The unintentional comedy of this evening should not distract from how sickening it is. — Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) July 20, 2016 This is one of the two major political parties in the most powerful nation in the world. Don't laugh. It's not funny. — Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) July 20, 2016 Oh, Donald Jr. gave a good speech. Oh, Christie should have been VP. Be quiet. The party of Lincoln and Reagan has nominated Donald Trump. — Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) July 20, 2016 Paul Ryan's palpable discomfort with his nominee? Not funny. He chose to be part of this, to bless and accept it. He should feel disgrace. — Ross Douthat…
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Could plagiarism and a rick-roll in one speech be an accident?
.@Lawrence on the similarities between Michelle Obama’s and Melania Trump’s convention speeches: “pure plagiarism” https://t.co/KDThsAc1Qw — MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 19, 2016 The message coming out of the first night of the GOP convention can be summed up in one word: PLAGIARISM. Melania Trump’s speech was initially well-received by pundits. But the plaudits were short-lived as it became clear that her speech plagiarized a speech given by Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic Convention. Trump’s speech will be parsed and analyzed ad infinitum for the next day or so. I’m sure the Trump campaign will have some response (UPDATE: Here it is). Mrs. Trump is responsible for the words she delivered,…
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Senator Ben Sasse, a lone voice of moral clarity
Among congressional Republicans, Senator Ben Sasse is standing almost alone against his party’s presumptive nominee Donald Trump. Sasse has consistently been one of the few clear voices throughout the dumpster fire known as the 2016 presidential election. Earlier this evening, Senator Sasse posted an open-letter to American voters. He argues that it is wrong to vote simply for the lesser of two evils. Too much is at stake in this election. He writes: To be clear, I have a strong desire for a candidate who is a conservative. But this is more foundational than mere policy differences right now. More important are the virtue of the individual who would serve…
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Supreme Court refuses to defend religious liberty for pharmacists
Last week, I was at a meeting hosted by The Alliance Defending Freedom. There I was introduced to a Christian family who was ordered by the State of Washington to sell abortion-inducing drugs in their family-owned pharmacy (see their story above). This family and two other pharmacists believe that killing unborn children is wrong, and so they sued the state for relief. In 2012, a federal court ruled that the law violated the free exercise clause of the first amendment and that the law was “riddled with exemptions for secular conduct, but contain no such exemptions for identical religiously-motivated conduct.” In 2015, however, a federal appeals court overruled and said…
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I’m a single-issue voter on multiple issues, and so are you.
Election 2016 has presented evangelical voters with a real conundrum. There is no clearly pro-life candidate in this race. We know where the presumptive Democratic nominee stands. And even though the presumptive GOP nominee professes to be pro-life, we have good reasons to doubt that claim. He praises Planned Parenthood, supports the “health” exception, and names his pro-abortion rights sister as the kind of judge that would make a good Supreme Court appointment. Still, many evangelicals who met with Trump this week in New York are making a “single-issue” calculation, and it goes like this. We know what kind of justices we would get with a Clinton presidency. There’s a…
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Albert Mohler discusses Trump and character in public leadership
Albert Mohler says that if he were to endorse Trump, he would have to apologize to President Clinton for everything he said about character and public leadership during the 1990’s. This is a good word. Mohler is not going to endorse any candidate, but it is clear where he stands on the Trump candidacy. Download here or listen below. You asked: I did not attend the New York meeting today with Donald Trump. — Albert Mohler (@albertmohler) June 21, 2016 Jerry Falwell Jr. fires back at critics after posing with Trump in front of Playboy https://t.co/uoruKFSfIG pic.twitter.com/xL4YUs98sP — The Hill (@thehill) June 22, 2016
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Donald Trump announces new religious advisory board
RNS reports that Donald Trump has named a new religious advisory board. The full list of board members is as follows: • Michele Bachmann — Former Congresswoman • A.R. Bernard — Senior Pastor and CEO, Christian Cultural Center • Mark Burns — Pastor, Harvest Praise and Worship Center • Tim Clinton — President, American Association of Christian Counselors • Kenneth and Gloria Copeland — Founders, Kenneth Copeland Ministries • James Dobson — Author, Psychologist and Host, “My Family Talk” • Jerry Falwell Jr. — President, Liberty University • Ronnie Floyd — Senior Pastor, Cross Church • Jentezen Franklin — Senior Pastor, Free Chapel • Jack Graham — Senior Pastor, Prestonwood…
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Hugh Hewitt in high dudgeon
I don’ usually do this, but I have to pass on to you today’s episode of the Hugh Hewitt Show. He is my favorite political analyst/talking head, and he was hilarious today. He spoke like a man who has just experienced a tent-revival-style conversion. There was repentance (“I was wrong”), zeal, and a resolve to make converts to his cause. Until today, he has been copiously above the fray vis-à-vis the Trump candidacy. He has said that he’s “Switzerland”—committed to neutrality in the Republican primary and open to voting for GOP nominee even if it’s Trump. He has never been #NeverTrump, and has been arguing against #NeverTrump as wrong-headed.
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David French tells “Morning Joe” about intimidation
David French tells the “Morning Joe” crew about why he decided not to run. He also reveals how a Trump campaign operative tried to intimidate him through a family member.
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David French on “The Kelly File” explaining why he won’t run
Here’s the man himself explaining why he decided not to run.