A $1.3 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill was passed late last night in the Senate after being passed in the House. It now goes to President Trump for his signature, which is expected. There is a lot to this massive spending bill, but of interest to Evangelicals will surely be the continued funding at almost $500 Million per year of Planned Parenthood, an organization that performs approximately 330,000 abortions per year.
A Republican majority House, Senate, and Presidency has no impact on the half a billion dollars a year that goes to Planned Parenthood. This is the second year in a row we have seen Republicans oversee a process that ends in fully funding Planned Parenthood.
Perhaps there will be statements released on Friday, but I have yet to see much response to this development from Evangelical leaders. Abortion and Planned Parenthood have also traditionally been areas of strong concern for Southern Baptists. Just last year at the convention in Phoenix, the SBC passed a resolution on defunding and investigating Planned Parenthood. Whether or not the continued funding of Planned Parenthood becomes a significant issue for Evangelicals at this point in time remains to be seen.
If it isn’t obvious now that righteousness and revival isn’t coming through politics and the Republican party it never will be. I hope people are paying attention.
If it isn’t by now obvious that revival will not come from either political party or from Washington DC at all perhaps it never will be.
Also if it’s not obvious by now that no one in Govt. especially Democrats actually care about the DACA issue other than it being a battering ram for political purposes it probably never will be.
I too hope America is paying attention.
Dave,
I see zero evidence that Democrats and a pretty good number of Republicans, actually, don’t care about DACA. That is a false characterization by Trump – verifiably false – and you are wise to not buy into it. Democrats offered $25 Billion for the Border Wall in exchange for a pathway to citizenship for 1.8M Dreamers just this past weekend. Trump said no. Far Right Republicans said no. Trump wants full funding for a permanent Wall in exchange for temporary protection for Dreamers so we can go through this again in a few years and he can wring some other concession out of Democrats while holding Dreamers hostage yet again. Because they won’t play that game doesn’t mean they don’t care about Dreamers. It means they aren’t stupid.
The deal is on the table. $25 Billion for Border Wall and Pathway to Citizenship for 1.8 Million Dreamers. Trump and the GOP should take it and declare victory.
Alan, thanks for keeping the matter up front.
Once again, the apple cart is far too full of precious appropriations needed for political survival in the Washington jungle for one to think rationally and compassionately. Let’s not upset financial success.
Abortion moralities, legalities, marches and fundings are subject to pre-election rhetoric, not post election comfort and security.
This begs the question, should not “election and security” also apply to the conceived but yet unborn?
We remain divided over how classes of people will rule, as well as the definition of personhood.
Meanwhile the defenseless are killed daily. And as long as we have money to avoid a shutdown of government, the zygote will just have to fend for him/herself.
https://openhandspublications.com/2018/01/20/too-bad-tiny-zygote/
I heard that the POTUS tweeted this morning that he may veto the bill.
He wants full border wall funding. That is why he may veto. No mention of Planned Parenthood funding.
Alan, it’s worth noting that the Republicans have made good faith attempts to defund PP, most notably in the health care bill. But a last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown is not a good time to be critical of what hasn’t been done.
The razor-thin majority in the Senate is preventing the Republicans from getting much passed without compromise. As for defunding PP specifically, we are unfortunately unable to depend on any Democrats for support. It’s sad that we seem to hold Republicans to higher moral standards while Democrats and their views are simply tolerated without much pushback.
You have written about DACA many times before and the Democrats have refused to consider President Trump’s plan to give amnesty to nearly 2 million Dreamers along with funding for the border wall (a fair compromise IMO). Where is the outrage that the Democrats are refusing to seek a solution on this issue?
Dan, I’m no defender of Democrats. I’m not one and don’t support them. You are wrong on your assessment of what happened, though. Trump had an offer of $25B for a Border Wall and Border Security and a Pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers made to him, yet again, just last weekend. He rejected it. He wants full, permanent border wall funding and temporary protection for Dreamers. Or, he wants to slash LEGAL immigration by 40-50%. The proposal he backed only got 39 votes in the Senate. It needed 60. The House proposal he is backing, the Goodlatte Bill, can’t even get 200 supporters in the House. It is dead in the water. You can wish that moderate Republicans and Democrats didn’t exist, but there is nowhere near a majority in the House or Senate that agrees wiTh Trump’s proposals. Nor does the vast majority of the American people.
Trump is pushing falsehood on the Dreamer/DACA negotiation, as is Fox News. He had a deal in front of him that would have fully funded the Wall. He rejected it because he wants to continue to use the Dreamers to get more concessions later on. That is wrong, in my opinion. Blaming the Democrats for his own miscalculations is a mistake.
Alan,
That was Trump’s offer to the Dems (the $25B and 1.8MM), not the Dems’ offer to him. It was back in Jan. so it’s been out there for a while. Chuck Schumer made clear that he wanted no part of the compromise.
The WaPost article you posted is behind a paywall so I can’t read it. I can’t find any other news reporting a Dem-led offer with those terms from this past weekend. Trump is now saying he might veto the spending bill because it doesn’t address those concerns.
Legal immigration does need to be curtailed and the focus shifted to merit-based (high skilled) immigration. Too much low-skilled immigration depresses wages (which we’ve seen for some time now) or otherwise displaces American workers in poverty from getting jobs.
The OP was just an excuse to attack Republicans. The majorities during the Obama tenure didn’t amount to much because of his unwillingness to compromise at all. And as we know, Obama was certainly not going to defund PP. As for now, the slim majority in the Senate has prevented much from getting accomplished thanks to the filibuster rules. So if you want PP to get defunded, it’s going to to take some Dems to get on board. It’s simply not fair to be overly critical to Republicans on this issue especially when they have made good efforts to try to get it done.
Dan,
The offer was this weekend. It is all over the news. And, there was agreement in the $25B/1.8M back in February. But Trump wanted to slash LEGAL immigration 40-50% and the answer was no.
I know what I’m talking about on this issue. This area is part of my job.
As for the OP, Republicans are in control of the process. Planned Parenthood is funded year after year. The excuses never end. To get anything done, we will need like 60+ Republicans in the Senate, a majority in the House, a Republican President, and them caring enough to do something. So, basically, we are being shown that nothing is going to happen because they don’t fight on this issue or make deals, even when they have the majority everywhere. And a super majority is not happening any time soon. So, right now is the best chance we have to defund Planned Parenthood, potentially saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of babies a year and your primary concern is that Republicans aren’t blamed for the inaction?
We will never have a better chance than now according to the numbers. We might have a better chance with a president who could build bipartisan coalitions to actually get things done. But that isn’t now either.
My concern is not with how the GOP looks.
Alan can you explain whether, in your perspective, whether the 25 billion that you claim the Democrats offered for the wall this weekend gave the trumpet ministration authority to actually build a wall like they want to build… Because my understanding is that it was restricted funds in other words they wanted to put in the legislation wording that would keep him from doing what he wanted to do with the wall.
Also are you certain that President Trump just unilaterally turned his back on this deal or was there talk from the Republicans that they could not get the votes for the amnesty part that the Democrats wanted.
Every time I’ve ever seen the Democrats participate in any kind of discussion it always takes the path to citizenship/legal resident issue with regard to the dreamers too far… Further than they know Trump or Republicans will go.
Those are important distinction.
Well I think you’re right that Trump is a bit… Well is certainly… Wanting to get what he wants and wanting to give away just as little as they want as he possibly can… That is certainly true from the other side as well… If you put 10 Republicans in a room you would probably have 12 use of immigration… If you put 10 Democrats in a room you will have one beautiful maybe two… That is our pr well I think you’re right that Trump is a bit… Well is certainly… Wanting to get what he wants and wanting to give away just as little as they want as he possibly can… That is certainly true from the other side as well… If you put 10 Republicans in a room you would probably have 12 strongly held views of immigration… If you put 10 Democrats in a room you will have one maybe two views… That is the problem.
Sorry – weak signal on my phone often causes double posting ….
Here’s what I meant to say:
Well I think you’re right that Trump is a bit… Well is certainly… Wanting to get what he wants and wanting to give away just as little as they want as he possibly can… That is certainly true from the other side as well….If you put 10 Republicans in a room you would probably have 12 strongly held views of immigration… If you put 10 Democrats in a room you will have one maybe two views…
That is the problem.
Bipartisanship and differing views on almost every issue facing Congress is only found in the Republican Party… The Democrat party is lock step in the progressive agenda.
Alan,
The lack of a Senate supermajority isn’t merely an excuse. Otherwise, I’d like to know how you expect Republicans to get PP defunded with only 51 voters, some of whom probably aren’t pro-life. They can’t just “make it happen”. A few Dems will need to get on board, but again, it’s a non-starter for them unfortunately.
Criticism of either party is fair game when put in the proper context. I don’t think that’s the case with your OP.
And, as far as “good faith attempts” on defunding Planned Parenthood, I do not hear them talk about it and do not hear Trump say he is pushing for Planned Parenthood to be defunded. He mentions it in a speech once in a great while, but there is no action. Some Republican members say stuff, but nothing is ever done. That half a billion of PP money per year seems to be untouchable and I have seen little emphasis placed on it by GOP leadership who can move Heaven and Earth to get a tax cut through.
No, I do not see evidence that the GOP is serious about their rhetoric on defunding Planned Parenthood. 8 years of Republican control of the House, 4 years of control of the Senate, 2 years control of the Presidency. Still no movement.
We know that Democrats are pro abortion. We are told that Republicans are pro-life. Republicans have the majority everywhere, yet Planned Parenthood remains funded. Those are the facts. It is a disappointing situation, to be sure.
Do you know this the freedom caucus is made up of exclusively Republicans… And they do consistently and pretty much on a weekly basis make good faith efforts to defund Planned Parenthood…
And honestly my friend your analysis of President Trump rejecting a bill to fix Dhaka is ridiculous… Because you know for a fact that the Democrats have never ever ever offered him permanent (and reserved) funding for the wall you know this you have to know this.
Dave, you have no idea what you are talking about.
The offer for $25 Billion for the Border Wall was made again just this past weekend:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/trump-blew-it-the-president-missed-his-best-chance-yet-to-get-funding-for-his-border-wall/2018/03/21/04993950-2d2b-11e8-8688-e053ba58f1e4_story.html
Dave, sorry I said “you have no idea what you are talking about.” Your strong response to me hit me wrong and I responded forcefully. I don’t want to engage in that kind of arguing here. So, please accept my apology. I disagree with you, but I don’t want to go at this discussion that way. My apologies.
No problem at all, Alan.
I know you’re very invested in this issue and very passionate about it… I get it.
From your article.
They offered Trump $1.6 billion for the wall and earmarked it’s basically for projects already underway… In other words not a construction of a wall and 1.6 billion would not even get them started considering it’s already well known that they need at least 25.
““I know he wants to get this done. He thinks he can get a lot of it done in the first year,” said Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.). The $1.6 billion “doesn’t get you very far.”
Not far at all, especially given that the bill specifically says border funding is only permitted for “operationally effective designs deployed” as of May 5, 2017, “such as currently deployed steel board designs, that prioritize agent safety.” That means the money cannot be used to build any of the wall prototypes that Trump viewed during a high-profile visit on the border on March 13.”
Also the “compromises” that you present he rejected… It included a continuation of the daca program… When the president has made very clear and many Republicans have made very clear but of course, as usual, they caved in this bill… That the program itself should end and we should treat fairly those who are already here… Additionally they refuse to end chain migration, or end the lottery system… So in essence they weren’t offering trump very much at all on several of his core stances on immigration.
The offer was for $25B for Wall funding in exchange for pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers. You are right that they aren’t going to cut legal immigration almost in half, as Trump wants to do. That proposal only got 39 votes in the Senate. It can’t pass the House. Not enough Republicans even support it. It is dead, dead, dead with zero chance of passing at this point. So, what now?
Plus, slashing legal immigration is all about demographics, not anything related to Dreamers or Border Security. Secure the Border, address the injustice with Dreamers. Those things go together. Why pull LEGAL immigration into this? Apparently, majority of Congress and the American people disagree with Trump on that.
But, why not take the deal for the $25B? The 1.6 Billion you are referring to is what Congress is offering him in this bill, not the offer he rejected.
President Trump has announced that he is considering vetoing this bill… I truly hope he does for a number of reasons… One of them being the funding of Planned Parenthood.
I’m not sure, although I have my ideas, what his real reason for veto is …. but I’ll be happy if he vetoes it… I guess we should not look a gift horse in the mouth. No matter his reason, imo, if he vetoes it it’s a good thing for America.
Perhaps (and I know I’m probably dreaming here) if he does veto it when it goes back to Congress may be the members of the freedom caucus (the only people in Congress who actually care about the abortion issue) can bring out a bill that defunds the baby killing factory.
I’ll be shocked if he vetoes it. And I’ll be more shocked if Planned Parenthood funding is even mentioned. I’ve followed the issue closely. It wasn’t even close to being addressed substantially and Trump made no mention of it. Until we see actual change, why should we believe that this is an issue Republicans care about?
Diverting the conversation to what the Democrats are or aren’t doing regarding DACA is just conceding the reality that the Republicans in general, and Trump in particular, only see abortion as a political, not a moral issue. My own conservative Republican, and allegedly pro-life Congressman, has told me that he isn’t opposed to funding going to Planned Parenthood, because federal law prohibits federal dollars from paying for abortions, and the money they get from the federal government isn’t used for their abortion services. It’s a much larger political liability for Republicans now if the government shuts down than it is for omnibus spending bills to continue PP funding. I’ve been told, flat out by Republican politicians that they know the “Evangelical” vote is in their pocket regardless of what they do so they prioritize and plan accordingly.
Lee, I think you are right on the abortion issue for some in the Republican Party – not all. But enough. And, I also did not want to talk about DACA/Dreamers here. I’ve spilled a lot of ink on that subject. I was actually trying to talk about something else.
Trump signed the Omnibus. No veto. Planned Parenthood fully funded.
There are some Republicans who are making a choice between the political consequences of a government shutdown again, which they will be rightly blamed for, and the political consequences of leaving in support for Planned Parenthood. Many of them, probably a majority, are choosing to explain away PP like mine did, rather than stand up for curtailing their funds, which was something most of them have promised in a campaign from time to time. They are politicians, so it doesn’t really matter to them. And they know that regardless of how they soft-pedal the issue, they’ll still get Evangelical voters to cast ballots for them. The border wall is much more important to Trump, so that’s all he’s talking about. It’s his M.O., to ignore, and fail to mention, something that might be controversial when he wants something else.
It is indeed sad that PP continues to be funded.
It is also sad that the US political leadership passes spending bills like this. It is also a moral issue that countries tax their citizens and spend money like this.
This bill was pushed through both houses of Congress by Republican and Democrat leadership. It has some things in it that the a President wanted, it lacks things he wanted, and it contains things he doesn’t want.
The Republican leadership weighed weather to shut the government down again or weather to compromise. They chose compromise.
The President was then faced with the same choice.
We have a very polarized society. Our political system requires compromise to get things done, particularly in the Senate, where it currently takes 60 votes to pass legislation.
At his Press conference, President Trump cited why he decided to sign this bill. Funding for the military and military readiness. He placed getting the money for that side of the ledger over blocking funding for other things.
I don’t know any Christian who claims revival is coming through the Republican Party. That is a canard. Repeating it as if people think that is not smart.
This is the same tack Bush II did in his s Presidency. Sign awful domestic spending deals to get gains in other areas.
As disappointing as this development is, it is more disappointing for people to use this to make the point that the Republicans won’t bring revival or to imply that there is really no difference between the parties etc.
Evangelicals are rightly disappointed by this development, but by any legislative and executive standards one might use, people who believe in free speech, freedom of religion, Free economics, etc., have a lot to be happy about over the last year.
I am hoping this won’t be repeated, but to help that, more legislators who will not go for this have to be elected. That’s not fun, but true.
And even then, none of these people are going to bring revival. The people who voted for the President know that.
Louis said, “Evangelicals are rightly disappointed by this development, but by any legislative and executive standards one might use, people who believe in free speech, freedom of religion, Free economics, etc., have a lot to be happy about over the last year.”
Uh, no. Not even close.
http://babylonbee.com/news/republicans-clarify-that-by-defund-planned-parenthood-they-meant-give-them-500-million-every-year/
Lee:
As one example, Check the latest review by the Heritage Foundation.
They are not pro Trump but gave him higher rankings in his first year than Reagan.
So, yes, more than close.
At least according to people who do this full time for a living.
If you have an alternative source from another reputable conservative group, please cite it, and I’ll be glad to look it up.
I look forward to your reply.
You’re not going to convince me that the Heritage Foundation isn’t as pro-Trump as the percentage of Evangelical Christian support for him in the election shows. They may not be officially or overtly pro-Trump, but I don’t have any confidence in anything they say because of their bias.
Lee:
I am pretty sure I can’t convince you of anything, so I’m not going to try.
It is a matter of record that the Heritage folks were not at all fans of Donald Trump. It is a conservative think tank. They opposed Trump.
When Trump was elected Heritage put together a list of administrative and legislative accomplishments that they thought should be done or performed after Trump was elected. Their report on his first year in office is a review of what the administration has done as to that list. You can look at it to see if anything the President has done has advanced free speech, freedom of religion, Free economics etc., or whether he has done nothing, as you assert.
Whether you agree with the Heritage Foundation is not significant.
You do, however, seem to be out of step with most people, even Trump’s adversaries, to claim he hasn’t advanced much on those causes.
I had asked you if you had read anything that informed or supported your view, and I did not see anything in your reply that you did.
If you come across anything you’d like to share, I would enjoy reading it.
Thanks.
Heritage was not on board with Trump early on. They are fully in the tank for him now. There really is no disputing that. Take that how you want to.
Alan:
You are correct.
You would agree, I assume, that the reason Heritage likes Trump now is because of what Trump has done.
Trump was not a Republican or a Conservative historically. But he has governed that way.
There are still huge tensions- spending, trade etc.
This last vote was a bitter pill for sure.
I’m reading real news, and watching real events, and it doesn’t take much of that to see that he’s a zero in every way.
There are only a few Republicans with the integrity to stand up to Trump and they are vilified relentlessly. The rest have sold out.
The problem is the that the few republicans who “stand up to him” are grandstanding/bitter themselves and others are campaigning so they’re not taken seriously.
I can’t blame any Republicans who are bitter about what has happened to the “party of family values.” It is sad that the Rs who are not on the Trump train are dismissed as RINOs. Any R who cannot win re-election without becoming a Trump sycophant ought to wear it as a badge of honor.
Bill, my point is that many of these Republicans are not standing against trump on principle necessarily… They’re mainly Republicans who have been on the outs with the conservative base of the party for a very long time… and are seeking to attain moral high ground by attacking Trump… hence bitter and transparent grandstanding – As their problems with the electroate existed well before Trump.
I don’t know why anyone is surprised or disappointed at anything this president does. His entire presidency is a long string of lies, vitriol, and embarrassment. Does anyone really think he cares in the least about abortion? He nominated Gorsuch because it cost him nothing. I don’t see how he has advanced free speech since he attacks the free press every day. I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before one of his whack job followers kills someone in the press.
All of you are wrong.
Planned Parenthood is part of the Calvinist conspiracy to take over the SBC.
Touché!
I can’t really improve on that Sir.
Very disappointed in christianity and specifically the SBCers here.
The church has had the opportunity for 40 yrs to show how serious it is about the prolife mvmt and has failed miserably.
Given the number of churches and supposed christians, no child should be in foster care or in the system period
How many abortions are there per yr? Whats going to happen to the unwanted children? Will the church rise up? Doubtful
All children should have an adoptive home.
No child should be aborted. None
This is a kinda tired argument.
NO ONE does more about and for adoption than the church, Bill.
I mean, go into any SBC church and ask people who ARE adopted or who HAVE adopted to raise their hands.
I think you mean Glenn.