A Good Day

We won two big victories at the Supreme Court today, and both have big implications for the future.

In the first case, the Supreme Court upheld Arizona's voting rights law. In recent years, state legislators took steps to improve election integrity by banning ballot harvesting and voting in a precinct other than the one in which you are registered. The left claimed these commonsense reforms were gross violations of civil rights. 

The justices disagreed. In a 6-to-3 opinion, Justice Samuel Alito declared:

"One strong and entirely legitimate state interest is the prevention of fraud. Fraud can affect the outcome of a close election, and fraudulent votes dilute the right of citizens to cast ballots that carry appropriate weight. Fraud can also undermine public confidence in the fairness of elections and the perceived legitimacy of the announced outcome."

The future implications for this case are enormous, as the Biden Administration announced that it is suing the state of Georgia to overturn its recently enacted voter integrity law. (Presumably, Biden also plans to challenge similar new laws in other states.) 

Constitutional law Professor Jonathan Turley said that the Biden lawsuit could likely backfire with the Supreme Court ultimately upholding Georgia's law. Based on today's ruling, I'd say he's right.

Moreover, it undermines the left's push for H.R. 1, nationalizing all election laws. The Supreme Court was clear today that states have a right to set their own election laws. 

In the second case, the Supreme Court overturned absurd disclosure rules mandated by the state of California that would have forced non-profit organizations, and potentially even churches, to publicly disclose their donors. The lawsuit against the California rule was triggered by a 2013 order from then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris.

In the court's opinion for the 6-to-3 majority, Chief Justice John Roberts declared:

"When it comes to a person's beliefs and associations, broad and sweeping state inquiries into these protected areas discourage citizens from exercising rights protected by the Constitution."

Roberts got it right this time. The whole reason the left invented "doxing" was to "discourage [conservative] citizens from exercising rights protected by the Constitution."

Communist China Celebrates

China's communist rulers are celebrating today, marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. As today's Wall Street Journal notes, "it is no occasion for joy." Once the communists seized power, they did in China what communists always do:

"What followed were the bloodiest decades in world history, rivaled only by Stalin's purges. The Great Leap Forward led to mass famine. In the Cultural Revolution, Mao unleashed the Red Guards to torment anyone suspected of disloyalty or bourgeois tendencies. . . Over the Mao years unknown millions of Chinese died."

Of course, we're celebrating the anniversary of our independence this weekend. I can't help but notice the juxtaposition that the future of the world will be determined by the struggle between this great country that started in 1776 and the Chinese Communist Party that started in 1921.

America was founded on the idea that liberty came from God, and that all men have dignity and worth because we are made in His image. The Chinese Communist Party is overtly and enthusiastically atheistic. It is dedicated to the proposition that all men must serve the Chinese Communist Party.

This nation has broken the chains of tyranny and liberated more people than any other nation in the history of the world. Communist China is doing the opposite. The Chinese people are being held in bondage to the gods of communism and totalitarianism. 

I wish the prognosis in this great struggle for the future of freedom was brighter. China has a strong, confident, forward-looking leader. We have the "whisperer-in-chief,' hesitant and sleepy, a throwback to another era.

By every measure, Chinese youth are burning with patriotic fervor, believing the world is theirs and that Communist China's time has come. At the same time, their government is committing genocide against minorities. Where are the marches in Beijing declaring, "Uyghur Lives Matter"?

Of course, there aren't any such marches because communist China is a deeply racist society (here and here). Sadly, it is propped up and promoted by supposedly "woke" American corporations and sports franchises. (Hey, Lebron, call your office!)

But the most disturbing thing of all is what's happening here in America.

Losing Faith

While China's youth are on fire for their country, our youth have the lowest levels of patriotism in history. A new Fox News poll asked a simple question: "Do you think the United States is the best country in the world to live in?" Ten years ago, 84% said "Yes." Today, just 69% say "Yes." 

The biggest declines occurred in younger voters and Democrats – the AOC, Gwen Berry, Colin Kaepernick, critical race theory crowd. That's not surprising. 

The left is all about tearing America down, and our youth are being taught that they are citizens of an evil country that should apologize for its very existence.

The Fox poll also asked if voters believed America's best days are still ahead. 

Ronald Reagan believed they were, and it wasn't just because of his sunny disposition. He knew Americans loved their country and could overcome any challenge, including the Soviet Union. He was right. Donald Trump understood we were in trouble. His goal was to "make America great again." 

But according to the Fox poll, faith in America's future has plummeted, down 11 points in nine years to just 52%. The decline is greatest among Republicans, and I suspect Christians. 

To me the reason is clear: They know that a growing percentage of Americans are rejecting the very idea of America. As AOC, Gwen Berry and Colin Kaepernick would say, "America was never that great." 

So short of a revival, it's hard to imagine our best days being ahead when our educational institutions are teaching future generations that their country is evil.

By the way, the entire communist Chinese establishment – every teacher, every judge, every official, every entertainer – is telling their youth, "Look at what we've accomplished. Better days are ahead."

We must reverse these trends. We must defeat critical race theory. We must defend our values!

This is why I spend so much time on these issues in my work here in Washington and in my communications with you. America has overcome great challenges before. But this is the first time we're confronting a major enemy when many of our own youth are filled with doubt and growing cold in their love for America. 

Ronald Reagan famously said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. . . It must be fought for, protected and handed on." He was right then, and his words still ring true today.

Other Headlines

• Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled 6-to-3 that illegal aliens who are repeatedly caught crossing the border are not entitled to bail hearings. The ruling is a victory for President Trump's commonsense border security measures.

• A new lawsuit was filed challenging the legality of ballot harvesting and drop boxes in Wisconsin.

• The Texas Supreme Court ruled that Facebook is not immune from civil liability lawsuits involving human trafficking on its platform.

• People are returning to work much faster in the GOP-led states that ended extra unemployment payments to people who were not working.

• Twenty Republican governors warned President Biden against packing the Supreme Court.

• Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announced that they are also sending state law enforcement officers to the Texas border.

• Several Texas counties are using part of the state budget bailout money that liberals jammed into the last COVID relief bill to help fund portions of the border wall that Gov. Greg Abbott plans to build.