Prayers For Rush, Endless Impeachment, Caucus Day

Rush Limbaugh
Age 69

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Prayers For Rush
Please join in me in prayer for my friend Rush Limbaugh. America's top talker shocked his audience today with the announcement that he has been diagnosed with "advanced lung cancer." Limbaugh said he has every intention of being on the air as often as he can, but will be absent from his show from time to time as he undergoes treatment.

Godspeed, Rush. Millions of us will be praying for you every day!

Endless Impeachment?
After the Senate voted Friday afternoon to reject Democrat demands for additional witnesses, Sen. Chuck Schumer and his progressive gang forced Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to drag out the impeachment debate so that a final vote won't happen until Wednesday.

The reason was obvious: Democrats wanted to force President Trump to deliver his State of the Union address with the cloud of impeachment still hanging over his head.

I think Leader McConnell has handled the impeachment process about as well as he could have, and I doubt there was much more he could have done to stop Schumer from delaying the final vote on the articles of impeachment.

Today, senators will hear four hours of closing arguments from the House managers and the president's defense lawyers. After that, the senators will begin delivering speeches explaining their positions, followed by final votes on the articles of impeachment late Wednesday afternoon.

My prediction is that every Republican senator and as many as three Democrats will end up voting against impeachment. But as I wrote in Friday's report, this won't be the end of it. House progressives are vowing to press ahead with even more investigations of President Trump.

By the way, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) warned that Joe Biden, if he prevails this November, could be "immediately impeached" given the low bar set by House Democrats.

Caucus Day
Today's the big day! Democrats across Iowa are kicking off the 2020 campaign season with caucuses in all 99 counties. While results are not expected until later tonight, there are growing concerns that multiple candidates could declare victory.

Adding to the controversy is the strange situation involving the final Des Moines Register's poll, which was suddenly canceled at the last minute.

The Des Moines Register poll, considered the gold standard of Iowa polling, was pulled due to a complaint from one person who alleged that former Mayor Pete Buttigieg was omitted from the survey. The problem was reportedly due to a font-sizing issue that pushed his name off the caller's monitor screen.

Nonetheless, we live in an age of leaks and conspiracies. It didn't take long before some writers indicated that they received a leak of the poll's initial results. They alleged that poll projected a big win by Bernie Sanders, and that's why the Des Moines Register supposedly spiked the poll. Whether there's any truth to that or not, we'll know much more later tonight.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is all over the Hawkeye State. Rather than allowing the Democrats to dominate the media during their caucuses, the president's campaign launched a massive effort in recent days to lock down the state for the general election.

It began with last week's rally, where Trump spoke to 7,500 people in a packed stadium, with another thousand-plus outside. Over the weekend, several Trump surrogates crisscrossed the state, refusing to surrender the field to the Democrats for their big day.

This is why so many conservatives and conservative-leaning independents see Donald Trump in a category all by himself. His willingness to think and fight "outside the box" is a breath of fresh air after so many establishment disappointments.

Politics & The Super Bowl
Former New York City mayor and billionaire political activist Michael Bloomberg ran an ad during last night's Super Bowl game highlighting his desire to limit Second Amendment rights. It's worth noting that Bloomberg paid at least $10 million for that ad. That speaks volumes about Michael Bloomberg's priorities!

But the ad was terribly deceptive. It featured the mother of George Kemp talking about her son, who was shot to death in 2013. The ad claimed that "2,900 children die every year from gun violence." But George Kemp was not a "child." He was 20 years old.

The only way to get to the 2,900 figure is to grossly inflate it by including young adults up to 19 years-old. Sadly, most gun deaths in urban areas are often teenage gang members killing each other. When you exclude adults, the number of annual deaths is cut in half.

The ad's only useful purpose was to prove just how deceptive the left is willing to be. Progressives can't make arguments without gross distortions because they have no confidence they can win an argument based on facts.

In contrast to Bloomberg's deceptive ad about limiting our constitutional rights, President Trump's campaign ran an ad in the first quarter of the game promoting criminal justice reform featuring Alice Johnson. The powerful ad shows just now serious Trump is about competing for black votes.

Also proving he's a good businessman who knows how to save money, the president ran a second ad just after the game officially concluded, so it cost significantly less. That ad touted America's economic success under President Trump's policies, and promised that "the best is yet to come!"

Unfortunately, there was one ad that Fox Sports refused to run. Click here to watch the pro-life ad featuring several survivors of abortion.

Congratulations, Kansas City!
I'm glad the heartland Kansas City Chiefs won over the 49ers from whacked-out San Francisco. Sadly, one of the low points of the game occurred when Beyonce and Jay-Z refused to stand for the national anthem.

I suppose I should take heart that they didn't kneel. Instead, they just sat there in their seats. They and their entourage spent more for those seats than many Americans will make in a year.

What a contrast between the disrespect Beyonce and Jay-Z displayed and Colonel Charles McGee, a Tuskegee Airman who was honored at the Super Bowl. McGee "stood up" for our country in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. There's the decline in America.

McGee and other Tuskegee Airmen sacrificed for their country at a time when there was widespread discrimination and segregation. Thanks to their sacrifices, Beyonce and Jay-Z have more money than 99.9% of Americans, and yet they're still complaining about America.

Christian Persecution In Nigeria
The persecution of Christians is getting significantly worse in Nigeria. At least 16 Christians were killed last month by militant Islamists. Among those killed was Pastor Lawan Andimi, who was beheaded by Boko Haram.

Archbishop Augustine Obiora Akubeze, the president of Nigeria's Conference of Catholic Bishops, is urging western nations to take action because the Nigerian government is turning a blind eye to the Islamist atrocities.

As many of you know, I was appointed by President Trump to serve on the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). At USCIRF's urging, the Trump Administration added Nigeria to its "Special Watch List" of religious liberty violators in December.

I assure you, my fellow commissioners and I will continue to do everything we can to expose the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. In the meantime, please pray for our Nigerian brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering for their faith.
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Gary Bauer (@GaryLBauer)  is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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