Plus, tune in to Family Talk.   Fighting For Faith, Family & Freedom Wednesday, September 25, 2024 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer Another Flip-Flop Kamala Harris has changed positions on so many issues, it’s difficult to keep track. Well, her latest flip-flop may be the most consequential. The United States Senate is a unique institution because its rules allow for extended debate on most issues. This is meant to ensure that all sides are heard and all ideas are considered as legislation becomes law. That’s why the Senate is often called “the world’s most deliberative body.” It’s also what makes the Senate very different from the House of Representatives, where the majority rules with an iron fist. Under Senate rules, it takes a supermajority of 60 votes to end debate. That’s intentional. It is meant to prevent one side from ramming through radical policies in a closely divided country. The extended debate rule requires compromise to reach 60 votes so legislation can pass. Our Founding Fathers designed the Senate to be a check on the passions of the moment. For example, while the entire House of Representatives is up for reelection every two years, only one-third of the Senate is up for reelection every two years. Theoretically, every single House member could be voted out of office at once, but only one-third of senators can be voted out in the same election. The unique structure of the Senate is one of the pillars protecting our constitutional Republic. In 2017, Kamala Harris signed a letter supporting the Senate’s extended debate rule and urging the leadership to preserve it. Yesterday, in an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio, Harris made it clear that she wants that rule eliminated so she can pass a national abortion law that would repeal every pro-life state law. Many commentators and pundits often complain that the “extremes on both sides” are driving the debate and our politics. Eliminating the Senate rule on extended debate virtually guarantees more extreme debates and partisanship. Rules For Radicals Neo-Marxist radicals committed to transforming America operate by one simple rule: There are no rules. They will bend and break any law, any rule, and any tradition to advance their radical agenda. While conservatives care about consistency, procedure, and the rule of law, nothing constrains the left. Some commentators say we should allow a one-time exception to the extended debate rules to pass a national abortion law codifying Roe v. Wade. But once that tradition is broken, the precedent has been set and it will be broken again and again and again. This isn’t the first time someone has suggested eliminating the rule on extended debate. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren wants to repeal the rule in order to pass social justice legislation. Others want to do it to pass the Green New Deal. And there is no limit to what the neo-Marxist left could do with just 51 votes. They could: Gut the Second Amendment, taking away your right to defend your family. Pack the Supreme Court. Create new states, adding more progressive senators. Pass an amnesty for illegal aliens, creating millions of new voters. Abolish the Electoral College. Nationalize all election laws and repeal every state voter ID law. Force transgender insanity on our schools and force taxpayers to subsidize sex change operations for children. Pass “hate speech” laws, restricting free speech and religious liberty. Force everyone to buy expensive electric vehicles. Restrict what foods you can eat. This isn’t hyperbolic rhetoric or hypothetical concerns. While the media hyperventilates over Project 2025, leftists have pushed every single one of those radical ideas and more. Secret Service Scandal The Senate Homeland Security Committee released its report on the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt that nearly killed former President Donald Trump. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the committee, blasted the bureaucratic incompetence of the Secret Service, saying its many missteps and failures were “shocking, unacceptable, and preventable.” Among those missteps and failures were: The Secret Service failed to secure the building the shooter was on. A counter sniper saw local law enforcement running with guns drawn but failed to relay that to Trump’s personal detail so they could get him off the stage. Agents used email, not radios or text messaging, to communicate. Unexplained denials to requests for additional personnel and resources (drones). The Secret Service agent responsible for the one drone onsite had limited experience and called a toll free 800 support line for help. No one appeared to be in charge. Advance agents denied responsibility for planning and security. Some agents reportedly contradicted each other and gave different answers from local law enforcement to simple factual questions. So, the 20 year-old shooter flew a drone over the site, but our elite Secret Service couldn’t. They couldn’t communicate properly, and they couldn’t secure a building that was identified as an obvious security concern. You can’t make this up. Either they couldn’t or they wouldn’t do their job of protecting Donald Trump. The extent of these failures strongly suggests malicious intent. The Threat From Tehran Yesterday, Donald Trump was briefed by intelligence officials about the “real and specific threats” by Iran to assassinate him. This is not speculation. There are Iranian assassination squads in America trying to kill the former president. In fact, the day before the Butler rally, a Pakistani man linked to Iran was arrested in New York for plotting to assassinate U.S. leaders. So, Trump is finally briefed on the Iranian threats in the same week that the Biden administration allowed the Iranian president to come to the United States to give a speech at the United Nations. A foreign government attempting to kill a former president is an act of war. I’m not suggesting that we go to war. But surely you don’t allow the president of that enemy regime to give speeches in your own country and be guarded by American security agencies while he is plotting to kill the opposition leader of the current administration. Strength & Courage Let’s try a little thought experiment. Try to imagine a high-profile person experiencing the following events in their life: A foreign country wants to kill them. Two assassins have gotten very close. Millions of people either believe or aren’t sure if the country would be better off if the assassination attempts had succeeded. The current administration repeatedly calls him a “threat to democracy.” A high-ranking government official says, “Let’s extinguish him for good.” The people responsible for protecting this individual make a series of “mistakes” that defies the odds. A powerful government agency, which regularly refuses to cooperate with congressional investigations, suddenly decides to be transparent by releasing a letter in which a wannabe assassin offers a $150,000 bounty to anyone who can “finish the job” he failed to do. Virtually anyone in that position would say, “I’m done. I have a lovely wife and family. I can go anywhere I want. I’m going to be just fine.” And who could blame them? Yet, they keep fighting day after day for the cause they believe in. That person would have an incredible combination of true grit and stubbornness, of strength and courage. Many might say that such an individual would be the ideal person to lead a divided and struggling nation. Letter To The American Church Please join the James Dobson Family Institute for an exclusive live screening of Eric Metaxas’s new film, Letter to the American Church, tomorrow, September 26th, at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time. A thought-provoking Q&A session with the producers will take place following the movie. (American Values, is one of the cosponsors of the film.) This is a tremendous opportunity to gain deeper insights into the critical issues confronting Christians and our country today. Space for this exclusive event is limited, so reserve your spot now! Tune In To Family Talk Please tune in to Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk radio show. On today’s broadcast, I conclude my critical discussion with former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann about the biblical answer to the question, “How should I vote?” Find station listings here. Listen online here. 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