Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Meet the Police Officer Who's Been Charged With Voter Fraud
Call the cops! It looks as though someone is committing voter fraud in Indiana again! Ironically, in this case, however, the alleged fraudster who has been arrested by the Indiana State Police was a cop. Unfortunately, even officers who graduate from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy are capable of violating the public trust by allegedly trying to steal an election. That is the case with Officer Lowell Ross Colen of the Rising Sun Police Department, situated in a small Indiana town of around 2,300 people on the Ohio River across from Kentucky.
Forced Voting Follies
My old boss, William F. Buckley, often said liberals don't care what you do so long as it's compulsory (though he probably borrowed the line from his friend M. Stanton Evans). There's probably no better illustration of this illiberal streak in liberalism than the idea of "compulsory voting." The argument usually goes like this: Voter turnout in America is low. Low voter turnout is bad. Therefore, we should make voting mandatory. (This argument is most popular after an election like last week's when things don't go so well for Democrats.)
Friday, November 13, 2015
Why Ted Cruz Gets No Respect
Ted Cruz gets no respect. At least no respect in keeping with the impressiveness of the campaign he's built and his increasing odds of winning the Republican nomination. The press and the political class are beginning to catch on to Cruz's strength, and there has been more talk of a prospective Cruz-Marco Rubio race during the past two weeks, but his coverage and his buzz have been lagging indicators — and they are still lagging.
A Renewed Call for Senate Civility
It's billed as "the world's greatest deliberative body." But at a time when public polls routinely place the popularity of federal lawmakers in single digits, it's time to ask: What happened to the U.S. Senate? That's a question that has troubled many, both inside and outside of Washington, for a long time. The dysfunction has reached such a low that a freshman senator named Ben Sasse of Nebraska recently made it the subject of his first speech on the Senate floor.
A Good Republican Slugfest
A funny thing happened at the Republican primary debate in Milwaukee Tuesday night. A debate broke out. Episode 3 of the GOP's presidential debates was the best yet — if you're more interested in what the candidates think about the issues than what they think about each other. Unlike the fiasco put on by CNBC last month, the moderators on the Fox Business Network didn't try to get the candidates to fight among themselves or ask stupid liberal gotcha questions.
The Myth of H-1B Job Creation
Every day brings new headlines, ignored by the Washington press corps, of U.S. workers losing their livelihoods to cheap H-1B visa replacements. Just this week, Computerworld reported: "Fury and fear in Ohio as IT jobs go to India." Yet, it remains an article of faith among Big Business flacks and Beltway hacks that H-1B not only protects American jobs, but also fuels miraculous job growth.
The Most Revealing Debate Yet
The Republican debate on CNBC was riveting, the way a train wreck is riveting — you can't take your eyes off it. The Fox Business Network debate was merely satisfying. A serious political discussion requires a bit more work, but it repays the effort. The CNBC affair was a contrived food fight during which substance occasionally broke out (such as the brief exchange between Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee on entitlement reform). FBN, on the other hand, conducted a meaty debate during which a tomato or two was occasionally tossed.
Rubio and Cruz Look Like Top Contenders in Debate
Tuesday night's Fox Business/Wall Street Journal debate in Milwaukee provided clues as to why Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have been climbing, not by wide margins but perceptibly, into the top-polling positions of the candidates behind the two poll leaders, Donald Trump and Ben Carson. The widespread assumption among political insiders is that in the crunch time when things really matter Republican voters will abandon the frontrunners for candidates with experience in public office. That hasn't happened yet. But if it does, Rubio and Cruz are clearly better positioned than anyone else.
Are Polls Broken?
There is a thought-provoking article [...] in The Wall Street Journal written by political commentator and analyst Michael Barone on the reliability of polls. ... Barone raises the real possibility that polls are increasingly flawed and unreliable. Just in the last week we saw polling in the Kentucky governor's race and the Houston battle over transgender men in ladies bathrooms that were way off from the final results. The Gallup polling organization is so worried that there is a flaw in modern polling techniques that it won't conduct presidential primary polls this cycle.
Assessing the GOP Field
I get the feeling that the Republican presidential field is gradually beginning to narrow and that we will see interesting dynamics among the principal survivors. I would be shocked if John Kasich moved up, because he has demonized conservatism itself and tried to shame conservatives, hinting that he's a more compassionate practitioner. He exudes an impatience that voters don't recognize his superior goodness and competence.
The First Amendment Is Dying
Now, we shouldn't overstate the problem. Most of us are able to freely engage in arguments and express ourselves without worrying about the state's interfering. This will not end tomorrow. But it is difficult to ignore how creeping illiberalism has infected our discourse and how not many people seem to care.
Snowflakes or Fascists?
There was a much-beloved quote circulated among leftists, often attributed to Sinclair Lewis, that "when fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." In light of recent episodes of mob action on American campuses, the quote needs updating: When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in "diversity" and demanding "safe spaces."
Bible Belt Buckles on Students
What's the worst thing a child could stumble on in school? Drugs? Gangs? Maybe bullies? Try a Bible. According to one Tennessee school district, it seems the biggest threat a student could face is seeing a copy of Scripture up close. To "spare" kids this horrifying experience, Bledsoe County Schools is booting the Gideons from school property because a single student complained.
The 'Trumbo' Dumbo
The actor Bryan Cranston is now making the interview rounds promoting his new movie lionizing the Hollywood communist Dalton Trumbo. As one should always expect when the Hollywood left starts talking about the blacklist, the communists were the First Amendment heroes. The movie "Trumbo," Cranston told CNN's Jake Tapper, is about resisting "the lessening of the First Amendment or the oppression of it."
Netanyahu's Framing of Middle East Situation Is Spot-On
Americans could learn a thing or two from Bibi Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister was in Washington this week to receive the American Enterprise Institute's Irving Kristol Award. He made some controversial remarks — at least controversial at AEI, where I am a fellow, and where the freedom agenda is alive and well — about the need to be realistic about what's going on in the Middle East. Sometimes, he said, brutal dictators are better than the real-world alternatives: even more brutal Islamist movements hell-bent (or, if you prefer, paradise-bent) to conquer the world.
Reality Check
Students at Yale University, a bastion of wealth and privilege, are angry because an employee at the university dared suggest that if white children want to dress up as the Disney character Mulan for Halloween, it would not be inappropriate but instead would be children dressing up as a favorite character.
#FreeTheFro! School Defends Runner in Bible Verse Flap
"#FreeTheFro" has become the rally cry across the fruited plain for a teenage runner who was disqualified from a state championship meet because he was wearing a headband adorned with a Bible verse. John Green, a senior at Georgia's West Forsyth High School, was stripped of his third place victory just moments after crossing the finish line on Nov. 7th.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Another TSA Debacle. Is Anyone Surprised?
When the Transportation Security Administration dispatched undercover investigators last spring to test the effectiveness of airport checkpoints, the results were deplorable. Agents posing as passengers were able to smuggle weapons and mock explosives through 67 out of 70 TSA checkpoints — a failure rate of 95 percent.
Free Markets, Competition and Health Insurance
At a recent congressional hearing, Dr. Mandy Cohen of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services explained that almost 700,000 Americans have lost their health coverage because the insurance co-ops formed under ObamaCare to foster competition couldn't compete with "big, experienced players" in the insurance marketplace.
Teen Runner Disqualified From State Meet — Was It the Bible Verse?
Was a high school cross country runner disqualified from a state championship meet because there was a Bible verse embroidered on his headband? Georgia Congressman Douglas Collins seems to think so. "Religious expression being squashed right here in the Ninth District," the Republican lawmaker tweeted. "This is outrageous."