Conservative and religious satire site The Babylon Bee recently caused quite a stir when it published the article, “Bernie Sanders Proposes Bill Forcing Christians Holding Public Office To Wear Scarlet Cross.” For some reason (perhaps political?), left leaning “fact check” site Snopes took it seriously. Although the dust up was unnecessary, it brings forth important issues that conservatives should take a hard look at in the coming months.
The Babylon Bee’s article in question honed in on the argument between Sanders and President Donald Trump’s deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget nominee, Russell Vought. During a round of questioning at Capitol Hill, Sanders called to task some comments that Vought had made about the Islamic religion. The conversation quickly took an aggressive turn.
The exchange ended with Sanders saying that he would vote against confirmation for Vought. The Babylon mocked the exchange by saying that Sanders had proposed a piece of legislation called the Hateful Big Identification Act. According to the satirical article, Sanders was trying to make all politicians identifying as Christian wear a scarlet cross to identify them as hateful bigots – a clear jab at religious conservatives.
Snopes went out of its way to “debunk” the article, saying that Sanders had proposed no such legislation. The article also attributed quotes to Sanders such as, “By separating Christians from the rest of us, will have finally achieved the religious liberty and tolerance the Founding Fathers dreamed of.
When have you ever known Bernie Sanders to be this forward with anyone? It is exactly this lack of aggressiveness that cost him the Democratic nomination against the criminal Hillary Clinton. This is an old man who can’t even control his own microphone at his own events, much less say something as defining as the above quote. However, there is a larger issue. Are we really going to allow left-leaning websites to make fun of the political process without staging serious counter-arguments?
President Trump is looking to pass the next federal budget in October, one of the main reasons so many liberals are trying to have him impeached before that time. The deputy director nomination for the Office of Management and Budget is one of the most important political proceedings of the next few months. It is this department that will be charged with executing the will of the executive branch, turning the policy into actionable law.
Snopes is trying to cover for liberal politicians like Bernie Sanders by normalizing the type of questioning that he imposed upon Vought at the nomination hearing. If a government official cannot question the political leanings of potential enemies, there is very little that government can do to protect its citizens. However, by making Sanders’ questioning a joke, Snopes is attempting to give liberals a free pass to question everything that conservatives will accomplish in the next four years.
It is also troublesome how many liberals actually believed that Sanders would be bold enough to propose legislation as definite as the satirical bill referred to in the article.
Conservatives have traditionally been tasked with the protection of the entire nation. This means asking difficult questions in the face of political correctness. At the highest and most influential levels of Congress, which Sen. Sanders unfortunately populates, there must be uniformity in terms of the message that the United States puts forth to its political enemies. The self-proclaimed socialist was hopelessly irresponsible in his line of questioning, and there is no reason that anyone should be allowed to take it lightly.
Conservatives cannot be caught up in false stories. There is very serious work to be done in the next few months. The president must be protected, and his nominations must be fulfilled. If our attention is diverted into irrelevant issues of semantics, then we face a very bleak picture for our nation moving forward.
It is absolutely necessary that we confront issues head on so that the advancements that are being made by the Trump administration last for years to come. As The Babylon Bee article stated, albeit satirically, “We have to know who to take seriously, and who’s a dangerous threat to our society.”
~ 1776 Christian
