It would be difficult not to be impressed with a man who graduated at the top of his class at West Point, earned a degree from Harvard Law, built a successful business career, served his country -- and Congress. Even the most relentless of Democrats would have a tough time poking holes in a résumé like that. But on Thursday, when Mike Pompeo sits before the Senate and defends his qualifications to be the next Secretary of State, liberals will still try.
Of course, the Democrats' problem with Pompeo isn't his credentials -- it's his convictions. From his early days in the House to his job at the CIA, Mike's opponents know that he's never been easily intimidated. When it comes to protecting America's interests or the values he cares about, Pompeo -- like the president -- is fearless. He stands up for what's right, regardless which way the political winds are blowing. And Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), for one, thinks that's exactly what our nation needs. "...Director Pompeo is clear-eyed and hard-nosed about the threats we face, and he speaks in the direct, blunt manner of a man who has no time to waste when confronting those threats," he said.
After the mess President Obama made of America's reputation and its relationships, Mike would be the powerful presence this administration needs to get our diplomatic efforts back on track. In a letter to Senate leadership, a coalition of 49 groups talked about one of the most important facets of that work: reviving the department's work on international religious liberty. "Mr. Pompeo," the group writes to Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chuck Schumer, "is a strong nominee who will make international religious freedom a foreign policy priority -- a matter which is especially important given that we now know religious freedom, long protected for its own sake, is also intricately connected to the security and prosperity of nations themselves." As we've said for years, the only path to long-term peace is making religious freedom a foreign policy priority. Mike Pompeo understands that.
If you ask most conservatives, one of the greatest tragedies of the Obama years was watching the president turn the State Department into the global headquarters of LGBT propaganda. With an army of 75,000 employees, he set out to convert "unenlightened" countries to his brand of cultural extremism. Now, more than a year into Donald Trump's term, it's no wonder that groups like GLAAD and Human Rights Campaign are up in arms about Pompeo's nomination. They can't stand the idea of ending these social distractions and returning the agency to its true purpose.
Unfortunately, Obama's obsession with LGBT issues didn't just come at the expense of America's relationships or taxpayer dollars. It also cost the agency any real progress on religious liberty. And unlike Obama's off-mission social engineering, protecting and promoting our First Freedom is a stated goal of Congress under the International Religious Freedom Act. Besides, the coalition reminds Senate leaders, "Promoting religious freedom is simply good foreign policy. Indeed, one of the pillars of our National Security Strategy, recognizing 'the hope of every soul to live in freedom," is to 'advance American influence' by 'protect[ing] religious freedom and religious minorities.'" With Ambassador Sam Brownback in place and a secretary of State as committed Mike Pompeo, the millions of suffering men and women of faith around the world would finally get the help they need. Contact your senators and urge them to support Mike Pompeo's nomination.
For more on how Mike Pompeo could transform the culture at the Department of State, click over to my new op-ed in Fox News.
