HEROES
Terry Schilling, President of the American Principles Project
President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping win on November 5 was made possible in part by the tireless efforts of Terry Schilling, who leads the American Principles Project – a socially conservative nonprofit organization.
While some argued that Trump should avoid discussing cultural issues during the 2024 campaign, Schilling successfully urged the Republican standard bearer not to give up the fight to protect American children from the “transgender” movement.
Back in July, Schilling shared a picture of himself meeting with Trump. Schilling commented at the time that the then-candidate was “more aware of what Dems are doing to our kids than most politicians I’ve met.”
Schilling’s post provoked the ire of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign, and foreshadowed what was to come.
In the weeks that followed, the Trump camp began to hit Harris hard on her record of outspoken support for the “transgender” movement, including her role in subjecting minors to life-altering “transgender” procedures, as well as her past remarks in favor of using taxpayer money to pay for these procedures – for prisoners.
A viral Trump ad later called out Harris’ pro-“trans” record, declaring: “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you.” The ad proved to be one of the most effective political advertisements in American history.
A pro-Harris Super PAC even determined that the ad shifted the race nearly three percentage points in Trump’s favor.
Three weeks after the election, Schilling wrote on X: “After avoiding cultural issues for years, the GOP under Trump finally went on offense and attacked Democrats on their radical trans agenda.”
The activist’s months-long effort culminated in what has been the most decisive victory for a Republican presidential ticket in a generation – and a stunning rebuke of Harris and her team – and for this, Schilling is certainly a hero in our book.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-FL
Also on Election Day, Florida voters rejected Amendment 4 – a measure that would have explicitly legalized abortion up until around 24 weeks in the Sunshine State.
However, according to many experts, the amendment’s vague language would have effectively permitted late-term abortions up until birth.
Furthermore, Floridians also voted down Amendment 3, which would have made recreational marijuana legal in the state.
The defeat of both of these amendments would not have been possible without the leadership of DeSantis – the state’s popular governor who won reelection by nearly 20 points two years prior.
During the campaign, DeSantis was outspoken about the great harm both amendments would bring to Florida’s most vulnerable citizens if they were to pass.
Now, the pro-life law he signed in April 2023 protecting most of Florida’s unborn children after six weeks of pregnancy will remain in effect – despite pro-abortion groups raising over $100 million to nullify it.
With Amendment 4 going down, Florida became the first state to buck what had been described as a national trend in favor of pro-abortion measures and vote against abortion when it was on the ballot. Later on election night 2024, Nebraska and South Dakota would join Florida, voting down their own pro-abortion ballot measures.
In an evening X post made just minutes after media outlets called the Florida pro-abortion amendment’s defeat, former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany declared that DeSantis “deserves a ton of credit for reversing the post-Dobbs losses.”
“This is a HUGE victory for the pro-life movement and a true testament to what happens when a leader leans into explaining the issue,” she added.
We agree with McEnany and are pleased to honor the Florida governor as one of our heroes of November.
Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, Diocese of Toledo
Bishop Thomas is the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
On November 22, the bishop sent out a press release inviting all American Catholics to join him in the USCCB’s National Prayer Vigil for Life, which will take place from January 23 to January 24, 2025.
“I enthusiastically invite Catholics from all around the country to join me in-person or virtually, in praying for an end to abortion and building up a culture of life,” Thomas stated in the release. “Together, we must pray to change hearts and build a culture of life as we advocate for the most vulnerable.”
CatholicVote previously reported that the vigil is to be “hosted by the USCCB’s Pro-Life Secretariat, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and The Catholic University of America’s Office of Campus Ministry in Washington, D.C.”
“The Vigil begins on the eve of the March for Life, which marks the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision,” CatholicVote’s report added. “Bishop Thomas will celebrate the opening Mass at 5 p.m. January 23 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.”
We commend the bishop for his heroic work in assembling the faithful in prayer for the unborn. Hopefully, an increasing number of other prelates across the country will follow Thomas’ example in speaking up for those who cannot speak out themselves.
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-NE
As mentioned earlier, Florida was not the only state to defeat a pro-abortion ballot measure on November 5.
Nebraska voters not only rejected Initiative 439 – which would have added a so-called “right to abortion” to the state constitution – they also approved the pro-life Initiative 434, which protects most unborn children after the first trimester of pregnancy (usually defined as 12 weeks’ gestation).
Sen. Pete Ricketts, whose family owns the Chicago Cubs baseball team, was a major financial supporter of the pro-life initiative. As CatholicVote reported, he donated a half-million dollars to Protect Women and Children, the main group behind Initiative 434.
Now representing the state as one of its two senators in DC, Ricketts had previously served two terms as Nebraska’s governor from 2015 to 2023.
Following the success of Initiative 434, coupled with the failure of its pro-abortion counterpart, he celebrated the vote as a “glorious victory for life.”
“We sent a clear message to the nation that electoral fights on pro-life values are winnable,” the senator told CatholicVote on November 7. “I hope our strategy helps other states reject similar efforts by out-of-state, radical activists and the pro-abortion lobby.”
Sen. Ricketts certainly put his money where his mouth is, and our November heroes list would be far from complete without him!
ZEROES
President Joe Biden
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest award the nation’s Chief Executive can bestow on a civilian.
Past recipients of this medal include St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta (awarded by President Ronald Reagan in 1985) and Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks (awarded by President Bill Clinton in 1996).
With Biden now a “lame duck” president set to leave office on January 20, he used his remaining time in the White House to give the country’s preeminent civilian honor to Cecile Richards – who led the abortion giant Planned Parenthood for 12 years from 2006 to 2018.
After he gave her the medal, Biden’s government X account praised Richards’ “absolute courage” and declared that the longtime abortion industry leader “has carved an inspiring legacy.”
Richards “fearlessly leads us forward to be the America we say we are,” the post claimed, “a nation of freedom.”
What about the “freedom” to live for the unborn?
CatholicVote reported that after Richards received the medal from Biden, “pro-life advocates emphasized the scandals that marred her tenure.”
“Live Action noted that Planned Parenthood was accused of covering up child sexual abuse by failing to adhere to mandatory reporting laws,” CatholicVote reported. “Critics also condemned the Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger, who is well-documented to have held white supremacist beliefs.”
According to Live Action President Lila Rose, Richards “presided over the abortions of 3.9 million babies as president of Planned Parenthood.”
“She belongs in jail,” Rose wrote. “Not in the White House receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
While Biden’s decision to honor Planned Parenthood’s ex-president may not come as a surprise, it might just be the metaphorical cherry on top of his decades-long legacy of standing vehemently against the rights of pre-born Americans – the legacy of a zero.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra
Biden is not the only member of the outgoing administration to be on our “zeroes” list this month.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra is a familiar face to CatholicVote’s readers. He has declared himself to be a “committed Catholic” despite a long record of enthusiastically supporting both abortion and the “transgender” movement.
However, he has recently made headlines for another appalling reason.
During a November 20 House Subcommittee Hearing, lawmakers grilled Becerra “over the hundreds of thousands of migrant children reportedly unaccounted for under the Biden-Harris administration,” CatholicVote reported:
The lawmakers expressed particular concern over the government reportedly placing migrant children with pimps, gang members, and even sex offenders, allowing threatening people to serve as “sponsors.”
Becerra’s department oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which had custody of the children in question.
Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-WI, asked the secretary: “Do you remember the teenage girl that was in a house with unknown men with no private bedroom for her? Are you familiar with the sponsors that utilized a strip club in Jacksonville as an address for where this child … should be settled?”
Becerra did not have an answer for Tiffany – other than saying that he did not have “the information” in front of him but would “try to get back to” the congressman.
Becerra has long struggled to explain to lawmakers how the administration was able to lose track of so many migrant children in its custody. A very similar hearing took place back in July 2023.
Fortunately, Becerra, like his fellow zero Biden, is set to be unemployed soon.
Bishop John Stowe, Diocese of Lexington
Days after Trump’s dominant victory in the 2024 Presidential Election, Bishop Stowe penned a lengthy message that essentially amounted to complaining over how the country voted.
“Will the effect of a multiply-convicted [sic] felon provide any impetus for the necessary work of criminal justice reform?” Stowe asked, referring to President-elect Trump’s controversial legal charges – which critics across the political spectrum widely regard as politically-motivated partisan “lawfare.”
Later in the piece, Stowe called on Catholics to confront the “white-supremacism systematically embedded in our nation.” He also wrote that Trump “enjoys the company of brutal autocrats” and suggested his election calls for “our constant and loud protest.”
Maybe Stowe making our “zeroes” list (again) will help him realize his job is to shepherd the souls of the Diocese of Lexington – NOT to audition for MSNBC contributor.
