In a February 20 Politico story, Heidi Przybyla co-authored a piece fretting that a second Donald Trump administration would be one with great “Christian nationalism” influence.
Discussing that story on MSNBC last week, Przybyla warned the panel of fellow liberals to prepare for a troubling shift in the Republican Party, which she said is led by an “extremist element” of Christians who are “orbiting Trump” as Election Day draws closer.
What some people saw in her warning was contempt for Americans who place their faith in Jesus Christ above government, especially when she brought up the the issue of natural law. That foundational idea states that mankind's rights come from our Creator, not a king, and it is the foundation of the Declaration of Independence and the individual rights that were penned in the U.S. Constitution.
Brian Burch, the president of political advocacy group Catholic Vote, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, wrote Politico demanding an apology for smearing the Christian faith. What followed in a follow-up story was an apology from Przybyla, sort of, but not really.
“Due to some clumsy words, I was interpreted by some people as making arguments that are quite different from what I believe,” Przybyla, who was raised Catholic, wrote last week.
She went on to blame conservatives for cherry-picking her words to fit their narrative, and she apologized not for her content but for what she described as a lack of clarity.
“Reporters have a responsibility to use words and convey meaning with precision," Przybyla wrote, "and I am sorry I fell short of this in my appearance."
The second Politico story from Przybyla was no real apology, Burch told the "Washington Watch" program Friday. If it did anything, he said, it provides a clearer look at the reporter's worldview, one which attempts to silence Christians and scare them away from the polls in this fall's presidential election.
Burch credited Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, for standing with Catholic Vote to demand an apology from Politico.
"We demanded an apology, we demanded a retraction, and we demanded a response," Burch said. "Because we believe that this kind of rhetoric is not only unfounded historically, it’s dangerous."
Perkins is the host of "Washington Watch" but Burch was interviewed by guest host Jody Hice.
The issue is not just about voting, as serious as that is, Burch explained, but Przybyla’s views and her platform could put Christian believers in physical danger.
“This kind of rhetoric is leading to a growing sense of hatred and animus against Christian people," Burch warned. "Whether it be attacks on our churches, or the weaponization of government against Christians, or a larger cultural climate that holds that Christian believers are no longer legitimate Americans."
That is the Left's ultimate goal, Burch flatly warned, which is why Przybyla's "pretend apology" was really an attack on her Christian critics.
In a related "Washington Watch" interview, Washington Stand writer S.A. McCarthy said every Christian should understand the origin of authority is God, not a government of men.
“[Przybyla] tries to draw a distinction between Christian nationalists and Christians regarding her belief," McCarthy said, "but any Christian knows that Christ told Pilate before his crucifixion, ‘The only authority given to you, you have because my Father gave it to you.’ All authority ultimately is derived from God. All of our rights are derived from God, from the fact that we are made in His image and likeness."
In the MSNBC segment, Przybla said what unites conservative Christians is the belief that our rights as Americans “do not come from any Earthly authority,” meaning from a legislature or a court, but from God, referring to natural law and presumably to the Declaration of Independence.
“The problem with that is that they are determining - men are determining – what God is telling them,” she claimed.
'Something more dangerous here'
After the MSNBC clip went viral, Przybla later posted a statement on X denying she was smearing conservative Christians. “I said men are making their own policy interpretation of natural law,” she wrote, referring to her first Politico story.
McCarthy warned that Przybyla’s commentary appears to have the dual purpose of not only minimalizing Christians but elevating a new religion, one where the followers make the rules.
“There’s no doubt there’s a growing effort to intimidate and to silence us, particularly in an election year where the Christian and faith vote will be decisive, as it always is," McCarthy observed. "But there’s something more dangerous here."
That danger, he further said, is the post-religious, humanist philosophy of the Left. That is why the other MSNBC panelists nodded in agreement with Przybla, the Stand writer concluded, because her post-Christian view of politics and morality is their view, too.
Burch reached a similar conclusion about the Left and humanism in his "Washington Watch" interview.
“Don’t tell me that climate change or gender theology is not a different kind of religion. What they’re really saying is, ‘We need to move America in the direction of our new woke religion and displace Christianity,’” Burch said.
The fundamental truth is that “our rights don’t come from government but from God. To the extent that we abandon that, we will lose the United States of America,” Burch added.
