Michele Bachmann: Don't forget about the immigration bill

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) spoke with Stu and Pat on radio this morning, and she warned that the immigration bill is still being pushed through behind-the-scenes even though no one is paying attention to it right now. Rep. Bachmann warns that a flowery sounding bill will ultimately be presented, but she advised that no matter what is put forth it should be voted against.

Read a full transcript of the interview below:

PAT: Congresswoman Michele Bachmann joins us today. There's the debate still going on, and we forget about this sometimes because other things come up in our lives and we forget that the Senate has passed an immigration reform bill that is nightmarish and then, you know, so we let our guard down and then pretty soon you know it's coming up in the House and so we thought we'd check in with her and see where that stands right now. And earlier this week Congressman Bachmann congresswoman Bachmann, you spoke on the house floor and your one of your main points was seal the border first, then we'll work on amnesty afterward, which seems so incredibly reasonable to almost all Americans and yet it's not being considered. How did that go over? Where does all this stand right now?

CONGRESSWOMAN BACHMANN: Well, Pat and Stu, thanks for having me on because we really are at the crucial hour right now. It seems that some sort of a weird tack has been made between the ruling class and D.C. That's both Republican and Democrat. And it seems like they've made a decision that this is it. Everyone is going to help Obama achieve his number one political agenda item, which is to bring in tens of millions of new voters to support his agenda. Why in the world any self respecting Republican would want to get behind this effort is beyond me, but it seems like this is what they want to do. Their first worry is not border security. The Senate bill was a fake border security bill. We were betrayed and lied to by the Republicans in the Senate. So we don't have a border security bill. And the way that you pass a bill is you've got to get a bill through the Senate, a bill through the House and on the president's desk. Well, two out of the three are effectively done. We know that the president will sign a bill that has amnesty in it. The Senate already passed it. Now it's up to the House. So what is about to happen to the House is that we're going to get what I call a Trojan horse. It will be a bill that will sound great, it will be all about border security, and who couldn't get behind that? But if that bill passes with the help of conservatives out of the House, it goes to what's called a conference committee. Because the bill won't be the same as the bill that came out of the Senate. That's where the politicians get together behind closed doors and they figure out one compromised bill that goes back to the chamber. Well, the one must have for President Obama is legalization, and legalization equals amnesty, which equals citizenship, which equals tens of millions of new voters that will vote to forever cement in place his progressive agenda. This is where the whole thing breaks down. So we have not had one minute of discussion for the whole Republican conference in the House.

Now recognize we're the only backstop that can say no, and we haven't had a minute's worth of discussion. We're going to finally, this afternoon at 3:00 Eastern time, have our very first meeting on this issue of immigration and what the Republican establishment is planning to do is introduce their two bills, the one out of judiciary, and the one out of Homeland Security† the Trojan horse bill, which is what I call it† and they will tell us look at this bill and how great the bill is, but the fact is it will never, ever come back to us for final vote in that form. And what I'm going to do is not vote for any bill, no matter how good it sounds, because right now we're lacking the political will in the White House to ever support and ever enforce border security. We saw that this week with the president. He decided he didn't want to enforce parts of ObamaCare. So he's not going to. It's unconstitutional, but he's getting away with it. And so that's what's going to happen.

We already passed a bill to build 700 miles of fence in 2006 and we paid for it. And so my question is, if we already passed a bill to build a fence, where is it? Where's the money? Where's the fence? Where's the billions? I want my billions back. Either give me a fence or give me my billions back.

STU: Michelle, you're

CONGRESSWOMAN BACHMANN: So we've already done that seven years ago. And if 27 years ago we promised that we would build a fence, why when Barack Obama's president and when Janet Napolitano would be the chief enforcer of building a fence, I mean, on what planet would we ever think that this is going to happen? And so it's time to wake up and slap some reality on your face and recognize this has nothing to do about with border security. It has everything to do with giving Barack Obama tens of millions of new progressive voters to finally change the country once and forever so that constitutional conservatives will effectively be blocked out of the marketplace of ideas in the future because, just because of numbers. There won't be enough of us.

So this is very big. This is very real. I'm not here to cry wolf. This is probably the most important vote that we're going to take in the next two years and, quite frankly, we haven't seen the phone lines melt yet in Washington. And so what I just want to encourage your listeners at Glenn Beck to do is that on the Senate side is hopeless. Give up on them. Don't even bother calling them on this. We've been betrayed. Focus only on the House because I will tell you, you would be shocked at the number of people who are Republicans, who call themselves conservatives, who are in favor of an amnesty bill. You would be floored. So we need these phone lines melted and quick because the establishment wants to get this bill passed out of the House before August. And so right now my message is simple: No bill. No immigration bill. Until we can certify and see it for ourselves that that southern border is secure, there's nothing to talk about.

STU: And Michele, you only need a couple dozen Republicans here, right? You only need a couple dozen Republicans to entertain these ideas to† because the Democrats are all, of course, going to vote for it. So it's not even the fact that you need to win everybody over. They only need to pull a couple dozen from the establishment and they can get this thing passed, right?

CONGRESSWOMAN BACHMANN: Thank you for saying that because that's what's going to happen with the Trojan horse. You're right. We passed this sweet smelling bill out of the house, it goes to conference committee, it comes back. Pelosi and all† and nearly every Democrat will vote for the bill. So just like you said, Pat and Stu, all the Democrats need are a few Republicans who think they are being magnanimous, a couple dozen, and we lose. And the country changes forever. So this is crucial. It's really gone under the radar because we've been kind of overhyped with news lately. You know, with everything from a plane crash, everything else going on, people just aren't paying attention to this issue and that's why we† again, I'm not trying to cry wolf. I'm just saying that this is it, and this is going to come up very quick. It's going to slide through without a lot of fanfare. The mainstream media certainly doesn't want to talk about it because they want it to pass and so this is it. I mean, we need base conservatives to call their members. And don't assume just because you have a Republican member of congress that they're good on this issue. Get them on the record. Make them tell you that they won't vote for any bill. Because President Obama's already proved it. He's not going to enforce a law that he doesn't agree with. He's an unconstitutional acting president. And so that's why this is so crucial.

PAT: Now, if they call† and they can call 202 224 3121. That's the Capitol Hill switchboard.

CONGRESSWOMAN BACHMANN: Yes.

PAT: Does it do any good, Michele, to call other people's reps, or are you suggesting they just call their own and make sure their own representative is on board with this thing?

CONGRESSWOMAN BACHMANN: Call your own. That's the most important†

PAT: Yeah.

CONGRESSWOMAN BACHMANN: -- for people to do. But people also have a contact list on their computer, their smart phone or their iPad, and what I'm saying too is send that, put out on your Facebook or put out a tweet or send out to your contact list just a quick, you know, one sentence or couple of paragraphs. You know, just trust me on this, you've got to call your rep and tell them don't vote for any immigration bill, not until we get a fence built. Because I don't want any more promises. I want to see an actual sense that's actually doing the job because otherwise the bill that we will get will be perpetual amnesty. Until never again be any effective deportation done ever, and we will have ongoing amnesty. And we are literally looking at letting more people in, in the next ten years than we did in the previous 40. And amnesty isn't cheap. It will be over $6 trillion. Half of that alone will just pay for retirement benefits for illegal aliens. So the worst possible time, when we're $17 trillion in debt, and that's just part of the debt. When we're $17 trillion in debt and baby boomers like me are about to draw down on Social Security and Medicare benefits that we've earned and paid in for, we're looking at tens of millions of new people coming into the country who've never paid in and yet they'll be drawing down Social Security. They'll be drawing down Medicare. And they will have the right to bring in their parents who can draw down from Social Security and from Medicare. And just so you know, one portion of Medicare is said to be bankrupt. The hospital portion will be bankrupt by 2017. That's four years from now. So the one thing seniors fear is going to the hospital because they want to know that their Medicare will pay for it. Well, it's broke in four years. And so we're going to swamp the system with tens of millions of new people who are sicker and poorer and have no means of paying their hospital bills? This is a disaster and that's why we've got to stop it in its tracks and so we are putting everything right now into this effort to let the public know that you cannot trust your own member of congress on this issue. You have to be adamant. You have to be insistent. You have to call, call, call. You have to get everybody that you know to call, call, call and say, look, we're not putting up with any state border security bills. We can't trust the president to enforce the border and so we are not going to take up anything right now until you build us a fence. Build me the fence. Where is my fence that I paid for in 2006? Give me my fence or give me my money back. That's my message.

PAT: Appreciate it, Michele. And thank you. Thank you for what you're doing. Thanks, and tell Steve king and Louie Gohmert, the three of you are spearheading this thing, thank you for what you're doing. And there's about 70 representatives who are on board with stopping any bill from being passed in the House for all the reasons that Michele just so eloquently outlined. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot. We'll talk to you again soon. 202 224 3121 is the number to call to get in touch with your representatives. That's the Capitol Hill switchboard. And then just ask for your representative. And if you don't know who your representative is, Google it. It's really not that hard to find. We can't tell you who your rep is because we're not positive where you're listening right now. So, you know, just find that out. Call your representative. Hopefully you voted for†

STU: Yeah.

PAT: or against your representative. So you know.

STU: You should probably know at this point, yeah.

PAT: But the number is 202 224 3121. And it is important. Because if they pass any bill, then they reconcile the Senate bill with the House bill and that's where the trouble comes in. It comes in, in the compromise and the reconciliation process and then you've got something that we can't live with. And it's amnesty without any border security.

STU: Yeah.

PAT: And it's going to turn out to be a nightmare.

STU: And two things to think about how important the left feels this is, and as well as Michele correctly pointed out over and over again, the Republican establishment. How important is this stuff to them? First of all, remember, the president of the United States wanted the DREAM Act so badly, as did many people who were in the Republican establishment and they tried so hard to get it and then they just did it because they couldn't get it voted in. So they just did it by executive order. And then the 2006 bill she talked about, that was a bill that was passed, 700 miles of fencing, and then they just passed something else the next year in part of another big bill that said, well, we don't really have to build that fence. This is what they'll do.

PAT: Yeah.

STU: They will do anything they can.

PAT: And they got the same provision in this new Senate thing, too, that Napolitano can call it off and, you know, she will again.

STU: Of course.

PAT: She just will.

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

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The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

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Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

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If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE