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As tensions continue to mount across the globe, Tony Perkins explores the potential consequences that the U.S. elections hold for international stability, particularly in the volatile Middle East. Joined by expert guests such as retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin, the discussion covers how changes in leadership might influence ongoing geopolitical dynamics, including the delicate balance of power between nations like Iran and Israel. This episode provides an insightful perspective into the far-reaching effects of American policies and leadership on global crises.
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
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I will defend religious liberty, I will restore free speech, and I will defend the right to keep and bear arms, our Second Amendment.
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Ours is a fight for freedom, including the most fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.
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Two fundamentally different views of freedom. That was former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, each making their final appeals to voters yesterday. Welcome to this special Election Day edition of Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins. Tonight at 8.30 p.m. Eastern Time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and I will have live election night coverage on PrayVoteStand Decision 2024. You can join us through the StandFirm app or the RealLife Network app. To get a link, simply text APP, that’s A-P-P, to 67742, 67742, and I’ll send you a link. In just a moment, we’ll get an election update from FRC Actions Director Matt Carpenter. If you haven’t voted yet, there’s still time. We’ve made it easy for you with our voter toolkit, so just text the word TOOLKIT to that same number, 67742. That’s TOOLKIT, one word, to 67742, and you’ll have everything you need to run down the street to the voting… Booth and cast your vote. All right. The RNC is actively working on election integrity. In fact, they secured a favorable ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court on absentee ballots.
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Georgia Supreme Court had a ruling and every voter needs to return those no later than 7 p.m. If they can’t get to the. election office for Cobb County, then they can show up at their precinct and they can then, you know, nullify their absentee ballot and then they can vote in person. So there’s a process in place.
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That was the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, earlier today. We’ll discuss this with Josh McCoon, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. And a House committee, the House Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, has announced an oversight investigation into a multimillion-dollar taxpayer-funded study that was funded by the National Institutes of Health into the effects of puberty blockers for transgender youth. Well, the report has been hidden from the public because the principal researcher did not like the results. Congressman Glenn Grothman, a member of the committee, will join us with more. Finally, amid escalating tensions, Iran is once again threatening retaliation toward Israel. We would certainly respond to the Israeli aggression in a proper time and in a proper manner in a very measured and well-calculated manner. That was Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aranchi speaking alongside Pakistan’s Foreign Minister. Could this conflict risk further destabilizing the Middle East and endangering Israel, especially as we look at this time between the election and a new administration taking office? FRC’s Executive Vice President, retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin, will join us for that discussion. And again, I invite you to join Pastor Jack Hibbs and I for the PrayVote Stand Decision 2024 tonight, beginning at 8.30 p.m. Eastern Time. You can join us on the Stand Firm app, text APP to 67742, and I will send you a link. Now, for an update on what’s been happening across the country today at the polls and for a preview of tonight’s coverage, FRC Action Director Matt Carpenter joins us from the 2024 Decision Desk in the FRC Media Center. Matt, thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 16 :
Hey, Tony, thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, so what’s it looking like? Let’s start off with kind of a brief summary of how the turnout is looking like so far today.
SPEAKER 16 :
That’s right, Tony. We’re looking at very robust turnout. In some states, you’ve got as much as 50% of the expected vote already in the bank from the early voting period. We have seen elevated participation, particularly with in-person voting for states that allow that option. Generally across the board, you’re looking at mail-in voting has dropped precipitously in some states, down slightly in other states across the board. of worry potentially for Democrat campaigns. A lot of that is because urban areas are not turning out in the same numbers that they were in 2020.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s very interesting when you look at the uptick in early voting has been in the rural areas and it’s been a decrease in the urban areas. And the urban areas are not generally known to vote on election day. This could spell trouble for Democrats.
SPEAKER 16 :
It could, Tony. And we’re looking at some of the early election day results coming in from Maricopa County in Arizona specifically. This is a state that features prominently not just at the presidential level, but at the congressional level as well. You’ve got a key Senate race there. You’ve got multiple toss-up and competitive House races there as well. You’ve also got a pro-abortion ballot measure up there for Arizona voters to decide on. In Maricopa County, the largest county in Arizona, where 60% of the vote for the entire election is anticipated to come from, Democrats are turning out below independents and Republicans right now. So Democrat campaigns have some work to do.
SPEAKER 05 :
That has to be very discouraging for them, given the fact that, again, they rely very heavily upon historically, that is, rely upon early voting. So give us a little summary of how the election results are going to come in tonight as we track them on pre-vote stand election 2024.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I would be happy to. Tony, I’ve got here with me a map of all the times in which the polls will close. In just a few minutes, at 6 o’clock, Indiana and Kentucky will close. And then you’ve got this additional tranche of states that end at 7 o’clock. On the East Coast, we’re going to look at results coming in. I’m going to be paying attention to Florida, quite frankly. There’s a lot of microcosms within the state of Florida that can tell you a lot about how the larger electorate is going to be performing later on tonight. But obviously, you’ve got important states like Georgia, which are going to come in at 7 PM, and Virginia as well. You’ve got a Senate race in Virginia that’s going to be close. You’ve got several congressional races in Virginia as well that are close. of note in georgia i’ll say specifically tony they changed their election law in 2020 you remember it dragged out the results for days on end they changed those laws so now they’ll be reporting election or early day voting much sooner in the night i anticipate we’ll know what the results were in georgia you know by 10 o’clock let’s say maybe maybe maybe even sooner so a large chunk of the vote we’re going to know pretty early on election night it won’t be like 2020.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. So we know that the presidential race is going to be competitive, or at least we think so, based upon the polling that we’ve seen and heard. What other races are going to be competitive that are significant across the country?
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, so there are several Senate races that are going to decide who controls that upper chamber. You’ve got a race in Virginia that’s worth paying attention to, also Pennsylvania, Ohio. A lot is going to ride on Ohio. That scene is probably the most likely to flip into the Republicans’ column. This is a state that’s trended to the right since 2020, and Democrat incumbent Sherrod Brown has been lagging in the polls there. So we’re going to be paying close attention to Ohio when polls close there at 7.30 p.m., But you’ve also got key Senate races in places like Michigan, where Debbie Stabenow, the Democrat incumbent, has stepped down. So now you’ve got an open seat there. Both Democrats and Republicans hope to pick up that one. Wisconsin Democrat incumbent Senator Tammy Baldwin is in a very close race against Republican Eric Hovde. Each one of those states I mentioned also has a key close, toss-up, lean, however you want to count it, races for the House as well. So the path to the presidency, it looks a lot like the path to the congressional majorities as well.
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And folks, I just want to remind you, as Matt just went through the map, there is still time to go and vote in most places across the country. The polls have not yet closed. Maybe you’re on your way home from work and you’ve not voted. I would strongly encourage you to vote. Do not be swayed one way or the other from what you’re hearing about returns. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you vote, you cast your vote, and vote for the individuals, the candidates who are most closely aligned to biblical truth. And we have the resources to help you do that work. Simply text the word toolkit. That’s one word toolkit to 67742. And I’ll send you a link and you’ll have it right there. In fact, you can put in your zip code and you’ll get a personalized voter guide on your way to the polls to vote. Now, Matt, we talked about the early voting. which almost, I think we’re reaching, I think the final numbers I saw were close to 80 million early votes were cast. That’s nearly half of all the ballots that were cast in 2020. So that’s quite significant. What other things are we seeing different in this election cycle compared to the last presidential cycle?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, Tony, in 2020, you’ll recall the Democrats had banked significant firewalls is kind of the term that’s being used going into Election Day so that Republicans had to then overcome this large deficit of Democrat votes that had been banked early. That plan is not kind of playing out, unfortunately, for the Democrat campaigns. You look at a place like Arizona, where Republicans are actually leading in the early vote total, right? Republicans in Arizona have a history of voting early, but in 2020, that wasn’t the case. Democrats had actually banked a significant firewall going into Election Day on a state like Pennsylvania. famously not a great opportunity for Republicans to vote early there. Democrats had a 1.1 million firewall vote banked in Pennsylvania going into election day. It’s looking more like 400,000 votes this time. Georgia, you see similar numbers of early votes in general, but you see a precipitous drop in the participation of mail-in voting and a sky-high involvement among early in-person voting. That tends to favor Republicans, frankly. Another state is Nevada, the one that people are paying a lot of close attention to. This is a Democrat machine state. Think of Harry Reid, who dominated that state for years, and all the unions that are involved out there in the Silver State. Democrats have typically done very well in the early voting, Believe it or not, Republicans are actually leading there as well. And maybe the best sign for Republicans tonight is North Carolina. That’s a key state, not just at the presidential level, but they’ve got a governor’s race there and there’s several House races there as well. Republicans are actually leading the early vote in North Carolina. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know in 2020, we haven’t mentioned it, but COVID was a big deal. We had lockdowns. We had a lot of outside money coming into both into like you mentioned, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. There was money coming in to subsidize poll workers and those who actually went out to houses and collected ballots. I know it’s speculative to ask this, but, you know, what kind of impact The absence of that, what kind of impact do you think that’s having on the democratic early vote?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I think frankly, you mentioned kind of the third party groups getting involved and sort of co-opting in essence, Tony, the work of election administration in the precinct level to cure ballots, to encourage people of a certain demographic to vote, for example. That’s not played out this election. Many states took the opportunity after the 2020 election to actually prohibit that activity this election. So we’re not likely to see that shenanigans at least happen officially. I don’t know if it’s happening unofficially, but that’s not really been the story of this election, at least not in early voting so far.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, it looks like Republicans who were reluctant to do so, of course, we encouraged them to vote early. I voted early. We encouraged people to vote early. It looks like Republicans took that advice and did vote early. So now, even though we prefer to have election on Election Day, that was the laws that many states adopted. Now I think maybe the left will want to change it and go back to Election Day since it didn’t work for them. But we’ll see. All right, Matt Carpenter, stand by because we’ll be back at 830 for election 2024. Thanks for joining us. Thanks, Tony. All right. Coming up, I’ll be joined by the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, which scored a victory for election integrity yesterday. And this is this is encouraging because this has been happening across the country. This is one of the things the RNC has been doing is going into court and making sure that the laws are being applied correctly. the way they should be. So we’ve got some good news ahead. All right, don’t go away. We’re back with more Washington Watch right after this.
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Election night is almost here. Join FRC and Real Life Network for exclusive live coverage from coast to coast. With host Tony Perkins and Jack Hibbs, you’ll hear from an incredible slate of guests, including members of Congress and political heavyweights from around the globe. We’ll dive into the issues that matter and give you the biblical perspective. Pray that America chooses wisely. Join us on November 5th as we watch history unfold.
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Let’s not be discouraged. Don’t lose heart. Don’t lose the faith. Stand now strong because the Lord has given us the great privilege of living in a time when our choices matter, when our lives matter, when our courage matters. So let’s stand together and save this great country. God bless the United States of America.
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The American Republic has a freedom like no other. It has roots in the scriptures far more than any other heritage. And if we as followers of Jesus and conservatives don’t defend it, who will?
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Neutrality is not an option. There are many Christians who believe that if we just keep our heads down, if we just don’t say the wrong thing, that somehow we will come out of this unscathed. You’re naive if you think that, because what they want from us is not our silence.
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what they want from us is our submission part of the dilemma of christianity in our generation is that we’ve relied a little too much on human wisdom and human reasoning human strength human resource and we’ve relied too little on the power of god and god’s ability to open doors that we can’t open and do things that we can even hope to begin to do this may not be an easy task but
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But we are living in a moment of challenge, but also a great opportunity. And we know always that we are not alone, that his spirit empowers us and protects us, and that he can do the unimaginable. Dobbs, after all, was never supposed to happen.
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Father, we thank you. You have entrusted us with this moment in history, and I pray that we would be found faithful, and that as a result of our faithfulness to you, that thousands, millions would come into the kingdom as they would experience the forgiveness of sin and the new life that is found only in Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Are you a Christian parent looking to raise a spiritual champion in today’s culture? Renowned author George Barna has written a new book, Raising Spiritual Champions. This book offers valuable insights based on extensive research conducted by George Barna, the Family Research Council, and Arizona Christian University. Learn how to help your children discern biblical truth and find compelling meaning and purpose. Don’t miss out on this essential resource for parents. Order your copy today.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Again, I invite you to join us tonight for PrayVote Stand, Election 2024, beginning at 8.30 p.m. You can join us on the Stand Firm app. Just text APP to 67742. Pastor Jack Hibbs and I will be giving you the results throughout the night and talking about the way forward. All right. You may recall that in 2020, in the presidential election, Georgia was one of the states that really was ground zero for the budding election integrity movement. This election cycle, Georgia is in a much, much more secure place than ever before. When it comes to election integrity, they not only changed their laws, but they’re on the ground watching. In fact, just yesterday, the state saw another victory for the election integrity effort there with a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court. Here now to discuss the ruling and to share about the efforts to promote election integrity, making sure that every vote counts in the Peach State is Josh McCoon. He is the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. Josh, welcome to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 17 :
Thank you so much for having me.
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So, Josh, tell us about the battle that led to yesterday’s ruling from the Supreme Court and what it means.
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Well, you know, Cobb County, Georgia, wanted to give the Democrats some overtime and allow absentee ballots to be counted all the way through Friday of this week. And state law is very clear that absentee ballots must be turned in by 7 p.m. on election day. Even though we did not get a satisfactory ruling at the trial court, Republican National Committee joined us, we appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court, and yesterday they ruled that all absentee ballots to be counted in this election must be cast by 7 p.m. today.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, Josh, this looks a little suspicious. I mean, last minute, 3,200 requests were made, like, at the deadline. I mean, that just, it kind of, I mean, it doesn’t really pass the smell test.
SPEAKER 17 :
No, we’ve seen this movie before and we were ready for it. I think that’s kind of one of the key differences between 2020 and 2024. Our legal team was ready to go. We got in front of judges immediately. We didn’t wait until after election day to litigate this issue. And as a result, we’ve been able to safeguard, in my opinion, the integrity of this election.
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I think this is extremely important, and this, I hope, will give people confidence across the country, because this is one of the top three issues that people have cited in terms of not voting, was that their vote wouldn’t count because of the lack of integrity in the system. But we’ve had over two dozen states that have changed their laws. Of course, Georgia was leading the way on this. It’s being supplemented by the RNC in particular that is using those laws in the courts to make sure they’re being enforced. So there’s a pretty strong legal ground game, is there not?
SPEAKER 17 :
There absolutely is. I mean, we’ve been involved in dozens of lawsuits this year to protect the vote. And I want to say it really does two things. Number one, it’s important that we have election integrity as a principle, obviously. But to your other point, it does make people feel confident to participate in the process. I believe tonight we’re gonna set a record for voter participation in a presidential election in Georgia, and that’s because of these efforts. Republicans, conservatives have confidence that we are minding the store. We are making sure that this is a fair election. So they do have the confidence to go in and vote. And that’s what I’ve been telling people for a year. We are working very hard to make sure this is a fair election. We just need you to do your job and get in there and vote. And people are doing that in great numbers.
SPEAKER 05 :
Josh, talk a little bit about the improvements that were made by the state as they went back, assessed what happened in 2020, changed their laws. What are some of the things that happened or put in place this year versus 2020?
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, one of the big changes had to do with ballot drop boxes. So in 2020, that was sort of invented this idea that you could deposit an absentee ballot in a drop box that could be located anywhere. There was very little security around that process. The legislature came back and said, okay, we’re going to have ballot drop boxes, but they’re going to have to be in government buildings. They’re not going to be 24 seven. They’re going to be secured. There’s going to be a wet signature required to apply for an absentee ballot. And what we saw is we went from one and a half million absentee ballots in the state in 2020 to just under 300,000 this year. So a reduction of 1.2 million of these absentee ballots by mail. So that’ll result in a faster count. I also think it increases people’s confidence in the election. The more people we have presenting themselves in person, displaying a photo ID, verifying their identity. That’s a huge part and a huge win, in my opinion, about election integrity here. And I’ll mention one other thing, which is the early voting that’s taken place must be counted in Georgia by 8 p.m. tonight. And the Secretary of State has to give us the total number of votes by 10 p.m. tonight. So there’s not this late night, oh, we found more votes, all of that sort of thing. I really feel like people are going to look back at this election and say, what a better experience, what an experience we have confidence in, regardless of the outcome.
SPEAKER 05 :
So, Josh, do you think that there were some weaknesses in the system prior that, you know, we just kind of everybody’s going to do the right thing, but we had people that didn’t do the right thing? And do you think those weaknesses were exploited in 2020?
SPEAKER 17 :
I think there’s no question that we had a lot of irregularities around the 2020 election, and particularly around the paper absentee ballots. I mean, you know, President Trump won on Election Day in Georgia in 2020. He won in the three weeks of early in-person voting, but he lost paper absentee balloting by 398,000 votes. And that generally doesn’t happen. Generally, you see a trend among all different voting methods. And that certainly makes you wonder about what went on, whether that was about harvesting, knocking doors, sort of persuading people to vote that might not have been that enthused about voting in the first place, or whether it was something more sinister than that. But we’ve really done a lot. It’s not perfect. You know, no human endeavor is. Right. But it is much improved over 2020 this year.
SPEAKER 05 :
Josh, final question for you. Got about 45 seconds left. What’s your response to those who say that these efforts amount to voter suppression?
SPEAKER 17 :
I would say to them, we set a record for voter turnout in Georgia in 2022. And we’re shattering, I believe tonight, the all time record for turnout in a presidential election. So the proof’s in the pudding. People are turning out. We can make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I think everyone, well, I would say most everyone prefers that and to know that their vote counts regardless of which side they’re on politically. They want to know that their vote counts. Absolutely. It is very critical to uphold our republic to be able to say that. Josh, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate you being with us tonight. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. I’ve been telling you folks that the states have been working on this and the RNC, to their credit, has been taking these laws that were put in place and making sure they’re enforced. So your vote does count. All right. That’s part of the media wanting to suppress turnout by scaring people away. All right, when we come back, a government-funded study into the effects of transgenderism on youth. The principal author didn’t like it, so she’s been sitting on it. We’re going to talk about that next. Don’t go away.
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Everything we do begins as an idea. Before there can be acts of courage, there must be the belief that some things are worth sacrificing for. Before there can be marriage, there is the idea that man should not be alone. Before there was freedom, there was the idea that individuals are created equal. It’s true that all ideas have consequences, but we’re less aware that all consequences are the fruit of ideas. Before there was murder, there was hate. Before there was a Holocaust, there was the belief by some people that other people are undesirable. Our beliefs determine our behavior, and our beliefs about life’s biggest questions determine our worldview. Where did I come from? Who decides what is right and wrong? What happens when I die? Our answers to these questions explain why people see the world so differently. Debates about abortion are really disagreements about where life gets its value. Debates over sexuality and gender and marriage are really disagreements about whether the rules are made by us or for us. What we think of as political debates are often much more than that. They’re disagreements about the purpose of our lives and the source of truth. As Christians, our goal must be to think biblically about everything. Our goal is to help you see beyond red and blue, left and right, to see the battle of ideas at the root of it all. Our goal is to equip Christians with a biblical worldview and help them advance and defend the faith in their families, communities, and the public square. Cultural renewal doesn’t begin with campaigns and elections. It begins with individuals turning from lies to truth. But that won’t happen if people can’t recognize a lie and don’t believe truth exists. We want to help you see the spiritual war behind the political war, the truth claims behind the press release, and the forest from the trees.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. Good to have you with us on this Tuesday, Election Day. And by the way, again, tonight, Pastor Jack Hibbs and I, who is the founder of the Real Life Network, will be joining teams. He’ll be on the West Coast. I’m here on the East Coast. And we’re going to do an election night coverage. So you can join us beginning at 8.30 p.m. Eastern time by downloading the Stand Firm app or simply text the word app to 67742. That’s app to 67742. And you can join us. We’ll have members of Congress, other news experts that will be on as we analyze the results and talk about the way forward, regardless of what the outcome is. All right, about two weeks ago, we reported on the refusal by an activist researcher to publish the results of a federally funded study on the effects of puberty blockers on American children. Now, the researcher, Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, told reporters she fears the study could, quote, be weaponized. or even used in court to stop these gender mutilation procedures because, surprise, surprise, the study found no evidence that such procedures improved the mental health of children. Well, yesterday, the House Republicans launched an investigation of the National Institutes of Health, who funded this project, which, by the way, had a $9.7 million price tag. That’s $9.7 million of your tax dollars that went to fund the study. And because the researcher, who is an activist, was afraid that these results would be used against her and it didn’t support her preconceived notions, she’s not releasing it. How’s that done? Well, I think we’re going to be talking to Glenn Grothman, member of Congress from Wisconsin, who’s a member of the subcommittee. But I think we’re having trouble connecting with him. So I think we’re going to go to. OK, I think we just connected with him. He’s connecting with us by phone. Congressman Glenn Grothman. Congressman, welcome to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 08 :
Glad to be on this show on a very relevant topic, a topic that should be talked about quite a bit. But go ahead.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it’s not talked about in the legacy media because they want to hide this. This is a major focus of the current administration. But for those who haven’t been following this story, can you tell us what is known?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, there has been a study which calls into question the idea that we have these puberty blockers, the idea that this transgenderism is somehow innate and that we have to help everybody through it. You know, instead, if you read the study, I think you would reach the conclusion that actually the current treatment probably increases the fact that somebody goes down this path, probably makes them more depressed. And I think therefore calls into question the whole gender affirming care industry.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. Most of these kids, over 80% of them, will make their way through the transition through puberty. And in fact, what we’re seeing increasingly is as puberty blockers and other interventions, including surgery, are being utilized, they’re not using counseling, which in many cases could make a difference in the lives of these children.
SPEAKER 08 :
So go ahead. Yeah, you hit the nail on the head. Usually kids will come out of this on their own, okay? Which is why you didn’t have kids like this when you and I were children. If anybody had those feelings, they disappeared. I think Heritage Foundation talked about over 95%. We had 98% of the boys who were transgender for a second bounced back. Instead, what they’re doing is by creating this industry, you are encouraging children to go down this path. which I think leads to depression. I think it leads to an incredibly unhappy, unusual life. And, of course, these people, even if they transition altogether, have to continue to keep taking drugs to go down this path, which by itself shows that it’s not an innate thing, or you wouldn’t, after the surgery, have to keep taking drugs. So we should follow the path of Europe. Europe has backed off on this. And the reason we see so much of this transgender stuff is because they are encouraged down this path by the guidance counselors and the gender-affirming care providers. industry.
SPEAKER 05 :
So Congressman, let’s talk, Congressman Grothen, about this taxpayer-funded study. I mean, what does this tell us about the supporters of transgenderism when they are deliberately mischaracterizing or withholding the results of a study that has serious implications for the health and safety of children? But this is being, the bill is being paid by taxpayers.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I hate to say there’s something good came out of it, Because if they would release the study, maybe it would put an end to this holding these transgenders up on a pedestal like they’re these wonderful people. You know, the bill was played by the taxpayer. That is true. But like I said, the real scandal is they’re suppressing the results of the study.
SPEAKER 05 :
Do you think you’ll be able to get it released?
SPEAKER 08 :
I certainly intend to. Yes, I’d be very disappointed if we don’t get it released. And if it’s released, maybe it’ll begin to put an end to this ridiculous pushing of the transgender lifestyle, which of course was a dream of the hardcore feminists all along. This is part of a, you know, a greater agenda, the end of the American family, the end of having men and women being different from each other. You know, they want to say, well, everybody can just bounce back and forth. So that’s why they’re hiding it. And of course, monetarily wise, they’re hiding it because if it ever became apparent that that most kids just grow out of this, or these people do for a living.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s right. As you said, it really has become an industry. Congressman Grothman, we’re up against a break. I want to thank you for joining us, and as always, appreciate your insights.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, thank you, and I hope your listeners pay attention, because eventually I’m sure we’re going to have a hearing on this. And when you get the facts, you can keep your school board from going down this horrible path.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I’m sure we’ll have you back on when that hearing takes place. Congressman Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin. All right, don’t go away. Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin joins me next.
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Jesus said in John 15, these things I’ve spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. In 2024, in these divided and uncertain times, how can this be possible? By abiding in him through his word. At Family Research Council, we wanna help you do that, which is the reason for the Stand on the Word Bible reading plan. In just 10 to 15 minutes each day, you will have read the entire Bible in just two years. But more importantly, you will be abiding in him daily. Find our Bible reading plan at frc.org slash Bible. And join Tony Perkins each weekday for a 10-minute devotional inspired by the daily reading and designed to encourage you on this journey through the Bible. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. And remember, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
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The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God’s will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn’t impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can’t do that. It’s not that you don’t love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God’s opinion more than your neighbor’s opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you’re the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that’s not all. They’re also engaged in our government. They’re voters. They’re more likely to be involved in their community, and they’re making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can’t do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That’s what we’re working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That’s S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
SPEAKER 05 :
Welcome back to this Tuesday edition of Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. Good to have you with us. And again, I invite you to join us tonight. Join Pastor Jack Hibbs and I for PrayVote Stand Election 2024, beginning at 8.30 p.m. Eastern Time. We’ll go through the night as the election returns come in. We’ll be tracking not only the presidential race, but some of the key… congressional races that will determine control of the House of Representatives. We’re also going to be looking at some of the state races as well as the ballot initiatives that are in many of the states. That’s tonight at 8.30 p.m. Eastern Time. To join us, simply download the Stand Firm app. You can text APP to 67742 or go to the App Store and get the Stand Firm app. Our word for today comes from Joel chapter 1. The fields are destroyed. The ground mourns. Because the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil languishes. It describes a nation that is in an economic mess, a symptom of moral and spiritual decay. They were at a point where they couldn’t spin their way out of it. They couldn’t create another government program to solve their problem. They were in a helpless state. So what was the answer? Well, keep reading. Verse 13, “‘Put on sackcloth and lament, O priest, wail. O ministers of the altar, go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because grain offering and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God and cry out to the Lord.'” The solution? The spiritual leaders were to start leading, spiritually leading the people back to God. Pastors, don’t wait for your mayor. Don’t wait for your governor. Don’t wait for the president. You lead the people back to God. To join us in our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. And we say quite often, and it’s true, elections have consequences. We’ve seen that over the last four years. And the elections here in the United States don’t just have consequences for our nation, but they also have consequences for other nations as well. And we’ve clearly seen that throughout the Biden-Harris administration. No doubt America’s adversaries like Iran are watching this election very closely. Israeli intelligence has even suggested that Tehran may be preparing to attack the Jewish nation sometime after the election but before the inauguration, an attack that Iran’s Ayatollah says would be teeth-breaking. Now, how might the outcome of this election alter the trajectory of the conflict in the Middle East? And what could the implications be for the rest of the world, as well as for the U.S.? Joining us now in studio with his analysis on the situation is retired Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin, Executive Vice President here at the Family Research Council. General Boykin spent his last four years of his 36-and-a-half-year military career working serving as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. He was one of the original members of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force. General Boykin, welcome back to Washington Watch. Good to have you here.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s good to be here with you. So let’s talk first, what is your reaction to what we’re hearing from Iran about a response to Israel’s retaliatory attack against them?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, if you go through and look at it very carefully… The Iranians are kind of sending, in my view, two signals. One is that it’s going to be bone crushing. It’s going to be tooth breaking. And then you also have the foreign minister that’s over in Pakistan speaking to the world media saying, we don’t want war. We don’t want war. But if we have to, and you know the rest, but what they want, I think what was important was that he was saying that we would respond proportionately. So he wasn’t talking about, he says on the one hand, we’ll respond with a crushing response. And on the other hand, he says, but it’ll be proportionate. So which is it?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, is that bravado?
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s bravado, yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because Israel in their last strike, precision strikes, took out their air defense systems. They took out some the first time, but they went, took them out this time, took out some of their missile fuel systems. So they’ve been incapacitated for the creation of more missiles. Right. Iran says, Iranian officials say, that they will use more powerful warheads than any previously used in their strikes against Israel. What else do they have in their arsenal?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, they certainly have nukes. I think there is a very good chance that they have nuclear weapons, or if they don’t have them, they’re pretty close to having them. And I think that that’s been… an issue throughout this whole administration as to what are we doing about trying to slow them down on the development of a nuclear weapon. And the answer is nothing. We’ve been giving them money. We’ve given them money multiple times. And you know where that went. It not only went to Hamas and Hezbollah, But it also went into the nuclear program, and I think that they have that, but… Do they have the capacity to deliver it? The delivery problem, I think, is still a problem for them, but… I don’t know. I think somebody in our intelligence community knows because the Israelis have probably given them some intelligence that would give them a clearer understanding of what they do have. But I do think that from my perspective, they kept their centrifuges spinning. Even with that JCPOA, they kept the centrifuges spinning. So they’ve been developing up to weapons-grade plutonium.
SPEAKER 05 :
General Boykin, as we move in, I mean, today’s election day, we’ll have the results tonight. Hopefully, you know, hopefully in the short order, we’ll know who the next president of the United States is going to be. But there’s going to be a period between now and January where we have a true lame duck president. Does this create a period of vulnerability for the Middle East and for the United States?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, it does. But I would be more concerned about China. China has told us they want Taiwan under the mothership. The mothership is Beijing. And I think that if they have the opportunity, because we have proven nothing but… but weakness in this administration. And if Kamala is elected, it’ll be another four years. And somewhere in there, they’re going to take Taiwan. They’re going to try to take Taiwan. I’m not sure that they can, to be honest with you. with anything short of a nuclear weapon. But I think that’s a very vulnerable period. And I don’t think that a Kamala Harris as president of the United States would have any idea what to do. And I don’t agree with the president or the former president that she’s got warmongers around her. She didn’t have anybody around her. She doesn’t have a cabinet or anything. So I think that they would take advantage of Joe Biden’s weakness.
SPEAKER 05 :
While the focus is on the Middle East, on Iran and Israel, you’re saying that is an open door for China to make a move on Taiwan. Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
We just developed—I mean, we just launched a cattle—I mean, a— carrier group back over to the Middle East over there. So we’re putting everything over there right now.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s fixing to ask you. That’s where we have our assets right now in the Middle East trying to keep Iran in check, which opens things up in the Pacific.
SPEAKER 04 :
In my mind, it does. Yes, absolutely. Because they’ve told us again, they’ve told us they want Taiwan and they want it back under their control. I thought they might do it before we got to this point, quite frankly. But that said, I think that that’s a very vulnerable period in that lame duck period that you’re talking about there. I think it’s… It’s a frightening period of time for me.
SPEAKER 05 :
So let’s talk about Israel during this time period. There’s some, I’ve heard some reports, read some reports that Iran, even talking about troops possibly going into Israel, I have a hard time seeing that, ground troops going in. If there’s any action toward Israel, we know Israel is going to respond. They’ve taken out, as I mentioned earlier, the air defense systems in Iran, opening up both their oil fields and making way to the nuclear facilities. Would this be a time, if provocation is there, for Israel to respond?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, certainly it would give them a window of opportunity that wouldn’t probably last too long, but yes.
SPEAKER 05 :
Especially if you have a Harris that would happen to be elected? If you have what? If Kamala Harris were to be elected president.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. Worst scenario. That’s the worst case scenario.
SPEAKER 05 :
So now would be the time for, if she is in the waiting to be president, this would be the time for them to act.
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 05 :
Now, they showed in the October raid, the retaliatory strike against Iran, that they could do this on their own. To my knowledge, I’ve not seen where the U.S. aided them in that strike against Iran. Am I correct or not?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well… I’m thinking back of a project that I worked when I was still in the Pentagon. I’m sure that the intelligence that they used, some of that intelligence came from the United States. So I think we did give them at least intelligence as to where these things that they were going to bomb, these military installation, these storage depots, that type of thing.
SPEAKER 05 :
I’m quite sure that we gave them… But in terms of the mechanics of their fighter jets, the refueling, all of that activity was done by the Israeli Defense Forces?
SPEAKER 04 :
I don’t know that. That’s the problem. I’ll just say this and try to stay out of trouble. There has been a plan for the United States to be prepared to support them. It was aimed at supporting them if they were developing nuclear weapons, and it’s an old plan. But there was some—this is a different administration, but there was some— discussion and thought that went into what would the United States need to do to help them and one of their limitations was tankers. And we would have to provide them with tankers. And then there was also, I don’t think it was any secret, that Saudi Arabia said to them, we’ll give you an airfield that you can refuel and rearm. And I don’t know whether that’s still intact or not, but that was part of what they were depending on to be able to go in there. It’s a long way over to where they’ve got to go.
SPEAKER 05 :
So, General Jerry Boykin, when we look at the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East, we look at it from both a political standpoint as well as a military standpoint. The Middle East is on fire right now.
SPEAKER 04 :
The whole world is, Tony, but the Middle East is the epicenter of it right now.
SPEAKER 05 :
You spent 36 1⁄2 years in the United States Army. As I mentioned in your last assignment, the Pentagon was basically an intelligence looking at these things. When you look at, from a scale of 1 to 10, how vulnerable is the world right now to global conflict?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I think we’re certainly above the midpoint. I think we’re, you’re talking about the whole world. You’re not just talking about America.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I’m talking about America being drawn in as a leader to a conflict that has implications worldwide.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. I think that this is a very vulnerable period, and I do see that as a scenario. It’s a bad scenario, but I do see that as a scenario. And it may not be Israel. It may wind up being in Europe.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I didn’t ask you about that. I didn’t ask you about Ukraine with North Korea now sending troops to Russia that are there on the Ukraine border, maybe operating there. How does that change that dynamic?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you know, the Russians are in a bad situation right now. I mean, they’ve got problems at home, you know, among their population and all, but they’ve expended an awful lot of their resources.
SPEAKER 05 :
And they have a population problem to begin with. They do. As the United States does. But they are ahead of us in terms of not having a sustainable population.
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s exactly right. And theoretically, they cannot at this point stop it because they don’t have the people there unless they go into China. And this was a scenario that came out by one of the authors recently. Not recently, but probably about 10 years ago that the – that they would have to go into China and grab some of the people along the border there to try and start populating their own country. Because they are getting to a point that is dangerously low in terms of the birth rate.
SPEAKER 05 :
And then you look at the number of casualties that they’ve suffered in this war with Ukraine, and that’s being depleted.
SPEAKER 04 :
Along with their materiel. I mean, it’s their people, but they’ve also lost a lot of materiel.
SPEAKER 05 :
We’ve talked about this later on this program, before on this program, how the United States energy policy is the only thing keeping them afloat by making their oil, giving it a market on the global market with China, Iran. North Korea. North Korea. And if we would go back to becoming a world supplier, as we were under the previous administration, we could pull the rug out from underneath of them and end this conflict much more quickly.
SPEAKER 04 :
I’m going to prophesy here. All right, you’ve got 30 seconds. If Donald Trump is elected, one of the first things he’s going to do is open up the oil fields again and make us self-sufficient with energy.
SPEAKER 05 :
And that will drive down the global price, which will take away the revenue that these rogue countries are using to fight their wars. Absolutely. All right. General Jerry Boykin, I think you’re going to be joining us tonight. I’ll be with you. All right. And folks, I hope you will be with us as well for PrayVote Stand Election Decision 2024. As we follow the election results tonight, Pastor Jack Hibbs and I will be co-hosting, and we’ll have a number of special guests that will be joining us throughout the night. You can join us on the Stand Firm app, Simply Text app. to 67742. That’s app to 67742. Or if you’re on the Real Life Network, you can watch there as well. Again, that begins at 8.30 p.m. Eastern time tonight. All right. Hope to see you there. Until next time, I leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul, found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything that you can do, when you’ve prayed, when you’ve prepared, and I Just keep standing.
SPEAKER 13 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
