Plus, Children At Risk   Fighting For Faith, Family & Freedom Tuesday, May 30, 2023 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer The Debt Limit Deal After a couple of weeks of hard negotiating, President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy came to an agreement over the Memorial Day weekend on raising the debt limit. Serious members of the Freedom Caucus and many of the best conservatives in Congress are upset by this deal. Last week, I joined with dozens of conservative leaders and organizations urging support for Speaker McCarthy’s original bill – the Limit, Save, Grow Act. Today, I agree with those who feel this deal misses the mark for a variety of reasons. For example, it does nothing to secure the border. It claws back only a small fraction of the $80 billion Democrats gave to the IRS. It’s hard to see how getting back $1.4 billion out of $80 billion is a “compromise.” In Washington, that’s a rounding error that won’t be missed. Many conservatives are saying this is a defining moment for the GOP. I agree. For years, the party has tried its best to avoid values issues while assuring us it was the party of fiscal responsibility. Well, if this deal is the best example of the GOP’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, I’m not impressed. I am also disturbed by how quickly Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and the GOP donor class were to embrace this deal. Already, there’s a major ad campaign running to convince us that it is some kind of big victory. Where’s the ad campaign on the border, which has been an ongoing disaster ever since Biden took office? Oh, that’s right – the GOP donor class supports open borders. I realize the difficult position Speaker McCarthy is in. A thin four-vote majority in the House isn’t much of a weapon to threaten the White House and the Democrat Senate with. For months, Biden repeatedly refused to negotiate at all. He demanded what he called a “clean” bill to raise the debt limit, meaning no concessions at all on spending. He didn’t get it. But I believe the speaker could have done better. Polling showed the public overwhelmingly agreed that spending must be restrained. Democrats are divided, too. Far-left progressives are furious that any concessions were made, particularly on work requirements for food stamps. It’s telling that they want to completely separate the idea of work and income. This isn’t Bill Clinton’s party anymore, and it shows just how insane the left has become. Some analysts believe dozens of Republicans may oppose the deal. But it could still pass if Biden can get enough Democrats to support it. We’ll see what happens, and we will keep you informed. Taking On Target The Target saga continues and it’s starting to take on a life of its own. The Bud Light and Target controversies appear to indicate that the public’s level of anger and frustration at having the LGBTQ agenda shoved down our throats and aimed at our children has reached new levels. Boycotts like this are very hard to sustain. New controversies arise and people move on. When someone says, “I’ll never drink Bud Light or shop at Target again,” it’s often a difficult promise to keep or a fleeting promise made at the height of emotion. But here’s a goal that every Target customer who shares our values can legitimately achieve: Do not shop at Target during June “Pride Month.” Don’t give them a dime. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I can’t think of a more powerful message to send to Target for dedicating an entire month to celebrating the private bedroom behaviors of the LGBTQ movement. How did the country get to the point where everyone is compelled to show “pride” in the LGBTQ agenda? What is it exactly that we’re supposed to be celebrating? Pride is considered a sin. I’ve often wondered what the reaction of corporate America and the Hollywood crowd would be if we declared December to be “Christian Pride Month” and demanded that everyone join in. I think we know what the reaction would be. By the way, did you see all the companies who were almost apologizing for Mother’s Day and offering opportunities to “opt out” of their Mother’s Day marketing? Will any corporation allow us to “opt out” of its Pride month messaging? I’m not holding my breath. The Left’s Assault On Normalcy Let’s look at the two sides of the Target controversy because it’s a useful exercise to see the filter that these controversies are put through. Since 2016, Target has had an inclusive bathroom policy. That means men who pretend to be women can go into the bathroom your wife and daughter might be using. Target employees have name tags that can display the pronouns they insist you must use when addressing them. (That’s reason enough not to shop there!) Customers who have gone into Target recently have found LGBTQ books aimed at children. All of the things I just mentioned are overwhelmingly opposed by most Americans. This moral insanity would have been unthinkable just a few years ago! On the other side of the controversy are Target’s customers. A wide variety of people shop at Target stores, but a major demographic is suburban moms. Many of them were offended by seeing satanic-themed transgender clothing on display. They are legitimately concerned about their children being deceived by the LGBTQ propaganda machine. They don’t want to share bathrooms with men. These are normal instincts and reactions to the outrageous things happening at Target. But if you listen to the media coverage of this controversy, what you learn is that a wonderful company led by a progressive CEO is trying to be welcoming and affirming to every individual possible. Yet the company is suddenly being attacked by “right-wing Christian nationalists” who are threatening Target’s employees and endangering innocent people. In fact, the CEO of Target, even after realizing he needed to pull back on the satanic transgender clothing line, essentially doubled down and pledged his fealty to the LGBTQ mafia “not just during Pride Month, but each and every day.” This is the left’s playbook. When a conservative goes to a university campus and promotes the ideas and values held by half the country, liberals scream and demand counseling. The administration caves and says the conservative comments will lead to violence, so the speech must be censored. Do you see the game plan here? Your normalcy is dangerous. The people defending normalcy must be isolated, canceled and censored. Over-the-top left-wing cultural insanity is the “new normal” and it must be embraced without opposition. And, by the way, they’re after your kids. (See next item.) Children At Risk We told you last week about the troubling children’s carnival in Indianapolis scheduled by LGBTQ groups that banned parents from attending. But the definition of “children” goes all the way up to 20. So, adult homosexuals and transexuals will be having a fun day with kids with no parental supervision. Gee, what could possibly go wrong?! We can’t deny what is happening before our eyes. There is a major campaign underway to recruit America’s children into this lifestyle, and it is getting more and more bizarre with each passing day. Drag queens never crossed my mind until they started insisting that they read books to little children. Here’s another example. Parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, are suing the school board after they discovered that LGBTQ-themed books were introduced into elementary schools without any notification to parents. They include books like “Born Ready,” which is aimed at normalizing transgenderism, and “Pride Puppy,” which is aimed at three to five year-olds. (Even our pets aren’t safe from this insanity!) On any given day, dozens of these controversies are raging all over the country. I commend conservatives who are speaking out and fighting these battles. But this must be a bigger part of our agenda. If we lose this battle over normalcy and the battle over our children, marginal tax rates and trade policies won’t matter. MAKE YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION NOW SHARE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations to American Values are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. 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