Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Friday, May 27, 2016
California Refuses to Admit Its Voter Fraud Problem
Hollywood has always loved making films about the walking dead, but in Southern California it appears they have a real life problem with “zombie” voters. An investigation by CBSLA2 and KCAL9 found that hundreds of deceased persons are still on voter registration rolls in the area, and that many of these names have been voting for years in Los Angeles.
43 Republicans Join Democrats to Support Obama’s Transgender Agenda
On Wednesday night, 43 Republican members of Congress joined the Democrats to vote for President Barack Obama’s transgender agenda. Whereas last week Congress voted to reject this proposal — known as the Maloney amendment — last night they voted to ratify Obama’s 2014 executive order barring federal contractors from what it describes as “discrimination” on the basis of “sexual orientation and gender identity” in their private employment policies.
Liberal in Name Only
Do you support free speech, individual liberties and protections for private property? You must be a liberal. Did that last sentence cause you to do a double take? I’m not surprised. I’ve been reading a new book, “The Closing of the Liberal Mind,” and it shows that much of what passes for liberalism today is, historically speaking, anything but. Moreover, many who call themselves conservative today would have been considered “liberal” if they lived in the time of the Founding Fathers.
Look Who’s Crying Now
Look which party is blowing itself up now and struggling to unify behind a single candidate. Hint: It’s not the Republicans. After all those months of worrying and complaining about having too many candidates, the GOP finally found its 2016 presidential candidate, for good and bad.
Someone Poisoned the Water Bill
House Democrats don’t care about passing the Energy and Water bill — only *carrying* the water for the radical Left. That was more than obvious over the last 24 hours, when the president’s party launched an all-out assault on what should have been one of the least controversial appropriations debates of the year. In a desperate attempt to make a political point, Rep. Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.) decided to muddy the Water bill with a controversial LGBT amendment.
Subsidized Painting by the Numbers
Pardon us if you’ve heard this routine one too many times. Barbara Hollingsworth of CNS News reported that the Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is currently using government money to exhibit a painting that, yet again, projects anti-Catholic bigotry. They cannot stop hating Christianity (and Christians), and the federal government can’t stop funding that hatred.
A Fighting Chance for Integrity
As someone who believes that excessive partisanship and Balkanization is poisoning our politics, I have tried to view Hillary Clinton as something other than the ghoul she is portrayed as in conservative circles. No accusation against her is considered too outlandish to gain assent in some precincts of the right: Vince Foster was murdered. Clinton covered up a cocaine smuggling operation in Arkansas. She assassinated Kathleen Willey’s cat.
Donald Trump’s Secret Weapon Is Hillary Clinton
Don’t think of the 2016 presidential election as a popularity contest. Think of it as a race to see which candidate the American electorate detests slightly less. These days, there’s a lot of excitement in Trumpland. Since March, the billionaire has picked up 11 points in The Washington Post/ABC News national poll, nudging him slightly ahead of Hillary Clinton at 46 percent to 44 percent.
The States vs. Obama
Once again a coalition of states is going into federal court seeking to roll back yet another outrageous abuse of executive power by the Obama administration. From Obamacare to environmental regulation, this is becoming a routine event.
At This Point, It Should Make All the Difference
Hillary Clinton has been groping around for a campaign slogan. She’s just unveiled her seventh meaningless catchphrase. How about “Still lying and breaking all the rules”? That one probably wouldn’t help her campaign much — though with leftist voters these days, you have to wonder — but it has the virtue of being more accurate than her latest mealy-mouthed rallying cry, “Stronger together” — as if anyone, anywhere considers her unifying.
Clinton’s Style of Deception More Insidious Than Trump’s
The State Department’s inspector general released a report this week concluding that Hillary Clinton is a breathtakingly brazen and consistent liar. No, that’s not a direct quote. Bureaucrats don’t talk that way under the best of circumstances — and this IG, Steve Linick, is an Obama appointee whose report is about the apparent Democratic nominee for president.
Trump, Clinton Tied in Polls: Were All the Wise Men Wrong?
It was conventional wisdom among the political cognoscenti during most of the primary season that Donald Trump could not win the general election. The evidence seemed strong. Over 12 months of polling from May 2015 to April 2016, Hillary Clinton ran ahead of Trump in 63 national polls, while Trump led her in only six and tied her in three. Polls in the dozen or so 2012 target states showed similar results.
The Arrow of History
How do you distinguish a foreign policy “idealist” from a “realist,” an optimist from a pessimist? Ask one question: Do you believe in the arrow of history? Or to put it another way, do you think history is cyclical or directional? Are we condemned to do the same damn thing over and over, generation after generation — or is there hope for some enduring progress in the world order?
Rape Culture Goes Potty
Marshall University, like many other universities, takes “rape culture” seriously. What is rape culture? According to Marshall University on its website, “Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women’s rights and safety.”
Thursday, May 26, 2016
States in Sink on Bathroom Order
President Obama’s transgender order is moving all right — from the classroom to the courtroom! Thanks to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the rocky road just got rockier for the administration trying to bully public schools and universities with its twisted agenda. Two weeks into the outrage caused by the Justice and Education Departments’ order that districts open their locker rooms and showers to both genders, the nationwide outcry is only growing. Furious that the president would try to take students hostage to its radical agenda, dozens of local and state governments are fighting back.
The State of Our Tradition
One thing conservatives overlook in their worldview is tradition. We favor limited government, free enterprise, certain social issues and a strong defense. But we slide over the basic theme of tradition. Russell Kirk, an important conservative thinker, favored tradition, and he wrote about it. But I cannot think of another prominent thinker of recent years who stressed it.
Records Act Violations
The State Department inspector general’s office has reportedly concluded that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server violated the Federal Records Act.
Hey, Bernie Sanders Supporters — All Roads Lead to Venezuela
When socialist Hugo Chavez became president of Venezuela after the 1998 election, he promised a path he described as “revolutionary,” the same word Bernie Sanders uses for his “movement” to fight “income inequality.” Useful American idiots like actors Sean Penn and Danny Glover, who got rich making movies for capitalist Hollywood, sang Chavez’s praises. Penn described him as “one of the most important forces we have had on this planet.”
NPR Lets Funders Call the Tune
Socialist media critics always insist that the commercial media cannot be trusted because they are funded by the likes of Kellogg’s and Campbell’s and McDonald’s — a capitalist advertising structure. Noncommercial media are inherently much more trustworthy. They are funded by liberal politicians, liberal foundations and interest groups.
The Uncompetitive Effects of Tax Harmonization
During a visit to the World Bank this week, I got a sobering lesson about the degree to which the people working at international bureaucracies, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, dislike tax competition. For years, these organizations — which are funded with our hard-earned tax dollars — have bullied low-tax nations into changing their tax privacy laws so uncompetitive nations can track taxpayers and companies around the world. The global bureaucrats want to rewrite the rules of international commerce to protect uncompetitive nations, such as France, from the consequences of reckless fiscal policy.