WASHINGTON UPDATE 02/11/2015

| February 11, 2015 | Permalink Obama Suffers from Truth Decay It's a good thing President Obama doesn't work for NBC -- or else he might have been suspended for lying too! Like the NBC's Brian Williams, voters would have a difficult time narrowing down all the untruths to one. This President has told so many whoppers that Burger King should name a sandwich after him! David Axelrod, a former political advisor, spilled the beans about one of the President's most unconvincing fibs in his new book, Believer. Although it was no secret to anyone who followed Obama's early career, the candidate-and-later-President was fully on board with same-sex "marriage" from Day 1. Before he was an Illinois senator, the up-and-coming Democrat was clear on a questionnaire about where he stood -- only to change his position when it wasn't politically advantageous. Now, Axelrod is forcing the President out of the closet on his motivations, saying that he deliberately compromised just to advance his career. "If Obama's views were 'evolving' publicly,' they were fully evolved behind closed doors," David wrote. In particular, the former top advisor said, the African-American community's overwhelming support for natural marriage drove the decision to hide his true colors. "Opposition to gay marriage was particularly strong in the black church, and as he ran for higher office, he grudgingly accepted the counsel of more pragmatic folks like me, and modified his position..." But even now, when he has the opportunity to come clean, the President is still trying to keep up the façade, insisting that Axelrod "is mixing up my personal feelings with my position on the issue." Americans might have given the "if-you-like-your-plan-you-can-keep-it" President the benefit of the doubt before, but not after a trail of tales that makes even Pinocchio seem honest. Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us 16 times, and you become almost irrelevant. Unfortunately, this President hasn't exactly staked his legacy on honesty. From Benghazi, taxpayer-funded abortion, and ObamaCare to Fast and Furious, religious liberty, and executive authority, it's become more difficult to find instances when the President has told the truth. The facts are such a foreign concept in this White House that even left-leaning PolitiFact has logged more than four pages of lies from this President. And we wonder why the American people are so cynical about politics! In this case, the President's "evolution" was a not-so-intelligent design. Of course, President Obama is right about one thing in this litany of falsehoods: supporting natural marriage is a winning political strategy. And it continues to be, as more states and leaders push back on the courts' agenda to redefine marriage. In conjunction with National Marriage Week, the House and Senate are both introducing legislation to stem the attack on federalism at the states' borders. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Congressman Randy Weber (R-Texas), who both introduced the State Marriage Defense Act this time last year, know these bills have never been more important -- especially on the eve of the Supreme Court arguments this spring. "Even though the Supreme Court made clear in United States v. Windsor that the federal government should defer to state 'choices about who may be married,'" Cruz said, "the Obama administration has disregarded state marriage laws enacted by democratically-elected legislatures to uphold traditional marriage." In the House, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kans.) is taking a different tact, offering a federal amendment that would define marriage as the union of a man and woman in the U.S. Constitution. Dozens had done exactly that until the courts intervened and doubled the number of states with same-sex "marriage" to 37 since last October. Of course, that exposes one of the media's lies, which is that Americans have evolved right along with the President. Voters only approved his radical position on marriage in three of those 37 states. Fortunately for FRC and a majority of conservatives, we never believed in evolution anyway! SPLC Nurses a Grudge against Popular Doc Under a phony "civil rights" banner, the SPLC has gotten away with murder in its hate labeling. But this time, the Southern Poverty Law Center may have finally bitten off more than it can chew. As if attacking everyday Christians, small towns, and national organizations like FRC weren't enough, the group has apparently grown over confident under the Obama administration as they attempt to smear the hugely popular surgeon and neonatal pioneer, Dr. Ben Carson. As a black man, who was raised in poverty by a single mother, Dr. Carson should be a poster child for the minority success the SPLC pretends to advocate. Instead, the organization, which has morphed into nothing but a multi-million dollar homosexual advocacy group, has made the conservative doctor a target for his mainstream marriage views. Why? Because he rose from poverty as a minority without the aid of big government? Because of a benevolent mother with moral convictions? Or is it because Dr. Carson is a viable candidate with a massive following who refuses to be choked back by political correctness? All of the above? The absurdity of their hate "watch list" would be comical, if it weren't dangerous -- as FRC's shooting and the developing story from UNC Chapel Hill prove all too well. Of course, the irony is that rather than expose extremists, SPLC only succeeds in exposing themselves as the rabid, anti-Christian radicals they are. This is a group that cares not about helping impoverished minorities but instead helping elite homosexual activists impose their views on the country. Dr. Ben Carson may not fit their false civil rights narrative, but he is a man of character and decency, whose only crime is sharing Americans' Bible-based objections to same-sex "marriage." "When embracing traditional Christian values is equated to hatred, we are approaching the stage where wrong is called right and right is called wrong," Dr. Carson fired back. It's a shame that SPLC's vicious political agenda makes it impossible to practice the "tolerance" they claim to seek, especially when it comes to a man who rose above the circumstances SPLC claims to fight. If you'd like to stand with Dr. Carson, sign FRC's petition and then forward it to your family and friends. Watchmen on Georgia's Wall How do Georgia pastors feel about religious liberty? In a word: passionate. That was the resounding message I received at our regional pastors briefing yesterday with Former Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran in attendance. Hosted by Dr. Earnest Easley at Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, we heard rousing messages from Bishops Garland Hunt, Wellington Boone, and our own E.W. Jackson. Dr. Ronnie Floyd, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Dr. Don Hattaway, President of the Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) also gave compelling challenges to the pastors. Mike Griffin, Public Affairs Representative for the GBC, offered clear action steps and helps from their Religious Liberty web page for how pastors and churches could support a Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act titled: "Preventing Government Overreach on Religious Expression Act" (HB 218). We concluded the meeting with pastors gathering around former Chief Cochran, affirming him and praying for him. If you live in Georgia or have friends and family there, please encourage everyone to call Governor Nathan Deal (404-656-1776), Lt. Governor Casey Cagle (404-656-5030), and House Speaker David Ralston (404- 656-5020) and urge their support for HB 218. ** The President's prayer breakfast remarks may have been last week, but the controversy isn't going away. Check out my new Red State column, "The President's Small World" co-authored with Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) here. FRC's Ken Blackwell also takes a swipe at the White House in his latest Townhall piece, "President Obama: If You Like Your God, Keep Him." *** For more on SPLC's smear machine and Ben Carson, check out Ken Blackwell's appearance on last night's "O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News (video below). Also, don't miss Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin's take on the Brian Williams scandal on Tuesday's "Hannity." Click here to watch. Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.