--:-- [Upbeat music fades out, and the host, Georgia Howe, speaks]
--:-- Georgia Howe: The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- Georgia Howe: In a major reversal, more Americans are identifying as socially conservative for the first time ever. We've really seen conservative groups, Republican groups, really zero in on a lot of these issues in an effort to bring more voters into the fold. What's driving Americans to the right and how will this play into the so-called culture wars? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's June 17th, and this is a Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A number of new polls show more Americans identifying as socially conservative than at any point in the last decade. Here with more on which issues are behind this trend is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So each year, Gallup tracks sentiment on a number of social issues. And this year, they found that 38% of Americans now self-identify as socially conservative. That's the highest mark we've seen since 2012, and considerably higher than those identifying as socially liberal. That number is at 29%. For context, last year, 34% identified as socially liberal, while 33% were conservative. And looking back even further, in 2020, social liberals were up 34 to 30. So that is a net swing of 13 points in just two years.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And if you look at party affiliation, the gains mostly come from independents and Republicans. In the last two years, there's been a 14% increase in the number of Republicans who say they're socially conservative, while we've seen a 5% spike among independents. Over the same time frame, Democrats have held steady at around 10%.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what about age? Which age groups have shifted the most?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, this part in particular is fascinating. The common thought is that young people are getting more and more socially liberal, but some of the largest gains have actually come from younger Americans. Over the last two years, the number of 18 to 29-year-olds identifying as socially conservative went from 24 up to 30%, while it jumped from 22 to 35% among those 30 to 49, a 13-point jump in two years. And interestingly, over the same time frame, the number actually dropped one point among those 65-plus.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So surprisingly, younger folks are actually the main driving force here. That is surprising. What issues in particular seem to be at play?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, the big issue that appears to be driving people to social conservatism is transgenderism. While Americans are still fairly liberal on things like gay marriage, where approval sits at an all-time high of 71, and abortion, the majority still oppose GOP heartbeat bills, they're much more conservative on transgender issues.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The latest Pew research, for example, shows 60% of Americans believe gender is based on sex assigned at birth. In 2017, that number was 54%. Another poll from NPR found that just 24% of Americans support allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. And a separate Washington Post poll this year shows that 68% of Americans oppose puberty-blocking medication for minors, while 70% say elementary schools should not discuss gender identity in class.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So there's actually pretty broad support for a number of issues that GOP lawmakers have taken up in recent years.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, we've covered a lot of those bills, including in Florida. So what's driving this shift?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, these findings really contradict what we've seen historically. For the last few decades, social conservatism has been on the decline nationwide. That eight-point increase over the last two years is the largest on record by a considerable margin. So clearly something is going on. Many conservatives say a big reason for the trend is that the left has essentially overplayed their hand on social issues, going well beyond what most Americans are comfortable with.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And while large portions of Americans did get on board with things like gay marriage, the data shows the latest social justice movements from the left have actually driven people to the other side.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, it is worth pointing out, there are those who say the culture more broadly has moved further to the left in the last decade. So today's social conservative would traditionally be considered a moderate liberal. So there could be a redefining of the term where people might consider themselves socially conservative by today's standards simply because they don't approve of the latest social trends.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now the question becomes if this is a temporary trend or a more permanent realignment. Well, time will tell.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Cabot, thanks for reporting. Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The nation's largest Protestant denomination held its annual meeting in New Orleans this week. And the decision to double down on retaining male-only pastoral leadership has generated a lot of controversy. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham joins us now to tell us more about what went on at this year's Southern Baptist Convention.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Megan, I think a good place to start for those who aren't especially familiar with the SBC is to explain what it is.
--:-- Megan Basham: Every year, massive headlines and media coverage come out of this convention. Why is that?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, very true. And there are a couple of reasons. So one, as John said, it is the largest Protestant denomination, and the second overall just behind the Catholic Church. It represents 47,000 churches and between 13 and 14 million members. And then its seminaries educate something like a quarter of all Protestants who go into ministry work. So that's really just a significant chunk of the population with a lot of influence.
--:-- Megan Basham: And I'll disclose, in fact, that I'm a member of a Southern Baptist church.
--:-- Georgia Howe: On top of that, it's also known for being politically and theologically conservative. Every year, the delegates to the convention, who are known as messengers, will vote on resolutions that tend to touch on social issues, things like abortion, gun control, issues like that.
--:-- Megan Basham: And what do these resolutions do?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, mostly they're just statements of opinion, but the SBC has a legislative lobbying arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. And what it does is it uses those resolutions to press lawmakers for various policies.
--:-- Megan Basham: And so for that reason, a lot of political actors will try to cultivate favor within the SBC. Mike Pence spoke to the convention in 2018. So have a number of past presidents, George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, among them. But I also say that political progressives have made some strenuous efforts to sway the SBC as well, and they have had some success.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A couple of years ago, major sparks flew over a resolution that approved critical race theory as an analytical tool. And then this year saw a resolution on immigration that asked for more open avenues for asylum seekers and also called for a pathway to legal status for dreamers.
--:-- Megan Basham: On the conservative side, a resolution passed unanimously that condemned gender transition procedures, especially for young adults and minors, and it condemned any laws that undermine parental rights in this area.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So that would be speaking directly to that new California bill that requires parents to affirm whatever gender identity their child claims, for example.
--:-- Megan Basham: But the big drama this year was related to a pastoral issue. Exactly. That's right. So like the Catholic Church, the SBC has on paper been committed to reserving the pastorate for men. But in practice, that had been shifting so that a recent study published by the American Reformer found that there were close to 2,000 women serving as pastors in the SBC.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the most famous SBC church with women pastors was Saddleback, which is Rick Warren's mega church in California.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, most people know Rick Warren as the author of The Purpose Driven Life. He gave the invocation at President Obama's inauguration. So just a very well-known figure.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, a couple of years ago, he changed his mind on whether women can be pastors and he started ordaining them. When he retired, he picked a husband and wife team to replace him.
--:-- Megan Basham: So the SBC had disfellowshipped Saddleback, and Warren came to this convention to appeal. No one is asking any Southern Baptist to change their theology. I'm not asking you to agree with my church. I am asking you to act like a Southern Baptist who have historically agreed to disagree on dozens of doctrines in order to share a common mission.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But that appeal did not succeed, and the 12,000 messengers present upheld kicking Saddleback out. And then related to that, the convention also considered an amendment to add language to the SBC Constitution that would state that churches that employ women as pastors cannot be a part of the SBC's association.
--:-- Megan Basham: This was messenger Sarah Clatworthy speaking to that. Let those who affirm women in pastoral leadership attend the United Methodist Convention, where they will be welcomed with open arms. We should leave no room for our daughters and granddaughters in the generations ahead to have confusion on where the SBCC stands. Let them know that scripture is our authority and not the culture.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And she was evidently pretty persuasive because the messengers overwhelmingly approved that amendment. Though it will have to be passed by a two-thirds majority again next year to take effect.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, it sounds like a pretty eventful year for the Southern Baptists.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Megan, thanks for reporting. Anytime.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- Georgia Howe: A major shopping mall company, Westfield, is walking away from their downtown San Francisco property. The mall owner exit is the latest in a string of major retailers to abandon the city. Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi is here with the details.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Mairead, a mall is shutting down in San Francisco.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Hi, Georgia. Well, the mall company Westfield said on Monday that it will turn over Westfield San Francisco Center back to its lender. The lender will decide who will be the new operator of the indoor mall property.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Westfield stopped making payments on its $558 million loan and it has started the process of transferring control of the mall this month.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Westfield announced a decision to abandon the property in a statement that cited, quote, challenging operating conditions in downtown San Francisco, which have led to declines in sales, occupancy, and foot traffic. The mall owner called it a difficult decision. The company said the San Francisco mall has had unprecedented poor performance.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You mentioned a drop in sales. How much money is Westfield losing?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: According to a company statement, in 2019, the Westfield San Francisco Center made $455 million in sales. In 2022, sales had plummeted to just $298 million. As far as foot traffic goes, San Francisco foot traffic was at about 9.7 million visits in 2019. In 2022, foot traffic dropped to 5.6 million visits. That's a drop of more than 42%.
--:-- Georgia Howe: At other Westfield malls, foot traffic was only down 2% in 2022. So this property in particular is getting significantly fewer visits.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: So will the mall be closing? No, at least not yet. Westfield is abandoning the property, but it's possible another mall company will take over.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But the mall lost almost half its stores during the pandemic. About 45 out of its 97 total stores have left since 2020. Only 21 new stores opened in that time. So there are still a lot of vacancies, including some of the big anchor stores.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Nordstrom decided to close their Westfield location last month, citing unsafe conditions and a lack of enforcement against rampant criminal activity. The Tenderloin is worse than Ukraine, worse than Afghanistan, worse than everything else. It's really, really sad. I've been here since 1972. It makes you want to cry.
--:-- Georgia Howe: There's also less foot traffic downtown post-pandemic, which has hit these stores hard. Some of this is due to larger national trends, like more people working from home and shopping online rather than brick-and-mortar stores. But in San Francisco, it's also exacerbated by the city's stubborn problems of homelessness, open-air drug use, and crime that dissuades people from coming downtown.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: As I mentioned, other malls were only down 2% in 2022, whereas Westfield San Francisco was down more than 40%.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, what are San Francisco officials saying about this? Well, here are some comments from Matt Dorsey. He's the supervisor for San Francisco's District 6 and represents the downtown area.
--:-- Matt Dorsey: Right now, San Francisco is dealing with a level of drug addiction and drug-driven retail theft and problems with street conditions. And we've got to get our arms around that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, it feels like one thing after another for San Francisco. Mara, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hey, thank you for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and stand with our mission, consider subscribing, giving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend. You can also now follow us on Twitter and Instagram. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with an extra edition of Morning Wire.
