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OPINION: It was a passing strange post-Cabinet prime ministerial press conference on Monday evening. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins stood up to make some non-announcements on the very non bread and butter issue of lobbyists.

Then, in the middle of it all, broadcaster Sean Plunket lobbed in a question about how the Government and Hipkins in particular defined a woman. The usually unflappable Hipkins, clearly surprised by the question, looked a bit uncomfortable and ummed and ahhed, until he finally said that people define their own genders.

Plunket pressed, referring to UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who had said in the past week that he thought 99.9% of women do not have penises.

Penis is not a word you regularly hear in post-Cabinet press conferences with prime ministers. Who knows, maybe it was the first time? There was a sort of stunned silence in the room.

JUAN ZARAMA PERINI/Stuff

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins marked the official start of the winter flu vaccination campaign at the Queen St Medical Centre in Upper Hutt.

READ MORE:* Chris Hipkins' delicate balancing acts over Stuart Nash scandal, and the 'white cis men'* Arch-pragmatist Chris Hipkins is dragging Labour back to the centre - and the left into election contention* Christopher Luxon set to take aim at government consultant 'gravy train', promises $400 million cut if elected

The question evidently came about in the wake of the Posie Parker pro-women/anti-trans protest and is essentially an imported culture wars issue from overseas. In the UK, this is a live political issue heading into the election in 2025. In New Zealand, however, it was effectively put to bed in December 2021 with a law passed that allows for gender self-identification on birth certificates. It will come into effect in 2023.

The interesting thing about this is that there appears no real appetite among elected officials to get into a culture war on this issue leading into the election.

We asked Christopher Luxon how he would answer the question and he said pretty simple: adult female human. When pressed on who gets to define this he said there is a very small number of people who identify with a gender thats different from the sex that they had at birth. They need to be respected as well.

And so you know, that's pretty straightforward for me to think about.

In other words, not an issue for him. He was also at pains to point out that voters dont raise it with him as an issue when he is out and about.

It is clearly something that Luxon and National are trying to stay as far away from as possible. Whereas a couple of Nationals recent previous leaders, Simon Bridges and Judith Collins, would quite cheerfully jump into the odd culture war scrap, Luxon has demonstrated no such enthusiasm.

Indeed, within the National Party election machine there is a simple view on this: people care about their economic prospects and that of their families. And they are mostly live and let live. Getting stuck into no-win issues over gender and trans rights, which simply bewilder many, does not make the list.

Likewise, Chris Hipkins does not wish to wade into these waters. He too is a pretty live and let live character who wont want to be talking about it.

Neither the ACT Party nor the Greens appeared to want to turn it into a debate or an issue either. There are fish-hooks here for everyone, and its a very easy issue where someone could say the wrong thing. While ACT is obviously happy to wade into other culture wars issues especially around the role of the Treaty of Waitangi in law and society, for example this isnt one of them. After all, Parliament unanimously passed the gender self-ID law in 2021.

The UK has its own political context, including the tricky politics of trans rights within the UK Labour Party, which Starmer is trying to manage. Importing that into the New Zealand context is unlikely to head anywhere quickly.

Instead, the bigger-than-expected interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank on Wednesday which came hours before Jacinda Arderns final speech, brought the significant election issues back into relief. And that is inflation and the problems it causes, including significant interest rate rises.

While the Government is continuing to try to make the case that it isnt its fault, but a global phenomenon, National and ACT are trying to lay blame squarely at the feet of Grant Robertson.

It was a reminder about the very issue both Chrises are fighting to own in the public mind. The very opposite of the lobbying changes Hipkins talked about on Monday afternoon. Hipkins himself admitted that theres no evidence of any problems with lobbying, and it was really just a question of perception.

But lobbying is basically the epitome of a beltway issue, and about as far away from bread and butter as you can get. The political wisdom of making it the issue of the day especially after the Stuart Nash saga the week before had made Labour look a bit dodgy seemed questionable. Talking about lobbyists just seemed to reinforce that, conflating two separate issues.

While Hipkins himself continues to grow into the job, looking more confident, a bit of drift that characterised Labours past year has now kicked back in. On the central political question of inflation, Labour has had little to say, and sometimes you could be forgiven for thinking its not in Government with an absolute majority.

The challenges arent just internal. On Thursday afternoon tension within the Green Party which has been simmering for quite some time accidentally made its way out into the open when MP Dr Elizabeth Kerekere called Chle Swarbrick a crybaby in what appeared to be a case of replying to the wrong WhatsApp group.

Kerekere has been known to be unhappy since she was dobbed in to authorities for breaking Covid-19 rules while the Green Party's health spokesperson. And all has not seemed well for some months.

While Kerekere will now apparently be investigated, it is something both the Greens and Labour can do without. Labour needs an electable Green Party that wont spook too many middle voters into staying away from Labour.

It is this sort of peripheral issue that Labour is now having to deal with, not some sort of culture war. There was a relatively high degree of shock in Parliament on Wednesday over the size of the Reserve Banks interest rate hike and the fact that there now might be more this year.

Thats where the real political battle is.

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This election may be negative, but it won't be about imported culture ... - Stuff

Two South Carolina Republicans are hitting the presidential campaign trail in Iowa this week, with both trying to appeal to GOP voters who are looking for new leadership.

Former Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, who announced Wednesday hes launching an exploratory committee, campaigned in the Hawkeye State making their pitches to voters, NBC News Ali Vitali and Jillian Frankel report from the trail.

The same man whos pitching a hopeful vision of America, also leaned into culture wars and demonized the opposing partyfrom spending more time on CRT than they do on ABC to wide open borders, Vitali and Frankel wrote following Scotts event in Cedar Rapids.

The good news is the American people are just fine. Its the American government that we have to fix, Scott said.

Vitali and Frankel also caught up with Haley in Fort Dodge on Tuesday, where Haley pledged to shake every hand and talk to every person.

Vitali and Frankel note that Haley didnt mention Trump by name, but made a veiled reference to him by saying, Youre not gonna see me come in and do a rally and leave.

The two events underscorethe emerging rivalry between Haley and Scott, who are looking to pitch themselves as alternatives to Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Washington Post reports.

In other campaign news

Lifes a beach:NBC News Matt Dixon reports that Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is reaching out to Florida members of Congress to try to get themnot to endorse former President Donald Trump. And Politico reports DeSantis isholding a meet-and-greetwith Republicans in D.C. this month.

Trump talk:Trumpis in New York to testify in a civil lawsuitrelated to his real estate business. And one of Trumps lawyers is asking to delay his civil rape and defamation lawsuit a month,requesting a cooling off periodafter Trumps unrelated indictment last week.

Debate night in America:Fox News willhost the first GOP presidential debate, with the Young Americas Foundation and the conservative video-streaming site Rumble, in Milwaukee in August.

Friends forever?The Associated Press reports on howIowas evangelical communityis approaching the 2024 presidential bid amid the bond thats developed with Trump over the last seven years.

Exploratory explainer: Sen. Tim Scotts decision to launch a presidential exploratory committee might have you wondering what an exploratory committee is. NBC NewsMegan Lebowitz has you covered.

A challengers challenge:Florida lawyer Keith Grossannounced a Senate bidas a Republican, an uphill bid against GOP Sen. Rick Scott.

A Trump bump:Trump posted on his Truth Social platformpraising businessman Bernie Morenosnewly announcedSenate bidin Ohio, saying he would not be easy to beat.

Peach State primary:Georgiais hoping to experience an economic boostif it becomes an early primary state, NBC News Alex Seitz-Wald reports.

Bridget Bowman is a deputy editor for NBC's Political Unit.

Ben Kamisar is a deputy political editor in NBC's Political Unit.

Read the rest here:
Eyes on 2024: South Carolina meets Iowa - NBC News

Over the past 12 months, Sojourners has been celebrating its 50th birthday. To be honest, it wasnt always clear we would make it this far especially when you think about how we got started and what we have overcome.

In the early 70s, a group of seminarians at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill., began meeting to discuss what they saw as the failure of U.S. evangelicals especially white evangelicals to engage with issues of racism, poverty, and the Vietnam war. In 1971, these students, includingJim Wallis, Joe Roos, and Bob Sabath, launched a publication to spread their message to other Christians who might feel the same or could be persuaded to do so. The first issue of their publication, The Post-American, featured a cover image of Jesus Christ wearing a crown of thorns and draped in the American flag, accompanied by the words ...and they crucified Him. As Joyce Hollyday wrote for Sojourners 10th anniversary, the first few issues were typeset by Bob Sabath on an archaic typesetter rented from an underground Chicago newspaper. The group had only $25 to put toward the taskthe price of a days rental. Bob was up all night typesetting while the others proofread.

Sojourners co-founder Bob Sabath at the typewriter.

These seminarians started an intentional community in Chicago and continued to publish The Post-American. After two years, the publication had 1,200subscribers; after five years, nearly 20,000.

In the fall of 1975, the group wanted to bring their countercultural witness to the heart of American empire, so they moved to the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. They marked their new beginning and broadened vision by changing their name to something that evoked their intent to be people of God who are fully present in the world but committed to a different order, or Sojourners. They continued to publish a magazine, live in intentional community, and worship together, but they also organized national peace and justice events and started ministries in their neighborhood, including the Sojourners Neighborhood Center, which provided after-school and summer programs for local children. Sojourners went on to play a key role in anti-apartheid, nuclear freeze, sanctuary, anti-poverty, and peace movements, among others.

Members of Sojourners at a protest against Rocky Flats, a nuclear production site in Colorado that had been linked to land contamination. Photo: Sojourners Archive.

Half a century later, a lot has changed, but we remain committed to inspiring Christians across every tradition to put their faith into action for justice and peace and strengthening faith-inspired movements for change. I count myself as one of those Christians who has been inspired by Sojourners work over the years; I am forever grateful that I made a last-minute schedule change in my first year of grad school to take a class on faith and politics taught by an adjunct professor named Jim Wallis. That course changed the trajectory of my vocation. I am honored to have succeeded him as the president of Sojourners more than 20 years later.

As Ive thought about the future of Sojourners alongside our staff, board, and partners, weve considered some key questions: How do we engage young folks (and older folks!) who areskeptical of both institutions and religion? What will persuade more Christians to put their faith into action and challenge the distorted U.S. cultural and religious narratives? How should we balance the need for prophetic truth-telling with the need to build bridges across ideological and cultural divides?

We consider these and other questions knowing we face considerable challenges to our mission and vision, including anti-democratic politics, culture wars that scapegoat LGTBQ+ youth, a worsening climate crisis, and a resurgent white Christian nationalism to name just a few.

But were clear about the future we want to see: We want to see racial justice and radical inclusion embraced as central tenets of Christian discipleship.

We want to see Christians, as well people who identify as spiritual but not religious on the front lines of protecting democracy; advancing racial, gender, and climate justice; and embracing a commitment to radical inclusion, including an unwavering commitment to defend the dignity and rights of LGBTQ+ people. And we want to replace a politics fueled by fear, hatred, and division with a politics that promotes the common good, uplifts the most vulnerable, and enables everyone to thrive.

A worship service in the early Sojourners community, circa 1979.

Weve often been anchored by Pauls words to the Roman church: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (12:2). Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. offered my favorite remix of this text when he preached that the saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority. I love the way King combines a commitment to being creatively maladjusted to the brokenness and injustice of the worlds patterns with being a transformed nonconformist. In other words, inner transformation inspires and causes us to seek outer transformation. This has been and will continue to be our charism and our theory of change.

At our best, all of us who call ourselves sojourners pursue and advance the biblical call to hesed, tsedeq, and misphat of steadfast love, communal righteousness, and justice. Through the continued work of our publication, mobilizing, and advocacy, Im hopeful that we can help the church and people of faith become a balm that heals many of our most intractable divisions, as well as a bold, prophetic force that changes hearts and minds to pursue the common good and prioritize the disinherited.

I am so grateful to be sojourning with all of you and look forward to doing so for many years to come.

See the article here:
The Theory of Change That Sustains Sojourners - Sojourners

Personal attacks on educators and others working in public education by political extremists have become all too common in recent years and our children are paying the price.

Our children are being used as pawns in the politically motivated culture wars being forced into our nations public schools, and its time for this to stop.

Remember these stories? Last year, Kentuckys 2022 Teacher of the Year, Willie Carver Jr., a gay man, was baselessly accused of invoking controversial materials in the classroom. As the sponsor of his schools Gay-Straight Alliance, he faced an unending storm of homophobic hate and personal attacks. Carver was forced to quit his job serving the children and families of his community after 17 years.

In 2020, in North Texas, James Whitfield of Colleyville Heritage High School became the schools first Black principal. A year later, he was forced to resign despite his expertise and positive impact on students.

Political extremists in the state accused him of promoting divisive concepts simply because he wrote a letter to the community expressing his grief and pain over the deaths of three Black Americans: George Floyd in Minnesota, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

The increasing frequency of stories like these is deeply concerning because our children are the ones caught in the middle.

Related: How Moms for Liberty wants to reshape education this school year and beyond

We send our kids to school and entrust their teachers to give them the skills they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond. No matter where you live, its highly likely that finding and retaining high-quality teachers and administrators is a top concern for your childs school district.

But more and more, good teachers are leaving the profession over fear of being harassed or fired or worse just for doing their jobs. Without access to quality educators, our kids will struggle, and the results will be devastating.

Yet as parents and educators work hard to help kids catch up on learning time lost during the pandemic, opportunistic politicians are taking advantage of families frustrations to push their extremist agendas into classrooms nationwide.

As a mother, Im fearful for the future of this country if we cant allow our educators to speak honestly about modern challenges without suffering dire consequences. Our shared goal should be to equip our children with the knowledge and independent thinking skills they need to build a brighter, safer future for us all.

Learning from each other and our shared history helps us confront the issues we face today thats what will keep our country great. We must not let partisan politics get in the way of that.

Thats why my organization, the Campaign for Our Shared Future, recently announced the Educator Defense Fund, a central, rapid-response resource of support services for educators, superintendents and school board members who find themselves under attack by extremists.

Our goal is to create a desk staffed by a team of experts providing communication and legal advice and other resources to help educators withstand and oppose these dangerous attacks. Politicians have no place in our classrooms.

I wish that the Educator Defense Fund wasnt necessary, but unfortunately its desperately needed because extremist politicians continue to attack educators for teaching our kids lessons that dont adhere to the politicians views.

They will continue to defame our most respected community leaders, nonprofit organizers and writers of history. They will do their best to erase American heroes like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks from our history books. They will do all of this in an attempt to assume more power by injecting their divisive agendas into our childrens classrooms and undermining trust in public education and, eventually, our democracy and they are determined. No person is safe from their attacks.

Related: OPINION: Lets listen to what parents, not politicians, really want from their public schools

Luckily for us, combatting these extremists is quite simple, if were willing to work together. We as parents must work as trusting partners with our local schools and communities in order to give our children the best education possible. This battle is winnable if we come together across the political aisle to defeat these extremist invasions and restore healthy debate among families and professionals invested in student success.

For the sake of our countrys future, lets put an end to the culture wars and classroom witch hunts in 2023, and shift our focus back to the needs of our kids.

Heather Harding, Ed.D., is executive director of the Campaign for Our Shared Future, a nonpartisan effort to support high quality K-12 education and preserve access, inclusion and meaningful content in our schools.

This story about culture wars in public education was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechingers newsletter.

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OPINION: Our children are paying the price for the culture wars and ... - The Hechinger Report

WASHINGTON A top White House ally plans to paint Republicans focus on issues around race, gender and sexual identity as part of a GOP strategy to undermine public education as White House officials debate how forcefully to engage in the so-called culture wars dominating the right.

In remarks prepared for the National Press Club on Tuesday, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten is expected to say state and local laws that ban certain types of books or restrict what can be taught in the classroom are fueling hostility and fear and arent serving students, parents or teachers, according to an advance copy of her speech provided to NBC News.

What started as fights over pandemic-era safety measures has morphed into fear mongering false claims that elementary and secondary schools are teaching critical race theory; disgusting, unfounded claims that teachers are grooming and indoctrinating students; and pronouncements that public schools push a 'woke' agenda, Weingarten will say. This is an organized and dangerous effort to undermine public schools.

Weingarten will lay out steps that would address issues like mental health, school safety and learning loss from the coronavirus pandemic but also call for others to more forcefully push back against culture wars.

Legislation passed or pending in states across the country is designed to create a climate of fear and intimidation to allow conservative activists to advance an agenda that includes shifting funds for education away from public schools, Weingarten will say.

Our public schools shouldnt be pawns for politicians ambitions, or defunded and destroyed by ideologues, she will say.

A senior White House official who spoke with Weingarten said her remarks focus primarily on education policy.

So far, the Biden administration has launched something of a scattershot response to the GOPs culture war campaign, largely calling out specific bills as they move forward or addressing them in passing at events with relevant communities.

At a Black History Month reception in late February, for instance, both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris indirectly criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for rejecting a proposed Advanced Placement course about Black history for high school students.

Black history is American history, Harris said. And let us all be clear: We will not, as a nation, build a better future for America by trying to erase Americas past.

Biden said at the event: History matters.And Black history matters. I cant just choose to learn what we want to know.We learn what we should know.We have to learn everything: the good, the bad, the truth and who we are as a nation.Thats what great nations do.

The administration also hit back at DeSantis with an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times this month by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, who argued that classroom discussions about America are hampered when politicians try to hijack them to promote their own partisan agendas.

Ironically, some of the very politicians who claim to promote freedom are banning books and censoring what students can learn, Cardona wrote. Parents dont want politicians dictating what their children can learn, think and believe. Thats not how public education is supposed to work in a free country.

A White House official pointed to the op-ed as an example of how the White House plans to engage on the issue however intermittently until Biden fully leans into the debate.

At some point, Biden will weigh in more fully, but as of now the White House sees it as a 2024 conversation and doesnt believe he should be focused on it, the official said. We dont think this is the time, the official said.

Bidens wading into the debate could be seen as his going toe to toe with DeSantis, and the White Houses goal is for the president to appear above that. The official also said polling doesnt suggest it is an issue Biden should give much attention, given it shows Americans top concerns are inflation, health care and their personal economic circumstances.

Im not naive and underestimate the potential of wedge issues in certain races. But the average voter is just so much more wary of bulls--- issues, a Biden adviser said.

Biden last year twice explicitly referred to culture wars, once as he honored the Council of Chief State School Officers national and state teachers of the year and again in his prime-time address from Philadelphias Independence Hall, where he said the nation shouldnt focus on divisive culture wars or the politics of grievance, but on a future we can build together.

Officials say to expect Biden for now to continue to focus on topics like manufacturing and supply chains. On Tuesday, he is launching an administration-wide Investing in America tour at a stop in North Carolina.

Mike Memoli is an NBC News correspondent.

Carol E. Lee is an NBC News correspondent.

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Biden ally to take on school culture wars as White House weighs broader response - NBC News