Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Trump Not Solely to Blame for Violence at His Rallies
For the last few days the burning question among pundits has been: "How much blame does Donald Trump deserve for the violence at his rallies?" It's a fair question, and the obvious answer is: a lot. On Sunday, the demagogue paid his usual lip service to social norms, rejecting "violence in any shape." He then proceeded to say — again — that he's willing to pay the legal fees of those who commit violence on his behalf. He routinely waxes nostalgic for the good old days when troublemakers were "carried out on stretchers." That said, there was a good deal of Kabuki to the recent chaos in Chicago.
Political Promises
Democrats trash businesses. But if businesses promised things the way politicians do, the owners would be jailed for fraud. It's not legal to promise more than you can deliver. I don't suggest that prosecutors should go after politicians who lie. Voters can do that. Political speech should be free. But politicians' promises are routinely repulsive. I'm thankful that most of their promises will be broken. For my TV show, I listed this presidential season's *worst* promises. Here are a few.
Black Americans and Reagan Ideals
I was recently made very proud, and also very humbled, by receiving the Ronald Reagan Award, given at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference by the American Conservative Union. Regarding the award, ACU says: "The winners of this award, our highest honor, are not household names, but the men and women working in the trenches, who sacrifice and, in so doing, set an example for others." I write about this at the risk of coming off as the opposite of humble. After all, Star, really — announcing your award to the world? I'm writing about it because of the chaotic time we are in now, and because, no, it is not about Star Parker. It is about America and working to save our country.
ObamaCare's Tax-Time Torment
"Where is my 1095-A? This is what it must be like dealing with a government agency in a third world country." That was the lament on Twitter of just one poor citizen this week trying to get his tax records in order. Nationwide, hard-working Americans are struggling to meet the April 18 IRS filing deadline. Standing in the way: the bumbling Obamacare bureaucracy. In Minnesota, an estimated 18,000 people who were on health insurance plans last year offered through MNsure, the state Obamacare health insurance exchange, still haven't received their 1095-A form. It's the "health insurance marketplace statement" required to file accurate tax returns and claim the premium tax credit.
Border Walls Would Humanely Enforce a Just Law
The federal government has a duty to enforce this nation's borders and do it in a humane manner that minimizes harm to human life both inside U.S. territory and on the approaches to it. The best way to do that at the border with Mexico is to build effectively impermeable barriers that send a simple, straightforward message: You can only cross this border legally. For years, our government has sent a different message: You may be able to cross illegally. More recently, that inapt message has been compounded by another: If you make it here illegally, we may let you stay.
MSNBC Turns Intolerably White?
In the liberal lexicon, "backlash" is a word that only describes conservatives getting what's coming to them. But as MSNBC reduces its number of shows and time slots for race-obsessed black hosts, this was bound to happen. The hashtag that appeared as the left began to devour itself was #MSNBCSoWhite. After MSNBC hired leftist, race-fixated hosts, it was only natural that the news station would be trashed as "going white" when the reality of it's terrible ratings — for shows hosted by academics preaching about how badly America stinks — cost Comcast some serious cash.
How the West Was One
Unanimous votes are about as rare as balanced budgets in Washington, so when even House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) crosses the aisle to side with conservatives, the White House should sit up and take notice. [Monday], Pelosi and DNC Chair and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) were just two of the 164 Democrats who set aside their political differences and voted 393-0 to call the massacre of Middle East Christians "genocide."
Noncitizen Voting Case Pits Justice Department Against States That Require Proof of Citizenship
The free-for-all boxing match among the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the League of Women Voters, the NAACP, Kansas, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) resumed on Wednesday, March 9. They're tussling over the right of states to require proof of citizenship from people using the federal voter registration form.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
A Party’s Willing Suicide & Those Who Pulled the Trigger
As our nation has watched the rise of Donald Trump from a billionaire celebrity to the front runner for the Republican Party Presidential nomination, the media has claimed that his support is revealing dissension, chaos and turmoil by the party's voters. While there is no doubt that voters are tired, frustrated and disgusted with the Republican establishment, is it fair to chalk up Trump's success to simple voter unrest and anger?
Will the Politics of Nostalgia Trump the Politics of the Future?
The likely presidential nominee of the Republican Party and the certain (barring indictments) nominee of the Democratic Party have something in common, something more than residences in New York: campaign appeals based on nostalgia. Consider Donald Trump's official campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." His reference point is not the Founding Fathers, whom Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz frequently invoke. It's also not the New Deal, the civil rights revolution or post-World War II European socialism, which Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders sometimes celebrate. No, Trump is invoking Ronald Reagan and the America of a generation or so ago.
Nancy With the Laughing Face
Why does it take death to bring us together? Why not life? Watching Nancy Reagan's funeral on television, the front-row tableau was a picture of unity, in form, if not in substance. There was Gov. Jerry Brown of California, a Democrat, Michelle Obama (D), former President George Bush (R), Laura Bush (R), Hillary Clinton (D), Rosalyn Carter (D) and Caroline Kennedy (D). Democrats and Republicans sat together in common purpose, if not on common ground.
Voting at a Crossroads
It is seldom that the fate of a nation can be traced to what happened on one particular day. But that may be what happens in the United States of America on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. That is because the front-runners in both political parties are not merely inadequate but appalling — and the vote in this Tuesday's primaries may be the last chance for the voters to unite behind someone else. The trends that brought us to this crucial day go back for years. But whatever the paths that led to this crossroads, we are in fact at a crossroads and our future, and our children's futures, depend on whether we can come up with some presidential candidate better than either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.
There Has to Be a Better Way to Pay for Health Care
Late last year, while playing tennis, I reached up to serve and felt a painful pop in my shoulder. The inflammation got worse over the next few months. Now anytime I try to put my arm above my head, pain shoots up my arm. I often wake up at night with an agonizing throb in my shoulder. So I finally and reluctantly went to the orthopedic surgeon; he said that I had a rotator cuff tear and I would probably need surgery. Ugh! He scheduled me for an MRI, but the day I was set to go, the hospital called to tell me my insurance company declined to pay for the scans. The insurance company, Cigna, tersely sent me a note: "You will need to complete six weeks of conservative treatment, such as physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication. Once that has been completed and you have been re-evaluated, we can *try* to have the MRI re-authorized." Gee, thanks. You guys are the best.
Sorry, WSJ, but the GOP Field Must Narrow
It is disheartening that the Wall Street Journal editorial board, for whom I had such respect for years, is discouraging a narrowing of the GOP field if either John Kasich or Marco Rubio wins his home state Tuesday. It's bad enough for the editors to encourage Rubio to stay in if he wins Florida, but to invite Kasich to stay in is just madness. Their underlying assumptions are wrong. They strongly imply that if Trump wins both Ohio and Florida on Tuesday, he'll be the inevitable nominee. They are encouraging a mainstream media narrative that is guaranteed to form Wednesday morning if Trump wins both states (and some of the others).
The Left Attacks
Of all the counterproductive things that have happened in the campaign this year, perhaps the most troubling took place Friday night. A left-wing mob organized by MoveOn.org, activists from the Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street movements, and a dozen other radical groups, sent thousands of people into the streets of Chicago and inside an arena where Donald Trump was scheduled to speak. Bill Ayers even showed up, too.
The Left May Well Get Trump Nominated
This past Friday, a left-wing mob shut down a Donald Trump rally in Chicago. Most Americans viewing what happened saw it for what it was — another left-wing assault on the speech of those with whom they differ and on traditional American civility. Not surprisingly, the media reporting has concentrated overwhelmingly on Trump for incendiary and inexcusable comments he has made at some of his other rallies that were disrupted by protesters. For example, he offered to pay any legal bills incurred by a man in the audience who sucker-punched a protester as he was being led out of a Trump rally.
Christians Wait for Defined Intervention
President Obama keeps talking about "rising above ideology and partisanship." Maybe it's time he took his own advice. More than 200 Democrats and Republicans are cosponsoring a House resolution addressing an issue they shouldn't have to: the genocide in the Middle East. If the Obama administration were as "appalled," "horrified," and "concerned" about the annihilation of Christians as the White House says it is, U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Nebr.) wouldn't have to take the unusual step of addressing the crisis before the president.
The Silent Majority Is Mad as Hell
Violence broke out over the weekend at several Donald Trump campaign rallies. Left-wing thugs battled with police in Chicago and St. Louis. One unhinged lunatic tried to storm the stage at a rally in Dayton, Ohio. He was stopped by Secret Service agents. Heaven only knows what he would've done had he gotten ahold of Mr. Trump.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Can Trump Win a General Election?
This is not an argument for what should happen or what I'd like to happen in the November presidential election, but about what would likely happen in a Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton race: Clinton would win, and probably by a wide margin. I obviously can't say what will happen with certainty because there are some events that cannot be determined. If Clinton is indicted or there's a significant terrorist attack, the election dynamics change greatly. But assuming Clinton is the Democratic candidate and there is no significant terrorist attack before election day, can Trump win in November?