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The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Pippa, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at letters@dailysignal.com. Enjoy the show!

Rachel del Guidice: I’m joined today on The Daily Signal Podcast by Congressman French Hill of Arkansas. Congressman Hill, it’s great to have you on The Daily Signal Podcast.

In these trying times, we must turn to the greatest document in the history of the world to promise freedom and opportunity to its citizens for guidance. Find out more now >>

Rep. French Hill: Rachel, it’s great to be with you. Thanks for the invitation.

Del Guidice: Well, thank you for making the time. We do appreciate it. You recently introduced legislation to ensure that the United States is less dependent on foreign manufacturers like China. Can you tell us how your legislation would work?

Hill: You bet. And I want to thank [The Heritage Foundation] for its good research here. I thought your interview with Tori Smith was particularly good.

The supply chain is a national security asset and members of Congress on both sides of the hill are thinking about, “Well, how should we approach it? What’s the right way to consider that considering we have a free-market economy and, obviously, we have sources of supply around the world for all countries?”

So my view was let’s amend the Defense Production Act, the DPA. Recently, President [Donald] Trump undertook his authorities under the DPA to compel … greater ventilator construction in the United States.

So the Defense Production Act, dating back to the Korean War and the Truman administration allows America to step up resources in time of war for national security purposes in domestic construction.

My vision was let’s add to that planning node medical supplies, both pharmaceutical ingredients, medical equipment, and what we think of now is PPE—personal protective equipment—and other medical supplies, and make sure that we have a diversified supply chain there.

My bill would add those items to the Defense Production Act as a national security matter and would ask the president to produce a strategy around that.

Here, he would assess those supply chains. How much is already in the United States? How much is in countries friendly to the United States? How dependent are we on active drug ingredients, finished drugs, medical supplies, medical devices?

And then put that strategy in place so that we don’t have the situation that I believe we had this first quarter of 2020 when the tide went out and we found out we really didn’t have any swimming trunks on when the water receded.

We really didn’t have the kind of thoughtful planning I believe that we should have had in this area of strategic medical supplies and pharmaceuticals.

Del Guidice: On that note and talking about being strategic when it comes to our medical supply chain, why is it so important to be less reliant on foreign manufacturers like China?

Hill: If your supply chain is in an authoritarian regime, not a market economy, economy with a lot of government intrusion in it, it means it’s not as transparent. It means it’s not as market-driven as say we are in the U.S.

And while the FDA-regulated pharmaceutical ingredients are spread around the world, as Tori has outlined in her great work for Heritage, you still have these potentials for log jams.

I think the point is to have a strategic study as a part of the Defense Production Act so that we really know where we are, where do we need to be, and how we could ramp up production here more easily. Instead of it being a mystery, which it was as we got into this pandemic.

Del Guidice: One of the provisions in your legislation is … that [the president] could provide incentives to ensure the availability of medical articles that are used for essential national defense. What do you think some of these incentives that you outlined could look like?

Hill: Well, they might be R&D [research and development] incentives. They might be locational incentives to bring a production back to the United States. They might be purchase order incentives from the national stockpile or from [the Defense Department], for example.

There might be a variety of things and I think that’s what would be good in the bill is to have the executive branch study those best ideas and put forward recommendations.

Del Guidice: We’ve heard some people say and talk about how decreasing dependence on China for pharmaceuticals could create a risk that would cause disruptions or shortages that would jeopardize different supply chains or different accesses to medication. What is your response when people talk about those kinds of concerns?

Hill: That’s why the SAVE Act that I proposed is not China-specific. It’s asking the president to have a strategic approach for national security purposes to our pharmaceutical and medical supply chain for that particular purpose.

We want to take advantage of innovation around the world. We want to take advantage of manufacturing capacity around the world. So it’s not meant to disrupt that supply chain, but it is meant to strategically make sure that we have redundant supply chains and critical ingredients.

I think the most recent thing when you look in the press here over the last few weeks, you see that 100% of Ibuprofen for whatever reason is located in China. That would be a non-diverse supply chain of something that’s a very common ingredient in every household in America.

So those are the kinds of things that one would think through and offer a strategy that took into account all the potential manufacturing capacity around the world where it’s located, and we do this now in national security-related aviation production, technology production.

So this is not unusual. I think what’s unusual is that we didn’t have it done previously.

Del Guidice: Another provision that’s in your bill allows the president explicit authority, as you’ve talked about, to use the DPA to protect supply chains by allowing entities to increase the security of supply chains in their activities. And if this were to happen, practically speaking, what would that look like down the road?

Hill: I think if you have a strategy of having redundant supply chains, then you’d have the ability to switch production from one country, one plant to another more easily.

 

So from that point of view, that when you want to ramp up or you want to isolate supply chain, you have a strategy you can do that. It’s driven by the private sector, driven by private-sector innovators so that [if] they need to turn that switch, they can.

Del Guidice: Looking at what’s happened with China and coronavirus, what do you think America’s relationship should look like with China going forward? We’ve seen different people from both sides talking about how changes need to be made. So, going forward, what are some things you would suggest for the U.S.-China relationship?

Hill: We’ve been making many of those changes over the last three years during the administration of President Trump.

We’ve seen CFIUS, the Committee [on Foreign] Investment in the United States, broaden its analysis of intellectual property and joint ventures, which affects not just China, but Chinese companies particularly.

We’ve tried in the House Financial Services Committee to graduate China from its ability to borrow from the World Bank, for example. We’ve encouraged the World Bank have more transparency in China’s predatory pricing as a sovereign country in the Third World.

So my view of it is, when you look at national security policy in the South China Sea, when you look at the pandemic medical supply issue, when you look at One Belt, One Road and China’s predatory economic policies, China’s reputation now in Europe and Asia and here in the United States is in tatters. I think they really are going to have to dig out of a deep hole …

So I believe that America will continue this approach of trust, but verify in a number of categories when it refers to China, economic, national security, diplomatic, all of the above.

Del Guidice: Speaking of trusting and verifying and moving forward, how do you think China should be held accountable and the Chinese Communist Party should be accountable for their role in what’s happened?

Hill: There’s no doubt that an investigation leads to ensue on what did the Chinese know? When did they know it? When did they share that with the World Health Organization and other international bodies and bilaterally with countries, including the U.S.?

We know we were told, basically, the genetic makeup of this virus around Jan. 12. The question I think we should have is, how much earlier should we have known so that we could have been better prepared and the world been better prepared?

That’s why I appreciate President Trump’s skepticism about the World Health Organization and its influence by China. I think that’s something that should be looked at as well.

Del Guidice: Before coming to Congress, you were an investment manager and founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the Delta Trust & Banking Corp. Given your experience in the banking sector, what is your perspective on the Paycheck Protection Program?

Hill: Well, it was a remarkable task to stand up a $350 billion small business lending program in basically a week and then, 13 days later, have made over a million loans for that amount of money.

From one point of view, it’s a stunning achievement of American can-do attitude. But, of course, anytime the government attempts to engage and intervene in the private economy, you’re going to have challenges. And so the PPP program, the Paycheck Protection Program, is no exception to that.

They had technology programs, they had borrower definitional programs, they had bank understanding of the program. All those things were business challenges around it. But nonetheless, it’s helped a lot of small businesses.

The Treasury estimates over 30 million Americans were kept in their job by that first troche of the PPP program. And today, as we record this, $310 billion has been added to that program to help more small businesses, particularly sole proprietors.

Del Guidice: How have the people of Arkansas been affected by coronavirus, whether it’s looking at the medical and health aspect or the economic impact of coronavirus? What are you seeing in your state?

Hill: It’s been very disruptive here, as it has been across the country. As of yesterday, we had about 3,000 cases and we’ve lost 49 Arkansans through the virus, for which we lament that.

But Gov. [Asa] Hutchinson has had a go slow, more prudent approach to shutting down business. So while we’ve had over 100,000 Arkansans apply for jobless claims, we have a lot of Arkansans still working.

The governor is now focused on reopening the economy during May. He’s being equally cautious about the reopening approach. So I’m optimistic that here in Arkansas we have weathered the storm about as well as possible.

But as we all know in America, hard work and ingenuity is what we’re all about. But this virus has thrown us for a loop on how fast we can get our economy back to full capacity.

Del Guidice: … On Friday, the House passed another stimulus bill. And the numbers that came out recently were, I think, 4 million people in unemployment. So going forward, what would you say are next steps that would be prudent for Congress to take?

Hill: Well, Rachel, this is a staggering amount of money that Congress has appropriated. We’ve appropriated nearly $3 trillion, 60% of what we would spend in any one budget year running the entire federal government.

When you combine that spending in that appropriated money with the ability of the Federal Reserve to leverage it, it’s almost $7 trillion that’s being injected into the American economy in just say three months or so.

My personal view is we need to assess the appropriated money that we’ve already contributed to fighting the virus in public health and getting the economy stable before we go and sign up for another spending package. Let’s take stock of where we are and what we’ve accomplished, and see how well it’s working.

Del Guidice: On that note, and lastly, how would you encourage people to talk to their members of Congress about this issue itself and how much has already been appropriated and, while trying to respond, also trying to be fiscally responsible?

So, … given your experience in banking and finance, how would you encourage the average person who is very concerned about the economic state of the country to talk about this and share their concern with their lawmakers?

Hill: Well, we didn’t ask for this black swan to sweep across the globe and disrupt the entire economy, and particularly disrupt the best economy here in the United States we’ve had in five decades.

So, we didn’t ask for it. We have to muster the resources to fight it, fight it effectively, and then get the economy back.

I would say all Americans are filled with common sense and if they know the rules, they will adopt accordingly, help us get the economy back to full capacity, take care of their families.

I think citizens should contact their representatives and talk about their own personal experience. How they safely got back to the church. How they safely got back to work. How they safely taught their kids how to social distance and yet still maintain a great relationship with all of their friends.

We have to operate from a community level up to beat this virus and get back to work.

Del Guidice: Well, Congressman French Hill, it’s been a pleasure to have you on The Daily Signal Podcast. Thank you so much for joining us.

 

Rachel del Guidice: We’re joined today on The Daily Signal Podcast by Jonathan Jakubowski. He’s the author of the soon to be released book on May 5th called “Bellwether Blues: A Conservative Awakening of the Millennial Soul.”

Jonathan, it’s such an honor to have you on The Daily Signal Podcast. Thanks for joining us.

Jonathan Jakubowski: Thank you, Rachel. The honor is mine.

Del Guidice: Well, it’s a pleasure to have you with us. So your book coming out on May 5th, “Bellwether Blues,” talks about how millennials have switched over from a more liberal outlook in voting to conservative.

Before we get into the book itself, can you break down for us the millennial generation today and what you saw? And where they were leaning toward when it comes to politics and policy?

Jakubowski: Sure, yeah. The millennial generation is incredibly important to our electoral demographic because it’s the largest electoral demographic.

Now, traditionally, the hit against millennials has been that they don’t come out and vote. They might register to vote, but they don’t vote.

Well, that changed in the midterms of 2018. They came out in droves and affected the turnout in the votes in a number of states.

So that’s a very important demographic to pay attention to. And it’s only going to be growing in importance in the future.

Del Guidice: Can you tell us a little bit about the book, “Bellwether Blues,” and also the inspiration for the title? It’s such an interesting title and I want to hear about the title itself—why you decided on that title—and then just a little bit about the book, unpacking what all is in it.

Jakubowski: Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the fun parts of the book was diving deep into this generation. I think there’s a lot of ideas out there as to who a millennial is. And a lot of stereotypes that certainly a lot of millennials fit. But the thing that I’ve found is there’s also a lot of millennials that don’t fit those stereotypes.

As I do research with a variety of sources, what I found is there’s really a split in the millennial generation. And, ironically, the generation that most dislikes the millennials who fit the stereotypes are the millennials who don’t fit the stereotypes.

So what I’ve found over the course of time—and it’s a Winston Churchill quote that people might be familiar with—is that if you’re not liberal at the age of 25, you have no heart. If you’re not conservative at the age of 35, you have no brain. That quote, which I think brings a lot of humor to the table. … The question is, is that true? Is that true of American millennials?

And what I saw and what inspired the title is there’s a lot of millennials that are indeed leaving the left. There’s movements out there like #walkaway. We use the hashtag #lefttheleft, which we’ve seen before.

There’s a lot of millennials that have become deeply disillusioned with the nature of political affairs. And as the left has gone further to the left, it’s alienated a base of voters who would otherwise be predisposed to their ideology—millennials who passionately care about things like classical liberalism or First Amendment freedoms.

The more they’ve abandoned that base, the more that base has gotten the blues. Which led to the title “Bellwether Blues.”

There was a statistic that I have early on in the book that talks about how 71% of millennials would prefer for there to be a third party. So they’re tired of Democrats in that platform and how far to the left they’ve gone, but they can’t necessarily yet stomach the idea of voting for Republicans.

So they’re kind of stuck in the middle and they have this symptomatic case of the blues and they’re down and out.

That really is what builds my case at the end of the book for arguing to conservatives [that] we have to use a different level of persuasion to win the soul. And if we can win their souls, I think we can also win their votes.

Del Guidice: The book, as you mentioned, is a compilation of seven stories of millennials in “swing country America” that swung from [President Barack] Obama to [President Donald] Trump. …

I obviously don’t have time to go into super big detail, but can you talk about and introduce each of these seven people and give us a little bit of a teaser as to what their story was?

Jakubowski: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for that question.

I wanted to use empirical evidence to demonstrate that there is a move away from the left. But then I wanted to use anecdotal evidence to demonstrate what’s happening in swing country America.

I happen to live in one such swing county of 3,142 counties in America. There are 59 that are classified as swing, as having voted for Bush, Bush, Obama, Obama, Trump. And then in the state of Ohio, my state, there’s only four that fit that designation.

My county is the youngest of those counties. So going deep into that county and then looking at the stories of millennials in those counties, I thought would have important lessons to offer us as we consider this generation.

Through the anecdotal evidence with the stories that I have—and [they are] very, very powerful and persuasive stories—there’s a lot of reasons that motivated these millennials to change their votes over the course of time.

It didn’t happen in one single event. It didn’t happen because of one podcast or one show or one friend. It was conversations. It was things that they read. It was life events that ultimately culminated in a deep change in persuasion.

By the way, Rachel, it wasn’t just about the persuasion of an individual candidate. President Trump is not necessarily the favorite candidate of all of these millennials.

Some of them really love him, but some of them just went for him because they really believed in issues that he stood for—like pro-life, like the Second Amendment.....and they knew what crooked hillary stood for, or at least that hillary was against everything except socialism and accumulating more money in the "clinton foundation" for fake "speaking engagements"

I saw a factor of Blexit, where there’s African Americans who are leaving the left because they saw lack of progress in the cities with their friends and family. Certainly the blue-collar vote. So … all seven stories have a lot to offer us, I believe.

Del Guidice: … I know this is probably going to be hard to say because all of them are compelling in different ways, but was there one story in particular that really stood out to you or was really especially powerful for a particular reason?

Jakubowski: Yeah, I think there’s one that stands out in Wood County especially. We have a blue perimeter—I don’t know if you’re familiar with the blue wall concept, where we had Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, the northern parts of Ohio that had never gone for a Republican candidate. And then Trump scaled the blue wall.

Well, in Wood County, what makes it so perfect and bellwether is we have multiple demographics mixing together. But around the perimeter of our county, there’s this really strong blue-collar vote. That’s represented, at least in 2016, maybe an eighth of the entire voting population.

There’s one story of a millennial who is blue collar, grew up in a union family, voted for the Democratic Party their entire life.

And then in this election, through the course of events—really seeing things like Benghazi, seeing the alienation of patriotism, seeing a hatred toward “court’s country” and deep values, the Second Amendment—that really led him to embrace not only President Trump, but also the values that the Republican Party stands for.

Del Guidice: I know when we were talking about the book a couple months ago, you had mentioned to me that there was a particular person, I’m not sure who it was, but one of the seven people was a little bit nervous about speaking out, but then eventually ended up saying, “The story is really important and I’m definitely going to share.”

Are you able to talk about that at all and maybe, just more even generally, if people were a little bit hesitant to speak up? And what made them change their minds and want to go on the record about this?

 

Jakubowski: Yeah, that’s a great question. And we have to consider the fact that … I’m a millennial as well. So there’s a lot of peer pressure in the other direction. And depending upon where you grow up, especially if you’re in the coast.

I think there’s a ton of pressure that if you’re going to express a different opinion than the status quo, you’re going to face a lot of peer pressure. Well, that peer pressure might be lessened in “swing America.” But it’s still there.

So the considerations of having a political book, sharing their stories, took a lot of courage. And I really admire the seven individuals that came forward and said “yes.”

Because, Rachel, I found a lot of other stories that fit the same kind of story, demographic, title, switch and change. But they weren’t willing to come on the record.

In fact, the blue-collar story I just referenced with Jeremy Harpal, I talked to over a dozen people who had the same exact story but didn’t want to go public because they were concerned about whether or not people in their job might look at them a different way.

In some cases, they were angry at pollsters and wanted to continue having pollsters thinking that they’re going to be voting for a Democratic candidate. When in reality they’re going for President Trump.

So there’s a variety of reasons that I saw that led people to say “no.” But, thankfully, we had these individuals who said “yes.”

Del Guidice: Is it your hope? And do you think that because these seven people were able to speak out and share their stories that this will help [give] other millennials who maybe are nervous about how their paradigm is shifting the courage to speak out and talk about these things as well?

Jakubowski: I hope so. And I do believe so. I think as we phase and get older in life, we start thinking more about other people, namely children.

As we have a family and growing relationships, when our thoughts start moving to other people in our families, we’re less concerned about what people think about us and more concerned about the livelihoods, the future of our children.

I think that the conservative platform—faith, family, and freedom—which I talk a lot about in the book, those ideals that resonate lead people to become more emboldened, to stand up for what they believe to be the best possible future hope for their children, and for their children’s children.

Del Guidice: Mentioning faith, family, and freedom, obviously, very important issues to so many people across the country, but looking at specific issues that [brought] these seven people … over from a more liberal background and conviction to conservative point of view, was there any one or two issues that you saw as common threads that kept resurfacing as to why people are leaving the left?

Jakubowski: Yeah, I think I can sum it up in the word “freedom.”

A freedom is something that we as Americans have in our DNA. It’s a part of who we are. It’s in our anthems, it’s in our pledges. It’s basically in anything and everything we talk about is freedom.

We value freedom to the core. But we don’t really understand the depths of freedom until we lose it.

… We’ve seen the Democratic Party move all the way over to the left, abandoning the tenants of classical liberalism.

I mean, we had a president as recently as 1996 sign bills like things similar to [what] would be on a Republican Party platform, but also Religious Freedom Restoration Acts that would speak toward the expression of freedom.

I think the millennial generation and younger generations really value that freedom. And while they’re being sold a false bill of goods on things like socialism and the benefits of it, they still also, at the same time, value freedom. And the more they come to understand socialism and its negative effects on society.

The more they embrace freedom and the better we can communicate it, the more they’ll go in our direction.

Del Guidice: In writing “Bellwether Blues,” what would you say was the biggest challenge or the hardest part about writing the book?

Jakubowski: Honestly, it was the acknowledgement. I sat there at the very end of the book and, Rachel, I learned a lot about writing a book.

I’m a first-time author. But it was so fun writing the book. Everything seemed to come together so naturally.

[At] the very end, I realized they say that a dream is a goal with a plan. What I learned is it’s not just a goal with a plan, it’s also a goal with a plan with patrons—people who are willing to support you, who are willing to invest into your life.

I had so many people, encouraging voices, people that were willing to be involved in the book. People that were willing to give me advice, people like yourself [who] are willing to bring me on a podcast, as a first-time author. That’s incredible. I look at that and just have an incredible depth of gratitude.

And I was thinking about, who am I going to not include on this list? It feels very long and I feel like it should be longer. Honestly, that was the hardest part of the book for me to write.

Del Guidice: What was the thing that surprised you the most, either in your research or the interviews of the people you did? Or just maybe left the biggest impact on you in this whole process?

Jakubowski: I think that I understood the power of story. But when I’m sitting there writing these stories and then getting deeper into people’s lives, what surprised me is that, over the course of time, somebody doesn’t change their mind, usually, instantly. It happens over the course of time.

And there were a lot of people who spoke truth … without any expectation that there would be some shift or ramification to something they did or something they said.

Then the fidelity of relationship that endured over time as they walk those long miles of relationship. That led these individuals to change their votes.

I guess I never thought about it that deeply. I thought about it more being like the talk-show hosts, the media, the press, what you read. But there was a lot of power in relational equity. And relational equity with truth equals transformation.

Del Guidice: Speaking of that, I know earlier on in our discussion you talked about winning hearts and minds and the power of these interpersonal relationships.

Speaking to maybe other millennials or even Gen Zers out there, who maybe do come from a conservative background, or maybe they have left the left themselves and they’re trying to have these discussions with friends or family members, how would you encourage them to talk to peers in this kind of mindset of maybe they come from that background or maybe they’ve always been conservative? How do you encourage them to connect on that heart level?

Jakubowski: That’s a really good question. I would say, first, you want to think smaller and deeper.

We have the tendency to believe that a post that we send on social media might be the best way to influence a thousand people because it’s kind of quick access. And our society has led us to have all of these incredible benefits. So immediately, we can have instant gratification in terms of responsiveness.

But what we’ve forgotten is there is a deeper art that reaches deeper into the soul and that is individual relationship. So if you can spend time with somebody, even if they reject your worldview, but you cultivate relationship with them, over time, [you influence] them.

Even if they reject your ideas, they’re going to see your lifestyle, they’re going to see your character, they’re going to see what you stand for and believe in. And that’s going to deeply persuade those individuals that you’re in relationship with.

Del Guidice: Thanks for sharing that. Lastly, where can people get “Bellwether Blues”? We’re in the midst of COVID right now, so bookstores and the like aren’t on their usual mode of operations. So if people want to get it, how do they get it?

Jakubowski: Yeah, thank you. Our website is currently selling pre-orders on bellwetherbluesbook.com. But the official launch date, as noted earlier, is May the 5th. So it should be available on Amazon. I think Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million will also have links, so they’ll be able to ship books out.

I don’t know exactly when they’re going to reopen so that we can get books out on shelves, but, certainly, online through those channels you can get a book.

Del Guidice: Awesome. Jonathan, thank you so much for joining us on The Daily Signal Podcast. It’s been great to have you.

 

Dear Colleagues,
Check out our interactive map of U.S. states for information about the status of K-12 schools and eventual re-openings. You can also use the resources from our Curriculum Library until your school reopens.

Boston University Lesson Plans
Boston University offers lesson plans for books such as Charlotte’s Web and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. These lessons specifically aim to provide children with examples of virtue and help them understand how to improve their character.
The League of Young Inventors
The platform gives students free online projects and lessons. Each lesson includes a video to help guide students. The program is STEM based, and also includes additional resources that families can use to supplement student learning.
The Acropolis, Athens
Students can explore the remains of Athens’ ancient Acropolis, Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, and more in these virtual tours. The site also includes detailed information about the various Greek archeological sites.
Lingoda
Students can gain access to free lessons in foreign languages on this platform which boasts more than 2,000 learning materials.
TouchMath
Offering free workbooks, apps, downloads, and Touchlines, this program helps students learn math through a multisensory program.Core Knowledge

Core Knowledge offers a vast array of resources. Their Language Arts, History and Geography, and Science curricula are available for free. More products are available for purchase in their online store.

Duolingo

A free online resource provides access to 94 different language courses in 23 languages such as English, French, German, and Spanish. It provides personalized learning, including immediate grading.

Minecraft Education Edition

Already popular among children, Minecraft released its education resources (free through June 2020) to help children at home. The program provides 50 lessons, STEM, and project based learning activities. Using the platform, students can visit the international space station, explore the human eye, tour D.C.’s most memorable sites, and more.

Folger Shakespeare Library and Theater

D.C.’s own Shakespeare library and theater is offering free access to seven full-cast audio recordings of plays such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Othello. The library is also providing free access to their video recording of Macbeth. These resources are available free of charge through July 1st, 2020.

Joy Hakim

The platform provides online DIY lessons on topics such as the human body, Magellan’s travels, the story of Elizabeth Jennings Graham, and plagues from previous eras. Learners can also purchase study guides and other educational resources.

Hillsdale College Online

The platform provides free access to various college courses on literature, politics, history, and economics.

Warmly,
Jude Schwalbach,
Research Associate and Program Coordinator
Center for Education Policy
Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity
The Heritage Foundation






The Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(800) 546-2843

 

SocietyNews

Christian Missionary’s ‘Hold the Line’ Group Aims to Engage the Flock Politically

Virginia Allen / @Virginia_Allen5 / May 11, 2020
Sean Feucht (second from right), the founder of Hold the Line, sits around a campfire talking with a group of young people. The mission of Hold the Line is to engage both the church and millennials on policy issues. (Photo: Japheth Mast)
Only about 20% to 30% of America’s churchgoers practice their constitutional right to vote, according Sean Feucht, the founder of Hold the Line.

The mission of Hold the Line is to engage and educate both the church and young people on policy issues, encouraging them to vote their values and become politically active in their communities.

Feucht joins The Daily Signal Podcast to explain how a missionary and worship leader came to launch a political organization, and why it’s important for people of faith to be engaged citizens. Listen to the podcast below or read the lightly edited transcript.

Also on today’s show, FarmLink, a grassroots organization founded by college students, has created a link between farmers with surplus goods and crops and food banks in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.


In these trying times, we must turn to the greatest document in the history of the world to promise freedom and opportunity to its citizens for guidance. Find out more now >>
Virginia Allen: I am joined by Sean Feucht, a missionary, worship leader, speaker, author, and political activist. Sean, thanks so much for being here.
Sean Feucht: Of course. Glad to be here with you guys.

Allen: Sean, you’ve been a missionary and worship leader for a long time. But in the past several years, you’ve really jumped into the political realm and really become a powerful voice for political activism within the church.

When did you really begin to think about policy issues? And when was that something that you decided, “OK, this is a sphere that I want to be engaged in”?

Feucht: I think a lot of it is really our call as believers. I think that for a long time, many of us, especially in the church, we’ve viewed the dualism of the sacred and the secular and viewed those as different things.

I think we haven’t really realized that the call of the Great Commission is actually to go into Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. You could contextualize that today to mean every sphere of society.

So, I’ve always loved and been drawn to the political world. Ever since I was a kid, I watched every single first speech of a president, the State of the Union [address] every year. I was always engaged and always enthralled by these people that are able to create laws and legislation that affects the world.

Then, I think the older that I got, I started to realize how little salt and light or how few believers were engaged in that realm of society. Really, how a lot of people felt like that was kind of a dark world or a dirty world or a place that Christians shouldn’t belong or shouldn’t engage. But yet the more that we see Scripture in the New Testament, we’re actually called to places like that.

So, I’ve had ministries over the years where we’ve rushed into war zones and red-light districts, and we’ve done some really crazy stuff around the world.

For me, the political world has represented another facet of that, the calling to go and change culture and bring the kingdom of God into those spheres of society.

Watching my kids grow up—I have four of them now—and realizing that they are basically going to inherit the world and the political landscape in America that we pass off to them, and being really concerned about how that looks, that was the final line that pushed me to engage more.

Allen: Sean, I want to ask you more about that because we do so often, I think, hear this argument that government is not really a place for Christians and that we should use our talents and our time elsewhere. When you hear that argument, what is your response to that?

Feucht: Well, I just don’t think it’s theologically accurate. You don’t see that modeled in the life of Jesus, where he was very active in talking to, rebuking, engaging with political leaders. You also don’t see that modeled historically throughout the Bible.

A glaring example, all of these leaders, essentially Abraham and Moses—look at David. He was a worshipper. He was a songwriter. He was a psalmist, but he was also a king. He ended up leading an entire nation into the promises of God in that position.

So, I think that there’s a disconnect, I feel like, with most believers, if they don’t feel that Christians should be engaged, because that’s not what we see throughout the Bible, and that’s not what we see throughout history.

Allen: You’ve just announced a nonprofit that you’re starting called Hold the Line. Can you just tell us a little bit about it?

Feucht: Yeah. Coming on the heels of my recent run for U.S. Congress and coming out of that season and just feeling like, “Man, we have so much momentum nationally and internationally,” I just didn’t realize that we were going to get that much attention, whether it be through the media or just through people we were able to touch, deeper issues in people’s hearts throughout our campaign.

Maybe it was the fact that a long-haired worship leader that was a millennial was running for U.S. Congress. You don’t see that every day.

But we wanted to basically take that momentum and the engagement that we encountered and, really, how do we take this to the next level? And how can we steward these relationships and these connections and the open doors that we have right now in the political world?

We just felt like creating an organization that would have three distinct purposes. That’s what we feel like for Hold the Line. One, registering new voters. Two, educating people on the issues. Three, mobilizing for specific causes.

We feel like those are things that we can accomplish. We feel like those are things that we’re called to, and we feel … that voices need to be raised up right now across America to stand for righteousness and to stand for, really, the call of God that I believe is inherent in our nation right now.

Allen: Yeah, yeah. Like you mentioned, one of the key issues that Hold the Line is really focused on is engaging the church, getting them to register to vote, and to vote their values. What do you think would happen in America if those two things happened—if believers registered to vote and if they voted their values?

Feucht: What was shocking to us is on the campaign, we realized that—man, let’s just take California, for example, which is the largest amount of electoral votes in the Electoral College for the presidential election. I think a fifth of all Americans live in California. So it holds a massive sway politically.

But the church, what we found out, is that the church really is just not voting. The percentages land anywhere around 20% to 30% of the church is actually registered and engaged to vote.

So, you have a lot of people that whine about the issues that we have. Take an issue, for example, like the homeless that’s kind of overrun the streets and a lot of our cities.

The church will whine about it, they’ll get frustrated at the government, and “Why can’t you fix this?” But yet they won’t actually go to the polls and vote for people that have solutions to fix the issue. …

Our desire is, we want Christians to, yes, [vote their] values and all that kind of stuff, but just be a good American, for crying out loud. Just register to vote. Fulfill your civic duty as a citizen of this nation like so many other people do.

There seems to be a disconnect between wanting to see change and actually showing up at the polls to vote to bring that change, and we want to bridge that gap.

 

Allen: Yeah. And as you mentioned, you live in California, definitely one of the most far-left liberal states in our nation, but you’ve managed to stay pretty optimistic about America’s future and getting young people and getting the church motivated.

How have you kept up that optimism in an area that is not very friendly toward conservative values?

Feucht: I think you have to look at first, am I called here? We feel, yes. Then I like to look at the history. What has God done here? What are the movements that have happened throughout California?

I draw a lot of hope on things that have happened in the church and throughout history in this state, the Golden State, how you see so many amazing awakenings and revivals have taken place throughout the history of California.

You look at Azusa Street [Revival] that changed the landscape of the church. You look at the “Jesus people” movement, and that happened as a countercultural movement to the Summer of Love and in San Francisco. You look at what’s happening up in the north part of the state, where we live, which is amazing.

I think you got to really look at that. You got to say, “OK, God, what is your plan for this? We believe that you’re not finished yet. We believe that your promises are irrevocable,” and you have to stand on that.

But I’ll tell you, it is very difficult, because the atmosphere is intense out here. It’s very aggressive. That’s why it was interesting that we really felt called to run here, because it’s not an easy place to run. Middle of America would have been a lot easier for the values that I hold. Yet, I feel like … we were taking a stand for something significant.

Allen: You mentioned you’re a millennial. I’m a millennial as well. We do see within our generation that a lot of young people are disenfranchised with policy and politics. They don’t really have a strong interest in it.

How do you all at Hold the Line really want to begin, just on a practical level, actually engaging young people?

Feucht: I think a lot of it starts with education. A lot of it starts with us breaking down some of the bills, breaking down some of the agenda, reframing the narrative from what the media has tried to perpetuate, and really helping people think for themselves.

I think, at the end of the day, we’re in a unique season right now with this pandemic.

One of the fortunate things about it, there’s a lot of unfortunate things, but one of the fortunate things is, it’s actually revealing, I believe, a lot of people’s true colors. Where do they stand on specific issues … whether it be governmental control or freedom of the people? You can see a lot of things are being laid bare in this season that we’re in.

I think that we have to enlighten the minds of people to begin to think for themselves and begin to look through the issues. That really is our heart.

How can we take this political thing that a lot of people do not want to engage with because they think it’s either overwhelming or they can never find the truth? And we want to build a reliable, consistent brand that people can trust to help bring forth the reality of what’s really happening in the political world.

Allen: Along those lines, you have mentioned that you’re interested in launching a media component of Hold the Line. Do you have any updates on that or more information that you want to share regarding that?

Feucht: Yeah, we’re really, really excited about that aspect. I think it’s going to be really fun. We have some unique ideas on approaching, and I don’t know if it’s demystifying or making the political world human and making it engaging.

We want to be able to have people get into the minds of some of these congressmen, some of these senators, some of these lawmakers, and really maybe peek behind the veil. I think [that] would be an awesome way to approach it.

That’s going to be coming this summer. We’re super-excited about it. I don’t think there’s anything out there that I can quite envision like what we want to capture. So stay tuned, everybody, because it’ll be really fun.

Allen: Yeah, so excited to see where that goes.

Sean, I definitely encourage our listeners to, if they’re not familiar with you and who you are and what you’ve done, to look into your journey a little bit.

I love the fact that you have done so many diverse things with your life. You’ve traveled to some of the most dangerous places in the world to tell people about Jesus. I think many people might think that type of work, of traveling and serving the poor and the broken, seems a lot more fulfilling than just trying to get Americans to vote.

But why is the work of Hold the Line so critically important to you?

Feucht: Because I think that the more that you go around the world and the more that you go into these nations and the more that you engage in unreached people groups and different things, the more that you realize that America has a massive effect on the lives of people around the world, on the way that economies function, on the way that laws are made.

America is essentially who the world looks to still as a model of freedom, as a model of a nation that is founded on Judeo-Christian biblical values. So, I think that the more that I travel, the more that I realize the importance of maintaining and building upon the foundation in our nation that the forefathers pioneered.

Even the name Hold the Line represents holding to the values and the principles, and fighting for families and fighting for faith and freedom, and really ensuring that the America that I grew up in, which was an incredible place, still is an incredible place, full of opportunity … . It’s just the greatest country in the history of the world.

My desire as I travel is that it can continue to be that as a beacon of light to the world. You see the connection, the correlation, of maintaining a strong nation at home and how that affects the rest of the world. So, for me, they kind of go hand in hand.

 

Allen: I love that. So good. Now, you’ve always made it a really high priority to include your family in the work that you’re doing, whether that’s leading worship in the Middle East or now your work in the policy and political realm. Why is that such a value to you?

Feucht: On the ministry front, I feel like too many kids have grown up being sacrificed on the altar of ministry, and I think me and my wife have always felt like our kids were supposed to be a part of the journey. That they were supposed to be engaged on the adventure. That they had a front-row seat watching us pursue the callings of God on our life and that as they watch that and as they engage in that, that it would be something that they feel a part of, so that they don’t grow up in reaction, and they don’t grow up feeling like these things that we’re doing are stealing their time or their attention, but they feel like that they were involved with it.

It was fun because during the whole Congress journey, my kids had T-shirts on, and they were out there with us going door to door, and they were at the rallies, and it was a time that they’ll never forget.

They actually grew to have an immense heart for America and for the future of the nation. It wouldn’t surprise me if someday one of them engages politically or runs for office, because I think now that desire has been sown into their [lives]. Of course, they don’t have to.

I just think that it’s interesting how when we engage them, not only did they have a lot to offer—I feel like kids have so much to offer, they have such an incredible perspective to teach us about the world—but I feel like it’s such a benefit to them as well, that they can feel like they were a part of the things that we’re called to do.

Allen: So good. Sean, for those listening who are thinking, “I want to get involved with Hold the Line, I want to get my church on board,” how can they do that?

Feucht: Right now we would love for you guys to join us, and you can jump on. Our social media, I think, is a great place for us to connect. You can search “Hold the Line.” You can also go on Facebook, and the same thing, connect with us there. Follow us there.

We’re starting to roll out the updates of what we’re doing, what it’s going to look like. We have a newsletter. You can obviously sign up for that.

You can go to my website, which is seanfeucht.com. … You can actually find out more about me, my family, but also this movement that we’re launching is on there as well. We would love to stay connected with you guys.

Allen: Awesome. So good. Thank you so much for your time, Sean. We really appreciate it.

 

Democrats IMMEDIATELY scream about separation of church and state
as an excuse to silence people who believe in God from having their free speech rights.

And never mind that democrats can say or do anything they want to, including lieing, violence,
assaults and destruction of property.......

by calling their actions: "Free speech".
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