Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
University of Texas: No Cowboy or Indian Costumes
Students at the University of Texas in Austin have been advised not to wear cowboy boots or cowboy hats on Halloween. Telling a Texan not to wear cowboy boots is like telling Colonel Sanders not to fry chicken. Fraternities and Sororities were instructed to avoid Halloween party costumes and themes that might “appropriate another culture or experience,” according to The College Fix. Students were issued a 29-point checklist to ensure they avoid any controversial or offensive trick or treat regalia.
Trump’s For-Profit Campaign
It’s as if Bob Dole began doing ads for Viagra before the 1996 election was over. With less than two weeks before Election Day, Donald Trump evidently wants swing voters to know that the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort got recognized by Successful Meetings Magazine for its renovation, among many other honors and distinctions. This is something genuinely new under the sun: Abraham Lincoln didn’t use the 1860 campaign to promote the fine legal representation available through the firm of Lincoln-Herndon. Mitt Romney in 2012 didn’t try to persuade investors to go with Bain Capital.
Abortion: ‘Safe,’ Legal ... and Free?
Hillary Clinton doesn’t think abortion should be rare — she thinks it should be free! And based on the latest polling, that isn’t exactly endearing her to voters. Her and her Party’s radical call to repeal the Hyde Amendment, the only thing standing between taxpayers and government-funded abortion, wasn’t just unpopular with Democratic leaders like Senators Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Bob Casey (Pa.), and Joe Donnelly (Ind.) but Americans too.
Off the Runway
Carol and I were relaxing [Thursday] night when my iPhone pinged. Looking down, I saw these unnerving words: “Our plane just skidded off the runway.” The text was from our son, Zach, who is a special assistant to Governor Pence, and is traveling with him around the country in this grueling campaign. The next words eased my fears. “You’ll see it on the news, but everyone is fine.” As you can imagine, there were a lot of prayers of thanksgiving going up from the Bauer family and our extended family. It was also a reminder that as this battle continues, Donald Trump and Mike Pence not only deserve our votes but also our prayers for their safety in what has been one of the ugliest and mean-spirited campaigns in presidential history.
Post-Debate Trauma Syndrome
I don’t expect that the polls will indicate a huge surge for Donald Trump. I suspect the reason is that long before now, most people have made up their minds. The media, however, will insist it’s because that by saying he might not accept the results of the election, Trump simultaneously turned his back on sacred tradition and expressed a fascistic disregard for democracy.
The Great Disappointment of 2016
‘Raise your hand if this describes you: ... I don’t like either candidate.’ All 12 hands went up.
The ObamaCare Tipping Point
It’s that time of year again. Time for vibrant fall colors, cool crisp morning air, and open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance exchanges — the government-regulated, state-based healthcare plans set up as part of the act. Since the ACA’s first open enrollment period in the fall of 2013, millions of Americans have opted-in to the government healthcare plan otherwise known as Obamacare. This year, however, represents a tipping point for the future direction of socialized healthcare in the United States.
The White House at What Cost?
“The way to deter aggression … is to be willing and able to respond vigorously at places and with means of our own choosing.” On October 12, 1954, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles based Washington’s relationship with Moscow on our massive nuclear arsenal and the ability to nuke Russia until it glowed. That lasted until 1969 when the Soviet Union achieved nuclear parity. For the next 22 years, until the USSR fell in 1991, the threat of mutual assured destruction dominated the relationship between the world’s two superpowers. Today’s world is arguably far more perilous.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Federal Judge Asks Why Obama Administration Isn’t Admitting Christian Syrian Refugees
In an otherwise unremarkable opinion over the federal Freedom of Information Act, a federal appellate court judge has issued a sharp rejoinder to the Obama administration over an issue that has been discussed in the news — the almost complete lack of Syrian Christian refugees being brought over to the U.S. The Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center, a progressive liberal advocacy organization “dedicated to ensuring human rights protections” for immigrants and asylum seekers — including apparently terrorists — filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security.
Criminal-in-Chief Hillary
As I’ve said: He’s embarrassing. He’s a narcissist. He’s running the worst presidential campaign I’ve seen in my lifetime. But Donald Trump is not a criminal. He’s not a professional liar. He’s not an untrustworthy politician. Hillary Clinton is all three — and much worse.
Media Bias Is One Thing; Its Complicity Is Another
We keep reading that if Donald Trump’s personal issues weren’t sucking up all the media oxygen, his campaign might get more traction against Hillary Clinton from the WikiLeaks disclosures, but is that really true? Let’s concede that the ongoing allegations against Trump are a distraction and damaging to his campaign. Those matters are being litigated, figuratively and literally, so it is hard to argue that news of these allegations is being suppressed.
When Will Liberals Answer for ObamaCare’s Failures?
These days, there’s been a lot of discussion about conservative media’s culpability in creating unrealistic expectations and warped priorities among Republican voters. It’s a reasonable critique. My question: When are we going to have this conversation about the other side — you know, the one that enabled the passage of a massive partisan health care reform law that’s failed to deliver on almost all its promises? No doubt, you’ll remember all those romantic charts and stories from the liberal smart set predicting Obamacare’s affordability and success. Remember the jeering aimed at conservatives who argued that state-run markets inhibiting genuine competition and increasing regulations would only spur costs to rise? “Lies,” liberals said.
The ‘Transactional’ Nature of Clinton Inc.
“Doug is very transactional.” This was an apt description of Doug Band, Bill Clinton’s longtime right-hand man and the figure at the center of the latest WikiLeaks revelation. The quote comes from an unnamed former White House colleague of Band’s in an illuminating 2013 New Republic profile by Alec MacGillis. Band, who touts himself as the founder of “Clinton Inc.,” started out as a White House intern. He turned down higher-status jobs to focus on being the “body man” for President Clinton.
New Face of the Republican Party
Something quite startling happened in a close House race in northern Virginia this year. The Washington Post endorsed the incumbent Republican, Barbara Comstock. Comstock has been a familiar figure in the region for decades, but not in a way that would typically earn the Post’s admiration. In the 1990s, as chief counsel to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, she made the Clintons sweat with investigations into their hydra-headed scandals. She served three terms in the Virginia House of Delegates, winning each time in a district that leaned Democrat. In 2014, she ran for and won seat she now holds by a 16-point margin.
The Supreme Issue
In recent days, I have received numerous messages from values voters telling me, “Gary, I’m not going to vote for Hillary, but I want assurances about Donald Trump.” My first response is that values voters should be deeply reassured by Trump’s selection of Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate. I have known Mike Pence for many years, since before he was elected to Congress. He often describes himself as “A Christian, a Conservative and a Republican, and in that order.” And I can vouch for his sincerity! (By the way, Gov. Pence is attracting his own large and enthusiastic crowds on the campaign trail.) But if you still need more assurances, here you go.
Is Obama Preparing a Parting Shot at Israel?
Last week, the U.N.’s premier cultural agency, UNESCO, approved a resolution viciously condemning Israel (referred to as “the Occupying Power”) for various alleged trespasses and violations of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Except that the resolution never uses that term for Judaism’s holiest shrine. It refers to and treats it as an exclusively Muslim site, a deliberate attempt to eradicate its connection — let alone its centrality — to the Jewish people and Jewish history.
An Intruder on the Wall of Separation
Many of those who seek to drive expressions of faith from the public square cite Thomas Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Association in which he referenced the First Amendment’s “wall of separation between Church & State.” Faith, they claim, should contain itself within the four walls of the church and stay separated from the rest of society. The First Amendment, however, sought the opposite, to keep government from intruding upon the church. And never more than now has such protection been needed. From the IRS to states’ attorneys general, real life examples of government intrusion into the church are not lacking.
Liberals Scold Non-Endorsing Celebrities
The liberals at Esquire magazine asked a question almost no one else is asking in the last weeks of this campaign: “Why Are Influential Celebrities Remaining Silent This Election?” As if anyone is thirsting for more political utterances from people who are best known for their acting or singing or joking. Esquire’s Mark Miller was overtaken by panic: “A shockingly large number of Americans are prepared to make a reality TV star the ruler of the free world. Celebrities literally have the attention of millions of adoring fans at their fingertips, and it’s hard to deny these people’s influence.”
So Far, Trump Not Sinking Down-Ballot Republicans
Could a flailing Donald Trump campaign hurt down-ballot Republicans and cost the party majorities in the Senate and House? That seems possible, if he loses to Hillary Clinton by a margin similar to those in most current polls and if Americans keep on straight-ticket voting as they have increasingly in recent years. The trend is startling. In 2012, only 4 percent of voters opted for Barack Obama and a Republican congressional candidate, and only 6 percent went for Mitt Romney and a Democrat. That 10 percent total was the lowest since the question was first asked in 1952.
False Hope and Lies
For 16 years, a segment of the American public has repeatedly been betrayed and lied to by both parties in Washington, D.C. These voters, mostly white and mostly suburban and rural, were promised a Washington that would treat them respectfully and allow them to live their daily lives unencumbered. Republicans were told that their party was for limiting the power of Washington. They then saw the Republicans under George W. Bush launch an expansion of the federal government with a prescription drug benefit and the terrible No Child Left behind legislation. Then they saw Republicans drive up domestic spending, claiming it was for the war effort.