NEWS AND OPINION:
Watchful Republican governors are out to protect American soil in no uncertain terms.
A group of 17 of them have sent a letter to both the Biden administration and U.S. House and Senate leadership calling for action “to protect the United States from the imminent national security threat directly related to the Communist Party of China’s efforts to amass U.S. land.”
Their letter addresses “recent alarming land purchases” — which include 270 acres near the National Guard’s Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center in Michigan — the Guard’s largest training site in the U.S.
“Where the Biden administration has failed to address the threat at hand, states have stepped into the breach to protect this country’s most valued resource — our people. In 2023, a bipartisan group of eleven states enacted foreign ownership laws,” the letter stated, citing laws in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.
The effort is being led by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“For too long, we have allowed dangerous and adversarial governments to infiltrate our country. Our states will tolerate such allowances no longer,” the letter said.
“The Biden administration must reckon with the fact that such entities are plain threats to our national security, our farmers, and our citizenry. This is especially true since the Communist Party of China enacted a law in 2017 requiring Chinese citizens abroad to collaborate with Chinese security officials on intelligence work — no questions asked,” the letter said.
“We are heartened to see some in Congress advance legislation which would mitigate this threat. And we encourage Congressional action to codify our stance into federal law. Until Congress passes such legislation, we urge the Biden Administration to use all available tools to prevent the continued acquisition of American lands by adversarial foreign governments and entities,” the letter said later.
Besides Mrs. Sanders, the other governors who signed the letter are Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Brad Little of Idaho, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Jim Pillen of Nebraska, Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Henry McMaster of South Carolina, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Bill Lee of Tennessee, Greg Abbott of Texas, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Jim Justice of West Virginia and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.
‘BIDENOMICS’ GOES BYE-BYE
“Has Bidenomics finally met its Waterloo? In June, a top Biden spokesperson called it the word of the day, word of the week, word of the month, word of the year here at the White House. Today, Biden hasn’t used the term in more than a month and others are jumping ship — fast,” said Jake Schneider, director of rapid response for the Republican National Committee in a written statement.
“It doesn’t take a genius to see why ‘Bidenomics’ has failed. 78% of American voters rate the economy negatively, according to a new Fox News poll, and most believe the worst is not yet over. Nearly three-quarters of voters across seven key swing states say the economy is on the wrong track; just 35% of them trust Biden on the economy,” Mr. Schneider said, this time citing the results of a recent Morning Consult survey.
“Meanwhile, Americans trust Republicans to keep the country prosperous by the widest margin since 1991,” he added.
The source is a Gallup Poll of 1,016 U.S. adults released Oct. 3, which found that 53% of the respondents said the Republican Party did a better job of keeping the nation prosperous, compared with 39% who felt that way about the Democratic Party. The remaining 8% had no opinion on the issue.
SALUTING THE HOLIDAY
A round of applause, please, for the Department of Defense — specifically the Armed Forces Network, or AFN.
The U.S. military’s global radio and television service will celebrate the “25 Days of Christmas,” an extensive collection of holiday programming for our troops, to be broadcast on all AFN channels, streaming services and radio stations worldwide. This helpful practice is marking its eighth decade of operation and will include seasonal fare for U.S. Navy ships at sea — provided via satellite service.
“For 81 years, AFN has been providing U.S. forces and their families overseas the very best of holiday entertainment. For many of our audiences, whether serving in Korea, eastern Europe, or the Horn of Africa, the holidays simply would not be the same without AFN,” said Hal Pittman, director of Defense Media Activity, AFN’s parent organization, based at Fort Meade, Maryland.
This well-crafted and thoughtful tradition dates back to 1942; its motto is “We Bring You Home.” Among many other things, the network will showcase 75 movies, video on demand from the Food Network and other providers, plus streaming radio service focused on seasonal music favorites. Kwanzaa will also be included in the programming.
“We want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to find personal pleasure and joy in our programming,” said Army Maj. Jason Hohnberger, chief of religious programming for the network and a military chaplain.
“In December, AFN will be sharing Sunday morning worship services from around the nation, to include Harvest with Greg Laurie. We currently broadcast for most denominations, to include Catholic, Lutheran, Gospel, Jewish services, and are continuing to expand our offerings,” he said.
The religious denominations provide their programming to AFN at no cost.
POLL DU JOUR
• 28% of registered U.S. voters think a possible war between China and Taiwan poses the biggest threat to U.S. national security; 32% of Republicans, 29% of independents and 23% of Democrats agree.
• 28% of U.S. adults think the Israel-Hamas war poses the biggest threat to national security; 31% of Republicans, 24% of independents and 29% of Democrats agree.
• 22% overall think the Ukraine-Russia war poses the biggest threat; 17% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 27% of Democrats agree.
• 7% overall think “something else” poses the biggest threat; 7% of Republicans, 10% of independents and 5% of Democrats agree.
• 15% overall are “not sure” about the issue; 13% of Republicans, 16% of independents and 15% of Democrats agree.
SOURCE: A NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll of 3,200 registered U.S. voters conducted Nov. 26-27.
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• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.