If you have been following current events, and there have been a ton of them in the last three weeks, you start getting overwhelmed. It’s important to take the time to decide which events are unlikely, which are insignificant, and which are the opposite of insignificant. We’re going to stop making pennies? We’ll get used to it. We’re going to make Gaza the garden spot of the Mediterranean? Let’s check back in six months. On the other hand, there have been events you definitely need to be paying attention to. (checking for the very latest…)
If the Mayor of New York is indicted on corruption charges, and goes and visits the President and says the charges are politically motivated, and then a top Justice Department official tells the prosecutor to drop the charges, that’s a huge event. There wasn’t even a pretense of “It doesn’t look like he’s guilty.” The stated reason was that a trial would distract the Mayor from helping with immigration enforcement.
This is the President deciding who should not, and inevitably who should, be prosecuted. This isn’t even a preemptive pardon. It’s more like a default pardon. Like, “We won’t even make you go to trial and pay a lawyer. Now help us round up immigrants.” It's blatant White House interference with the Justice Department and it's only week three.
The Republicans with the majorities in the House and Senate are so far avoiding any semblance of standing up to the White House, to Elon Musk, or standing up for their Constitutional role in deciding how the federal budget will be spent. Senate Republicans have been confirming supremely unqualified nominees for cabinet positions as fast as possible. Their constitutional role of providing “advice and consent” on nominees has really just been limited to the consent part. Here's our letter opposing RFK.
House Republicans have shown next to no concern about the decisions led by Musk to stop paying billions of dollars in Congressionally authorized grants to states and to legal grant recipients. Members of Congress know that standing up to the President means getting a well-funded primary opponent. They like the Constitution, but they like their jobs a little more.
Ok, let’s finally talk February 6th. That was the day of the annual National Prayer Breakfast when House members, Senators, and the President meet in the Capitol for prayers and the usual talk about how America needs more religion. The President, by the way, said he believes people “can’t be happy without religion, without that belief. Let’s bring religion back. Let’s bring God back into our lives.”
Led by Secular Coalition member the Freedom From Religion Foundation, we met with members of Congress in advance to encourage them not to attend. Several prominent members who have attended in the past did not do so, like Nancy Pelosi for one, so it was time well spent. You can read more about the Prayer Breakfast here and find a brilliant quote at the end.
Later that day the President signed an executive order establishing a Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. Now it’s true that there has long been anti-Christian bias in this country, it’s just that it's almost always been by other Christians. The conflict between Protestants and Catholics goes back to the time Spanish (Catholic) soldiers massacred hundreds of French Protestant settlers in Florida because "they were scattering the odious Lutheran doctrine in these Provinces,” while sparing the handful of Catholics with them. That was 1565.
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I’ll skip over the ensuing centuries, which shifted to a Protestant majority biased against Catholics, and look at FBI religious hate-crime data from 2023. There were 2,699 reported hate crimes based on religious bias. Sixty-eight percent were against Jews. Seventeen percent were against Christians. It’s pretty clear who really needs an anti-bias task force. And let's not forget that 87 percent of members of Congress are listed as Christian.
The myth of anti-Christian bias helps get out Christian votes, and the Task Force fulfills a campaign promise. The Secular Coalition is sending the President a letter making a few of these points. Hopefully the impact of the task force will be in proportion to the need for it.
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Today is the last day for our good hotel rate for lobby day, March 11. Time to pull the trigger on registering! You can still stay at the Phoenix Park Hotel, or find other accommodations (no events are actually in the hotel) but I really recommend today's deal at the Phoenix Park. We will be lobbying against a school voucher bill that ultimately helps fund religious schools. Lobby day info here.
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Your advocate,
Scott MacConomy
Director of Policy and Government Affairs
Secular Coalition for America |
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The Secular Coalition for America works every day to defend the separation of religion and government and to fight anti-democratic ideologies like Christian nationalism. Your support for this work is vital.
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