Iran, the Smithsonian and Socialism
The Washington Stand’s Casey Harper shares an update on the Iran conflict, the future role Senator Lindsey Graham’s sister may play in representing South Carolina, and elections in Arizona.
Tony Perkins discusses the escalating U.S. conflict with Iran and a proposed 10-day ceasefire with Senator Ted Budd, who argues that America must bring the conflict to a decisive and permanent conclusion. They also address threats against Israel, developments in Lebanon and proposed sanctions targeting the nations helping finance Russia’s war.
Congressman Mark Harris provides an update on government funding, the National Defense Authorization Act and legislation to
SPEAKER 12 :
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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Later today, House Republicans are going to move closer to responsibly funding the government as well. We’re going to pass a totally clean, very simple continuing resolution that will fund the government through November. The CR is as clean as they come. There are no poison pills. There’s no hidden maneuvers. There’s nothing other than a simple extension of current funding levels. Now, this is going to be one to watch.
SPEAKER 08 :
That was House Speaker Mike Johnson speaking to reporters earlier today before the House voted to adopt the rule governing debate on several Republican priorities, including a continuing resolution to fund the government. Welcome to this Tuesday, July 21st edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Tony Perkins. Thanks so much for tuning in. Well, coming up, today’s 214 to 211 vote to adopt the House rule has set the stage for debate and votes on several Republican priorities. We’ll discuss the latest with North Carolina Congressman Mark Harris. In international news, regional mediators are advancing a proposed 10-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran after 10 straight nights of U.S. strikes. We’ll discuss the latest with U.S. Senator Ted Budd of North Carolina. Plus, a House subcommittee hearing was held today on the Smithsonian Institution’s efforts to reshape America’s past. Dr. Matthew Spaulding, one of the witnesses who testified, will join us. All of that and more straight ahead. All right, let’s begin in the Middle East, where the United States launched another round of overnight strikes against Iran after President Trump vowed Tehran would pay for the deaths of American service members. Meanwhile, regional mediators are attempting to broker another 10-day ceasefire, though the fighting has continued. Joining me now is Washington Stand reporter Casey Harper. All right, Casey, what’s the latest on this conflict? Where does it stand this evening, and what should we be watching for next?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, Tony, President Trump is really considering two very different options, according to reports. One is a 10-day ceasefire offered by the regional mediators that would theoretically open the Strait of Hormuz. The other is starting a deeper military campaign alongside of Israel. Now, this comes as reports that Iran may have moved their nuclear centrifuges underground into actually a mountain in Iran. Here’s what President Trump said earlier today when he was asked if he believes that’s true into that mountain, Pickaxe Mountain, and what he would do about it. Here’s a clip.
SPEAKER 04 :
we’ll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon and there’s not not a thing they can do about it you know normally i wouldn’t say that if i thought they could do something about it i would never say that but we’ll be hitting that area pretty soon uh and and very heavily
SPEAKER 10 :
Now, Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified site that experts say would be beyond the reach of even the most powerful bunker buster bombs in the U.S. arsenal. President Trump also said that the U.S. would, quote, take care of things when he was asked about the Houthis, that’s the Iranian partners, really, in Yemen, who have been threatening to place an embargo on the Red Sea and especially go after the U.S. partner, Saudi Arabia. So this is really widening, and it’s raising more questions about possible troops on the ground, Tony.
SPEAKER 08 :
We’re going to talk more about that with Senator Ted Budd here shortly. Let’s look here in D.C., Casey. Dates have been announced for the funeral services of the late Senator Lindsey Graham. When are the D.C. and South Carolina services scheduled to take place?
SPEAKER 10 :
So the D.C. memorial is scheduled for July 28th. It will begin with an arrival ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, which naturally recognizes the senators 31 years of service in Congress. It will then be followed by a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral. And at this service, President Trump’s expected to attend. On July 29, the South Carolina funeral procession will include a law enforcement presentation, an F-16 flyover from the 169th Fighter Wing of the McIntyre Joint National Guard Base, and a church service. The funerals were arranged by his sister, now Senator Darlene Graham-Nordone, who actually announced last night on Fox News that she’s running for a full term in the Senate. By the way, she has President Trump’s endorsement. Here’s a clip.
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I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER 16 :
So you’re inclined to get in, or have you even made a final decision?
SPEAKER 19 :
I’ve made a decision.
SPEAKER 16 :
You’re in.
SPEAKER 19 :
I’m in.
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Now, she’s not the only one, and other contenders who have announced they’ll run for that seat includes South Carolina Representative Russell Frye and Representative Ralph Norman. Now, Republican senators have recommended that Graham move into most of her late brother’s committee seats, judiciary budget, appropriations. But right now, it’s unclear if that’ll actually happen, Tony.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, let’s shift to some other political news, election news, specifically Arizona. Tell us what we’re gonna be watching there this evening.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, in the governor’s race, President Trump has endorsed Congressman Andy Biggs and his primary against Congressman David Schweiker. Now, the winner of that contest will face off against Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs this November. In District 1, former NFL player Jay Feely, who does have President Trump’s endorsement, is competing for a congressional seat there. And he’ll race against Representative Joe Chaplik and a businessman named John Travaux. Over in District 5, former Sheriff Mark Lamb, also endorsed by the president, described a few headlines. He’ll race against Daniel Keenan for Congress. But to win, he’s going to have to overcome some, you know, lingering accusations regarding his text messages. But all this, of course, Tony, goes to the big question of whether Republicans can keep the House and the Senate this November.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right. We’ll be watching the results of that tonight. Casey, we’ll see you a little bit later in the program. Thanks, Tony. All right, I want to turn back now to the U.S. conflict with Iran. Joining us now to discuss this and a bit more is Senator Ted Budd of North Carolina, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Senator Budd, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always good to see you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, so we have a couple things kind of floating around. We have mediators trying to put forth a 10-day ceasefire, the president talking about ramping up attacks on Iran. What do you make of what we’re seeing?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, we’ve tried the ceasefire, and I commend President Trump on attempting this through diplomacy, but look at who we’re actually dealing with. And President Trump, I commend him, he’s got, he’s had 47, not, Iran has had 47 years to entrench themselves. So we’ve had president after president, particularly Biden and Obama, which left us a real mess. I mean, they sent pallets of cash over there to grow their defenses, and that’s what our troops are fighting against right now from the surrounding territory. But it’s very, very frustrating what President Trump is facing, particularly with the Democrats trying to tie his hand and reduce his options. We need to give the president everything that he needs to make the right decision at the right time. And I think he’s got good intelligence, and he’s making good decisions. But all of us, all of us want to be done with this, and we want to be done decisively and permanently.
SPEAKER 08 :
Are you concerned about the prospects of another ceasefire? Because it appears that time is on the side of the Iranian regime. I mean, they can kind of wait this out, but political pressure here at home builds. And it doesn’t look like these, frankly, just doesn’t look like a diplomatic resolution is possible with these folks.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, their strategy from the beginning has not been to win as we think of a win. It’s been to delay and defuse. They defuse themselves through proxies around the region that fight us, they fight Israel, they shoot at our troops, all sorts of the worst forms of terrorism, and they delay. They just try to exist and stay in power in perpetuity. They’re very fragmented and they’re severely degraded. So let’s think about in the last… Since February 28th, since this conflict began, we have severely degraded their capabilities. We’ve set them back decades. We’re not done yet, and we want to be done quickly and decisively, but we have had a lot of wins in degrading their capabilities.
SPEAKER 08 :
They’re certainly degraded, but they’re not neutralized. I mean, we’re seeing them still striking out. But I do notice that there’s a difference. I talked about this yesterday on the program with retired General Teichert, that the targets that are now being selected are different than we saw in the first round.
SPEAKER 07 :
They are, and they’re very fragmented. They’re lines of communication that was probably slightly reestablished during the ceasefire, and that’s what they do. They’re not trying to lick their wounds and take care of their people. They’re essentially trying to restock so that they can lob more assaults to their now enemies around the Gulf. You know, anybody that’s supportive of the U.S., they are they’re attacking Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi through the Houthis, UAE. It’s been horrendous what they’ve done in the Gulf region. And those were largely largely peaceful neighbors. But again, they’re they just try to delay and defuse. And that’s the strategy that they’re going to do. Peace ceasefire, no ceasefire.
SPEAKER 08 :
Senator Bud, I want to shift gears. You mentioned Israel a moment ago. I know you’re a big supporter of Israel, as am I. But I want to get your thoughts on the mayor of New York, Zoran Mandami, saying that he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to New York for the United Nations meeting.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I can tell you straight up, that’s just never going to happen. What he’s doing is virtue signaling to his very left-wing base, the pro-Hamas, anti-Israel group here in the United States. And again, that’s not the majority. This New York City has the second largest population of Jewish people outside of Israel. That’ll never happen, but he is trying to virtue signal to his left-wing base.
SPEAKER 08 :
Speaking of the Middle East, President Trump met with Lebanon’s president at the White House today. The Lebanese leader was expected to speak with President Trump about pressing Prime Minister Netanyahu on pulling back Israeli troops out of Lebanon. What do we know about that meeting? And, I mean, there are some positive developments here with Lebanon and Israel speaking. What do you see unfolding there?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, there’s a long series of decades of history, including back to the 1980s when President Ronald Reagan was dealing with this. I mean, you had the conflict with Syria, Druze, Iran through a proxy. Israel was there. Christians were there. So it’s had decades and decades of conflict. It’s a very complex area. The goal is ultimately to have Lebanon stand on its own, not be taken over by radical forces, but to be an independent country. So we look forward to supporting that. And I think President Trump had some good conversations along those lines.
SPEAKER 08 :
Senator, while I have you, on the international front, a bill authored by our friend, the late Senator Lindsey Graham, has seen some momentum. That’s the Russian sanctions package. He was on this program many times talking about that. He introduced it in April of 2025 to put the squeeze on Russia and secondary sanctions on some of these other countries that’s propping up their war machines. What do you think the prospects of that are for moving forward?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, we’ve got over 80 co-sponsors on this, and that is great. So that’s obviously bipartisan. This is different than regular sanctions, which target directly at Russia. We’ve already got those in place, but Russia has tried to end run those with shadow fleets and black market sales of oil. This goes after the customers, those that are keeping Russia afloat and are buying that illegal oil through the shadow fleets. This would primarily be China, perhaps India. So it would go after the customers. And I think it would really have some teeth and help choke that off and would really tell Putin, look, you can’t do this. And the longer you have this war of aggression against the Ukrainians, the more it’s going to cost you and your people. Do you see that moving forward in the Senate soon? I really do. There’s talk about adding Iran to that, but that would change the political dynamics since the Democrats are trying to prevent the president from moving forward and being successful in Iran, not giving him the options he needs, trying to throw out War Powers Act. So look, we all want Iran to be done, but when you add the Iran complexity into the Russia sanctions bill, it changes the political dynamics. So I suggest let Russia stand on its own in that legislation, and then we can deal with Iran separately.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, Senator Ted Budd, always great to see you. Thanks so much for taking time to join us. Thanks, Tony. All right, folks, as America continues the situation with Iran, as this unfolds, I want to encourage you to join us in praying, praying for our military, praying for Israel, praying for the people of Iran. And I’ll tell you more about that on the other side of the break, so don’t go away.
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One nation under God. America’s undeniable foundation of faith.
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Before America was exceptional, America was prayerful. Just as Paul urged Timothy, first of all, that prayer, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people, our founding fathers understood deeply the command to be devoted to prayer. This great American experiment began as a mighty appeal to heaven, petitioning the Lord of Heaven’s armies to intervene for the righteous cause of liberty. As war began to sweep across the colonies, the Continental Congress called days of fasting and prayer in their fight against the British. The Lord answered, and the colonies prevailed. Yet in spite of victory, our founding fathers knew that dependence on God in prayer was not to be forgotten. With countless challenges facing our young nation, John Adams declared national days of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer to directly address the many trials and call on Americans to seek mercy and restoration. Years later, in one of America’s darkest hours, Abraham Lincoln stood upon this unshakable foundation by calling the nation to repentance, declaring, We have seen the hand of God answer prayers again and again as our nation has turned to Him. However, the wise warning of Ronald Reagan still stands. If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, we will be a nation gone under. Through war, uncertainty, and turning points in history, many of our leaders have known where to turn. And now it’s our turn. We echo the call of George Washington 250 years ago, humbly to supplicate the mercy of Almighty God, that it would please him to pardon all our manifold sins and transgressions, and finally establish the peace and freedom of America upon a solid and lasting foundation, the undeniable foundation of faith.
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SPEAKER 08 :
All right, welcome back to Washington Watch. Glad to have you with us on this Tuesday. All right, I mentioned as we’re going into the break about praying for Iran. We do need a resolution to this situation, as we were talking about with Senator Budd. It has got to be the right solution. There’s a lot at stake. Of course, we’ve seen in recent days members of our military that have been killed in this conflict. So I want to encourage you to pray for the president. that he would have wisdom and he would get good counsel, good counsel, and he would execute this war appropriately, this conflict. And that we would pray for our men and women in uniform, for their protection. We also pray for the people of Iran, that they would rise up. They’d have the opportunity to rise up and throw off this regime. If you’d like to join in that prayer effort, text IRAN to 67742. That’s IRAN to 67742. Earlier this afternoon, the House voted to open the floor for business, setting up floor debate and final votes on a number of Republican priorities like the National Defense Authorization Act, the temporary government funding bill, and Reconciliation 3.0. The question is, can they get them across the line with just a few days? to go before the August recess. Joining us now to discuss this and more is Congressman Mark Harris, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the Education Workforce Committee. He represents the 8th Congressional District of North Carolina. Congressman Harris, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, Tony, it’s great to be with you this evening.
SPEAKER 08 :
And I think you’ve just stepped out of a Judiciary Committee hearing, a kind of a contest, a kind of contentious markup on the permanent Trump Secure Border Act, which codifies President Trump’s border policies. What’s happening in there right now?
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. This is crucial legislation that was passed in the previous Congress, known as H.R.2. We have not passed it in this particular Congress, but we’re marking it up today, and hopefully we’re going to be seeing it come to the floor of the House before long. and get that through. And it is. It’s just a landmark legislation that codifies so many of the things that the Trump administration has had to put in place. And, of course, it’s like so many things we do here in judiciary. The Democrats are continuing to offer amendment after amendment to try to slow down the process. We’ve been able to defeat every one of those amendments. We started at 10 o’clock this morning. We’re still going strong. I don’t know how late we’re going to go tonight. But we’re… Chairman Jordan is convinced that we’re going to get this done. And I’m very, very thankful for Chip Roy and his work and really not only being the author of this legislation, but his tenacity to make sure that we deal with it has been has been tremendous.
SPEAKER 08 :
So coffee and energy drinks for everybody tonight to keep things going. Talking about the floor, what are we anticipating is going to be on the House floor tonight?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I think this is going to be a big, really not only tonight, but in tomorrow. One of the things tonight we’re going to be voting on is going to be this CR that is going to assure that we keep the government open. That’s just a vital issue that we’ve got to make sure that we pass in the House. We don’t know what Democrats are going to do with it. But the real option is to make sure we take that page out of the Democratic playbook that they seem to always go to when they can’t stop the wins that the Trump administration has been getting. They always just try to throw a wrench in and shut the government down. So for once, we’re going to get ahead of the game. Pass the CR to make sure that when we come to the end of September, they’re not able to shut the government down as we go into October in the midterm. So that’s going to be facing us this week. Also, the budget resolution is crucial that you touched on earlier. That’s going to unlock. That’s the first step for the House to pass this, to unlock the reconciliation process that kind of lays out the framework. And then it’s going to go over to the Senate And of course, all these are gonna go over to the Senate. The CR that we will hopefully pass will also go over to the Senate and we’ll have to see what they’re gonna do or whether or not they pick it up, whether or not they can get the seven votes. Leader Thune has made it clear that they’re going to take it up. And so whether or not they can find seven Democrats that are willing to go along with the CR just to assure that the government doesn’t shut down and that we can keep conversation going. That’s going to be crucial.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see. They’re blocking the National Defense Authorization Act for our military in the Senate right now. So it’s just interesting the attack that they’re taking, the strategies they’re using. But on the reconciliation package, that just requires the Republicans to vote for that. They just need 51 votes in the Senate. But it’s got to come out of the House first. I know that there was a Republican conference meeting earlier today where folks shared where they stood on it. What’s happening right now? How does that look? Do you think it’s going to make its way through?
SPEAKER 05 :
I’m feeling a certain sense of confidence, Tony, that we are going to be able to get it through. I think the fact that the rule vote passed, I think, was a major hurdle that we had to make sure we got through. And we were able to do that earlier today at 1.30. It took a little longer maybe than some folks were anticipating. But nevertheless, the rule vote, as you said earlier, opens up the floor for business. And really what I gathered as I listened in conference today, There’s a lot of things that people are concerned about. There’s facts here of the lack of pay-fors that we are concerned about, but yet the fact that we can see the Save America Act actually being able to be passed by Republicans and maybe overcoming the blockade that Chuck Schumer and others have done for, again, Save America Act that 85% of Americans I think I’ve seen actually support this This is big, and I really believe that we’re going to have the votes to be able to get it over the finish line. We’ve just got to get everybody here, and they’ve got to be present when we take this vote.
SPEAKER 08 :
Now, you mentioned the pay-fors. That’s offsetting this additional cost because we’re on track for a $2 trillion deficit this year. But there’s also concerns, because I’ve talked to several members, In the Reconciliation First Bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill, there was a defunding of Planned Parenthood. That expired on July the 4th. That’s not in this because it is very limited. There’s concerns about the direction on the life issue. What are you hearing on that?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, there are concerns about that, and we’re certainly continuing to add our voice to the fact that we’ve got to do something here. I was in a meeting with a speaker just yesterday, and I do believe that he is working with a number of pro-life groups and really moving strategically as we get into the fall. of some things that we possibly can do that would almost change the landscape of the way Planned Parenthood is viewed. This has got to happen. The fact that we passed out of the House a 10-year ban in the One Big Beautiful Bill, as you remember, got to the Senate. They cut it back to one year, and that just expired on July 4th or July 5th, I think. So it is at the top of our list. We’re continuing to push toward that.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, Congressman Mark Harris, always great to see you. Thanks for joining us. Great to see you. Thank you for having me. All right. All right, folks, stick with us. We’re back with more after this.
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SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for tuning in. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Earlier today, a House Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing on examining the Smithsonian’s efforts to reshape the past. Sounds kind of Orwellian, doesn’t it? The hearing was held following the release of a scathing White House report earlier this month that revealed how the Smithsonian Institution has shifted away from straightforward historical education to extreme political activism. So what were the takeaways from the hearing? Well, joining us now in studio to discuss this is Dr. Matthew Spaulding, who was one of the witnesses who testified today before the House Oversight’s Doge Subcommittee. Dr. Spaulding is a professor in constitutional government and dean of the Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College and the author of Making of the American Mind, the story of our Declaration of Independence, kind of telling the story. theology behind the Declaration. Dr. Spalding, welcome to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s great to be with you, Johnny. It’s been a while. It’s good to see you. It has been. It’s good to see you. It’s good to see you. It looks like you’ve been busy. I have. I have. Lots going on. Which makes the Smithsonian question so pertinent and immediate. Of all times, when we’re spelling the 250th anniversary of America. There’s really nothing there about America. It’s just strikingly odd and deeply disturbing. What is there and replaced it is very shocking, but it doesn’t tell the American story. So you can’t go there and learn about America.
SPEAKER 08 :
I watched your testimony today, clips of it, and what we have right here, I mean, just you can look out our window and you can see it.
SPEAKER 03 :
they’re not not only not telling the american history the story of america in that unifying story they’re they’re tearing it apart they are and uh what’s amazing about it is is first of all you can go go see it go see it for yourself but you don’t have to take my word for it it’s in their own their own documents lay out very clearly what they’re doing there’s this is kind of a post-modern theory of history which is not about history everything’s about a struggles about oppression and oppressed peoples and things, and so everything about America that we would think you would find in a history museum of national American history is gone, or at least so downplayed and decentered that it’s meaningless. And in its place, they have all sorts of other things which are first of all, problematic and unusual and odd, but also in many cases very disturbing. I mean, a small, a little girl’s diary about wanting, whether she’s gonna have grow male sexual parts. There’s drag queens, there’s all sorts of outfits used for odd sexual practices. Yeah, just what I need to know about American history. Exactly. And that’s what’s replaced it. So it’s a one-two punch. So there are things there that are problematic, but why they’re there is that this is their view of history is how to bring those things in and replace history with what they think it ought to be. So it really has been a takeover. It’s an ideological takeover of this museum.
SPEAKER 08 :
Have they literally removed American history from their mission statement?
SPEAKER 03 :
They changed the mission statement. They removed history itself, now it merely refers to our past, but removed the word American, but it also added the word empowerment. So the objective is to empower people by essentially using history and telling our past.
SPEAKER 08 :
Slightly joking in the intro about Orwellian, because he who controls the present controls the past, and who controls the past controls the future.
SPEAKER 03 :
The assumption here is that, well, the American History Museum is perfectly fine, and others are now intervening to change it in whitewashed history. It’s the exact opposite. Unbeknownst to many people, right before our very eyes, funded by Congress, this has been going on for a number of years. Now it no longer tells the American story at all.
SPEAKER 08 :
Which is like nobody paying attention.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think the right people weren’t paying attention. That’s how they wanted it. New leadership at the Smithsonian General, then the director of the museum in particular. And then they’ve been putting out every year various interpretive plans, various annual reports. They changed the mission. We could have seen it coming, but now we’re seeing the fruits of it. And taxpayers are paying for this. And we’re paying for it. Their budget’s about a billion dollars a year, and about two-thirds comes from Congress.
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, they have this intersectional critical theory. I mean, all this stuff that we’ve been fighting, that we’ve been talking about at college campuses, we’re funding right here.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s now at home, and it runs the National History Museum.
SPEAKER 08 :
But the striking thing about this, or the alarming thing about this, is that the Smithsonian has long been a trusted institution that has been a part of the curriculum in America’s public schools.
SPEAKER 03 :
So this is kind of a spigot. It’s the number one institution that people go to. Schools, students, scholars…
SPEAKER 08 :
I mean, when kids come here, and I look at them out my window, they go to all of these museums when they come here on school trips.
SPEAKER 03 :
So they go there, and they’ll learn nothing about the narrative or chronology of this history. They will learn that Benjamin Franklin had indentures and sleighs, and ponders whether he actually did electrical experiments on his… on his slaves. They don’t know that. And they don’t know that. And then they talk about Hamilton. But it’s a good narrative. There’s no information, no historical information that Hamilton ever owned slaves. Indeed, both Franklin and Hamilton, unmentioned in the museum, actually both became heads of abolitionist organizations in their home states. But that’s not there. Doesn’t fit the narrative. Doesn’t fit the narrative. Exactly. And so we get caught in the weeds of the particulars. The particulars are shocking. But you put the particulars together and see what’s replaced. It doesn’t tell American history. There’s no narrative.
SPEAKER 08 :
So, Dr. Spalding, is this a part of, you know, everybody’s shocked right now with Democratic Socialists coming on. But isn’t this a part of it? Isn’t this the wave of the march through the institutions?
SPEAKER 03 :
Very much. So this goes back to what’s called a critical theory, postmodernism, which grows out of is kind of connected to a lot of these early ideas in the academic world, which have given rise to a new rise in, among other things, these socialist movements, which is that there are no permanent truths. It’s completely based on absolute relativism and nihilism. And politics is merely an assertion of power. In this case, history is an assertion of power, and so we’re going to rearrange it. In politics, it’s an assertion of power, so we’re going to now assert ourselves, despite any claims of arguments, truth, deliberations, and in the case of America, a grounding in these truths.
SPEAKER 08 :
We’ve got to leave it there. Thanks for the making of the American mind. It explores this even further. Dr. Spalding, good to see you. Stick with us, folks. We’re back with more after this.
SPEAKER 06 :
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Family Research Council began over 40 years ago, like all great movements of God, with prayer. Today, rooted in the heart of the nation’s capital, FRC continues to champion faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. FRC is one of those bright lights that helps us focus on true north.
SPEAKER 01 :
And I shudder to think, had they not been here, that it could have been worse, worse, worse. The Family Research Council has literally millions of people that follow what they do. And that small army makes a difference. Every time I meet with Tony, he prays for me. That matters. This is a grassroots organization. Tony and his team in Washington do a great job. But the power of the FRC is the people.
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s just a wonderful parachurch organization that doesn’t seek to take the place of the church, but it seeks to assist the family and the church as we try to move forward successfully, not in a defensive mode, but in an offensive mode as we seek to live our lives according to the Holy Scriptures.
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FRC is not going to be whooped. You know, we’re going to fight. We’re going to take a stand. And again, we don’t retreat.
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What is God’s role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government, a powerful series that explores the connection between biblical principles and the American government. equipping you with truth to engage in today’s most pressing debates. We’ll uncover the foundations of our nation’s history and why it’s relevant for today. Join us to defend God’s plan for government because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. You can view the course at frc.org slash God in Government or on the Stand Firm app.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, welcome back to Washington Watch. If you’ve not already made plans to attend this year’s Pray Vote Stand Summit, I want to invite you to join us. The summit’s going to be held September the 24th through the 26th at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. That’s just outside Washington here. This will be an opportunity for you to interact with fellow believers from across the country. You’ll be able to hear from issue experts, government officials. who are standing for faith, family, and freedom. So register today. It’s going to be a great event. Text SUMMIT to 67742. That’s SUMMIT to 67742. Our word for today comes from Psalm 67. God be merciful to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your salvation among the nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God. Let all the peoples praise you. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations on earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.” Now, notice the progression of this psalm, the request, the reason, and the result. A request for God’s mercy, His blessing, His presence and favor. The reason for the request is that the world would know the ways of God, that the world may know the salvation of God, and the result The nations will be glad under God’s righteous rule, and the nations will praise God. Our prayer should be centered not merely on receiving God’s blessings, but on making Him known and glorified. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text BIBLE to 67742. All right, the growing popularity, as we were just talking about briefly with Dr. Spaulding, about the embrace of socialism has been raising concerns as our nation witnesses the gains made by the Democratic Socialists. And as highlighted during today’s House Republican leaders’ briefing, socialism is just a step toward something worse.
SPEAKER 13 :
Socialism, communism—I mean, my view, and I think in reality, socialism is just communism light. It is a step, as my mother says, it is a step to full communism. If socialism succeeds, then you get communism.
SPEAKER 08 :
That was New York Congresswoman Nicole Malatakis, whose mother fled communist Cuba when Fidel Castro came into power in 1959. So what’s driving this rise in socialism, and how should we think about this? To discuss this and other topics, we want to bring in today’s Washington Stand panel. With us is the Washington Stand managing editor for broadcast, Casey Harper, and senior writer Joshua Arnold. Casey, Joshua, thanks for joining me today.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thanks, Don. Happy to be here.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right. So, Casey, let’s start with you. We’re hearing a lot more about socialism in recent weeks, largely because of the wins that the socialist Democrats have won in primary elections. So what do you make of this rise in socialism in America?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I mean, if you thought Mom Donnie was a one-off of just New York City, that seems like more not true. It’s actually possibly the beginning of a wave. And it’s really interesting when you hear stories like we heard at a congressional hearing today. It shows that socialism is an incredibly powerful lie because you can have people firsthand come up and tell you, this ruined my life. It destroyed my family. And it’s still you want to believe it. People in every country around the world has tried this experiment. They offer free stuff. I would argue it’s a counterfeit kingdom if we want to go deep quickly. Well, we are going to go there. Okay. We’re going to go there. I’ll stay in the stable.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, that’s fine. That’s fine. Joshua. What can you tell us about their platform? Because they’re not like hiding what they want to do.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s right. So the Democratic Socialists of America is the group that’s fronting a lot of these candidates. And for starters, they want to take over the Democratic Party from the inside, use its apparatus as an election vehicle.
SPEAKER 08 :
They’re like a parasite.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, that’s almost how they see themselves, yes. But what’s been making the rounds in the news is their plan to abolish the Senate. They want to abolish the Senate. That’s the upper chamber. That’s right. That’s the elite. That’s right. Yeah, so James Madison in The Federalist wrote that the Senate is a check on corruption, a corrective to the sudden and violent passions that sweep across the chamber, and provides competence and stability to lawmaking. But when you dig deeper, they don’t just want to abolish the Senate, because they understand how hard that would be. You basically have to rewrite the Constitution.
SPEAKER 10 :
They do want to do that. They do want to do that.
SPEAKER 11 :
They want to abolish the Electoral College. They want to replace the presidency and the court with an executive and judiciary subservient to the House. They want to make it a multi-party system by having ranked choice voting everywhere. Basically, in their own words, they plan to win the battle for democracy, draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic.
SPEAKER 08 :
Casey, your former professor was just in here in the studio. That’s right. Yes, previous segment. Dr. Spalding. You know, a lot of this sounds very similar to the French Revolution.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, and there’s a lot of things we could say about that. We could start with the fact that it did not end well for the Church, the French Revolution.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, that’s where I do want to start.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, they executed all the priests, basically.
SPEAKER 08 :
But let’s start, because I want to explore how we got here. People just kind of woke up and said, man, where are these socialists coming from? This didn’t just happen. It’s just like what he was talking with Dr. Spaulding. The institutions here, the Smithsonian, didn’t just last night start putting in all this anti-American stuff on their shelves and on their walls. There is a process of what happens before socialism can manifest itself. It’s kind of like those bark beetles that kill trees. They look for weakness, the trees that are weak, the bark that is weak, and then they start to infest. If you look historically, And Dr. Spalding actually talked, we touched on this very, very briefly, but the theological underpinnings of our nation were weakened by the religious conviction, the church, the institution of the church. I think being weakened is what has opened the door to the spread of socialist ideology, which actually replaces religion.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, that’s right. There’s a vacuum that’s been filled. It’s actually reminiscent of 1 Samuel 8, where the people demand a king. And Samuel’s kind of frustrated by this. And the Lord says, they haven’t rejected you, they’ve rejected me. And even though Samuel warns them, you’re going to have big government, you’re going to have taxes, your sons will be conscripted as soldiers, your daughters will be concubines, all of that happens. But what you notice before that is that Samuel, the prophet, did not raise good sons. And because his sons were of poor character, the people of Israel rejected what I would say is the equivalent of the church. They rejected the spiritual leaders of their time. And then only then did they turn to big government. And I think the same things happen here. People have been disillusioned. It’s not all the church’s fault, but they’ve turned away from the faith. And then you have to turn to another authority.
SPEAKER 08 :
Alexis de Tocqueville kind of summarize simply similar to that is that what made America unique was by teaching moral self-government that we were able to build this foundation that allowed freedom in our Republic to prosper. He said without religion citizens become more inclined to look towards centralized authority to solve their problems and we’re seeing this today I see this as my children, adult children in law enforcement, the calls that they get today, they literally get calls for parents or single mothers usually calling to get the police to come in and force their kids to clean up their room. Really? I mean, it’s just crazy. Wow. That how the government is stepping in to enforce… order that should be done in the homes or simply by self-government. When that breaks down, something has to fill the void. So fatherlessness in that case.
SPEAKER 11 :
You could almost see it as a tale of two revolutions from the late 1700s. You’ve got the American Revolution, where you have that moral foundation underlaid, and then you’ve got the French Revolution about a decade later, which has an explicitly anti-Christian, foundation. They’re working from Rousseau who he writes that his version of the totalitarian democracy has to do away with real Christianity. It can’t have it.
SPEAKER 08 :
But it replaces it.
SPEAKER 11 :
It replaces it with essentially worship of the state and it fails. His French Revolution caused Reign of Terror only last three years. The backlash ends up in Napoleon and then that con job essentially has been jumping around the world for a couple of centuries from country to country and it fails every time that it’s tried but it keeps moving around with a new fresh face promising that this is the future.
SPEAKER 08 :
In Western civilization, there’s usually a process, looking at some of the authors that have written about this, there’s really a five-step process. You’ve got confidence in the transcendent authorities declines. And I would argue that happened about 100 years ago in this country in the Scopes monkey trials where religion was publicly attacked. And in many ways, evangelicals retreated. Even though we won the trial, they retreated from cultural engagement. So rejection of the sons of Samuel. Exactly. Right. Then you had the moral authority of the church weakened in, I would say, 1962 and 63 with Supreme Court decisions regarding prayer and Bible in our public schools. That was pushed out. But society is still wanting to answer these questions, these fundamental questions of who am I, why am I here? and is interesting during that same time you saw this this huge spike in all of the the self-help books this dr spock and all these different ones replacing religion that set the stage i believe to see this socialism begin to move in you had in the 1965 and i guess 1964-65 the great society introduced um which has just continued to blossom I would think the only way to stop the spread of socialism is not by political power, but is by spiritual reinvigoration, revival, that would bring back a fundamental understanding of who we are as a people, answering those fundamental questions, the church being relevant to today and to the needs of the people.
SPEAKER 10 :
I think that’s right. And you know what’s interesting, when you see these new socialist leaders, they strike me as really charismatic pastors. They always have big smiles on them. Mom Donnie is always smiling. And they’re messengers of hope in a hopeless generation. They have their own version of hope, but I think that’s something we can actually learn from them.
SPEAKER 08 :
It’s interesting. I was just reading an article today about AOC changing kind of her message to hope and change.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes. Well, that’s the most success they’ve had in the last 20 years is talking about hope. And if we become increasingly hopeless, that message is always going to resonate. But isn’t that the message of the gospel? It should be.
SPEAKER 11 :
And I think if there’s one doctrine we really need to recover and proclaim with more boldness and forcefulness at the church, it’s the doctrine of providence. Because socialism basically says, look, there’s evil in the world, don’t you want government to solve it? And Christians’ response should be, yeah, there is evil in the world, and God’s got that under control. God has a plan to ordain all things, and that is where our hope is.
SPEAKER 08 :
Is overcome it. That’s right. Here’s where I think the church has, where it lost its appeal, its effectiveness, I should say, not appeal, its effectiveness is it departed from the truth. It is the word. I mean, it is the word of God that offers the hope and the life-transforming power of the gospel. And I do not see America being able to do a course correction without a spiritual underpinning and an awakening. I’m not talking about it. It doesn’t have to be everybody in America, but the church has to be revived. and engaged.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, and to the point of truth, if you look at the apolitical culture side, the things that are doing the best, like the podcast, are the things that you least expect, a three-hour-long conversation that talks about the most difficult issues and hard issues and sometimes conspiratorial. But I think that kind of speaks to our culture’s desire to learn and to know about things, even if it’s hard or uncomfortable, while simultaneously the pulpits kind of abandon all those for a really simplistic message at times. But I think there is a hunger for the deep, harder truth that you’re talking about.
SPEAKER 08 :
I just think as we talk about socialism, and I know I’ve talked to the speaker about it. I mean, they talked about it today. He’s talking about it a lot. He understands it. But I think as this conversation in the political arena about socialism, we cannot successfully address this without addressing the spiritual deficiencies, the moral deficiencies of our nation that has given rise to this.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I mean, but that requires an understanding of history that is antithetical to what we heard in the previous segment.
SPEAKER 08 :
But that’s why that happened. This was the weakening to allow the barbarians to breach the wall. is by tearing down that foundation and that understanding of what makes America exceptional, what makes it unique, what makes it work. I mean, you think about it, we’re a free society.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I would argue we’re not as free as we used to be. We’re free-ish. We’re free-ish.
SPEAKER 08 :
But the only way that we’re able to be free and to enjoy freedoms and at the same time prosperity and security is because of that self-government that underpins all of this. But when we lose that self-government… which is based on biblical, transcendent truth, we lose the rest.
SPEAKER 11 :
I wonder if God’s using kind of these hard times as a way to wake the church up in America, because you look around the rest of the world and in some of the most difficult places to be a Christian, that’s where Christianity is spreading fastest, because from the beginning, it was the martyrs that defined the early church.
SPEAKER 08 :
But also, Joshua, many of those pastors, and we’ve had many of them on this program, Yes, they’re in difficult places, but they have the courage to take difficult stands. That’s right. And I don’t know, and I’ll be careful. I don’t want to speak with a broad brush, you know, or paint with a broad brush. I don’t want to mix metaphors. I don’t want to put everybody in the same basket. You just do it in a metaphor there? Same bucket. Oh, go ahead, bucket. Too many pastors are afraid to offend. It’s the Word of God. We got to get back to preaching the Word of God, because as we just started out, the Word of God addresses the very situation we’re in.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I fear that the root of that issue is the same as the root of socialism, which is money, love of money, coveting, fear of losing money. I think that’s the real fear for pastors.
SPEAKER 08 :
We have to have a passion, a greater passion for souls.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 11 :
And I think a greater trust in God and a belief that what God says really is true so that if we stick to his word and what it says, you know, he will ultimately triumph. Jesus says, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, a lot of work to do. A lot of work to do. A lot of prayers to be prayed. Joshua Casey, good to see you. Thanks. Next time have solutions for me. Right. Just more prayer. More buckets. Baskets. More baskets and buckets. Paint rollers. We’ll write with the books. All right, folks, it is a matter of prayer, but I do believe that we have the answer as believers, as followers of Christ. We need to be bold in our profession of our hope. As Peter says, be prepared to talk about the hope that’s within you. I’m hopeful. I know where the future is leading. All right, 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 you can do, when you’ve prayed, prepared, and taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 12 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council. To support our efforts to advance faith, family, and freedom, please text GIVE to 67742. That’s GIVE to 67742. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information, please visit tonyperkins.com.
