WASHINGTON UPDATE 04/16/2015

Share with Friends |  | April 16, 2015 | Permalink A Resign of the Times... Angie's can take one thing off its list -- CEO Bill Oesterle. After a rough few weeks at the center of the Indiana RFRA debate, the Angie's List boss surprised everyone by stepping down. The decision, which comes less than a month after conservatives launched a nationwide boycott against his company, caught the local business community off guard -- especially since Oesterle had been at the helm since he co-founded the subscription service in 1995. Of course, his rockiest time at the wheel was this spring, when the one-time GOP advisor gambled his company's reputation on the Left's view of religious liberty -- namely, that Christians shouldn't have any. Oesterle jumped on the Left's misinformation bandwagon, using his company as leverage in the fight against religious liberty. At one point, he threatened to pull a multi-million dollar office building from Indianapolis over the measure -- which, reporters later discovered, was on hold for other reasons. Turns out, the city was already worried that Angie's List's track record (specifically that it has never posted an annual profit) was a bad investment. When Indianapolis didn't bite on the idea -- which would have cost it millions of dollars in subsidies -- Angie's List had no choice to put the plans on the backburner. Oesterle's public reasons for leaving the company are to "re-enter politics" -- although the last several weeks would suggest he never left them. Feeling the pain of a boycott, the pinch of another downward year (the Indianapolis Star says the business "relies heavily on investor money to stay afloat"), and a public decision to put his company at odds with the First Amendment almost certainly contributed to the sudden departure. Still, Oesterle says, his goal is to reverse the "shellacking" Indiana took in the RFRA debate. "I can maybe do some things to help resolve some of the state's issues." His position as CEO, he explained, is "incompatible" with his political involvement -- a view that was no doubt reinforced courtesy of former subscribers. Even when Governor Mike Pence (R-Ind.) watered down the language protecting the freedom of belief, Oesterle complained that he didn't go far enough. "I abhor discrimination, I just do. I certainly support religious freedom... right up to the point that (it) discriminates against somebody else and actively does so." Like so many faux religious liberty supporters, he wants to protect everyone of discrimination but the true victims: men and women of faith. That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone familiar with his work environment. He happily employs a person whose work promoting sexual bondage was featured in her book Spanking City Hall. "It's kind of a safe place for her," Bill says nonchalantly. Melyssa Hubbard, who works in the sales department at Angie's List, told reporters, "I wish every place on earth was like this... Bill creates platforms for people to self-actualize." Unless, of course, you want to actualize as an orthodox Christian. Meanwhile, Oesterle, who would deny the timing of his resignation as anything but coincidental, is mulling a primary challenge to Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R). If so, both men will need a significant boost before then. Governor Pence, who may never recover from raising a white flag on religious freedom, is watching his base of support implode. Just since January, his approval rating dropped from 62% to 43% post-RFRA caving. Obviously, surrender isn't just wrong -- it's unpopular. Faith Takes a Furlough In the military, our troops are used to navigating landmines. They aren't used to having their own leaders plant them. That must be how it feels for religious service members, who are nervously stepping their way through a dangerous and hostile environment for faith -- created by the same administration they serve. Unfortunately, identifying the country's threats hasn't exactly been this President's strong suit. In the same breath that he swaps terrorists for deserters and lets Iran off the hook, he turns the military's internal firepower on expressions of religion. The culture of the military, once one of the proudest professions in the world, is a depressed one -- with morale in a freefall and recruitment at its lowest levels in years. Gradually worn down by the seven-year war on religious liberty and decency, more men and women are opting to get out -- or worse, never sign up in the first place. In a front-page story for the Washington Times, Jacqueline Klimas expands on what FRC has said for years: that the military cannot sustain this long-term assault on its values. Our good friend Mike Berry from the Liberty Institute has seen the fallout first-hand. "I can't tell you how many moms and dads I've spoken to who say, 'My son or daughter wants to join the military, (but) in light of what you've described, I'm not sure I want to let them join the military anymore,' and I don't blame them. I would have serious reservations about my own kids joining." In a military where even Chaplains are punished for their faith, more service members have to be wondering: why are we here? These brave men and women in uniform are dying for liberties that they can't even enjoy. Douglas Lee of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, said, "I know people who get out, officers and chaplains, who've said, 'I can't serve the way I want to in this environment. People who've said, 'Because of the religious liberty challenges I see, I think I'll serve somewhere else." The sacrifices of -- not just the service members, but their families -- must feel somewhat hollow now in a culture where you can't even say, "Have a blessed day," without triggering an investigation. Then, of course, there are the double standards. Yesterday, we told you about the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) blaming the Bible, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence for "modern sexism." It turns out, this training isn't the only thing under review. In a surprising twist, FRC learned that the commander of DEOMI, the very touchstone of political correctness in the military, has been suspended in December for alleged "inappropriate touching." You can't even make this stuff up! It's like the Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention Officer, who was charged in 2013 with -- you guessed it -- sexual assault. And we wonder why the Pentagon has so many problems! The DOD is having to address all of these issues of sexism, assault, relationship consent because Obama's policies have sexualized the military to the point of complete and utter dysfunction. Unfortunately, this is a huge mess that the next President is not only going to inherit -- but has to address. In the extremely dangerous and volatile world that President Obama has fostered by his own ineptness, we can't risk having a military that is more concerned about the sexual advances of their members than advancing the military's mission of fighting and winning America's wars. ** Marriage means a lot more to society than the Left seems to realize. Get an inside look at why in Dr. Pat Fagan's column, "Society Cannot Escape Negative Outcomes of Marriage's Decline." *** Abortion and Trafficking: What Would Lincoln Have Done? Find out in Rob Schwarzwalder's new Townhall.com piece, available here. Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.