Abortion rights remain a contentious topic as Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz weighs in on recent tragic events allegedly linked to restrictive policies. The episode examines the fallouts from New York’s Proposal 1, threatening to redefine parental rights and abortion ethics. As Election Day approaches, Tony encourages listeners to prepare with their Voter Toolkit, praying and voting to stand for biblical values in a tumultuous political landscape.
SPEAKER 15 :
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.
SPEAKER 04 :
We now assess that there are some 10,000 North Korean soldiers in total in Russia. And the most recent information indicates that as many as 8,000 of those North Korean forces have been deployed to the Kursk region.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier today announcing the U.S. has confirmed North Korea has deployed 10,000 troops to aid Russia in their invasion of Ukraine. Welcome to Washington Watch and thanks for joining me for this Thursday edition. Also today, North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew for 86 minutes, a record for the nuclear-equipped rogue country. Is this more evidence of the failed policy of the Biden-Harris administration that voters should consider as they head to the polls next Tuesday? Florida Congressman Mike Waltz, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, will join us. In addition to these international threats, election integrity concerns have taken center stage this week. House investigators have subpoenaed records from the Democratic donation platform ActBlue after the U.S. Treasury confirmed that hundreds of suspicious activity reports were triggered by the Treasury’s money laundering detection system. In a memo to members, Chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, Congressman James Comer, said it appears foreign actors may be using online fundraising platforms like ActBlue to illegally funnel money to Democratic candidates. Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, who’s been involved in the investigation, will join us later with the latest. And I can only describe it as deadly and deceptive.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’m down here and was in Georgia yesterday where Amber Thurmond died, and it was totally preventable had we not had a Donald Trump abortion ban. So we’ve been clear about that. Restoration of Roe, that’s what we’re looking for.
SPEAKER 13 :
Should there be a federal third trimester abortion ban?
SPEAKER 03 :
Look, well, I’m going to go back again. Roe was very clear on what they did. We want the restoration of Roe, and that’s the position we’re taking.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz on CBS, the CBS morning show yesterday, continuing to lie about what happened in Georgia. We’re going to talk with Dr. Donna Harrison, CEO emerita of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs, a little later here on Washington Watch. And finally, we continue our examination of the 10 states that have pro-abortion measures on their ballots next week. Today, we’re heading to New York, where Jason McGuire, executive director of New York Families, will join us to describe what’s on their ballot and what voters in New York need to do. Well, speaking of the election, yes, that’s right. We’ve got a voter toolkit for you, so you’ll have all the information you need at your fingertips to cast an informed ballot. Just text the word TOOLKIT, that’s one word, to 67742. That’s TOOLKIT to 67742. You’ll have a comparison of the two-party platforms. You’ll have a comparison of the presidential candidates. And in many parts of the country, you have a much deeper personalized voter guide just by putting in your zip code. So find out more. Text the word TOOLKIT to 67742. You also will have prayer points as we go into the election to pray. And speaking of that, PrayVote stands election 2024. FRC is teaming up with Real Life Network for live election night coverage. Pastor Jack Hibbs and I will help you navigate the night and be prepared for November the 6th and beyond. Coverage begins at 8.30 p.m. Eastern time on the Real Life Network app and the FRC Stand Firm app. So download the app at the App Store and join us Tuesday night for election night coverage. More global instability, as reports of 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, with as many as 8,000 in Russia’s Kursk region near the Ukrainian border. Russia’s foreign minister told state media today that Moscow and Tehran intend to sign a comprehensive treaty, which will include closer defense cooperation. what does this all mean for the war in Ukraine, as well as the international stability, global instability, I should say. Joining me now to discuss this is Congressman Mike Waltz. He is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He represents the 6th Congressional District of Florida, and he is the author of a new book that was just released last week, Hard Truths, Think and Lead Like a Green Beret. He is the only Green Beret to I’ve been elected to the United States Congress. Congressman Waltz, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, thanks, Tony. Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, Congressman, what do we know so far about this cooperation between Russia and North Korea, and should we be concerned?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, we should be concerned, and it just shows how this war is expanding for students of history. You remember World War I started in Serbia, very localized, and pretty soon actor after actor was getting involved. And in this case, I have two main concerns. One, obviously, the 70, 80 years worth of ammunition and stores that the North Koreans can provide, now they’re providing soldiers on top of it. My concern is twofold. One, what are they getting in return? in terms of technology cooperation from the Russians, help with their nuclear program, help with their submarines and others that we will have to deal with. And then the South Koreans are now saying, well, if they’re getting involved, we have to get involved. And you can see how this thing can continue to spiral. What President Trump has made clear is he will be focused on ending the war, not this kind of endless blank check for whatever that means. We have to stop Putin, absolutely. But what’s in our interest? And how long, how much is that going to take? And how much is it going to distract us from the enemy that can and is developing the capability to defeat the United States? And that’s the Chinese Communist Party.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, Congressman, could this also be an indication of Putin’s growing desperation that he is trying, that he’s desperate for more bodies to put on the battlefield?
SPEAKER 19 :
It could be an indication. I think what he’s desperate to avoid is tapping into the kind of the middle class of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Those are his two power nodes and the two economic kind of centers of gravity in Russia that The cannon fodder of troops he’s been feeding in have literally been from emptying his prisons and pulling from the outlying areas, like in Chechnya and Serbia. He’ll continue that methodology with now leveraging North Korean troops and feeding them into this, what’s turned into a meat grinder. And so I think he’s trying to avoid that mass mobilization, certainly, but… North Korea has been preparing for war its entire existence. And it has a lot of artillery, a lot of ammunition, a lot of troops that it’s willing to expend. And again, what is the strategy here? What is success in line with our interests? And the Biden administration has refused, either it can’t articulate it or it’s refused to articulate it, even behind closed doors with members of the Intelligence Committee.
SPEAKER 06 :
How would you assess the North Korean troops in terms of their capabilities, their training? How do you foresee them engaging on the battlefield?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, unfortunately for them, I do think they’ll be used largely as cannon fodder. We found just in our engagements on the Korean Peninsula, they’re often malnourished. They are very tough. They haven’t enjoyed a lot of luxuries in life, and they will follow orders. But between the translation issues, the training disparities, and other issues, I don’t know that they’re going to have a huge impact except that this has just become a grind. This has become a war of attrition. And if Kim Jong-un demonstrates an ability to keep feeding Russia soldiers and weapons and ammunition, You know, what does that mean on the other side? We keep pumping billions and billions of dollars in. And the thing that’s so frustrating to me, Tony, is that we can solve this issue through energy. Russia is a gas station with nukes. We flood the global markets with our oil and gas. You drive down the price of oil, you dry up Putin’s war machine, and he literally can’t afford to perpetuate this war, and that goes for Iran as well. But instead, Biden and Harris have gone to war on our energy supplies, Keystone XL, the LNG ban, so that the rest of the world is buying from the likes of Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. It is insane. And that’s the more strategic approach we should be taking, rather than matching dollar for dollar, bullet for bullet, or troop for troop.
SPEAKER 06 :
Going back to North Korea for just a moment, with Russia being flush with cash, having the ability to bolster the North Korean economy, I’m sure that some of what is being trade-off is food, supplies that they need to keep their people moving. That counteracts the sanctions that have been placed on them in many cases to try to strangle their nuclear program, does it not?
SPEAKER 19 :
It does. And, you know, this administration hasn’t shown a real appetite for getting aggressive on enforcing those sanctions. But, you know, to my point, it’s almost like the progressive mindset that they’ve never seen a problem they don’t just want to throw more money at. We’re throwing money at Ukraine to combat the Russians there. And now the North Koreans were throwing money at the Red Sea and in the Middle East to combat the Iranians. Meanwhile, China is getting gas on the cheap from both Russia and Iran. They are embarking on a massive buildup. They’re fueling the Iranian war machine and the Russian war machine. And meanwhile, we’re literally moving our ships out of the Pacific to deal with the issues in the Middle East. If only we would enforce the sanctions, use our economic power, and use what President Trump says, which is the liquid gold underneath our feet right here in the United States of America, we could solve a lot of these problems.
SPEAKER 06 :
Just to summarize, Congressman, you’re saying if we just put some of our effort into revitalizing our own energy production, we could drive down their prices, we wouldn’t have to spend as much money in Ukraine to counter Russia, and we would grow our own economy and create more jobs here domestically.
SPEAKER 19 :
Better said, Tony. And I’ll just add to that, we want the Europeans and the rest of the world buying from us. And instead, right now, because we’ve constrained our supplies, the Europeans are literally buying still from Russia. It’s just, it’s really completely backwards. But well said. I love the way you put it. And that’s the strategic approach a Donald Trump second term would take.
SPEAKER 06 :
Final question for you, Congressman Walz. The ballistic missile launch today, 86 minutes, record time. Should we be concerned about what they’re developing with their capacity there?
SPEAKER 19 :
Absolutely, we should be. I mean, the air quotes here, strategic patience that Obama embarked on and that Biden’s continued basically means North Korea is developing a massive nuclear arsenal that can threaten the entire world with a madman with his finger on the button. THAT SHOULD CONCERN ALL OF US. AND A NUMBER OF STUDIES HAVE SHOWN ANY TYPE OF NUCLEAR EXCHANGE, WHETHER IT’S BETWEEN IRAN OR ISRAEL, NORTH KOREA, SOUTH KOREA, WOULD BE DEVASTATING TO THE ENTIRE WORLD, NOT JUST THAT REGION. AGAIN, AS PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS, PEOPLE SAY THE WARMING CLIMATE IS THE NUMBER ONE MOST DANGEROUS THREAT TO THE WORLD. HOW ABOUT A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY OF SOME TYPE OF NUCLEAR EXCHANGE? That’s the real threat we’ve got to be focused on.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, it’ll get warm real quick if that happens. That’s right. Congressman Mike Walz, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us today. Appreciate your insights. Thank you, God bless. And folks, I do hope, I know these are not the top of the list issues, thinking about economy, thinking about inflation, thinking about the border, and all those are important. The sanctity of human life, top issue for me. But we’ve got to keep our eye on these foreign policies. This administration has the world on fire. All right, don’t go away. More Washington Watch straight ahead after the break.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
SPEAKER 09 :
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.
SPEAKER 17 :
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?
SPEAKER 12 :
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. What they want from us is our submission.
SPEAKER 20 :
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 couldn’t even hope to begin to do.
SPEAKER 14 :
This may not be an easy task. 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 have it.
SPEAKER 06 :
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.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Be sure and have your voter toolkit if you’ve not already voted. And we’ve crossed about the 60 million voters that have early voted. Now, that’s a significant number, record setting, considering especially that, to put that in perspective, in the last election and the 2020 presidential election, a total of 160 people, million people voted, a little over 160 million. That was about three quarters of the voting population. So that’s a lot of folks that have already voted. But if you’ve not voted, get the toolkit, text toolkit to 67742. By the way, I played this yesterday. If you missed it, I’m sure you’ve heard about it. But I want to play it again. And just in case you were taking out the garbage and you weren’t listening to the program, here is what Joe Biden had to say about Trump supporters on
SPEAKER 05 :
on Tuesday on a call with voto Latino listen and just the other day a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage well let me tell you something I don’t I I don’t know the Puerto Rican that that I know or Puerto Rico where I’m in my home state of Delaware they’re good decent honorable people the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters All right. You heard that.
SPEAKER 06 :
OK, so the media has been in overdrive time to cover it up. In fact, the AP, the AP, I read I read this yesterday. Their second paragraph, I think it was. And I’m going to quote directly from it in a call organized by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino. Biden on Tuesday responded to a comic at Trump’s rally who called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. It goes on to say Biden’s initial comments were garbled. They weren’t garbled. Didn’t you hear him? Well, President Trump seized on this yesterday, as I thought he would. Clip 13.
SPEAKER 18 :
About being garbage, maybe 250 million people. They shouldn’t be talking. That’s like deplorable for Hillary. This is the deplorable for Hillary. And I think this is worse, actually. For Joe Biden to make that statement, it’s really a disgrace.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, for those listening and not watching, President Trump made those comments from a garbage truck. All right. Speaking of the election, we’ve been going through each of the 10 states where Planned Parenthood allies are working to enshrine a so-called right to an abortion in state constitutions. This is different. It’s never happened before. They’re putting it in two state constitutions as a right. And when something is a constitutional right, it trumps everything else. Now, those states are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota. And I’m optimistic we’re going to see these efforts fail, that is to enshrine abortion into the constitutions in several of these states. But you need to vote. You need to vote. This is on the ballot. And we have a resource available for you if you would like it. If you live in one of these states or know someone who does, it breaks down each of these amendments. You just text the word LIFE, LIFE to 67742, LIFE to 67742, and you’ll get a link and you can take a look at it. Well, today I want to take a look at New York’s Proposal 1, which goes far beyond the issue of unborn life and is dangerous on multiple levels, as we’ve seen with some of these other amendments. Joining me now to unpack this is Jason McGuire, executive director of the New York Families Foundation. Jason, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. Hey, Tony, it’s good to be with you again. Thanks for the opportunity. Well, I know we’ve got a lot of listeners and viewers in New York, so let’s talk about New York’s proposal on the so-called Equal Rights Amendment. What does it say? What does it do?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, I appreciate you calling it the so-called Equal Rights Amendment. We prefer the term the Gender Amendment or even the Parent Replacement Act because this amendment goes further than many of the other states. This is adding not just the fundamental right to an abortion inside our state constitution, but it’s also elevating some other protected class statuses, such as gender identity, gender expression, and yes, pregnancy outcomes, sexual orientation. other things that will elevate those protected class statuses to essentially the same fundamental right as my right to religious liberty. That’s why this is so dangerous in the Empire State. Jason, what would this do to parental rights? Well, you’ll always be one court decision away from losing your parental rights. So if Prop 1 is successful, all it would take is a court decision, a judge somewhere, and in a very liberal state like New York, they’re not hard to find, who would really elevate the rights of that child over parental rights. So if a child says, perhaps I don’t want to be homeschooled any longer or I don’t want to attend a private school or I think I want to change my gender identity or my name or whatever it might be, that will be up to a judge’s decision rather than mom or dad. It pits parents against their children here in New York.
SPEAKER 06 :
And because it’s being placed into the Constitution where it’s never been before, it’s beyond the reach of the legislature. Even if you had a good legislature, it would be beyond their reach. And so it is strictly in the court’s purview to decide what this means and how it will be applied.
SPEAKER 11 :
Exactly. And so we’re looking at a state court system that is very liberal. Essentially, the chief justice of our court of appeals, New York’s highest court, entered into a dissenting opinion that said that Happy the Elephant in the Bronx Zoo was deserving of the rights of personhood, but cannot seem to find those same rights for an unborn child. I don’t want to trust my parental rights or the right to the life of an unborn child to that court. We hope to get it to a federal level at some point, but it’s too expensive and it’s not where I should have to go to defend my rights here in New York.
SPEAKER 06 :
Wow. You do have some problems on your courts. So what do voters in New York need to do as it pertains to Proposal 1?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, first, remember to flip your ballot when you vote, whether it’s an early voting now through Sunday or on Tuesday, November 5th, do not forget to flip your ballot. It will be on the back of every ballot statewide as proposal one and vote no on prop one. Second, this Sunday is the last Sunday before the election. So if churches are looking for opportunities to get this information in the hands of their congregants, they can simply visit our website at newyorkfamilies.org slash Prop 1. At newyorkfamilies.org slash Prop 1, we have put resources there, bulletin flyers, slide images for your church’s PowerPoint presentations, social media images. Just spread the word to as many people as possible in as much time as we have left between now and when polls close at 9 o’clock on Tuesday night.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, Jason, thanks so much for joining us, and thank you for the great work you do there in New York. Thank you, Tony. All right, and by the way, listeners and viewers in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, I’ll be preaching this coming Sunday morning at Landmark Baptist Church. They have two services at 9.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. That’s at Landmark Baptist in Cincinnati, Ohio, as we talk about Election Day is coming. All right, when we come back, we’re going to talk with Dr. Donna Harrison. As we look at how radical, how radical, and I’m using that word intentionally, We see in Harris and Walz in their ticket and what they’re proposing in terms of abortion. That’s coming up next. Don’t go away.
SPEAKER 08 :
The Lord reigns. Let America rejoice. From coast to coast let justice reign, peace reign, righteousness reign. Lord, let it rain. May the clouds of blessings gush and rain down upon us. Yet even in the clouds we see the light of your face. Make your face shine on these states, we pray. We pray and then we work. We work in the strength you provide. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Strengthen our hands to do all to God’s glory. Whether we eat or drink or vote, everything is holy. So we vote to God’s glory. We vote because we can. We vote because we love our nation. We vote because we love our people. The people rejoice when the righteous rule, but when the wicked rule, the people mourn. Adorn our land with oaks of righteousness. Place men, place women, place those in authority who know their place, who know that they are under authority. Men and women who will stand for the true, for the good, for a more beautiful America. But how can they stand if we don’t stand? We must stand. Lift us up. Help us stand. Raise us to that summit which is yourself. For those you raised to that summit, do not fall. You are able to keep us from falling. Until that day when we do fall, fall before your throne where our king reigns now. Now. Let us rejoice and pray, vote, stand. Amen.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, make sure you’re prepared for Tuesday. Get your voter toolkit. Text the word toolkit. One word, 67742. And at your fingertips, you’ll have everything you need to cast an informed ballot this coming Tuesday if you’ve not already voted. That’s toolkit 67742. All right, the left continues to spew out deceptive. Incomplete, sometimes flat-out false narratives to give lift to Kamala Harris’s talking point on what she calls Trump’s abortion bans, which are the pro-life laws of states, states across the country. These are legislatively enacted by the states. Well, yesterday, ProPublica reported on the death of a woman in Texas who they claimed died after doctors said it would be a crime to intervene in her miscarriage. But was this just another case of a woman dying because of the left’s lies and not pro-life laws? Joining me now to discuss this is Dr. Donna Harrison, a board-certified OBGYN who is CEO Emerita and current head of the research at the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Dr. Harrison, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thank you very much for having me.
SPEAKER 06 :
So can you unpack this story for us and some of the other misleading and false narratives that we’re hearing out there on the campaign trail?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I don’t have the details. I have to admit, I don’t have the details because I haven’t looked at the case. So a lot of what we know is just what’s reported in the media. But what I can say is this, that pro-life doctors for 40 years before Dobbs, have separated moms and babies when the mom’s life is at stake. And that isn’t anything that’s different. So with this mom, when she was sick, any mom that is sick like that, that has an infection, needs to be separated from her baby, even if that baby can’t live. We know that, and that’s part of the tragedy, but we separate the mom and the baby so that we don’t lose mom and baby. And that’s just part of being in good medical care. But that has nothing to do with pro-life laws. That has nothing to do with abortion regulation.
SPEAKER 06 :
So just, Dr. Harrison, a mother is the first patient, is she not?
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, she’s the first patient, but she’s not the only patient.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. But you are always going to work to help that mother in her medical condition.
SPEAKER 16 :
Absolutely. The mother is our patient. The child is our patient. And there are times when we know that continuing the pregnancy will result in the death of both the mother and the child, whereas separating the mom from the baby when the baby can’t live outside the womb and those situations that are life-threatening That will save the mom’s life even though the baby dies. That’s not an abortion, though. Right. So that is part of the confusion about what an abortion is. An abortion is a procedure that’s done for the purpose and intent of producing a dead baby.
SPEAKER 06 :
If you are working to save the life of a mother and in that process the child dies, that is not an abortion.
SPEAKER 16 :
That is correct, because the purpose is not to produce a dead baby. So the purpose of an abortion is to produce a dead baby. And let me illustrate it real simply. If there’s an abortion going on at 32 weeks and the baby lives, what do you call that? That’s a failed abortion. Why? The baby failed to die. The baby didn’t fail to separate. The baby failed to die. So it’s very clear that That the purpose of an induced abortion, the purpose of an elective abortion is to produce a dead baby, not to save a mother’s life. That’s a completely different purpose.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, are women’s lives being endangered by these false narratives that are being told by political leaders like Walls and Harris? Yes.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yes, they are being endangered because women need important and accurate information. And we have given excellent care through Catholic health systems, through hospitals, physicians that don’t do abortions. In fact, 95% of physicians in the Midwest don’t do abortions, OBGYNs, and we certainly give excellent care. In academic centers, it’s 73% of OB-GYNs don’t do abortions. And we know full well what an abortion is. So the difference between an abortion and this kind of care where it’s inevitable that the baby’s going to die and the mom’s life is at stake, that’s not an abortion. That’s not an abortion.
SPEAKER 06 :
I want to play a clip from vice presidential candidate Tim Walz yesterday morning. He was on CBS Morning Show discussing this issue. Play clip 11, please.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’m down here and was in Georgia yesterday where Amber Thurmond died, and it was totally preventable had we not had a Donald Trump abortion ban. So we’ve been clear about that. Restoration of Roe, that’s what we’re looking for.
SPEAKER 13 :
Should there be a federal third trimester abortion ban?
SPEAKER 03 :
Look, I’m going to go back again. Roe was very clear on what they did. We want the restoration of Roe, and that’s the position we’re taking.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, Dr. Harrison, what I take away from that is no limits.
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, that’s exactly right. So it’s a combination of Roe and Doe, which meant that you could abort all the way up through term. Look at New York’s laws under Roe. They allowed for abortion up through birth. And so what he’s talking about and what he refused to admit is that the purpose of an abortion is to produce a dead baby. It is not to save a mother’s life. And there are women that are dying from chemical abortions in states that have no pro-life restrictions. It’s not an issue of regulating abortion causing women to die. It’s an issue of women deserve excellent medical care, and they deserve medical care that treats both them and their child as patients. That’s what we do as OB-GYN.
SPEAKER 06 :
But when you become fixated on abortion, the ending of life, it’s hard to provide good health care and saving lives. I mean, that has become their top priority. It’s astounding. Dr. Harris, we’re out of time. Harrison, we’re out of time. I want to thank you for joining us. Appreciate your insight and input.
SPEAKER 16 :
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 06 :
Folks, it shows how radical they are. But look, if you’re not going to vote, you’re enabling that. You’re going to enable policies that kill babies. So vote. Vote. Vote about biblical values. Those who are most closely aligned to find out, text toolkit to 67742. All right, we’re going to be joined with us by Senator Johnson next. Don’t go away.
SPEAKER 02 :
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.
SPEAKER 07 :
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 SageCons 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 06 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Get your toolkit. Text TOOLKIT to 67742 so you’ll be prepared to cast an informed ballot. And by the way, I was speaking to a friend in Israel, Governor Israel Gans. His area covers Judea, and he was telling me that they’re actually going to hold a prayer event at Shiloh. That’s where the tabernacle was for about 369 years. They’re going to be holding a prayer meeting there on Sunday to pray for America, to pray for us, for our election coming up. I thought that was quite encouraging to know that there are so many looking to the United States and praying for us because the outcome of our election is going to affect so many people. And therefore, it’s incumbent upon us to vote. We need to cast our votes. You know, as Americans, we have a right, but as a Christian, we have a responsibility to vote and vote biblical values. Vote for those who are most closely aligned to biblical truth. Now, I know sometimes you’ve got to look, and that’s why we’ve done all the work for you to show where the candidates stand on the issues. That’s what’s available when you text TOOLKIT to 67742. Our word for today comes from 2 Kings 7, where the city of Samaria faces a severe famine due to a Syrian siege. Verse 3, Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate, and they said to one another, Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say we will enter the city, the famine is in the city, and we’ll die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live, and if they kill us, well, we only die.” We have nothing to lose. They go to the enemy’s camp and they discover it was abandoned. The tents, supplies, and everything else left intact, but the Syrian army had fled. Two observations. God brought about a supernatural victory, routing the Syrian army by putting inexplicable fear in their hearts and causing them to flee. And then second, God used society’s outcasts to discover the victory and deliver the good news to everyone else. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. Earlier this week, the Republican-led House Administration Committee said it found evidence that illegal donations from China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela may have been laundered to Democratic campaigns through the party’s online fundraising platform, ActBlue. Moreover, examples are now being brought forward to show that small-dollar donations have been made in the name of U.S. citizens who did not authorize or have any knowledge of the transactions. What else is known and what more needs to be uncovered? Joining me to discuss is Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. He serves on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, as well as the Committee on Finance and Budget. Senator Johnson, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, Tony, glad to be with you.
SPEAKER 06 :
So were you surprised by these allegations against ActBlue?
SPEAKER 10 :
No, listen, James O’Keefe uncovered this smurfing, as they call it, back in March of 2023. We immediately wrote to the FEC to find out what they are doing to investigate it. We kept following up week after week after week. They would never even tell us whether or not they were investigating this. I was part of a secure briefing before we left Washington in September. With DNI Haynes and FBI Director Wray, I was the last senator in the room asking questions. I asked them specifically about what are you doing? Because the briefing was about foreign influence on our election. You know, to that I say, duh. I mean, there always is foreign attempts of foreign influence. But I asked him, what are you doing about smurfing, about these massive numbers of donations being funneled through individuals without their knowledge, sometimes tens of thousands of donations, totally in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrat candidates through ActBlue? An FBI director looked clueless. Whether he knew or not, he told me nothing about it. DNI Haynes said nothing about it either. So here would be potentially clear evidence of campaign finance violations, foreign influence, and the FBI director is clueless. It’s grotesque. Now, we have reason to believe from an informant that there are suspicious activity reports that have been filed with the Treasury Department about this. Quite honestly, Tony, this should not be a very difficult thing to investigate. These are financial transactions, probably going through some kind of financial institution. I don’t have the capability. I can’t compel testimony. I don’t have subpoena power. This is for law enforcement. But if law enforcement is turning a blind eye to it, which is what appears they’ve done. Again, so we’re going to have to put pressure on federal law enforcement, Department of Justice, DOA, U.S. Treasury Department, determine what do you know about this, show us those suspicious activity reports, what are you doing to investigate it?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, as you mentioned, Senator Johnson, it appears that the money laundering detection system within the Treasury Department was triggered by some of these transactions. So you would think the Biden Treasury Department would be talking to the Biden Department of Justice and the Department of Justice would be acting upon this information unless they wanted to go on.
SPEAKER 10 :
You would think so. But, you know, Tony, we kind of uncovered Hunter Biden’s scandal through suspicious activity reports. These also remain dormant inside the Treasury Department under the Trump administration. So, again, this is where I start really questioning. And this is why it’s so difficult to investigate these agencies who are the law. They hold themselves above the law. They don’t believe they’re accountable to the American public, certainly not to Congress. And so they just give us the middle finger when it comes to our investigations. But there have to be actors inside the Treasury Department that are covering up for Democrats. Let’s be honest. I mean, I don’t think Secretary Mnuchin was trying to cover up for Hunter Biden. Just never probably reached his radar screen. So somebody in these agencies, highly partisan individuals who are just sitting on suspicious activity reports that indicate problems with Democrat leaders.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, these donations are being made in the names of innocent individuals who don’t even have a clue their names are being used. I mean, this is a form of identity theft. And these foreign actors allegedly are using American citizens unbeknownst to them. What do we know about that aspect of this?
SPEAKER 10 :
I think we suspect foreign actors, but it could also be American billionaires and millionaires as well. Again, somebody is taking massive amounts of money, filtering through ActBlue, breaking these large amounts of money up into five, 10, $15, $20 donations. I mean, you look at this, you see the detail, and I’ve seen the spreadsheets. There are a bunch of people who have downloaded files from the FTC. This is public information. There are tens and tens of thousands of these donations made. To one individual, I saw $1.4 million worth of donations made through one individual, I think 9,518 donations. So again, it Clear violation of campaign finance laws. I mean, these individuals, they’ve been contacted by people like James O’Keefe, other investigators. They have no knowledge that they have in their name that they’ve made literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to Democrat candidates. I mean, this should be a huge scandal. But again, I’ve been on this for well over a year and a half, and we couldn’t get anywhere with the FEC or the Department of Justice.
SPEAKER 06 :
So, Senator Johnson, there should be some provisions in place for these platforms like ActBlue that would do some verification of these transactions, should there not be?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, Act Blue doesn’t even require the CBV code, which is one of the ways to detect money laundering. They don’t require that for these donations. Again, it sounds very similar to what Hillary Clinton, the Clinton campaign had with those Chinese donations made in small dollars so you don’t have to comply with certain disclosure requirements.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, so let’s kind of play this out. Who can be held accountable here? I mean, who is going to be the one that takes action and who will be the ones held accountable?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, again, I really appreciate Chairman Coleman and Stiles now getting on this case, threatening subpoenas. I think they’ve now issued subpoenas. So, you know, from my standpoint, we have to find out who made the donations and then who handled the donations. You know, somebody obviously in the ActBlue organization is aware of this. I mean, they have to look at this as pretty odd themselves. They’ve kept their mouth shut on this. So again, I think there are going to be numerous people accountable or culpable for this. It’ll be the donor. It’ll be people within ActBlue. And from my standpoint, it should be people inside the Treasury Department that have sat on these suspicious activity reports and done nothing with them.
SPEAKER 06 :
And this is criminal?
SPEAKER 10 :
I believe it is. I’m not a lawyer. I’m not a prosecutor. But it sure seems like a clear violation of campaign finance law, at a minimum, to be making large donations, breaking them down into $10, $15, $20 donations, and making them on behalf of people without their knowledge.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, there is a there’s a Web site, I believe, that has been set up where people can actually check out. I think I’m going to put this on on on our Web site where people can check to see if their name has been used. I actually ran my name through to see if any donations had been made in my name and came up clear other than the donations I made myself. This is this is how the left operates. I mean, it’s deceptive. It is deceitful, dishonest. I mean, I don’t know what else to call it, but this seems to be a common thread that we see woven throughout the left.
SPEAKER 10 :
And they have people to protect them in the media and in these federal agencies. I thought it was interesting that Kamala Harris was saying that we have to end the Republican playbook of fear and division. I mean, how galling. That is the Democrat playbook. Fear, division, add lies and deception to it. That’s all the Democrats have. They certainly can’t run this campaign on their record. Their record is one of destruction of America. And so all they can do is literally lie, falsely accuse their political opponents of doing exactly what they do. creating fear and division within America. It’s scandalous.
SPEAKER 06 :
Speaking of the media covering, I want to play this clip again. I’m sure you’ve heard it. I’ve played it multiple times on the program here, but it was Joe Biden on Tuesday describing Trump supporters as garbage. Play clip number 12, please.
SPEAKER 05 :
Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something. I don’t know the Puerto Rican that I know or Puerto Rico where I’m in my home state of Delaware. They’re good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, before I get you to respond, I want to read again the second paragraph of the AP story on this, where it said, in a call organized by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino, Biden on Tuesday responded to a comic at Trump’s rally who called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Biden’s initial comments were garbled. Were those comments that you heard from the president garbled?
SPEAKER 10 :
NO, AGAIN, THIS IS JUST FURTHER PROOF OF THE COMPLICITY AND CORRUPTION OF THE LEGACY IN CORPORATE MEDIA COMING UP FOR DEMOCRATS, CARRYING THEIR WATER. NO, IT WAS AN OUTRAGEOUS COMMENT, BUT IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE. I MEAN, PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS ACCUSED HALF AMERICA OF BEING POTENTIAL DOMESTIC TERRORISTS. candidate, Kamala Harris, basically says that we Trump supporters love fascists, love Nazis. Hillary Clinton called us deplorables. President Biden or President Obama said we get bitter and we cling to our guns and religion like that’s a bad thing. No, this is a group of people who don’t like Americans, at least half Americans. I don’t think they even have respect for their own voters. They just want them to vote for them to give them power. to take away our freedoms. But again, President Trump made the best comment. You cannot lead America if you don’t love Americans. And I would add to that, if you don’t love America. And when President Obama, before he became president, said in five days we’re going to fundamentally transform America. Tony, do you even like something, much less love something you want to fundamentally transform? I would argue not. So again, what they’ve done is fundamentally destroyed this country. That’s what this election is all about, is we’ve got to turn the situation around.
SPEAKER 06 :
With that in mind, Senator Ron Johnson, what do people need to do going forward right now?
SPEAKER 10 :
They have to vote. And not only do they have to vote, they have to talk to everybody they know that loves freedom, that loves this country, that wants to rebuild this country, make it a great country again. They’ve got to get those folks to get out to polls as well. We need a landslide election. We need to make the result too big to rig, because we know Democrats want to make it easy to cheat, which means they want to cheat. We see them cheating. They’re going to cheat. We just have to overwhelm their cheating.
SPEAKER 06 :
And people need to realize it’s not just the presidential, as important as that is, but we’ve got the balance of the Congress and the Senate is going to be decided in this election. In fact, control of the Congress, the House, is probably going to be decided by maybe six or seven districts, primarily in blue states.
SPEAKER 10 :
No, we need to really run the table in order to start turning the situation around. I’ve been saying if we win, we’re going to be like the dog that caught the car. I mean, we’ll have a big mess on our hands caused by Democrats, and it’s going to take more than just one election to turn it around. And so we’ve got to get energized. We need to understand this is going to be a long-term problem, long-term problems that we have to solve, secure the border. reduce the deficit spending, start getting control of our debt and deficit. Stop the endless wars. I mean, stop the endless wars. So again, we face many challenges as a nation, but it would be so much better if we could do this as a united country, and that’s something President Trump is doing. The coalition he’s assembled with Bobby Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk, last night, Brett Favre, first time he’s ever come out politically because he’s so concerned about his children and grandchildren. I mean, it’s such a heartfelt and genuine endorsement that Brett Favre gave President Trump. That’s what we need. We need Democrats, independents, Republicans who love this country, realize we have problems to fix, to unite, come together, heal this nation, start fixing these problems.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. Senator Ron Johnson, always great to have you on the program. Thanks for joining us today. Thanks for having me on. All right. Folks, pray, vote, stand. And the senator’s right. Even after the election, one of the things, in fact, I was on a call today with some pollsters that were looking at some of the numbers. The nation is divided, and it’s going to get worse after the election regardless of which way it goes. I’m praying it goes the right way, but… Either way it goes, the division is only going to deepen. We need a move of God, all right? We need a move of God. Pray, pray that God would move on this country in the hearts of the people. Vote, we need to vote for those that will at least allow that to occur. And then we need to stand for biblical truth, no matter what. No matter what the outcome is, the day after the election, we have to be committed to standing for biblical truth. So to help you in all of that, we’re here. We’re here to help you, to do the work for you. We can’t do everything, but we can provide for you the resources you need, and that’s what’s in the toolkit. So text TOOLKIT to 67742 so that you can cast an informed ballot on Tuesday or before, if you can still early vote. But pray. Pray for our nation. Pray for our leaders, all our leaders. All right, folks, out of time for today. Thanks for joining us. Until next time, keep praying, vote, and keep standing.
SPEAKER 15 :
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.
