Bauer: America Stands With Israel

By Gary L. Bauer,  AMERICAN VALUES

New polling confirms, once again, that American voters stand with Israel and want a tough stand against Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Here are the key findings:

• 59% of likely voters support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address before Congress. Only 23% of voters oppose it.
• 76% believe that the purpose of negotiations with Iran should be to prevent the mullahs from ever developing nuclear weapons. Only 10% believe the negotiations should permit Iran to join “the ranks of nations with nuclear weapons.”
• 79% believe that any deal with Iran should require congressional approval. Just 11% believe the president’s approval alone is sufficient.
• 67% of voters believe that Iran would use nuclear weapons itself or give them to terrorists to attack Israel and the United States if it had them.

Now let me remind you of these facts:

Even though 79% of voters want Congress to weigh in on any deal with Iran, theNew York Times reported months ago that, “The White House has made one significant decision: If agreement is reached, President Obama will do everything in his power to avoid letting Congress vote on it.”

And while more than three-quarters of voters believe any deal should prevent Tehran from developing the world’s most destructive weapons, the Washington Postrecently reported that “a process that began with the goal of eliminating Iran’s potential to produce nuclear weapons has evolved into a plan to tolerate” its nuclear program.

Whether it is the meaning of marriage, border security or taxes, this administration says one thing and does the opposite. If Obama makes a deal with Iran, he will claim that it prevents Iran from getting nuclear weapons. But everything we know tells us the exact opposite is true.

My point is this: We will have to make the case that this is a bad deal. We can’t get bogged down in confusing details like the number of spinning centrifuges.

But we must remind the public of what it instinctively knows — that Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, that the Islamic Republic has never been our friend, that it calls our nation “the great Satan,” that its leaders have promised a second Holocaust, that it cannot be trusted any more than Hitler could be trusted to keep his promises. The public’s instincts are on our side, but they can erode if we do not fight and make the case for peace through strength not appeasement.

Christian Complications

This will come as no surprise. The Daily Caller has discovered that State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, the woman who said we shouldn’t be trying to kill terrorists but giving them jobs instead, wrote her college thesis on “how conservative evangelical support for Israel complicates U.S. foreign policy.”

Without having read her paper, I can say she got that one correct. Clearly the strong support Israel enjoys from Americans generally and conservative Christians in particular does complicate the policies of the administration she works for, which doesn’t seem to care much about the security of the state of Israel.

Unfortunately for late night comedians, Ms. Harf will not be getting a promotion to become the State Department’s chief spokesperson. A State Department official said yesterday, “Marie’s TV appearances were an audition of sorts, a test run, and she failed spectacularly.”

Faith Under Fire

The radical left’s assault on America’s traditional Judeo-Christian values is quickening. Barronelle Stutzman, a 70-year-old florist in Washington state, was convicted this week for discrimination. The charge may as well have been heresy against the state religion of Politically Correct Secularism.

Stutzman, as you may recall, had declined to participate in a same-sex wedding ceremony, citing her deeply-held religious beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman. But the left has no tolerance for her values or beliefs. Christianity is being criminalized.

Elsewhere on America’s left coast, the Catholic Church is under attack. Left-wing politicians have written a letter to church leaders demanding that they abandon requirements that Catholic high school teachers affirm Catholic teachings on issues like marriage, abortion, adultery and pornography.

According to these “tyrants of tolerance,” requiring Catholic teachers to actually believe Catholic teaching “sends an alarming message” and “foments a discriminatory environment.” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco wrote back, asking them:

“Would you hire a campaign manager who advocates policies contrary to those that you stand for, and who shows disrespect toward you . . . ? My point, is that I respect your right to employ or not employ whomever you wish to advance your mission. I simply ask the same respect from you.”

That’s a great response, but I hope the archbishop isn’t holding his breath waiting for the left to demonstrate its respect. It may not be long before he finds himself standing before Caesar, persecuted for his faith just like the florist in Washington state.

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