It was clear in 2012 that Mitt Romney would be the last GOP presidential nominee to defend traditional marriage. Neither Windsor nor Obergefell had yet been handed down, but the writing was on the wall. The country had shifted, and the GOP would eventually reflect that shift. That is why I wrote the following in early 2013:
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Juan Williams says Pres. Obama’s SCOTUS nominee is not a centrist
Juan Williams writes in The Wall Street Journal that President Obabma’s nominee to the Supreme Court is not a centrist in his judicial philosophy. Here’s an excerpt: As Republicans and Democrats wrangle over Judge Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination to replace the late Antonin Scalia and whether or not to hold confirmation hearings, attention has been distracted from a fight of far more historical consequence. Over the past half century, regardless of whether a liberal or a conservative resides in the White House, the critical issue facing any Supreme Court nominee is where he or she stands on the political contest of wills over how to read the Constitution. In…
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Donald Trump is not pro-life
This shouldn’t be a surprise at this point, but it is now established beyond all reasonable doubt that Donald Trump is not pro-life. How do we know that? He gives no evidence that he even knows what the pro-life position is. You can’t defend the sanctity of human life if you don’t even know what it is. Even worse is that when Trump tries to express his beliefs on abortion, he articulates a pro-abortion rights position. And he usually doesn’t even realize that’s what he’s done! His foot is in his mouth, but he is none the wiser. In an interview with CBS News today, he did it again (watch…
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Why “punish” abortionists but not those who receive abortions?
Yesterday, Donald Trump said in an interview that the law should “punish” women for getting abortions (see above). Trump quickly reversed himself in a subsequent press release. Still, in his initial remarks, Trump was able to accomplish a trifecta of political travesties. First, he projected a caricature regularly perpetrated by pro-abortion people against pro-lifers—that we care only for babies and not for their mothers. Second, while arguing for the pro-life position, he misrepresented what pro-lifers actually believe and alienated viewers from our cause. Third, Trump has put pro-lifers in a defensive position rather than strengthening the cause. All this while he was supposedly trying to help the cause! With “friends”…
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Would a President Trump be better than a President Clinton?
It’s no secret to readers of this blog that I am a #NeverTrump guy. I have explained what I mean by that here. The consistent objection that I hear to this position is that it amounts to a vote for Secretary Clinton. And nothing could be worse than electing Secretary Clinton. I disagree with that argument for a number of reasons. But no one has put a finer point on answering this objection than David French has today. He argues that the apparently self-evident conclusion that Trump is better than Clinton is by no means self-evident. He writes: Those of us who’ve pledged that we will never, ever vote for…
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Why social conservatives should support #NeverTrump
Conservative opposition to Donald Trump’s candidacy for president divides into two groups. The first group consists of those who may not support Trump in the primaries but who plan to support him if he becomes the GOP nominee (e. g. Hugh Hewitt). The second group consists of those who oppose Trump in the primaries and who will also oppose him in the general should he become the GOP nominee (e.g. Ben Sasse). We might label the former as the “Stop Trump” conservatives and the latter as the “Never Trump” conservatives. The division presents Christians and social conservatives with a unique dilemma. While many agree that it would be best to…
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Secretary of State accuses ISIS of genocide against Christians
You can read Secretary of State John Kerry’s full statement here or watch it above. Here is an excerpt: My purpose in appearing before you today is to assert that, in my judgment, Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. Daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by actions – in what it says, what it believes, and what it does… Daesh has executed Christians solely because of their faith; that it executed 49 Coptic and Ethiopian Christians in Libya; and that it has also forced Christian women and girls into sexual slavery. CNN reports on the significance…
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“Go ahead, throw your vote away!” Lessons from the Simpsons for Election 2016
Twenty years ago, “The Simpsons” satirized the 1996 presidential election. In “The Simpsons” version, the candidates running for office were actually alien monsters disguised as Senator Bob Dole and President Bill Clinton. Voters did not realize that their only alternatives for president were actually committed to destroying the world. Voters would be forced to choose one alien monster or the other. That’s just the breaks of a two-party system. The episode is eerily prescient of our current moment and the questions we are facing in 2016. What should people of conscience do when the two-party system renders two completely unacceptable candidates? Is it possible that conscientious voters might find both…
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Carson going “off-brand” and Rubio going back on
Senator Marco Rubio was criticized last week for going “off-brand” in his attacks on Donald Trump. I was really heartened to see his humble admission last night that he was wrong to make the off-color “hands” joke (see above). Rubio admitted that it not only embarrassed his wife and kids, it also went against his Christian faith. He promised last night that he would never go back to that “gutter” again. You have to respect his humility and candor. I do.
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Trump says he won’t commit war crimes after all, so I guess it’s okay now
Donald Trump released a statement today reversing his view that the United States military should target and kill innocent women and children who are suspected of being related to terrorists. When pressed on how he would get military commanders to carry out unlawful orders, Trump said he would force them to obey what he says. That was what he said in last night’s infamous debate. Today, he has released a statement taking the opposite position: I feel very, very strongly about the need to attack and kill those terrorists who attack and kill our people. I know people who died on 9/11. I will never forget those events. I will…