This Weekend’s “Cycle Of Violence”

Friday, an Israeli family, driving near Beit El, was attacked with firebombs. A four-year-old girl suffered burns to more than 35% of her body. Her parents and two siblings were also wounded.

Saturday, a 16-year-old Palestinian pretending to be a candy salesman attempted to stab Defense Ministry security guards near Jenin and was shot.

[Sunday], an Israeli waiting at a bus stop near Ariel was stabbed. Also [Sunday], a Palestinian woman attempted to stab police in Hebron after she was asked for identification. She was shot and killed.

[Monday] morning, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier was stabbed in the neck near Kiryat Arba.

In the middle of this carnage, former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley addressed the Arab American Institute’s national conference Friday. Here’s how he described the situation:

“We’ve lost 50 Palestinians in recent violence, many of them teenagers — their entire lives before them. We’ve lost 8 Israelis, including an American couple shot in front of their young children. Some people in this room have family members who’ve been affected, no doubt, some of them for generations … all of them are brothers and sisters, and all of them leave behind bereaved families with holes in their hearts.

"This senseless violence produces nothing but tragedy and more distrust, and it does not move the people and the parties closer to a peaceful and long-lasting resolution. Both sides have to take steps to end this violence and address the underlying cause of it. Both sides have to make the resumption of discussion, talk and dialogue to include a fair, safe and adequate access to sites in Jerusalem and elsewhere.”

Moral relativism now runs deep on the left. O'Malley led his remarks by decrying the lost dreams of Palestinian murderers.

The Palestinians are raising their children to kill. The Israelis teach peace. In Israeli hospitals, Jewish doctors strive to save the lives of Palestinian attackers, sometimes only minutes after being unable to save the lives of their victims. They do this because the Jewish system of ethics requires it.

Jeb Has Better Things To Do?

Several months ago, during a meeting with Gov. Jeb Bush and pro-family leaders, I urged the governor to show some emotion and righteous anger about what has happened in recent years. Bush recently did show some anger.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t aimed at the redefinition of marriage, the gutting of our military, the funding of Planned Parenthood or the inability of the federal government to secure our borders. Instead, Bush seemed irritated by the American political process. Here’s what he said:

“If this election is about how we’re going to fight to get nothing done, then I don’t want any part of it. I don’t want to be elected president to sit around and see gridlock just become so dominant that people literally are in decline in their lives. That is not my motivation.

"I’ve got a lot of really cool things I could do other than sit around, being miserable, listening to people demonize me and me feeling compelled to demonize them. That is a joke. Elect Trump if you want that.”

I doubt many voters will be impressed by Jeb’s assertion that he has “cooler” things to do than being president of the United States.

Getting Gridlock Wrong

Bush made it clear he doesn’t want to be part of the gridlock. This is now a classic establishment theme. They conduct polls that show voters overwhelmingly do not want gridlock. But the establishment then makes one of its classic mistakes.

They misinterpret the results, believing that because voters don’t want gridlock, conservatives should work with liberals. That is not what conservatives want.

All the gridlock question tells you is that the country is narrowly divided, split right down the middle.

If you ask liberals why they want an end to gridlock, they would tell you that they would be able to pass $1 trillion of new infrastructure spending, further cuts in military spending, a complete government takeover of the medical system, more federal control of education, higher taxes on virtually everybody, a dramatically higher federal minimum wage, and massive regulation of the economy to fight global warming.

If you ask conservatives what they want when gridlock ends, they would tell you that they want the military rebuilt, lower taxes, less regulation, Planned Parenthood defunded, the size and scope of government reduced, our immigration laws enforced and our borders secured.

People upset with gridlock really mean that they are tired of not getting their agenda, whether it is a liberal or conservative agenda.

Clinton Defends The VA Mess

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on the “Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC Friday night. Among the issues discussed was the Veterans Administration.

Both Maddow and Clinton conceded that the VA has major problems, but they just couldn’t understand why anyone would suggest it be privatized. Seriously? The VA is Exhibit A in the prosecution against bloated, big government bureaucracy.

Just last week, CNN reported that appointment times at VA facilities “are not getting better” despite “$15 billion in extra funding Congress approved for the VA to improve veterans’ access to health care.”

Last month, an independent review of the VA found that the agency was “plagued by many problems,” including “crises in leadership and culture” that justified “system-wide reworking.”

The House of Representatives has passed legislation enabling the VA secretary to fire or demote employees. But the legislation is being blocked in the Senate. Meanwhile, our veterans wait.