Hegseth Takes The Hill & Plants The Flag
Senate confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees began today. Some will sail through. But it is clear that Democrats will try to destroy those nominees who they fear will most aggressively push for reform.
At the top of their “hit list” is Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense. There has been a horrible smear campaign directed against Hegseth. And judging from some of the text messages I have gotten, it has been effective even with some Christians.
Pete is a Christian. Like us, he is a forgiven sinner. His life is directed by our Lord and Savior. He made that clear in his opening statement before the Armed Services Committee when he unashamedly declared:
“As Jenny and I prayed together every morning, all glory -- regardless of the outcome -- belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abound each day. May His will be done.”
He reiterated his strong faith in response to a question from Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the committee, who asked Hegseth to address some of the accusations against him. He replied:
“I’m not a perfect person, as has been acknowledged. Saved by the grace of God by Jesus and Jenny [his wife] . . . But redemption is real.”
At one point in today’s hearing, Hegseth was asked about the “extremist tattoo” that got him kicked off a National Guard deployment. He said that the tattoo is a Jerusalem Cross, the same Jerusalem Cross that was printed on the programs handed out at Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
But to some left-wing religious bigots, that makes Hegseth a “dangerous Christian nationalist.”
Hegseth’s opening statement was interrupted several times by crazy Code Pink leftists who accused him of being a “Christian Zionist.” Sen. Tom Cotton asked Hegseth to respond to the charge. He replied, “I am a Christian, and I robustly support the state of Israel in its existential defense . . . I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.”
AMEN to that!
A Change Agent
Hegseth directly addressed the uniqueness of his nomination by acknowledging that he does not have a biography similar to that of recent defense secretaries. He then added:
“But, as President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly ‘the right credentials’ -- whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives -- and where has it gotten us?
“He believes . . . that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives. My only special interest is -- the warfighter. . . We let them win and then bring them home.”
Hegseth also laid out his vision for our military and national defense. He said:
“The Defense Department under Donald Trump will achieve peace through strength. Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. . . Our standards will be high, and they will be equal, not equitable. That’s a very different word. . .
“Every general or flag officer [will be] selected for leadership or promotion purely based on performance, readiness, and merit. . . Warfighting and lethality -- and the readiness of our troops and their families -- will be our only focus.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan asked Hegseth about some of the left-wing agendas that have infiltrated the military. Hegseth assured the senator that under his leadership, top Pentagon officials will not be focused on fighting climate change but will instead be focused on fighting our enemies.
When asked about the effect of eliminating woke policies in the military, without any hesitation, Hegseth said, “I know the troops will rejoice. They will love it.”
Hegseth Takes Heavy Fire
As expected, Pete Hegseth took heavy fire from the committee’s Democrats. They immediately went on the attack, bombarding Hegseth with wild accusations and disgusting smears.
The politics of personal destruction is their only strategy. Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer ordered his minions to tear into Trump’s nominees in order to embarrass them and Donald Trump.
Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, launched the attacks by insinuating that Hegseth was a racist. Reed deliberately conflated Hegseth’s opposition to leftist DEI policies in the military with decades-old desegregation policies from the 1940s. Hegseth said he opposed divisive DEI policies that undermine merit.
Several Democrats attacked Hegseth for his opposition to women in combat. Hegseth responded that what he is opposed to is lowering performance standards to satisfy leftist agendas and quotas.
Some of the most obnoxious accusations came from Senators Richard Blumenthal, Tim Kaine, and Elizabeth Warren. They have no shame.
Blumenthal lied about his military service. That’s called “stolen valor.” Warren lied about her ethnicity. That’s “stolen heritage.” These liars have no business sitting in judgment of Hegseth, a hero who actually fought in combat.
Kaine insinuated that Hegseth’s character was immoral and that he was guilty of spousal abuse. What disgusting slander!
The senators making these charges aggressively support teaching elementary school age children all about LGBTQ sex. Their party is obsessed with death and perversion.
If Senator Kaine is so worried about violence against women, he should oppose the violence against baby girls destroyed through abortion. He should oppose mutilating young girls through insane transgender surgeries that cut off their breasts.
And kudos to Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who threw the Democrats’ gross hypocrisy back in their faces!
ACTION ITEM: Call your senators now at 202-224-3121. Tell them to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.
Liberalism Kills
The impression that we’re getting from the media is that southern California is suffering from extreme global warming and high winds. Rep. Tom McClintock published an excellent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal that adds some desperately needed context to this debate and puts the climate hysteria in its place.
For example, McClintock noted that for most of California’s history, fires destroyed more than 4 million acres of land every year. Thanks to modern land management and fire suppression efforts, the annual devastation caused by wildfires plunged to just 250,000 acres by the end of the 20th century.
In other words, the situation got better as we got smarter.
But that trend began to reverse in recent years. From 2019 to 2023, fires burned an average of 1.5 million acres a year. In 2020, 4.3 million acres were scorched by wildfires. In other words, when the left took total control of the state, policies got dumber, putting lives at risk.
And here’s something else that leftist politicians and their media allies won’t tell you: 95% of California fires are caused by people, not climate change. The left is lying, and people are dying.
Hate On The Rise
Later this month, we will observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day. However, it is clear that we desperately need more than one day of education and reflection.
The Anti-Defamation League just released the results of a deeply disturbing study on antisemitic attitudes around the world. The ADL surveyed more than 58,000 people in more than 100 countries.
The survey found that 20% of people around the world have never heard about the Holocaust, and only 39% of those ages 18 to 34 recognize the historical accuracy of the Holocaust.
Not surprisingly, antisemitism permeates the Middle East. The ADL found that 76% of Arabs and Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa believe “six or more of 11 negative stereotypes about Jews.” Antisemitic views are held by 97% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, the territories many misguided individuals would turn into a state.
The ADL study found that 23% of people worldwide have a favorable opinion of Hamas. That figure shoots up to 29% among those 18 to 34.
Antisemitism is bigotry. It is evil, and it is a sin.
Christians must stand up and speak out against this raw hatred that is festering in our big cities and on our college campuses. And we must demand that our political leaders enact policies that ensure we are not importing this hatred into our country.