Leftist tantrums at every turn are now thoroughly predictable, and becoming more than a bit tedious to Americans with any modicum of common sense. But occasionally, they erupt with a particular degree of venom and hysteria that better exposes the moral/spiritual sewer of leftist ideology. And for that reason, they need to be more fully examined.
Such is the case with the latest ruckus over the January 30 opening prayer in the US House of Representatives, offered up to God by Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills California, at the request of Speaker Mike Johnson. Anyone who might have doubted the willingness of Speaker Johnson to boldly confront the leftist Democrats on Capitol Hill should rest easy now. He absolutely knew that Pastor Hibbs would not be delivering the pablum and platitudes which have become standard fare for opening “prayers” among the political establishment. Phony leftist outrage and overblown theatrics were sure to follow.
A February 15 letter from self-proclaimed atheist/humanist California Representative Jared Huffman and two dozen others (Democrats, all…) attacks Pastor Hibbs as “an ill qualified hate preacher” and “radical Christian nationalist.” Dredging up the Pelosi J6 witch hunt, in which more than two years of leftist grandstanding and theatrics yielded absolutely nothing of substance for the left, the letter further accused Pastor Hibbs of promoting what leftists continue to fraudulently claim was an “insurrection” at the U.S. Capitol. In still more canned spluttering, they decry him for ostensibly directing “hateful vitriol” against non-Christians, immigrants, and the LGBTQ “community.”
Such malignant accusations are devoid of any substance, other than the fact that as a Bible Believing Christian, he disagrees with their efforts to pervert American culture to the point that their sick/twisted endeavors might be “normalized.” In truth, leveling such accusations against him as they do is itself a manifestation of actual hate. Of course, this is textbook leftist counterculture strategy. Always clawing their way onto that all important but phony “moral high ground,” their loathing of anyone who refuses to sink to their level is of itself reason to viciously attack and accuse with any available lie.
As is usually the case with leftist fits of rage, it is worthwhile to consider the actual words of Pastor Hibbs, from which they took such “offense.” In his prayer, he called out to “Almighty God, and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Clearly, this is an affront to those who worship their contrived “god” of “diversity,” by which they righteously extol themselves for their embrace of every lunatic belief system, while specifically excluding Christianity. Hibbs went on to call for “Repentance for our national sins,” and to beg for God-given wisdom for those conducting the Nation’s business.
Among countercultural leftists, this is indeed a repudiation of their anti-American agenda, and the cesspool of Marxist ideology by which they hope to “fundamentally transform” this country into a socialist nightmare. Yet among the farmers across the fruited plain who plant the crops to keep us fed, and the people on Main Street who work the jobs and provide the goods to families, such words are encouraging and inspiring.
Perhaps members of Congress can be exhorted and encouraged by such a prayer, and the Almighty God to Whom it was directed, to diligently focus on the prospects of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and their oaths to advance such ideals. So of course, leftist Democrats would find such hopes and expectations a total affront to everything they are, and every foul deed they seek to accomplish in public office.
As Pastor Hibbs has since noted, the daily prayer in Congress was started by no less a historical figure than Benjamin Franklin. Often denigrated as a heathen libertine in his younger years, Franklin eventually said “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see that God governs in the affairs of men.” And on that basis, it was once deemed fitting to seek that guidance and wisdom. But all of that has changed. Instead, leftist Democrats now insist that we follow the edicts of that great spiritual leader Nancy Pelosi, who issued commandments of “gender neutrality” and fealty to the nonexistent premise of “separation of Church and state,” overriding First Amendment protections of religious freedom and the free speech by which to express it, as exercised by Pastor Hibbs.
It is further worthwhile to consider some past absurdities uttered by leftist Democrats under the guise of “prayer,” for which there were no demands of recantation or other reckoning. On January 4, 2021, Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver gave a “prayer” that dripped with leftist sanctimony and politicking, calling on House members to “heal the partisan divisions of 2020.” The timing of his remarks cannot be interpreted as anything other than a demand for ideological surrender from the Right. Going forward into the reign of the Biden Cabal, Republicans should not pose any opposition to the leftist Democrats in the manner that they had done under the Presidency of Donald Trump. The only proper “moral course” in the eyes of Cleaver and his fellow Democrats was acquiescence to their leftist agenda. And his “prayer” ostensibly elevated it to an unassailable moral standard.
However, Cleaver wasn’t finished. He closed his “prayer,” supplanting the traditional “Amen” by an infantile attempt to infuse “gender neutrality” into the situation with the inane words “A men and a woman.” So even the most basic wording of a traditionally acknowledged “prayer” proved to be something the left would target for attack. Yet in the wake of his disgraceful stunt, there were no outraged protests in the Congress or calls for Pelosi to denounce him. In the leftist world a public “prayer” is merely an occasion to stump for absurdity and moral depravity; everything but a true beseeching of our Creator.
Thankfully, neither Speaker Johnson nor Pastor Hibbs is showing any signs of capitulation to the leftist inquisition. In public statements made since, Pastor Hibbs has reaffirmed his commitment to the precepts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Judeo-Christian principles on which our Nation was founded. Regardless of the contrived fury and outbursts of the leftist counterculture, it is only by a restoration of those principles and ideals that America can hope to prevail.
Anyone who reads the first five words of the First Amendment can see that it is not about “diversity,” “not offending” or any other leftist banality. Rather, it is a prohibition of such abusive dogma being forced onto the America people by an out-of-control Congress. Jack Hibbs is only a “threat” to leftist Democrats because he possesses the boldness and conviction to defy their unconstitutional dictates and speak the Truth!
Bio: Christopher G. Adamo is a lifelong conservative from the American Heartland. He has been involved in grassroots and state-level politics for many years, seeking to restore and uphold the Judeo-Christian principles on which our Nation was founded. His book, “Rules for Defeating Radicals,” is the “Go To” guide for effectively confronting and overcoming the dirty tricks of the political left. It is available at Amazon.