Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Democrats have lost five special elections, most recently in the state of Georgia where they had poured 30 million dollars into Jon Ossoff’s congressional campaign in the 6th district.

This is leading to a great deal of reconsideration of party identity and of strategy on the part of the Democrats. The energy tends to be now disproportionately on the left and that left is moving further left, represented by figures such as Senator Bernie Sanders.

But in order to win in these kinds of suburban districts, Democratic candidates are going to have to run to the center. But what if the center also fails? That’s the quandary that Democrats now face.

It’s going to lead to a huge ideological and political debate within the Democratic Party. And as we know, that means very important worldview issues will be at stake.

How this all plays out will be important not just to the Democratic Party but to the entire nation.

We’ll be watching closely.

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Every last week of June, every year, Americans get treated to what’s essentially a great civics lesson, a reminder of the enduring importance of the third branch of our constitutional system, as the Supreme Court releases major decisions, clearing its docket before its July recess.

And this June was a huge day at the United States Supreme Court in terms of our nation’s history on the issue of religious liberty.

The case I’m referring to most immediately is that of Trinity Lutheran vs. Comer—where a church was turned down by the state of Missouri for state funds from a state program that refurbished playgrounds using recycled equipment from tires.

With a 7-2 majority, the Supreme Court sent a decisive signal—making clear that the state of Missouri does not have the right to refuse the funds even to a Christian or religious school for the general kind of purpose that was reflected in this playground resurfacing for the safety of children.

It’s one of the biggest religious liberty decisions in decades—and it matters for us all.

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A German Light Infantry Battalion recently reported, according to the Wall Street Journal, that “during exercises…their unit didn’t have the munitions to simulate battle. Instead, they were told to imagine the bangs.”

All this comes in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s visit to Europe, in which he pointed his finger at the Europeans, including many of our historic allies, for their failure to spend enough in terms of their military.

The Dutch Prime Minister recently said, “To an extent, he has a point.” Indeed, the president has a massive point.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, “Today European allies spend roughly half as much as the United States on defense yet have less than one-sixth of its combat power.”

This is not a problem that can be quickly remedied. Perhaps we can understand why Vladimir Putin and others see the opportunity when we are told that a German light infantry battalion is having to say “bang! bang!” to one another because they actually don’t have the bullets.

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Bernie Sanders recently announced that he will oppose President Trump’s nominee for assistant budget director, Russell Vought, because Vought penned a blog in which he said that Muslims “stand condemned” because they have rejected Jesus Christ.

Vought’s post was a defense of his alma mater, Wheaton College, a Christian institution, and what he articulated was nothing other than historic orthodox biblical Christianity.

Senator Sanders made his position quite clear: “I would simply say, Mr. Chairman, that this nominee is really not someone who is what this country is supposed to be about.”

Here you have a sitting United States senator rejecting a presidentially appointed candidate simply on the basis of the fact that he had the temerity to write an article defending historic Christian doctrine.

Senator Sanders would no doubt say that he’s a staunch defender of the separation of church and state, and yet what he did here was nothing less than an absolute violation of religious liberty.

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We have just recently marked the 75th anniversary of one of the most significant events in all of naval history: the Battle of Midway.

What’s most important about this battle is that it came just six months after the Japanese sneak attack upon Pearl Harbor. The United States Navy largely defeated the Japanese Navy by turning the tables, and the fact that it did so within just six months is one of the most amazing stories of military history.

U.S. Naval intelligence, having intercepted and broken the Japanese code, knew where the Japanese Navy was headed and knew that they were trying to lure the Americans into a trap. The U.S. Navy took decisive action, and rather than the Japanese surprising the American Navy, it was the U.S. Navy that surprised the Imperial Japanese forces.

Fewer and fewer of those battle veterans are alive today, but our indebtedness still goes to the United States Navy and what took place in the Battle of Midway 75 years ago.

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A long-awaited announcement from the Trump administration was released last week: namely, the reversal of the Obamacare contraception mandate, the mandate that required all employers, even religious employers, to pay for contraception methods, including abortion-inducing drugs.

The latest from President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget only deals with explicitly religious employers. The vast majority of employers will still be under the Obamacare contraception mandate.

What we see here is the inevitable collision between sexual liberty and America’s first freedom, religious liberty. There are those who are so absolutely committed to sexual liberty that they are quite willing to violate the religious liberties of others.

As we have known now for a number of years, we don’t have to look out there into the future and argue just how long it will be before we see that collision between sexual liberty and religious liberty. It’s already happened. That collision is a story that’s already here.

The new rule from the Trump administration ought to be applauded.

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