple seats where only 60% of the vote has been counted.

Meanwhile, we just allowed the governorship of Arizona, a critical swing state, to be stolen from us, and we are too afraid to lash out against the absurdities that happened in Maricopa County.

Where is the chairman of the Republican National Committee today? I hear she is more concerned about securing her own seat at the RNC for another term. Why have we not seen a press conference from her lately?

Arizona officials made their voices heard. Where were the GOP leaders in Washington expressing their outrage that Maricopa County screwed up another election? What a coincidence that fate once again worked against Republicans and thousands of people were denied their right to vote.

Where is the GOP outrage?

And how do they think they’re going to do better next time? How are they going to get the vote out when more and more conservatives give up in frustration? How many times are they going to ask for money only to berate conservative candidates and then expect conservative voters to dutifully turn out?

It’s Not Trump’s Fault

Whatever you think about Donald Trump, whether you think he should or should not be the nominee in 2024, the people in the party establishment attacking him are actually attacking you whether you realize it or not.

When they say that Trump gave us bad candidates, they’re really saying you gave us bad candidates. Trump didn’t pick Dr. Oz. The Republican voters of Pennsylvania did. Trump didn’t pick Kari Lake. The Republican voters of Arizona did.

So, establishment leaders are just not attacking him, they’re also attacking you.

They’re mad that you didn’t pick the weak moderates they like, such as Lisa Murkowski who often doesn’t support us on key votes.

I don’t know how many times the GOP has to learn that there are not enough country club members to win national elections!

Blaming Trump exposes just how feckless the national Republican Party is.

Think about this, my friends. Trump was on the ballot in 2016 and Republicans lost six House seats. He wasn’t on the ballot in 2018, and they lost 43 seats. Trump was on the ballot in 2020 and Republicans won 14 House seats. He wasn’t on the ballot this year and so far Republicans have won eight seats.

By my math, House Republicans won a total of eight seats when Trump was on the ballot and lost a total of 34 seats when he was off the ballot. It’s clear to me that Republicans do better with Trump on the ballot than off the ballot.

Now tell me again who can’t pick candidates and who is messing up elections. It’s not Trump.

We Need Accountability

Senator Ted Cruz said Monday it made no sense to rush the party leadership elections before the Georgia runoff and to not make any attempt at accountability. He was joined by Senator Marco Rubio who said there shouldn’t be a leadership vote until we figured out why 2022 was such a failure. Sen. Josh Hawley said the old Republican Party is dead.

There is every sign Senate Republicans are going to push on, but at least it will be a real race. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida announced that he will challenge Mitch McConnell to be the Senate Republican Leader.

Yesterday, the House GOP caucus held its vote. As expected, Kevin McCarthy won this vote. Keep in mind this was just a vote of the GOP caucus, and more than 30 Republicans opposed McCarthy. He may not be able to win the January vote for speaker.

Now, let me address the coverage from some leading conservative media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Fox News and the New York Post.

They are owned by the Murdoch family, which was a major force in the British Tory Party. They destroyed that party. The Tories became fearful of crossing the Murdochs, so they crossed their own voters.

After that “great success,” the Murdochs thought they would try the same strategy here in the United States. Trust me, it won’t work out any better.

Sadly, they are all in on the establishment effort to destroy Donald Trump. But here’s what no one is thinking about: What is the plan to keep all of Trump’s voters while getting rid of Donald Trump?

Let me remind you that Trump brought 11 million working class voters to the Republican Party from 2016 to 2020. Do you think that these voters will stay with the GOP for a typical Romney/McCain corporate candidate? I don’t.