The Hill: With vote against Brownback, Democrats abandon religious freedom

While religious freedom has become a hot issue in the United States in recent years, it’s been an issue overseas for much longer — and has historically been a bipartisan issue. --Traditionally, Republicans and Democrats have been able to come together in protection of this human right, whether concerning Yezidis and Christians in the Middle East, Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, or Jews in France. Just over a year ago, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, which among other things elevated the role of the United States’ ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom. --Yet with the confirmation vote on former Kansas Governor Sam Brownback to fill that very role, this consensus appears to have broken. Not one of 49 Senate Democrats voted for the man who was a former colleague to some, and Vice President Pence had to be called in to break the tie.

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