Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Judge Orders School to Restore Charlie Brown Christmas Decorations
A Texas school district learned a very important lesson Thursday: Don’t mess with Charlie Brown, don’t mess with the Baby Jesus and don’t mess with the Lone Star State’s Merry Christmas law.
Our Excellent Electoral Vote System
Political mildness is scarce nowadays, so it has been pleasantly surprising that post-election denunciations of the Electoral College have been tepid. This, even though the winner of the presidential election lost the popular vote by perhaps 2.8 million votes, more than five times the 537,179 votes by which Al Gore outpolled George W. Bush in 2000.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Do Illegal Votes Decide Elections?
Donald Trump’s claim that illegal voting may have cost him a popular-vote majority has touched off outrage. Widespread voter fraud, the media consensus suggests, isn’t possible. But there is a real chance that significant numbers of noncitizens and others are indeed voting illegally, perhaps enough to make up the margin in some elections.
Fighting for Faith & Family
A story on the front page of [Friday’s] Washington Times grabbed my attention. Here’s the headline: “Faithful See Failure Of Religious Liberties From GOP Congress.”
ObamaCare Gets the Heave Ho Ho Ho
If there’s one thing Republicans are anxious to wrap up this Christmas, it’s a health care plan. While Congress is officially adjourned for the holidays, the GOP is still in town working fast and furiously to craft a replacement for Obamacare that will help the new president hit the ground running. House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said the party was more than willing to work overtime so that the new administration and the American people have a “health care plan that is dramatically different than Obamacare.”
Why the Electoral College Should Endure
Some supporters of Hillary Clinton are taking out their frustrations in a vigorous campaign to, as they say, “Abolish the Electoral College.” Their mantra is that since Clinton had a larger share of the popular vote than Donald Trump, she effectively won the election. Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer reflects this view: “The Electoral College is an outdated undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society and it needs to change immediately,” says Boxer. In its place Senator Boxer wants a popularly elected president.
Money, Money, Money
This is the time of year when the thoughts of many people turn to money, if only because they keep wondering how they’re ever going to be able to pay off the debt they’re racking up in the name of Santa Claus.
Coach Reprimanded for Taking a Knee — to Pray!
A beloved Florida middle school coach was reprimanded for taking a knee during a student-led prayer on the football field. Wakulla Middle School football coach Eddie Metcalf did not lead the prayer. He did not recite the prayer. He simply took a knee and bowed his head.
Friday, December 16, 2016
President-Elect Trump: The New Whig President
As someone who served as a Republican delegate from Pennsylvania during the 2016 election, and as a professor of political science and presidential history, I have some fresh political-historical observations untangled from partisan gossip about Donald Trump and his future presidency. It seems likely that Donald Trump, based on his policy announcements for his first 100 days, is very much in line with Whig presidents of the 1800s.
Why Even Have a Border?
Why does California even bother to have a border? Why does the United States of America? In 2013 the governor of our one-party state, Jerry Brown, and the Democrats in Sacramento effectively turned California into a sanctuary state. They told Washington that if any of the illegal immigrants arrested here had not committed a serious crime they would not be turned over to federal immigration officials for deportation. Now the council of Santa Ana has voted to join more than 30 other California towns that have declared themselves sanctuary cities.
Against an Electoral Coup
Surely there were alarmists who thought 2016 might end in an undemocratic coup. But who predicted Democratic opinion leaders would be the ones agitating for it?
The 5 Stages of Losing an Election to Donald Trump
Though many things have changed in American political life over the past couple of years, one aspect remains a comforting constant: Democrats never lose an election. Not really. Not fairly. Elections can be stolen. Americans can be misled. Big Oil or big business can buy elections, because these institutions possess the preternatural ability to control human actions. Whatever the case, something fishy and nefarious must also be going on, because there’s absolutely no way voters could reject Democrats.
The Trump Cabinet: Bonfire of the Agencies
Democrats spent the first two decades of the post-Cold War era rather relaxed about Russian provocations and revanchism. President Obama famously mocked Mitt Romney in 2012 for suggesting that Russia was our principal geopolitical adversary. Yet today the Dems are in high dudgeon over the closeness of secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson, to Vladimir Putin.
Faith Bill Passed in St. Nick of Time
Democrats and Republicans may not agree on much, but they agree on this: American needs to do more to stop the persecution of believers around the world. It’s a bipartisan cause — and this week, it got a bipartisan boost, as members on both sides of the aisle came together to pass a piece of legislation that is especially meaningful this time of year: the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act.
Restoring the Right to Life
Of all the tragedies of abortion on demand, one of the worst may be that countless innocent American girls have been taught by the culture, and even sometimes by their parents, that their dignity and opportunity depends on their ability to destroy their own unborn children. I believe this sad fact is doing more to destroy America than what any foreign enemy could ever do.
Should We Be Wary of a Looming Plutocracy?
The net worth of Donald Trump’s Cabinet appointments so far reportedly exceeds $14.5 billion (if you include Trump’s deputy commerce secretary pick, Todd Ricketts). As someone utterly immune to plutophobia — fear of wealth — I have no problem with this. (For what it’s worth, I know Todd Ricketts and think he’s a great pick.) Rich people can be fine public servants. And if liberals want to argue otherwise, we’re going to have to revisit the records of presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, not to mention plutocrats like Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Jay Rockefeller, Jon Corzine and, for that matter, Hillary Clinton. Surely even Green Party gadfly Dr. Jill Stein would be ecstatic if the Constitution permitted billionaire George Soros to be president of the United States.
Obama Underlines Failure at ‘The Daily Show’
Conservative Twitter wit Stephen Miller unleashed his latest “President Ash Carter” joke recently with regard to the lack of seriousness of the outgoing president. He said: “President Ash Carter has made an unannounced visit to troops in Afghanistan. Barack Obama announced he’s going on ‘The Daily Show.’”
What’s Trump Up to on Foreign Policy?
What is President-elect Donald Trump up to on foreign policy? It’s a question with no clear answer. Some will dismiss his appointments and tweets as expressing no more than the impulses of an ignorant and undisciplined temperament — no more premeditated than the lunges of a rattlesnake.
University: Avoid Santa, Reindeer & Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies
The worst possible thing that could happen during the month of December would be for your Christmas party to actually be a Christmas party, according to a report from Texas Woman’s University.
The Russians Are (Not) Coming
Shortly before the presidential election, Donald Trump publicly announced that the election was rigged. It became the source of tough questioning from Fox News’s Chris Wallace at the last presidential debate. President Barack Obama declared that no serious person could believe the elections were rigged. His precise words were, “There is no serious person out there who would suggest that you could even rig America’s elections.” Then Hillary Clinton lost. Suddenly the Russians stole the election.