Columnist.
Okay. Let's face it. The two presidential nominees have effectively been chosen. The Democratic and Republican National Conventions are ahead of us, and the U.S. is on the precipice of a highly contentious several months of campaigning. Discord between the two major parties is always evident in American politics, but almost never more so than in the run-up to national elections. It would not be surprising if Washington lawmakers and the vast majority of their constituents all found it very difficult to identify common ground on anything in this political climate.
Who is working overtime to paint themselves into the biggest political corner of this election cycle? Democrats obviously don't recognize it yet, but they have placed themselves in an inescapable trap with extreme positions on energy and the environment — irresponsible positions that have fragmented their party and could easily produce dire consequences for Democrats at the polls in November.
Great Britain's decision to leave the European Union has energized populist movements around the globe. Some Americans wonder if Brexit previews a Donald Trump presidency. The presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, is playing up the possibility. "Donald Trump might win — send money" is her new message. In fact, he might win. Anything is possible in American politics. He's been able to connect with white, working class, secular voters who until now remained Democratic or stayed home. But the success of "Brexit" offers no guarantees. There are many differences between the United Kingdom and America.
Many leaders of big business support Hillary Clinton. Last week she announced a list of 56 corporate backers. No wonder Bernie Sanders is still running against her. Hillary Clinton always has attracted well-connected business supporters. Even before she ran for office. Remember the lucrative cattle trades when she was Arkansas first lady? That came from a local businessman who knew how important it was to have friends in the governor's mansion.
Surprise, surprise: President Barack Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. He wants someone to follow him who will protect his disastrous legacy. He couldn't have made a better choice.
Billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently complained to a Wall Street gathering that "the Republican Party is no longer the party of business." He predicted that union members, not corporate executives, would be voting GOP this fall. This is a problem? Many union members vote Republican. They were the core of the "Reagan Democrats." Working people need a growing economy with increasing opportunity. Of course they should vote GOP.
This election season has created an unprecedented alliance between the environmental Left and the anti-free market movement. The result is a well-funded juggernaut adept at conducting coordinated and sophisticated assaults on American businesses while attempting to influence crucial elections. Their goals are nothing short of shuttering our American manufacturing industry, halting the production of affordable energy and placing a ruling clique of radicals in office.
Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican Party nominee for president. His imminent triumph has created shock and dismay within the GOP. A number of top Republicans are threatening not to support Trump. A few have proposed launching a third party bid. Trump has given conservatives good reason to doubt his candidacy. It's hard to know what he really believes. Every day Donald is one tweet away from reversing himself. Moreover, he is an underdog in an election which Republicans once were the odds-on favorites to win.
Living through the craziest and most unpredictable election season in my lifetime, it appears that nothing goes according to plan and there is always another surprise. However, even in this volatile political year, there are still some things you can count on. A lone conservative voice will predict loss and call for early surrender and the media will go into overdrive to shine a light on this tiny minority to declare victory or amplify a story of conservative division, where one does not exist.
While much of our attention is on the presidential race, the looming battle over a Supreme Court nomination merits no less attention. The battle lines are clear in this nomination and the future of the Court and our constitutional principles are at stake. Unfortunately, writing in The Wall Street Journal, former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olsen calls for Republicans to engage in a truce over Supreme Court nominations and confirm Merrick Garland. This is not the first time Ted has parroted liberal talking points in recent years.
While campaigning for president in 2008, Barack Obama promised to "fundamentally transform" America. And there can be little doubt that his vision is an America in which the Second Amendment only applies to government officials, religious liberty exists only to protects private belief, unelected government agencies are given carte blanche to impose regulation on businesses and consumers, equal protection requires racial quotas, and where the president can simply rewrite laws passed by Congress which displease him.
The media almost always is more interested in process than substance. So it's been big news that Ted Cruz and John Kasich are cooperating in their effort to stop Donald Trump from winning a majority of delegates and thus the nomination. Of course, the Trump campaign has cried foul, though he should relish the opportunity to demonstrate that the majority of Republicans back him.
Hillary’s unintentional truth-telling reveals how extreme pro-choice dogma really is
Last month, the United States formally recognized that a genocide against Middle Eastern Christians and other minorities is taking place at the hands of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. What next?
On Monday, presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders joined 11 other members of Congress in sending a letter to the National Institute of Health (NIH), urging the agency to cut costs for the prostate cancer drug, Xtandi, by employing its "march-in rights." These rights, which have never before been utilized by the NIH, were established in 1980 under the Bayh-Dole Act, which gives federal agencies the authority to license a patent when action is deemed necessary, primarily as an emergency tactic. Using this provision as their justification, lawmakers are requesting that NIH override Xtandi's patent protection, which guarantees its manufacturers exclusive sales, in an effort to reduce the costs of the drug.
Donald Trump continues to lead the Republican presidential contest. Ted Cruz continues to gain ground against the frontrunner. John Kasich continues as the outside chance in the race. The eventual Republican nominee needs to take something from all three candidates to win. Forget the personalities for a moment, hard as that might be. All three sometimes seem to do their best to irritate friends as well as foes. But all three also have strengths. Whoever gets the nomination needs to draw on those advantages in November and beyond. Because it is critical for America that another Clinton — or, even worse, an admitted "democratic socialist" — not sit in the Oval Office.
The pages of the political calendar are turning relentlessly. Yesterday, GOP voters went to the polls in Arizona and Utah. Donald Trump's path to the Republican nomination continues substantially unabated. Yet there are many variables still in play, and there's no guarantee that Trump will reach the 1237 delegates he needs prior to the GOP Convention.
The primaries march on, with Donald Trump in the lead. But he doesn't have a lock on the Republican Party nomination. He needs to win more than half of the remaining delegates, no easy task while facing his two toughest opponents. But apparently he's afraid to share a stage with them again. The debates matter now more than before. First, the next couple months will determine whether any candidate wins the race outright, and who will hold the edge if there is a contested convention. The last Republican Party voters soon will have to make their decisions.
Carly Fiorina quizzed her fellow candidates during the first "under card" presidential debate. She asked if any of them had received a phone call from Bill Clinton prior to announcing their entry into the race. None had. And if you'd asked that question of any of those in the Prime Time debate, only one would have answered yes: Trump. So it's worth considering what Bill Clinton may have had in mind in talking with Trump. Bill knows that despite Barack Obama saying in 2008 that "you're likable enough, Hillary," Hillary is really not "likable enough." It is a serious problem. Real liberals — who constitute the base of the Democratic Party — do not like her. Or him.
While Donald Trump may be a successful businessman, one who has created a larger than life public relations persona, his business acumen and PR spin does not qualify him to be the next President of the United States. Further, Donald Trump is an existential threat to conservatism. Despite his boisterous claims, Donald Trump is no uniter. He is arguably one of the most divisive figures in modern political history and his candidacy represents not only a threat to the Republican Party, Donald Trump is dragging the nation into the political gutter. It's time for Republican and conservative voters to open their eyes to the real Donald Trump and understand the reasons why the nation deserves better than this political huckster.
