Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
The Unnecessary and Unconstitutional John Lewis Voting
Rights Advancement Act <[link removed]> – It is easier to register and vote today than at any other time in America’s history. The permanent, nationwide provisions of the Voting Rights Act, such as Section 2 and Section 3, are more than adequate to protect voting rights in those rare instances where discrimination does occur. There is no need to bring back the preclearance provisions of Section 5 or to implement a new, vastly expanded Section 5. There is no longer any justification for giving the federal government the ability to veto the election laws and regulations that citizens and their elected representatives choose to implement in their respective states. H.R. 4 is a federal power grab designed to thwart election reform and manipulate state redistricting decisions. Heritage expert: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>
No One Knows Full Extent of Election Fraud. That’s Why We Track It. <[link removed]> – In “Thanks to Kobach, Trump and conservative think tank, we know extent of voter fraud,” Kansas City Star columnist Charles Hammer on May 20 wrote that The Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud Database has 1,322 proven instances of election
fraud, including 17 cases from Missouri. That, he said, is “measly” compared with the number of registered voters. While we appreciate his drawing the public’s attention to our database (now up to 1,328 cases), Hammer left out some vital information. Significantly, he omitted the fact that, as prominently stated in its introduction, the database presents a “sampling” of election fraud cases and “is intended to highlight cases of proven fraud and the many ways in which fraud has been committed.” Heritage experts: John Malcolm <[link removed]> and Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>
Revived 1776 Commission Slams Biden Incentive to Teach Critical Race Theory <[link removed]> – We are concerned that the U.S. Department of Education’s Proposed Rule defining priorities for the American History and Civics Education programs, whether as Critical Race Theory or under the misleading name of “anti-racism,” actually encourages and seeks to direct federal funds to the teaching of racial discrimination in America’s elementary and secondary school systems. This Proposed Rule should be withdrawn, and individual states should oppose any such race-based pedagogy as part of their curricula, especially if that curricula is imposed by the federal government. The Constitution leaves education to the states and localities and denies the federal government any authority to impose national curriculum standards. The federal government should not circumvent this obstacle by using federal funding to entice states and localities to adopt what it wants taught in the nation’s schools. We learned from the failed Common Core experiment that one-size-fits-all national models are a blueprint for trivializing and mechanizing learning. Heritage expert: Mike Gonzalez <[link removed]>
The woke mob comes for Lincoln <[link removed]> – Lincoln’s charge is emblazoned on VA’s headquarters building and its hospital walls. And thanks to a 2020 initiative, plaques with these words are slated to be placed in VA cemeteries across the country to remind Americans of the speech Fredrick Douglass called, “the sacred effort.” The message is simple. America is a creedal nation founded on the universal ideals of human freedom and individual dignity. That creed has been defended by 41 million Americans who have worn the uniform since the first shots were fired on Lexington Green in April 1775. Sadly, there are some who are bound and determined to “escape history.” Legislation is moving through the House and is on offer in the Senate to put Mr. Lincoln’s words on the chopping block. And there is little doubt that, if it lands on President Biden’s desk, he will sign it. The woke tide engulfing America is now taking aim at America’s warriors. Those who today loudly argue that Lincoln’s words are non-inclusive and sexist are the same who said nothing as the Obama-Biden administration left VA in tatters. Heritage expert: Robert Wilkie <[link removed]>
Biden’s Hypocrisy on Keystone XL vs. Nord Stream 2 Pipelines <[link removed]> – Biden on Wednesday waived sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, the subsidiary of Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy company, building the pipeline; the company’s CEO; and corporate officers, all using a “national
interest” waiver. The waivers marked a confusing about-face from statements by Biden that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a “bad deal” for Europe, and by Secretary of State Antony Blinken that there was “no ambiguity” in U.S. opposition toward it. If completed, the natural gas pipeline would run from northwestern Russia to northern Germany and be operated by Gazprom. Russia currently supplies 45% of the European Union’s natural gas imports. Completing Nord Stream 2 is neither
economically necessary nor geopolitically prudent. It would increase European dependence on Russian gas, magnify Russia’s ability to use its European energy dominance as a political trump card, calcify the divisions in Europe over energy that Nord Stream 2 has opened, and specifically undermine U.S. allies in Eastern Europe and central Europe. Heritage expert: Katie Tubb <[link removed]>
Should the Beijing Olympics Be Moved? <[link removed]> – An athlete boycott a la 1980 would serve little purpose and affect the athletes far more than anything else. But making noise about a boycott—on both sides of the Atlantic—combined with a concerted effort to move the Olympics would seriously unsettle Beijing, even if the effort failed. Further, it would establish the precedent for a broad diplomatic boycott (where public officials refused to attend) and commercial sponsorship boycott of the Olympics… and that would really send an important message to Beijing and the world. Heritage expert: Jim
Carafano <[link removed]>
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