Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Will Congress Control Debt or Will Debt Control Us?
The delegates to the Republican National Convention approved a platform this week that criticizes the Obama administration for running up the federal debt and calls for amending the Constitution to require the federal government to balance its budget. The amendment the platform advocates would limit federal spending to a percentage of gross domestic product and require a supermajority in Congress to approve “any tax increase.” Such an amendment would be a good thing — not only because of what the Obama administration has done but also because of what Republicans in Congress have done.
The Candidates for 2016
When Great Britain’s Boris Johnson was forced out of the running to replace David Cameron as prime minister by an act of the utmost treachery, the civilized minority on both sides of the Atlantic knew that we had only one candidate left to deliver us amusement and a dramatic shift to good government, Donald Trump. He is entertaining, good natured and possessed of sound ideas to break the logjam in Washington. The Brits are just going to have to be patient.
Freddie Gray Revisited
Earlier this week, Lt. Brian Rice, the highest ranking officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, was acquitted of all charges. You may recall that Gray’s death triggered days of rioting in Baltimore last year. Lt. Rice is the third officer to be vindicated, while a fourth case resulted in a hung jury. Recently, we’ve shared some stories about black police officers, even in this charged atmosphere, doing the right thing and resisting the race baiting of radical, extremist groups. Another hero who is not getting enough attention is Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who has presided over the Freddie Gray cases.
Under God
Those words were added to our Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 by an act of Congress, which was signed into law on June 14 by President Eisenhower. The context in which those words were added are important. America was arguably at the height of the Cold War. As a nation we faced an existential threat. Children practiced the art of duck and cover in classrooms across the country fearing a nuclear attack from the U.S.S.R. Eisenhower reportedly prompted Congress to adopt the declaration “under God” after hearing a sermon on February 7, 1954 from the Reverend George M. Docherty, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. In Docherty’s message, he noted that our pledge had no distinction from any other republic — in fact, it could be claimed and recited by the Soviets. What made our nation distinct was it was a nation not under man, but under God.
‘Hillary’s America’: Everything You Need to Know but Didn’t Want to Hear
Sometimes in life there are things you need to know but don’t really want to hear. Why? They are inconvenient realities. The movie *[Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party](http://hillarysamericathemovie.com/)* unveils these inconvenient realities. If you thought that the Democratic Party was bad, it’s worse. If you thought that Hillary was corrupt, she’s more frightening than you can imagine. If the comments of William Peter Blatty, author and producer of *The Exorcist*, aren’t intriguing, I don’t know what is. He says about the film, “Utterly terrifying — and based on a true story.”
Hillary Lies, Cops Die
The fascinating thing about Hillary Clinton’s lie that “African-Americans” are disproportionately killed by police is that she continues peddling it after the murders of three law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge, which followed the ambush killings of five officers in Dallas. In both cases, the murderers were black men apparently convinced that the cops were out to get black people and who, therefore, sought to exact revenge.
Failure of Turkey’s Coup Was No Victory for Democracy
“Democracy is like a streetcar,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan when he was the mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s. “When you come to your stop, you get off.” Erdogan got off the democracy streetcar quite a few stops back. As the leader of an Islamist political party, the AKP, Erdogan was careful to demonstrate a commitment to democratic norms when he first won office as prime minister in 2003. But the more entrenched his power has grown — the AKP won general elections in in 2007 and 2011, and Erdogan was chosen as president in 2014 — the further those democratic norms have receded.
Cause and Effect
In 1926, speaking about the Declaration of Independence on its 150th anniversary, President Calvin Coolidge noted the unique philosophy behind the creation of the United States: “We cannot continue to enjoy the result, if we neglect and abandon the cause.” Speaking at a news conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following the murder of three police officers and the wounding of three others, East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said, “...this is not so much about gun control as it is about what’s in men’s hearts. And until we come together as a nation, as a people, to heal as a people, if we don’t do that and this madness continues, we will surely perish as a people.” Considering the anti-police rhetoric coming from so many groups and individuals, he is right. The question is how do we heal men’s hearts? Isn’t that the primary calling of the clergy?
Stop Bleeding Red Ink, Make America Sustainable Again
The Congressional Budget Office recently released its long-term budget outlook. There isn’t much new there; we are still in the red, and it will only continue to get worse. Considering the extent of the problem, you would think someone on the campaign trail would pay attention. Yet no presidential candidate really is. First, CBO projects that the federal public debt-to-GDP ratio will go from its current 75 percent (up from 39 percent in 2008) to 86 percent in 2026 and 141 percent in 2046. On the deficit side, CBO projects that by 2020, our deficit level will reach $1 trillion, up from its current level of $534 billion. Today’s deficit-to-GDP ratio is 2.9 percent, and it may be close to 5 percent in 10 years and 8.8 percent in 2046.
The Dream of Muslim Outreach Has Become a Nightmare
When President Obama entered office, he dreamed that his hope-and-change messaging and his references to his familial Islamic roots would win over the Muslim world. The soon-to-be Nobel Peace Prize laureate would make the U.S. liked in the Middle East. Then, terrorism would decrease. But, as with his approach to racial relations, Obama’s remedies proved worse than the original illness. Obama gave his first presidential interview to Al Arabiya, noting that he has Muslims in his family. He implicitly blamed America’s strained relations with many Middle Eastern countries on his supposedly insensitive predecessor, George W. Bush.
A Wall Too High for the GOP?
Political conventions are echo chambers designed to generate feelings of invincibility, sending forth the party faithful with a spring in their steps and hope in their hearts. Who would want to be a wet blanket at such moveable feasts? Steve Munisteri would. Although he calls himself “the eternal optimist,” he respects reality, which nowadays is not conducive to conservatives’ cheerfulness. He served as chairman of the Texas Republican Party from 2010 to 2015 because he discerned “a seismic shift in demographics” that meant his state could “turn Democratic sooner than most people thought.”
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Firefighters Forced to Remove Police Flag Due to ‘Extremist’ Fears
A group of firefighters in Riverside County, California, wanted to honor police officers killed in Baton Rouge and Dallas. So firefighter Eric Hille decided to display a pro-police flag on one of the fire engines at Sunnymead Ranch Station 48. You’ve probably seen the flag — it’s black and white with a blue stripe through the middle symbolizing the “thin blue line.” He posted the flag on July 17, just a few hours after a gunman attacked officers in Baton Rouge, killing three. “We just wanted to show our support for law enforcement,” Mr. Hille told me. “We wanted them to know that we stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with them.” Police officers appreciated the goodwill gesture — but some people did not.
#MakeAmericaGoodAgain
This week I am witnessing firsthand the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. As I’ve been observing the happenings within the Quicken Arena, the one theme that continues to pop up again and again is *Make America Great Again.* Of course, that being the Trump campaign motto, it should come as no surprise. From t-shirts to ball caps, street vendors to banners, the motto is everywhere I look here in Cleveland.
The Fire This Time
In the past two weeks, the “war on police” has gone from a metaphor to a reality, with eight officers killed in targeted attacks in Dallas and Baton Rouge. The country hasn’t seen anything like it since the early 1970s, when a lunatic fringe of the left undertook a violent campaign against law enforcement. Today’s spate of anti-police violence isn’t remotely as organizationally or ideologically coherent, but it is more lethal. The Black Liberation Army, a homicidal splinter group of the Black Panthers, never killed more than two cops in one operation, and its body count over the course of about two years was only slightly higher than what we’ve seen just this month.
GOP Convention Has Become a Stomach-Churning Affair
It was reported late in the second day of the GOP convention that a large number of Republican National Committee staffers were stricken with the norovirus. Most commonly associated with the sorts of gastrointestinal crises aboard cruise ships that attract wall-to-wall CNN coverage, the norovirus is known for inducing bouts of “explosive diarrhea and vomiting,” according to various news reports. Given that the presidential primary season has been figuratively bowel-stewing, it only seems fitting that it might end with such on-the-nose literalism.
Jihad on a Train
Europe has suffered another jihadist attack. [Monday], Muhammad Riyad, a 17-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, attacked 18 people with a knife and an ax. Fortunately, no one on the train was killed. But five people were critically injured and two are reportedly “clinging to life.” German police shot and killed Riyad. An ISIS flag was found at his home, and the Islamic supremacist group has released a suicide video of Riyad vowing to “slaughter infidels.” Nevertheless, a spokesman for German authorities said, “We are searching for a motive.” We have heard our own president and top officials say similar things after terrorist attacks in this country. After the attack in Nice, French authorities were struggling for a motive too.
Who Gets Absolute Moral Authority?
My 12-year-old son couldn’t remember the phrase “take a walk down memory lane” last week, instead describing a stroll through “nostalgia road.” I knew it would come in handy. Put on your hiking boots and join me for an educational trip down good ol’ nostalgia road. It seems like yesterday when Champion of Wimmin Maureen Dowd, bemoaning the lack of sympathy for anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan, declared in The New York Times that “the moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute.” No ifs, ands or other hedging qualifiers. Absolutely absolute.
‘Fact-Checkers’ vs. the Benghazi Mom
When FBI Director James Comey came before the press to deliver his bizarre proclamation — that Hillary Clinton had lied relentlessly about her private email server but shouldn’t be prosecuted because no prosecutor would ever dare take her to court (even though prosecutors all over the country rose to say they’d do so immediately) — many were shocked and angered. One industry was thoroughly embarrassed: the media-elite “fact-checker” websites and projects, from PolitiFact to FactCheck.org to The Washington Post’s Fact Checker column.
No Coup for Christians in Turkey
The failed coup attempt against the government of Turkish President Recip Erdogan will have several negative effects and consequences for the people of Turkey. Erdogan appears likely to increase his suppression of civil liberties which began as Prime Minister in 2003 and continued in 2014 when he was elected the 12th President of Turkey. Jailing judges and other officials in the judicial system has been routine for Erdogan. Journalists and media personalities have also been imprisoned in record numbers, and since the failed attempt last week to topple his regime he has arrested and incarcerated over six-thousand military and police who are believed to be complicit in the attempted coup. [Yesterday] we learned through a media report that the Ministry of Education fired 15,200 people and the Board of Higher Education has requested the resignation of 1,577 university deans, akin to dismissing them.
Ignoring Politicians
My Fox colleagues are in Cleveland, diligently interviewing Republicans. Next week, they’ll interview Democrats. I’m glad *they* do it — because I despise most politicians. There are exceptions, of course, but after years of reporting, I’ve concluded that most politicians have little to say that’s interesting, and many are craven opportunists, desperate to rule over others. A few stand out, like former Congressman Anthony Weiner. Like many politicians, he’s never held a real job. He’s run for office or worked for politicians all his life.