Host: We inform. Religious freedom is about people of faith being able to live out their faith and their convictions no matter where they are.
Host: Sacred honor is the courage to speak truth and live out your free speech.
Host: We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope.
Host: This is At the Core on American Family Radio.
Host: Welcome back to At the Core with Walker Wildmon and Rick Green, America's Constitution Coach. Thanks for joining me today. I'm having to come to you from the airport, so I apologize for the noise in the background. I just couldn't not do a program today. It's too important, even though I'm on the road.
Host: I just cannot pass up this horrific anniversary of my friend Charlie Kirk's assassination without honoring him, thanking God for his life and the impact that he had, and challenging you as a listener to this radio program not to let all of the people who are trying to depress you and convince you not to be involved, and that things are too bad out there, get to you. Remember the words of Charlie Kirk and his encouragement throughout the years to stay in the fight, never give up, and bring a biblical perspective to everything that is happening out there.
Host: It was one of the best examples, maybe the best example, of discipling people that we've seen in my lifetime. He did it on college campuses. He did it on radio. He did it in speeches. Whether he was on the stage or sitting on a college campus interacting with a student, he was constantly giving a biblical perspective on the issue. Even if he didn't quote chapter and verse, he was discipling that person. He was showing them truth and teaching them truth.
Host: I think one of the best ways that we can honor Charlie today is by hearing from one of his good friends and mentors, Bill Federer, teaching on unity and not letting the enemy divide us. That's what we allow far too often. It's what's happening right now in the Cornyn and Paxton race in Texas, in the aftermath of that race, and with Victor Marx in Colorado.
Host: Bill and I were together last Saturday for an event in Colorado, and he spoke on this subject. We asked him to bring that information to WallBuilders and American Family Radio because these audiences need to hear this. We need to be engaged. Charlie would have said the exact same things. In fact, he would have been speaking at the convention this week if he were here, and he would have been bringing a message of unity and standing firm in November against the radical leftists who are trying to destroy this country.
Host: Let's jump in with my good friend. Thank you, sir, Bill Federer.
Bill Federer: Hey, Rick. Great to be with you. It seems like I'm with you at least once a week. I'm either with you, or Tim's with you, or David. We're getting lots of good time with you during the 250th, and it was great being with you in Colorado last weekend. You're giving me an education.
Host: Speaking of an education, what you talked about at the dinner where we tag-teamed, the whole history of how the enemy uses division to end up defeating us, was so good. I was telling David to tell others about it, and we thought, this is happening all over the country. It's not just in Colorado or Texas, where we've got the Cornyn and Paxton campaign and Cornyn people not getting on board with Paxton to defeat O'Rourke. That type of thing is happening all over the country.
Host: The way you described it from a historical perspective was so powerful. We thought, let's get Bill on to talk about it. I know we don't have enough time in our short radio program to do the whole thing, but if you could give us a summary of how the enemy has used division to sideline us and allow the enemy to walk right through us.
Bill Federer: Carl von Clausewitz was a nineteenth-century military strategist, and he gave the classic definition of the purpose of war. The purpose of war is to force your opponent to submit to your will. Pretty simple. Sun Tzu's The Art of War, from fifth-century B.C. China, says that supreme excellence in a commander is to get your enemy to submit to your will without a fight. You psych him out and make him think you're more powerful and that he's weaker.
Bill Federer: Now it's called fifth-generation warfare, where you get your enemy to surrender without being aware that there is even a war going on. It's psychological warfare. It's like dropping pamphlets on German villages during World War II saying, "Your side is already lost." Of course, Tokyo Rose would broadcast across the Pacific to our ships, saying, "You Americans are terrible," and demoralize our guys.
Bill Federer: The battle is for the mind. You have unity. Psalm 133 says, "How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." But then you have discord and division. Proverbs 6 says there are six things the Lord hates, and the last is one who sows discord.
Bill Federer: Imagine being in heaven and somebody sowing discord in heaven. Well, it happened. The devil. The word diabolical means to tear apart, to divide. He was cast to earth, then he brought division into the garden and got Adam and Eve blaming each other. He incited Cain to kill Abel.
Bill Federer: One story is Abimelech. He was the illegitimate son of Gideon. Gideon had just defeated a hundred thousand Midianites, and nobody was thinking about invading Israel from outside. But on the inside, this illegitimate son wanted power. He went to the town of Shechem and sowed discord. He said, "Is it better for you that the sons of Gideon reign over you? Remember also that I am your flesh and your bone."
Bill Federer: The men of Shechem said, "We have to follow him because he is our brother." So he went through the temple of Baal-berith, the city treasury, and got money to hire vain and worthless persons. He hired rioters. We see this in the news with all of the astroturfing. It says they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless persons. They went to their father's house and slew his brothers, and the men of Shechem made Abimelech king.
Bill Federer: Here you have a country with no threat from the outside, but somebody wants power and has to divide it. The Hebrew Republic would have ended there, except that a hundred fifty years later someone threw a millstone over the wall and killed Abimelech.
Bill Federer: We see this again with Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Jeroboam sowed division and got the ten tribes to break away.
Bill Federer: One of the stories I found fascinating was when the Jews came back from Babylon. You have Pharisees, which means students of the law, like Ezra. Then you have the Sadducees. When the Greeks took over, they were secular Jews who controlled the temple in Jerusalem. They were political Jews who could care less about spiritual matters, and they had a civil war.
Bill Federer: From around 147 B.C. to around 63 B.C., they had their own Hasmonean Judean kingdom. By 63 B.C., there was a Roman general named Pompey. He was near the Black Sea in Cappadocia when they brought him word that a civil war was going on. He came down and sided with the Pharisees against the Sadducees.
Bill Federer: The Pharisees said, "We have reinforcements." They defeated the Sadducees. Pompey went into the temple, saw it, and came out telling his men not to touch it. From that moment on, Judea was a Roman province. They ended up losing their independence as a country because they were so caught up in their "Trump arrangement syndrome."
Host: It's that other party.
Bill Federer: That's right.
Bill Federer: Then I fast-forward to Muhammad. In 627 A.D., he was in Medina. There were three Jewish tribes in Medina, and they did not like each other. There was intertribal warfare among the Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza. Banu means clan or tribe.
Bill Federer: They let Muhammad in. He went into the minority neighborhoods and organized the following, like a community organizer. Then he pressured these three Jewish tribes into a treaty. Now he was a political leader. Then he became a military leader, raiding caravans.
Bill Federer: What happened to those three Jewish clans? He became offended at one of them, confiscated their property, and chased them out. The other two clans stood down. It was as if they were saying, "I never liked that party anyway." Now there were only two.
Bill Federer: He became offended at the second of the two, confiscated their property, and chased them out. The big Jewish tribe had the same attitude. They were glad the others were gone because they had been competition. Now there was only one tribe left.
Bill Federer: He bottled them up in their neighborhood for twenty-five days. When they surrendered, he brought them to the market and had their heads chopped off. If he had said, "In five years, there won't be a Jew left," they would have made up with each other. But because he picked on one and then picked on the other, he was able to divide and conquer.
Bill Federer: That's why many people are concerned when Zohran Mamdani in New York says Islam is a religion built on migration. He says the prophet was a stranger who fled Mecca and was welcomed into Medina, and five years later there was not a Jew left in Medina. This is the idea of divide and conquer.
Bill Federer: You see it with Cortés and his five hundred men. How did he defeat the Aztecs? They were a great empire. The Tlaxcalan tribe had been persecuted by the Aztecs. They were being captured and having their hearts stripped out on top of the pyramids. When Cortés showed up, they said, "You will help us against the Aztecs." They did help, but then the Spanish took over all of Mexico.
Bill Federer: We see this pattern over and over again: divide and conquer. I could go through Machiavelli.
Host: Let me ask you this, Bill, because I never thought about the Pharisees and Sadducees as an example. Here you have people who should certainly disagree, maybe on some theological finer points, but they allowed their people to be completely divided to the point of being conquered. It feels like that's what's happening with us in the conservative movement right now. We're allowing people to divide us based on minor issues compared with the big issue of being conquered as a nation by Islamic invasion and leftist ideology. We're missing the big issues because we're hung up with each other over personality or some vote from twenty years ago. Does that make sense?
Bill Federer: You hit it on the head in your talk. Charlie Kirk left us tremendous enthusiasm. At that memorial service, there were one hundred thousand people, and they were all asking, "Would Jesus first get buried, have kids, save the country?" It wasn't but a month or two before some of the podcasters began to divide MAGA with no concern about how it would impact the midterms.
Bill Federer: When I've been on campuses, and you've been on campuses, and David and Tim have been on campuses, these kids went from being excited about Jesus to going down the gutter of blaming Israel for everything. It diffused that energy. This tactic is introducing an autoimmune disease into the body politic.
Host: What's an autoimmune disease?
Bill Federer: It's where your own immune system attacks your own organs and joints. You have inflammation and fire inside your own body. They want to introduce an autoimmune disease into the body politic.
Bill Federer: How do you destroy a marriage? Sow discord. How do you destroy a family? Sow discord. How do you destroy a church? Sow discord. How do you destroy a country? Sow discord.
Bill Federer: This tactic is used repeatedly. Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," and of course he was quoting Jesus.
Bill Federer: It gets even more interesting during the Cold War. You had countries wanting to be free, have republics, and select leaders. The KGB did not like it, so they sent agents to use what was called critical theory. They would map the groups in the country, including economic, racial, and religious groups, categorize them as victims and oppressors, haves and have-nots, pit them against each other, and cause crises, riots, and bloodshed.
Bill Federer: Why bloodshed? Because then people think emotionally and want to blame somebody. They would then co-opt the media to blame the leader of the country, causing his popularity to fall, and then they would stage a coup. Country after country would fall behind the Iron Curtain.
Bill Federer: They called them color revolutions because they wanted people to identify with opposing sides, and each side would have a color. It started in China when Mao Zedong came in and had the Red Party and the Black Party. The Red Party was the working class, and the Black Party was the landowners. He got people to identify with these groups and pitted them against each other.
Bill Federer: Our CIA was doing this in reverse in countries around the world to keep them from being in the Soviet orbit and put them in our orbit, until Obama came and turned all of the CIA tactics inward on America for political purposes with his Smith-Mundt Modernization Act. Now we see this idea of sowing division inside our own country.
Host: What do you recommend to leaders, including local leaders, party leaders, candidates, people in Congress, and legislators, but also to all of us? How do you counter dividing Congress when they're dividing us in this way? What's the best way to counter it?
Bill Federer: I never say anything bad about anybody, but once you are aware of the tactic, it's like the last scene of The Wizard of Oz, where Toto pulls back the curtain and you see an old man at a microphone. You think, "I'm the great and powerful Oz," and then you see the chair. You realize, "This is all planned. Somebody is behind it."
Bill Federer: Franklin Roosevelt said, "Whoever seeks to set one nationality against another seeks to degrade all nationalities. Whoever seeks to set one race against another seeks to enslave all races." In 1942, FDR said, "Remember the Nazi technique: pit race against race, religion against religion, prejudice against prejudice. Divide and conquer."
Bill Federer: Once you understand this, you spot it. Here is an example from Charles Barkley on April 3, 2021, during rioting. He said, "I think most white people and black people are great people. I really believe that in my heart. But I think our system is set up with politicians who are designed to make us not like each other so they can keep their grasp of money and power. They divide and conquer."
Host: Quick break, folks. We'll be right back on At the Core.
Host: We really want to stir up this division so they can keep their grasp of power.
Bill Federer: There is an article in Military Review magazine from December 1960 on Soviet psychological warfare. It discusses a propaganda technique called projection. If you do something wrong, accuse the enemy of doing it before he accuses you.
Host: That's exactly what they've been doing.
Bill Federer: The one who makes the accusation first has the advantage because many people will not do the research. The article says we've all heard children claim, "He hit me first," in order to escape blame. It is a military magazine saying this is what you do: if you do something wrong, accuse your opponent of doing it.
Bill Federer: It's the Nancy Pelosi "wrap-up smear." I heard an NPR interview and went back and got the text. On April 19, 2010, David Axelrod, who was an adviser to Obama, said that in Chicago there was an old tradition of throwing a brick through your own campaign office window and then calling a press conference to say you had been attacked. You plan an attack on yourself so you can blame your opponent for it. That's the Jussie Smollett situation.
Bill Federer: Once we are aware of these tactics, they lose their power over us. Then we say, "I am not going to yield my mouth to spreading discord."
Host: It's like Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican."
Bill Federer: It's so good.
Host: Of your mini-books, what would be the best one for somebody to start with on this particular subject?
Bill Federer: Socialism: The Real History from Plato to the Present.
Host: Excellent. You can get it at AmericanMinute.com, of course, or anywhere books are sold. AmericanMinute.com is the best place to get it.
Host: Bill, we're almost out of time. Yesterday was Labor Day, and most of us do not know the history of Labor Day. Can you give us a quick history?
Bill Federer: Labor Day goes back to the Industrial Revolution, when Isaac Watts developed a pump to get water out of coal mines in England in 1760. This steam pump turned into a steam engine for making textiles and cloth in factories. The British would not allow factories to be built in America, so it was not until after the Revolution that we had factories.
Bill Federer: Then a wave of immigrants came from Germany, bringing with them Karl Marx's ideas of redistribution of wealth and class struggle. They formed the first unions in America. We had the fastest rise in the standard of living with all these factories.
Bill Federer: The economy dropped in 1894. At the Pullman Railroad Car Company in Chicago, there was a worker named Eugene Debs who organized a railroad strike that burned eighty million dollars' worth of railroad cars in twenty-seven states. He wanted May 1 to be International Workers' Day.
Bill Federer: Grover Cleveland was president, and because mail was being shipped on the railroads, he was able to get the federal government to break the strike. Eugene Debs was put in jail. He read and reread Karl Marx, came out, and started the Socialist Party of America. He ran for president five times from 1900 to 1920.
Bill Federer: In 1920, the Communist Party USA branched off. They ran candidates for president until 1940. That was when Franklin Roosevelt made a treaty with Stalin during World War II. The socialists and communists said, "Why should we run our own candidates? Let's just join the Democrat Party." That's where you get people like Ronald Reagan saying, "I didn't leave the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party left me."
Bill Federer: Grover Cleveland did not want May 1 to be International Workers' Day, so he made the first Monday in September Labor Day. Some of the good things the labor movement did were ending child labor, establishing the eight-hour workday, and establishing the forty-hour workweek.
Bill Federer: The problem was that as workers' benefits went up, the factories went overseas. That began something called outsourcing. When their factories went overseas, their patriotism went overseas as well, and they became globalists.
Bill Federer: I love this quote from Booker T. Washington. He said that we need to turn out more job creators. Anybody can be a job seeker, but we need to have more job creators.
Host: Bill, you messed up all my history because I thought Labor Day just meant you did extra labor on Labor Day. Anyway, good stuff, brother.
Bill Federer: Rick, you hit a home run out of the park. Thank you for getting behind Mr. Marx. He is the Republican candidate that part of you is supposed to get behind. David and Tim, you guys are great inspirations to my son and me, and we thank God for you.
Host: That was Bill Federer. We're now going to switch over. I want to play for you the conversation I had with David and Tim Barton and Chad Connolly yesterday about the convention, the midterm convention for the Republican Party. This is the first time they have ever done this, and it is really important. There were a lot of great speeches, but this will be a preview of the convention. Next week we'll talk about some of the speeches that took place and what might come from them.
Host: Let's jump into that conversation with Chad Connolly, David Barton, and Tim Barton.
Host: Republicans have descended upon DFW from all over the country for this first-ever midterm Republican convention. There are a lot of grassroots activists, speakers, and a lot happening.
Host: David, you mentioned on yesterday's program that you're going to be speaking tomorrow. Chad Connolly is with us. Chad, you and David have been all over the country for Faith Wins. I'm hoping to get a good report from you by the end of the convention that you saw some sparks, if not a fire in the belly of Republicans, to not sit out these midterms but instead double down. What do you think, Chad?
Chad Connolly: This is the crowd that will not be sitting out. These are the workers who come to this. I've been in every one of these since 2004, I guess. This is the group of workers in every state who are here. They're all in, and they're looking for President Trump to bring it.
Chad Connolly: This is the guy who can set a different tone. This is pretty unprecedented, like you mentioned. It has only happened a couple of times and never on the Republican side. We've never pulled this out before. But if anybody can pull it off, get some media attention, and talk about the positives, it is President Trump. He's a totally unorthodox, unconventional, won't-happen-again kind of leader. He's the guy who can pull this off.
Host: This one is shorter, right? Normally national conventions are four or five days of speeches and televised events, and you are usually there serving on the platform committee or some other committee. This is only two days, but hopefully it will be a shot in the arm as we go into November.
Chad Connolly: That's right. This is a short one. I've been to the RNC meetings and the committee meetings, like the platform and rules meetings, that usually take place. This is different in every aspect, that's for sure.
Host: We've talked about the divide inside the Republican Party, especially in certain states, where there are a couple of reasons why polling is down. There may be a reason to be concerned and therefore highly motivated to encourage our friends to get out and vote.
Host: In certain states, the party has a lot of infighting and is divided. Across the board, it does not seem like the Republican side is very encouraged or incentivized. In Texas, there are Christians who attend actual Christian churches who have said they are going to vote for James Talarico because he is a nice guy and his grandfather was a pastor.
Host: There seems to be a lot of confusion for Christians, a lot of infighting in certain states, and not much encouragement or excitement to drive people to get out. Is that part of the strategy for this midterm convention? I ask this knowing that Faith Wins has targeted dozens of congressional races where you are working on the ground. I know I am going to be with you at some of those events, and my dad is going to be at many of them as you encourage pastors and Christians to get out the vote.
Host: What is your big-picture thought on the convention? What might help stir or motivate people? What are the key takeaways? What is your encouragement for Christians in general in some of these other states and locations with congressional and Senate races?
Chad Connolly: Thanks for that. There are a lot of layers, as always. One thing facing us is the historical uphill climb when the party in power in the White House becomes a little laissez-faire. They think, "Things are going well. We've won. We're in good shape. We don't have to work as hard."
Chad Connolly: The other part is that we have not begun defining the left yet. You're right that there is a lot of infighting. In states that have late primaries, I do not know how they overcome it and heal. In our state, we have a special election because Senator Lindsey Graham passed away, so we are just getting past some division from a very heated primary.
Chad Connolly: There are two things in our favor. Number one, the election is not today, and the national polls do not matter. Number two, the left has lost its mind. I think that will help us as we start defining them.
Chad Connolly: I have been in nineteen states since July 15. If I were looking only at the polls on Fox News, I would be discouraged. I would think it was a nightmare scenario. But I have been with pastors in states and met with candidates.
Chad Connolly: We met with John Sununu, who is running for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire. He sat down with fifteen or sixteen pastor friends of mine in a church in Concord, New Hampshire. You have been in that church at Granite State Baptist with Pastor Peter Chamberlain.
Chad Connolly: I have been in other states as well. I was in Michigan and had dinner with eight Black pastors, three Hispanic pastors, and two white pastors. When I meet with these men and see that they are paying attention and realize what the stakes are, I get encouraged.
Chad Connolly: That is not reflected in national polls. But when I go into these states and meet with pastors who are talking to their people about the real issues, I get encouraged more than anything. We are facing socialists and communists. We are facing Islamists. We are facing people who look you straight in the eye and say men can get pregnant and boys can be girls. You want to encourage those pastors to keep talking.
Chad Connolly: The election is not right now, and we have not started defining the left. A lot of the division and infighting will settle out when people start seeing what is at stake.
Host: Chad, I am grateful for your analysis, and I completely agree. When you were talking about the party being laissez-faire and overlooking this, I remembered that tomorrow, Thursday, is the one-year anniversary of the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Host: If you look back to the presidential election, one of the things that made the biggest difference was Charlie Kirk leading the charge and lighting a fire under so many Republicans who might have continued with a laissez-faire perspective.
Host: We have talked many times about the realities of how much we miss one of our friends and the role that he played. What I find encouraging is that we are seeing God raise up and elevate other groups and organizations. Not just because of the 250th anniversary this year, but WallBuilders and Patriot Academy have never been busier. Faith Wins is also doing a great deal.
Host: I think God is elevating these groups and other nonprofits that are picking up the torch of what Charlie was doing. But this makes me think that some people in the Republican Party and in the White House are missing the message from Charlie Kirk telling them to pay attention and take action. He did that consistently.
Host: Now that he is gone, so much more falls on people like us who understand this to help rally and encourage others. For everybody listening, you cannot wait for somebody else to be the hero. You need to be the leader. You need to be the shepherd of your home. You need to be a leader in your community and rally people.
Host: Had it not been for the way God used Charlie Kirk, it is very arguable that President Trump would not have won that last election.
Host: At this point, it would take the hand of God and a miracle for President Trump to win, but God has been doing that all along. When God turned President Trump's head in Butler, Pennsylvania, it showed that this is not a new thought for God, to show up, do a miracle, and save the day.
Host: As you were talking, it made me think that we miss Charlie Kirk's message to elected officials and the perspective he gave them. Chad, let me ask a follow-up question. You have known and worked inside party politics for a long time. Do you see party people getting it more? We see pastors waking up, and I also see some political leaders waking up. When you have congressional leaders and others who are really waking up and getting it, there are some encouraging things.
Host: What do you see inside party politics? How much are you seeing that they are getting it, or is this still a challenge and a struggle?
Chad Connolly: Honestly, I think that whoever has the White House faces a severe disadvantage. The White House runs the party, and too many state party operations become complacent and lazy. They are not used to raising money or leading the way. Nobody gave me money when I was a chairman. That was normal.
Chad Connolly: Over the past few years, the state parties have received money because we have had such a fundraising machine. That creates a little weakness. Having said that, I believe the reason WallBuilders, Patriot Academy, Faith Wins, and so many other groups exist, and what Charlie did, is that they are dedicated to things the party was never really good at.
Chad Connolly: The party has two functions: elect Republicans, and raise money to do that. If you think there is a third function, you need to go back and read the first two. They do not exist. Some people want the party to do policy work, but that is the role of elected officials.
Chad Connolly: A lot of the infighting comes from tension because people want to see more done. When I met with Susie Wiles at Mar-a-Lago in 2024, she said, "You ought to come inside the campaign." I said, "I think I am doing more good outside the campaign, getting people to vote biblically."
Chad Connolly: Our people want to hear a specific message, but the party, the administration, and the campaigns are not willing to give that message in the same way we are. They are not willing to articulate those messages.
Host: America's 250th birthday is a great excuse to have some extra cake and ice cream, but we can help your celebration go well beyond that. Show your patriotism with America 250 apparel that will become a memento of this special year.
Host: We also have special episodes on AFA Stream to help underscore that America is a Christian nation and help you find God in the Constitution. Find all of this and more in one place at AFA.net/topics/250.
Host: At the Core podcasts are available at AFR.net. Now back to At the Core on American Family Radio.
Host: We're back here on At the Core with Walker Wildmon and Rick Green, jumping back in with Bill Federer, David Barton, and Tim Barton. As I mentioned, I'm at the airport today. Sorry for the noise, but I couldn't help sharing these interviews with you.
Host: We talked about Charlie and the anniversary of that horrific day in the first segment, but we also want to talk about what is happening with the convention this week. Let's jump back in with Chad Connolly, David Barton, and Tim Barton.
Chad Connolly: Rick Green, David Barton, Tim Barton, and I do not believe in the same things that party people believe in. We are cause people. They are more likely to be party people.
Chad Connolly: I am a party guy. I have been a delegate and a state party chairman. I have been a delegate, alternate, state party chairman, or senior staffer at six conventions. I believe in the function of the party. But I also believe that groups like ours, and what Charlie did, go above and beyond what the party can do.
Chad Connolly: The party can coordinate with the campaign. It can raise and spend money in ways that you and I cannot. But when it comes to specific efforts to turn people out, I believe with all my heart that there are people sitting in churches and pastors leading congregations who do not care what the party says or does. They will listen to David Barton, Rick Green, Tim Barton, and hopefully Chad Connolly and say, "I like that angle."
Chad Connolly: Party people are driven by party directives. You and I are driven by a cause that is greater, the kingdom of God on earth. Charlie was the ultimate Johnny Appleseed. In God's economy, I think he has and will birth many more like himself.
Chad Connolly: I hate what happened. I hate that he was murdered for the cause. But God's Word does not return void. I also know that when a seed falls to the ground and dies, it multiplies. I believe that is what God has applied here, and we are watching it happen before our eyes.
Chad Connolly: God is not done with us, and he is not done with the work that Charlie did. We miss Charlie. We miss him being a Trump whisperer, and we miss him talking especially to young people. But many people have become motivated because they heard Charlie's message.
Chad Connolly: Rob McCoy told me the other day that for all the views Charlie Kirk had, the millions and millions, hundreds of millions, maybe a billion, he has had tenfold the views of his talks since his death, in one year, than he had during his life. That is only, as your mom says, but God.
Host: Amen. Absolutely incredible. His voice was elevated and amplified, not taken out. It was actually amplified.
Host: Chad, you have been on the program so many times that it is almost like you predict my questions. You already answered everything I had lined up. While you and David are out there talking to pastors, are they going to respond? You nailed it.
Host: This is the first time Republicans have held a national midterm convention. David, you have groups you are going to be speaking to, and I know you and Chad are going to be working the crowd and firing people up. What are you hoping comes out of this convention by the end of the week?
David Barton: I think what will come out of it is a lot of ammunition to use in the last two months. There will be policy statements, good one-liners, and other things that will be used to make a difference between candidates as we get closer to election time.
David Barton: I think one of the things that will come out of the Wednesday and Thursday meetings is a lot of good policy sound bites that will really help some campaigns.
David Barton: Outside of that, it is going to add some impetus. We talked yesterday about the fundraising aspect of this. This is going to be a fundraiser, no question about that. As much as I dislike how much money goes into it, that is what the Supreme Court has opened up with the way campaign finances work, and it makes a difference.
David Barton: When you stop money such as USAID money, suddenly you have free elections in Germany and other places. Money makes a difference in politics. I dislike that, but it does. I think that is another thing that will help as we get down to the stretch.
David Barton: It appears that Democrats never run short of money. Big corporations are behind them and put money into their campaigns. Republicans are always outspent. I think this will help equalize some of the field, and I think that is necessary in the overall scheme.
Host: Chad, do you want to add what you hope comes out of it by the end of the week?
Chad Connolly: I am thinking that what comes out of this is that Trump is the best at breaking through the media. He recognizes that his message does not get out. The major networks are not carrying this, but I really like what he was saying earlier today when I was with him. They are going to set up different topics and address them from the stage.
Chad Connolly: I believe there are 109 different speakers and thirty-six different topics. They will be able to create boutique messages in congressional districts. We are going to be in thirty-eight different congressional districts between now and November.
Chad Connolly: They are creating a specialized message for those candidates in those districts. That is what you are going to see the money being spent on.
Chad Connolly: I also believe that President Trump is a master of entertainment. He understands what it takes. By doing the convention this way, the media will have to give it attention. It will be in snippets, but there will be a great deal of creative media from this. It will draw attention to things Trump has done and to the activities taking place.
Chad Connolly: That includes the southern border, fifteen straight months with no fentanyl deaths, no illegal crossings, and the first president out of eight who actually pushed Iran back to make sure it did not have a nuclear weapon.
Chad Connolly: There is also deregulation. I think we are taking out 137 regulations for every new one implemented. That will open up a boom in the economy, make us energy independent, and open up oil wells and pipelines.
Chad Connolly: There are many good things going on, but it takes time to peel back what we had under 9.1 percent inflation. The media criticizes us for having three percent inflation, but it was 9.1 percent under Biden.
Chad Connolly: All those messages in the next few days of the convention will be formed into bite-sized messages that can be applied in congressional districts. I believe that is what President Trump and the team are trying to accomplish.
Host: One thing we want to encourage people to do is help share those messages. There will be many social media videos over the next few days. One of the best ways to motivate your friends and family to vote is to share those videos and help them realize that voting makes a difference.
Host: Chad, that takes me back to what you were saying earlier in the program. The left has told us what it is. It is not even hiding it anymore. There is so much intellectual ammunition lying on the table. Show people in their own words how extreme they are.
Host: Is that working? Are we doing that? Is it up to us, as the non-party people and these other individuals, organizations, and grassroots groups, to get that message out?
Chad Connolly: I think it is a little bit of both. It depends on the district and what the party or campaigns are going to spend on those messages. But everywhere I have been, people have talked about how extreme the left is.
Chad Connolly: The pastor meetings we have created have given candidates an opportunity to articulate their positions, whether it is boys' and girls' sports, the sexualization of children, or the sexual mutilation of children. Those subjects are coming up in these conversations, along with communism and socialism.
Chad Connolly: I was with eight Black pastors, three Hispanic pastors, and two white pastors in a meeting in inner-city Detroit a couple of Monday nights ago. I told some of them, "Some of you may have voted Democrat in the past, but tell me what part of the platform and what you are seeing right now reflects biblical values."
Chad Connolly: If you think those people are going to be comfortable with you when Hassan Piker, a wealthy influencer who loves socialism and communism, is campaigning in a Mao Zedong uniform, you are mistaken. They are not holding back. They know that people are not educated very well.
Chad Connolly: A lot of this is going to fall to us to educate people and raise the alarm about what is happening, making sure we maximize the vote in every district everywhere in America.
Host: I will throw this to all three of you. How is it possible that they have allowed their message to become so extreme? Is there polling telling them young people want that? I have seen people like Bill Maher and James Carville say this is crazy and that they cannot do this. Some of the older people are saying it is too extreme.
Host: Is it calculated? Has a deception fallen on them? Do they not realize they are going to push away anyone over fifty who ever cared about freedom? It seems strange that they would allow their party to go this far.
Tim Barton: I think you are right on both fronts. I think there is no doubt that it is a deception. As you are asking this, Rick, you know a lot of it already, and you are giving us material to discuss. But it is worth asking what Democratic leader or influencer who is forty years old or younger has spoken against this.
Tim Barton: You can point to Bill Maher, but he is older than sixty. As wonderful as people f
Host: We inform. Religious freedom is about people of faith being able to live out their faith and their convictions no matter where they are.
Host: Sacred honor is the courage to speak truth and live out your free speech.
Host: We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope.
Host: This is At the Core on American Family Radio.
Host: Welcome back to At the Core with Walker Wildmon and Rick Green, America's Constitution Coach. Thanks for joining me today. I'm having to come to you from the airport, so I apologize for the noise in the background. I just couldn't not do a program today. It's too important, even though I'm on the road.
Host: I just cannot pass up this horrific anniversary of my friend Charlie Kirk's assassination without honoring him, thanking God for his life and the impact that he had, and challenging you as a listener to this radio program not to let all of the people who are trying to depress you and convince you not to be involved, and that things are too bad out there, get to you. Remember the words of Charlie Kirk and his encouragement throughout the years to stay in the fight, never give up, and bring a biblical perspective to everything that is happening out there.
Host: It was one of the best examples, maybe the best example, of discipling people that we've seen in my lifetime. He did it on college campuses. He did it on radio. He did it in speeches. Whether he was on the stage or sitting on a college campus interacting with a student, he was constantly giving a biblical perspective on the issue. Even if he didn't quote chapter and verse, he was discipling that person. He was showing them truth and teaching them truth.
Host: I think one of the best ways that we can honor Charlie today is by hearing from one of his good friends and mentors, Bill Federer, teaching on unity and not letting the enemy divide us. That's what we allow far too often. It's what's happening right now in the Cornyn and Paxton race in Texas, in the aftermath of that race, and with Victor Marx in Colorado.
Host: Bill and I were together last Saturday for an event in Colorado, and he spoke on this subject. We asked him to bring that information to WallBuilders and American Family Radio because these audiences need to hear this. We need to be engaged. Charlie would have said the exact same things. In fact, he would have been speaking at the convention this week if he were here, and he would have been bringing a message of unity and standing firm in November against the radical leftists who are trying to destroy this country.
Host: Let's jump in with my good friend. Thank you, sir, Bill Federer.
Bill Federer: Hey, Rick. Great to be with you. It seems like I'm with you at least once a week. I'm either with you, or Tim's with you, or David. We're getting lots of good time with you during the 250th, and it was great being with you in Colorado last weekend. You're giving me an education.
Host: Speaking of an education, what you talked about at the dinner where we tag-teamed, the whole history of how the enemy uses division to end up defeating us, was so good. I was telling David to tell others about it, and we thought, this is happening all over the country. It's not just in Colorado or Texas, where we've got the Cornyn and Paxton campaign and Cornyn people not getting on board with Paxton to defeat O'Rourke. That type of thing is happening all over the country.
Host: The way you described it from a historical perspective was so powerful. We thought, let's get Bill on to talk about it. I know we don't have enough time in our short radio program to do the whole thing, but if you could give us a summary of how the enemy has used division to sideline us and allow the enemy to walk right through us.
Bill Federer: Carl von Clausewitz was a nineteenth-century military strategist, and he gave the classic definition of the purpose of war. The purpose of war is to force your opponent to submit to your will. Pretty simple. Sun Tzu's The Art of War, from fifth-century B.C. China, says that supreme excellence in a commander is to get your enemy to submit to your will without a fight. You psych him out and make him think you're more powerful and that he's weaker.
Bill Federer: Now it's called fifth-generation warfare, where you get your enemy to surrender without being aware that there is even a war going on. It's psychological warfare. It's like dropping pamphlets on German villages during World War II saying, "Your side is already lost." Of course, Tokyo Rose would broadcast across the Pacific to our ships, saying, "You Americans are terrible," and demoralize our guys.
Bill Federer: The battle is for the mind. You have unity. Psalm 133 says, "How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." But then you have discord and division. Proverbs 6 says there are six things the Lord hates, and the last is one who sows discord.
Bill Federer: Imagine being in heaven and somebody sowing discord in heaven. Well, it happened. The devil. The word diabolical means to tear apart, to divide. He was cast to earth, then he brought division into the garden and got Adam and Eve blaming each other. He incited Cain to kill Abel.
Bill Federer: One story is Abimelech. He was the illegitimate son of Gideon. Gideon had just defeated a hundred thousand Midianites, and nobody was thinking about invading Israel from outside. But on the inside, this illegitimate son wanted power. He went to the town of Shechem and sowed discord. He said, "Is it better for you that the sons of Gideon reign over you? Remember also that I am your flesh and your bone."
Bill Federer: The men of Shechem said, "We have to follow him because he is our brother." So he went through the temple of Baal-berith, the city treasury, and got money to hire vain and worthless persons. He hired rioters. We see this in the news with all of the astroturfing. It says they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless persons. They went to their father's house and slew his brothers, and the men of Shechem made Abimelech king.
Bill Federer: Here you have a country with no threat from the outside, but somebody wants power and has to divide it. The Hebrew Republic would have ended there, except that a hundred fifty years later someone threw a millstone over the wall and killed Abimelech.
Bill Federer: We see this again with Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Jeroboam sowed division and got the ten tribes to break away.
Bill Federer: One of the stories I found fascinating was when the Jews came back from Babylon. You have Pharisees, which means students of the law, like Ezra. Then you have the Sadducees. When the Greeks took over, they were secular Jews who controlled the temple in Jerusalem. They were political Jews who could care less about spiritual matters, and they had a civil war.
Bill Federer: From around 147 B.C. to around 63 B.C., they had their own Hasmonean Judean kingdom. By 63 B.C., there was a Roman general named Pompey. He was near the Black Sea in Cappadocia when they brought him word that a civil war was going on. He came down and sided with the Pharisees against the Sadducees.
Bill Federer: The Pharisees said, "We have reinforcements." They defeated the Sadducees. Pompey went into the temple, saw it, and came out telling his men not to touch it. From that moment on, Judea was a Roman province. They ended up losing their independence as a country because they were so caught up in their "Trump arrangement syndrome."
Host: It's that other party.
Bill Federer: That's right.
Bill Federer: Then I fast-forward to Muhammad. In 627 A.D., he was in Medina. There were three Jewish tribes in Medina, and they did not like each other. There was intertribal warfare among the Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza. Banu means clan or tribe.
Bill Federer: They let Muhammad in. He went into the minority neighborhoods and organized the following, like a community organizer. Then he pressured these three Jewish tribes into a treaty. Now he was a political leader. Then he became a military leader, raiding caravans.
Bill Federer: What happened to those three Jewish clans? He became offended at one of them, confiscated their property, and chased them out. The other two clans stood down. It was as if they were saying, "I never liked that party anyway." Now there were only two.
Bill Federer: He became offended at the second of the two, confiscated their property, and chased them out. The big Jewish tribe had the same attitude. They were glad the others were gone because they had been competition. Now there was only one tribe left.
Bill Federer: He bottled them up in their neighborhood for twenty-five days. When they surrendered, he brought them to the market and had their heads chopped off. If he had said, "In five years, there won't be a Jew left," they would have made up with each other. But because he picked on one and then picked on the other, he was able to divide and conquer.
Bill Federer: That's why many people are concerned when Zohran Mamdani in New York says Islam is a religion built on migration. He says the prophet was a stranger who fled Mecca and was welcomed into Medina, and five years later there was not a Jew left in Medina. This is the idea of divide and conquer.
Bill Federer: You see it with Cortés and his five hundred men. How did he defeat the Aztecs? They were a great empire. The Tlaxcalan tribe had been persecuted by the Aztecs. They were being captured and having their hearts stripped out on top of the pyramids. When Cortés showed up, they said, "You will help us against the Aztecs." They did help, but then the Spanish took over all of Mexico.
Bill Federer: We see this pattern over and over again: divide and conquer. I could go through Machiavelli.
Host: Let me ask you this, Bill, because I never thought about the Pharisees and Sadducees as an example. Here you have people who should certainly disagree, maybe on some theological finer points, but they allowed their people to be completely divided to the point of being conquered. It feels like that's what's happening with us in the conservative movement right now. We're allowing people to divide us based on minor issues compared with the big issue of being conquered as a nation by Islamic invasion and leftist ideology. We're missing the big issues because we're hung up with each other over personality or some vote from twenty years ago. Does that make sense?
Bill Federer: You hit it on the head in your talk. Charlie Kirk left us tremendous enthusiasm. At that memorial service, there were one hundred thousand people, and they were all asking, "Would Jesus first get buried, have kids, save the country?" It wasn't but a month or two before some of the podcasters began to divide MAGA with no concern about how it would impact the midterms.
Bill Federer: When I've been on campuses, and you've been on campuses, and David and Tim have been on campuses, these kids went from being excited about Jesus to going down the gutter of blaming Israel for everything. It diffused that energy. This tactic is introducing an autoimmune disease into the body politic.
Host: What's an autoimmune disease?
Bill Federer: It's where your own immune system attacks your own organs and joints. You have inflammation and fire inside your own body. They want to introduce an autoimmune disease into the body politic.
Bill Federer: How do you destroy a marriage? Sow discord. How do you destroy a family? Sow discord. How do you destroy a church? Sow discord. How do you destroy a country? Sow discord.
Bill Federer: This tactic is used repeatedly. Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," and of course he was quoting Jesus.
Bill Federer: It gets even more interesting during the Cold War. You had countries wanting to be free, have republics, and select leaders. The KGB did not like it, so they sent agents to use what was called critical theory. They would map the groups in the country, including economic, racial, and religious groups, categorize them as victims and oppressors, haves and have-nots, pit them against each other, and cause crises, riots, and bloodshed.
Bill Federer: Why bloodshed? Because then people think emotionally and want to blame somebody. They would then co-opt the media to blame the leader of the country, causing his popularity to fall, and then they would stage a coup. Country after country would fall behind the Iron Curtain.
Bill Federer: They called them color revolutions because they wanted people to identify with opposing sides, and each side would have a color. It started in China when Mao Zedong came in and had the Red Party and the Black Party. The Red Party was the working class, and the Black Party was the landowners. He got people to identify with these groups and pitted them against each other.
Bill Federer: Our CIA was doing this in reverse in countries around the world to keep them from being in the Soviet orbit and put them in our orbit, until Obama came and turned all of the CIA tactics inward on America for political purposes with his Smith-Mundt Modernization Act. Now we see this idea of sowing division inside our own country.
Host: What do you recommend to leaders, including local leaders, party leaders, candidates, people in Congress, and legislators, but also to all of us? How do you counter dividing Congress when they're dividing us in this way? What's the best way to counter it?
Bill Federer: I never say anything bad about anybody, but once you are aware of the tactic, it's like the last scene of The Wizard of Oz, where Toto pulls back the curtain and you see an old man at a microphone. You think, "I'm the great and powerful Oz," and then you see the chair. You realize, "This is all planned. Somebody is behind it."
Bill Federer: Franklin Roosevelt said, "Whoever seeks to set one nationality against another seeks to degrade all nationalities. Whoever seeks to set one race against another seeks to enslave all races." In 1942, FDR said, "Remember the Nazi technique: pit race against race, religion against religion, prejudice against prejudice. Divide and conquer."
Bill Federer: Once you understand this, you spot it. Here is an example from Charles Barkley on April 3, 2021, during rioting. He said, "I think most white people and black people are great people. I really believe that in my heart. But I think our system is set up with politicians who are designed to make us not like each other so they can keep their grasp of money and power. They divide and conquer."
Host: Quick break, folks. We'll be right back on At the Core.
Host: We really want to stir up this division so they can keep their grasp of power.
Bill Federer: There is an article in Military Review magazine from December 1960 on Soviet psychological warfare. It discusses a propaganda technique called projection. If you do something wrong, accuse the enemy of doing it before he accuses you.
Host: That's exactly what they've been doing.
Bill Federer: The one who makes the accusation first has the advantage because many people will not do the research. The article says we've all heard children claim, "He hit me first," in order to escape blame. It is a military magazine saying this is what you do: if you do something wrong, accuse your opponent of doing it.
Bill Federer: It's the Nancy Pelosi "wrap-up smear." I heard an NPR interview and went back and got the text. On April 19, 2010, David Axelrod, who was an adviser to Obama, said that in Chicago there was an old tradition of throwing a brick through your own campaign office window and then calling a press conference to say you had been attacked. You plan an attack on yourself so you can blame your opponent for it. That's the Jussie Smollett situation.
Bill Federer: Once we are aware of these tactics, they lose their power over us. Then we say, "I am not going to yield my mouth to spreading discord."
Host: It's like Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican."
Bill Federer: It's so good.
Host: Of your mini-books, what would be the best one for somebody to start with on this particular subject?
Bill Federer: Socialism: The Real History from Plato to the Present.
Host: Excellent. You can get it at AmericanMinute.com, of course, or anywhere books are sold. AmericanMinute.com is the best place to get it.
Host: Bill, we're almost out of time. Yesterday was Labor Day, and most of us do not know the history of Labor Day. Can you give us a quick history?
Bill Federer: Labor Day goes back to the Industrial Revolution, when Isaac Watts developed a pump to get water out of coal mines in England in 1760. This steam pump turned into a steam engine for making textiles and cloth in factories. The British would not allow factories to be built in America, so it was not until after the Revolution that we had factories.
Bill Federer: Then a wave of immigrants came from Germany, bringing with them Karl Marx's ideas of redistribution of wealth and class struggle. They formed the first unions in America. We had the fastest rise in the standard of living with all these factories.
Bill Federer: The economy dropped in 1894. At the Pullman Railroad Car Company in Chicago, there was a worker named Eugene Debs who organized a railroad strike that burned eighty million dollars' worth of railroad cars in twenty-seven states. He wanted May 1 to be International Workers' Day.
Bill Federer: Grover Cleveland was president, and because mail was being shipped on the railroads, he was able to get the federal government to break the strike. Eugene Debs was put in jail. He read and reread Karl Marx, came out, and started the Socialist Party of America. He ran for president five times from 1900 to 1920.
Bill Federer: In 1920, the Communist Party USA branched off. They ran candidates for president until 1940. That was when Franklin Roosevelt made a treaty with Stalin during World War II. The socialists and communists said, "Why should we run our own candidates? Let's just join the Democrat Party." That's where you get people like Ronald Reagan saying, "I didn't leave the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party left me."
Bill Federer: Grover Cleveland did not want May 1 to be International Workers' Day, so he made the first Monday in September Labor Day. Some of the good things the labor movement did were ending child labor, establishing the eight-hour workday, and establishing the forty-hour workweek.
Bill Federer: The problem was that as workers' benefits went up, the factories went overseas. That began something called outsourcing. When their factories went overseas, their patriotism went overseas as well, and they became globalists.
Bill Federer: I love this quote from Booker T. Washington. He said that we need to turn out more job creators. Anybody can be a job seeker, but we need to have more job creators.
Host: Bill, you messed up all my history because I thought Labor Day just meant you did extra labor on Labor Day. Anyway, good stuff, brother.
Bill Federer: Rick, you hit a home run out of the park. Thank you for getting behind Mr. Marx. He is the Republican candidate that part of you is supposed to get behind. David and Tim, you guys are great inspirations to my son and me, and we thank God for you.
Host: That was Bill Federer. We're now going to switch over. I want to play for you the conversation I had with David and Tim Barton and Chad Connolly yesterday about the convention, the midterm convention for the Republican Party. This is the first time they have ever done this, and it is really important. There were a lot of great speeches, but this will be a preview of the convention. Next week we'll talk about some of the speeches that took place and what might come from them.
Host: Let's jump into that conversation with Chad Connolly, David Barton, and Tim Barton.
Host: Republicans have descended upon DFW from all over the country for this first-ever midterm Republican convention. There are a lot of grassroots activists, speakers, and a lot happening.
Host: David, you mentioned on yesterday's program that you're going to be speaking tomorrow. Chad Connolly is with us. Chad, you and David have been all over the country for Faith Wins. I'm hoping to get a good report from you by the end of the convention that you saw some sparks, if not a fire in the belly of Republicans, to not sit out these midterms but instead double down. What do you think, Chad?
Chad Connolly: This is the crowd that will not be sitting out. These are the workers who come to this. I've been in every one of these since 2004, I guess. This is the group of workers in every state who are here. They're all in, and they're looking for President Trump to bring it.
Chad Connolly: This is the guy who can set a different tone. This is pretty unprecedented, like you mentioned. It has only happened a couple of times and never on the Republican side. We've never pulled this out before. But if anybody can pull it off, get some media attention, and talk about the positives, it is President Trump. He's a totally unorthodox, unconventional, won't-happen-again kind of leader. He's the guy who can pull this off.
Host: This one is shorter, right? Normally national conventions are four or five days of speeches and televised events, and you are usually there serving on the platform committee or some other committee. This is only two days, but hopefully it will be a shot in the arm as we go into November.
Chad Connolly: That's right. This is a short one. I've been to the RNC meetings and the committee meetings, like the platform and rules meetings, that usually take place. This is different in every aspect, that's for sure.
Host: We've talked about the divide inside the Republican Party, especially in certain states, where there are a couple of reasons why polling is down. There may be a reason to be concerned and therefore highly motivated to encourage our friends to get out and vote.
Host: In certain states, the party has a lot of infighting and is divided. Across the board, it does not seem like the Republican side is very encouraged or incentivized. In Texas, there are Christians who attend actual Christian churches who have said they are going to vote for James Talarico because he is a nice guy and his grandfather was a pastor.
Host: There seems to be a lot of confusion for Christians, a lot of infighting in certain states, and not much encouragement or excitement to drive people to get out. Is that part of the strategy for this midterm convention? I ask this knowing that Faith Wins has targeted dozens of congressional races where you are working on the ground. I know I am going to be with you at some of those events, and my dad is going to be at many of them as you encourage pastors and Christians to get out the vote.
Host: What is your big-picture thought on the convention? What might help stir or motivate people? What are the key takeaways? What is your encouragement for Christians in general in some of these other states and locations with congressional and Senate races?
Chad Connolly: Thanks for that. There are a lot of layers, as always. One thing facing us is the historical uphill climb when the party in power in the White House becomes a little laissez-faire. They think, "Things are going well. We've won. We're in good shape. We don't have to work as hard."
Chad Connolly: The other part is that we have not begun defining the left yet. You're right that there is a lot of infighting. In states that have late primaries, I do not know how they overcome it and heal. In our state, we have a special election because Senator Lindsey Graham passed away, so we are just getting past some division from a very heated primary.
Chad Connolly: There are two things in our favor. Number one, the election is not today, and the national polls do not matter. Number two, the left has lost its mind. I think that will help us as we start defining them.
Chad Connolly: I have been in nineteen states since July 15. If I were looking only at the polls on Fox News, I would be discouraged. I would think it was a nightmare scenario. But I have been with pastors in states and met with candidates.
Chad Connolly: We met with John Sununu, who is running for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire. He sat down with fifteen or sixteen pastor friends of mine in a church in Concord, New Hampshire. You have been in that church at Granite State Baptist with Pastor Peter Chamberlain.
Chad Connolly: I have been in other states as well. I was in Michigan and had dinner with eight Black pastors, three Hispanic pastors, and two white pastors. When I meet with these men and see that they are paying attention and realize what the stakes are, I get encouraged.
Chad Connolly: That is not reflected in national polls. But when I go into these states and meet with pastors who are talking to their people about the real issues, I get encouraged more than anything. We are facing socialists and communists. We are facing Islamists. We are facing people who look you straight in the eye and say men can get pregnant and boys can be girls. You want to encourage those pastors to keep talking.
Chad Connolly: The election is not right now, and we have not started defining the left. A lot of the division and infighting will settle out when people start seeing what is at stake.
Host: Chad, I am grateful for your analysis, and I completely agree. When you were talking about the party being laissez-faire and overlooking this, I remembered that tomorrow, Thursday, is the one-year anniversary of the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Host: If you look back to the presidential election, one of the things that made the biggest difference was Charlie Kirk leading the charge and lighting a fire under so many Republicans who might have continued with a laissez-faire perspective.
Host: We have talked many times about the realities of how much we miss one of our friends and the role that he played. What I find encouraging is that we are seeing God raise up and elevate other groups and organizations. Not just because of the 250th anniversary this year, but WallBuilders and Patriot Academy have never been busier. Faith Wins is also doing a great deal.
Host: I think God is elevating these groups and other nonprofits that are picking up the torch of what Charlie was doing. But this makes me think that some people in the Republican Party and in the White House are missing the message from Charlie Kirk telling them to pay attention and take action. He did that consistently.
Host: Now that he is gone, so much more falls on people like us who understand this to help rally and encourage others. For everybody listening, you cannot wait for somebody else to be the hero. You need to be the leader. You need to be the shepherd of your home. You need to be a leader in your community and rally people.
Host: Had it not been for the way God used Charlie Kirk, it is very arguable that President Trump would not have won that last election.
Host: At this point, it would take the hand of God and a miracle for President Trump to win, but God has been doing that all along. When God turned President Trump's head in Butler, Pennsylvania, it showed that this is not a new thought for God, to show up, do a miracle, and save the day.
Host: As you were talking, it made me think that we miss Charlie Kirk's message to elected officials and the perspective he gave them. Chad, let me ask a follow-up question. You have known and worked inside party politics for a long time. Do you see party people getting it more? We see pastors waking up, and I also see some political leaders waking up. When you have congressional leaders and others who are really waking up and getting it, there are some encouraging things.
Host: What do you see inside party politics? How much are you seeing that they are getting it, or is this still a challenge and a struggle?
Chad Connolly: Honestly, I think that whoever has the White House faces a severe disadvantage. The White House runs the party, and too many state party operations become complacent and lazy. They are not used to raising money or leading the way. Nobody gave me money when I was a chairman. That was normal.
Chad Connolly: Over the past few years, the state parties have received money because we have had such a fundraising machine. That creates a little weakness. Having said that, I believe the reason WallBuilders, Patriot Academy, Faith Wins, and so many other groups exist, and what Charlie did, is that they are dedicated to things the party was never really good at.
Chad Connolly: The party has two functions: elect Republicans, and raise money to do that. If you think there is a third function, you need to go back and read the first two. They do not exist. Some people want the party to do policy work, but that is the role of elected officials.
Chad Connolly: A lot of the infighting comes from tension because people want to see more done. When I met with Susie Wiles at Mar-a-Lago in 2024, she said, "You ought to come inside the campaign." I said, "I think I am doing more good outside the campaign, getting people to vote biblically."
Chad Connolly: Our people want to hear a specific message, but the party, the administration, and the campaigns are not willing to give that message in the same way we are. They are not willing to articulate those messages.
Host: America's 250th birthday is a great excuse to have some extra cake and ice cream, but we can help your celebration go well beyond that. Show your patriotism with America 250 apparel that will become a memento of this special year.
Host: We also have special episodes on AFA Stream to help underscore that America is a Christian nation and help you find God in the Constitution. Find all of this and more in one place at AFA.net/topics/250.
Host: At the Core podcasts are available at AFR.net. Now back to At the Core on American Family Radio.
Host: We're back here on At the Core with Walker Wildmon and Rick Green, jumping back in with Bill Federer, David Barton, and Tim Barton. As I mentioned, I'm at the airport today. Sorry for the noise, but I couldn't help sharing these interviews with you.
Host: We talked about Charlie and the anniversary of that horrific day in the first segment, but we also want to talk about what is happening with the convention this week. Let's jump back in with Chad Connolly, David Barton, and Tim Barton.
Chad Connolly: Rick Green, David Barton, Tim Barton, and I do not believe in the same things that party people believe in. We are cause people. They are more likely to be party people.
Chad Connolly: I am a party guy. I have been a delegate and a state party chairman. I have been a delegate, alternate, state party chairman, or senior staffer at six conventions. I believe in the function of the party. But I also believe that groups like ours, and what Charlie did, go above and beyond what the party can do.
Chad Connolly: The party can coordinate with the campaign. It can raise and spend money in ways that you and I cannot. But when it comes to specific efforts to turn people out, I believe with all my heart that there are people sitting in churches and pastors leading congregations who do not care what the party says or does. They will listen to David Barton, Rick Green, Tim Barton, and hopefully Chad Connolly and say, "I like that angle."
Chad Connolly: Party people are driven by party directives. You and I are driven by a cause that is greater, the kingdom of God on earth. Charlie was the ultimate Johnny Appleseed. In God's economy, I think he has and will birth many more like himself.
Chad Connolly: I hate what happened. I hate that he was murdered for the cause. But God's Word does not return void. I also know that when a seed falls to the ground and dies, it multiplies. I believe that is what God has applied here, and we are watching it happen before our eyes.
Chad Connolly: God is not done with us, and he is not done with the work that Charlie did. We miss Charlie. We miss him being a Trump whisperer, and we miss him talking especially to young people. But many people have become motivated because they heard Charlie's message.
Chad Connolly: Rob McCoy told me the other day that for all the views Charlie Kirk had, the millions and millions, hundreds of millions, maybe a billion, he has had tenfold the views of his talks since his death, in one year, than he had during his life. That is only, as your mom says, but God.
Host: Amen. Absolutely incredible. His voice was elevated and amplified, not taken out. It was actually amplified.
Host: Chad, you have been on the program so many times that it is almost like you predict my questions. You already answered everything I had lined up. While you and David are out there talking to pastors, are they going to respond? You nailed it.
Host: This is the first time Republicans have held a national midterm convention. David, you have groups you are going to be speaking to, and I know you and Chad are going to be working the crowd and firing people up. What are you hoping comes out of this convention by the end of the week?
David Barton: I think what will come out of it is a lot of ammunition to use in the last two months. There will be policy statements, good one-liners, and other things that will be used to make a difference between candidates as we get closer to election time.
David Barton: I think one of the things that will come out of the Wednesday and Thursday meetings is a lot of good policy sound bites that will really help some campaigns.
David Barton: Outside of that, it is going to add some impetus. We talked yesterday about the fundraising aspect of this. This is going to be a fundraiser, no question about that. As much as I dislike how much money goes into it, that is what the Supreme Court has opened up with the way campaign finances work, and it makes a difference.
David Barton: When you stop money such as USAID money, suddenly you have free elections in Germany and other places. Money makes a difference in politics. I dislike that, but it does. I think that is another thing that will help as we get down to the stretch.
David Barton: It appears that Democrats never run short of money. Big corporations are behind them and put money into their campaigns. Republicans are always outspent. I think this will help equalize some of the field, and I think that is necessary in the overall scheme.
Host: Chad, do you want to add what you hope comes out of it by the end of the week?
Chad Connolly: I am thinking that what comes out of this is that Trump is the best at breaking through the media. He recognizes that his message does not get out. The major networks are not carrying this, but I really like what he was saying earlier today when I was with him. They are going to set up different topics and address them from the stage.
Chad Connolly: I believe there are 109 different speakers and thirty-six different topics. They will be able to create boutique messages in congressional districts. We are going to be in thirty-eight different congressional districts between now and November.
Chad Connolly: They are creating a specialized message for those candidates in those districts. That is what you are going to see the money being spent on.
Chad Connolly: I also believe that President Trump is a master of entertainment. He understands what it takes. By doing the convention this way, the media will have to give it attention. It will be in snippets, but there will be a great deal of creative media from this. It will draw attention to things Trump has done and to the activities taking place.
Chad Connolly: That includes the southern border, fifteen straight months with no fentanyl deaths, no illegal crossings, and the first president out of eight who actually pushed Iran back to make sure it did not have a nuclear weapon.
Chad Connolly: There is also deregulation. I think we are taking out 137 regulations for every new one implemented. That will open up a boom in the economy, make us energy independent, and open up oil wells and pipelines.
Chad Connolly: There are many good things going on, but it takes time to peel back what we had under 9.1 percent inflation. The media criticizes us for having three percent inflation, but it was 9.1 percent under Biden.
Chad Connolly: All those messages in the next few days of the convention will be formed into bite-sized messages that can be applied in congressional districts. I believe that is what President Trump and the team are trying to accomplish.
Host: One thing we want to encourage people to do is help share those messages. There will be many social media videos over the next few days. One of the best ways to motivate your friends and family to vote is to share those videos and help them realize that voting makes a difference.
Host: Chad, that takes me back to what you were saying earlier in the program. The left has told us what it is. It is not even hiding it anymore. There is so much intellectual ammunition lying on the table. Show people in their own words how extreme they are.
Host: Is that working? Are we doing that? Is it up to us, as the non-party people and these other individuals, organizations, and grassroots groups, to get that message out?
Chad Connolly: I think it is a little bit of both. It depends on the district and what the party or campaigns are going to spend on those messages. But everywhere I have been, people have talked about how extreme the left is.
Chad Connolly: The pastor meetings we have created have given candidates an opportunity to articulate their positions, whether it is boys' and girls' sports, the sexualization of children, or the sexual mutilation of children. Those subjects are coming up in these conversations, along with communism and socialism.
Chad Connolly: I was with eight Black pastors, three Hispanic pastors, and two white pastors in a meeting in inner-city Detroit a couple of Monday nights ago. I told some of them, "Some of you may have voted Democrat in the past, but tell me what part of the platform and what you are seeing right now reflects biblical values."
Chad Connolly: If you think those people are going to be comfortable with you when Hassan Piker, a wealthy influencer who loves socialism and communism, is campaigning in a Mao Zedong uniform, you are mistaken. They are not holding back. They know that people are not educated very well.
Chad Connolly: A lot of this is going to fall to us to educate people and raise the alarm about what is happening, making sure we maximize the vote in every district everywhere in America.
Host: I will throw this to all three of you. How is it possible that they have allowed their message to become so extreme? Is there polling telling them young people want that? I have seen people like Bill Maher and James Carville say this is crazy and that they cannot do this. Some of the older people are saying it is too extreme.
Host: Is it calculated? Has a deception fallen on them? Do they not realize they are going to push away anyone over fifty who ever cared about freedom? It seems strange that they would allow their party to go this far.
Tim Barton: I think you are right on both fronts. I think there is no doubt that it is a deception. As you are asking this, Rick, you know a lot of it already, and you are giving us material to discuss. But it is worth asking what Democratic leader or influencer who is forty years old or younger has spoken against this.
Tim Barton: You can point to Bill Maher, but he is older than sixty. As wonderful as people f
Rick Green and Bill Federer examine the historical and biblical pattern of division, from ancient Israel and the early church era to modern political movements. Federer explains how psychological warfare, identity politics, and internal conflict can weaken families, churches, and nations. The conversation also includes a discussion of Charlie Kirk’s influence and the importance of unity, biblical conviction, and continued civic engagement.
Rick Green then speaks with Chad Connolly, David Barton, and Tim Barton about the first Republican midterm convention, party divisions, Christian voter engagement, Faith Wins, and the role of churches and grassroots organizations in public life. Federer also offers a history of Labor Day, organized labor, socialism, and the American workplace.
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