Townhall Review | Commentaries

News media portray today’s politics as incomparably corrupt, focusing on endless scandals to tarnish politicians in general and the Trump administration in particular.

But in historical perspective, corruption is far less rampant than in the past: prominent officials in the Johnson, Nixon and Reagan administrations faced criminal prosecution.

Around the world, top leaders in Brazil, France, Israel, South Africa and many other countries faced criminal charges for abusing public office; in lists of “most corrupt governments,” the US never scores among the worst. But media here love to dwell on scandal because it’s lurid and dramatic, and they also mislead the public with acclaimed entertainment series like “House of Cards,” “Scandal” and “Veep.”

The reality of our politics today is less exciting, but it’s also far less sordid.

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The state of the U.S. economy is strong, and getting stronger.  On Friday last week, government data showed that the gross domestic product, a measure of the goods and services produced in America, grew by over 4 percent last quarter.  It’s the fastest rate of economic growth we’ve seen since 2014.  The American economy is growing at a rate that few thought possible and there is good reason to believe that our economy is headed for continued growth ahead.

President Trump has been the American economy’s biggest cheerleader, and that’s an important thing.  Part of our country’s economic success is tied to a belief that we can and will do better.  But we’ve also seen good economic policy coming out of the Trump Administration, like tax reform and efforts to overhaul our regulatory system. 

Economic growth is good news for all Americans—left, right and center.

 

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Somewhat lost amidst the all the noise in our news cycle and our hyper-partisan political moment is a major development that we should not overlook:

The very significant investment in our military that has been needed for years. Both the House and the Senate have been moving aggressively to  pass the 2019 N.D.A.A.—the National Defense Authorization Act.

Amidst the details in this over-$700 billion bill are a fresh round of purchases of:

• F-35 lightning fighters—our stealthy fighter jet
• Blackhawk Helicopters, and a
• Re-investment of in our severely-depleted naval fleet

I want to highlight that we’ll be seeing a green light given for the creation of not one but two new aircraft carriers.

We’ve still got more work to do to get where we need to be—but we’re moving in the right direction finally.

That is good news indeed.

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A group of liberal Christians is calling for a “pause” in the culture wars. This “Call to Pause” is really a demand for evangelical surrender on the issue of abortion—and that’s not going to happen.

Interestingly, it was the left in American politics that politicized the judiciary—going around the legislative process to force vast moral change through the courts. They understand exactly what is at stake as we look at the nomination of a strict constructionist justice to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The nomination of Supreme Court justices who are committed to the actual words and text of the Constitution is vital to the survival of America’s grand experiment in constitutional self-government. The protection of human life is an even higher mandate.

This is no time to hit the pause button.

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One of President Trump’s best judicial nominees has been blocked by indignant Democrats because of columns he wrote while a Stanford student 25 years ago. 

In one of these pieces, Ryan Bounds argued that ethnic identity groups promote campus divisions, and in another he demanded proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” before expelling young men accused of sexual assault.  Now these are arguable but mainstream teenage opinions have wrecked the hopes of a Yale Law graduate and a respected federal prosecutor.

If Republicans gain a few Senate seats in November, I hope President Trump will try again to win confirmation for the eminently deserving Ryan Bounds.

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This past Sunday The New York Times—the most influential newspaper in the world and secular to its core—ran an opinion essay on Leviticus chapter 18.

No kidding! 

The title of the piece: “The Secret History of Leviticus.” In it, Idan Dershowitz argues that the prohibition of men having sex with men is all based on the fact that a later editor—or a “redactor”—changed the text of the Bible.

There’s really no question about the Bible’s teaching on these issues.

The whole thing is another example of how—even in this supposedly secular age—the conscience of Western civilization continues to be haunted and shaped by the Bible. It’s 2018. And the New York Times is running a piece on Leviticus 18.

That, in itself, is stunning.

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One story from the 2018 primary elections is the win of candidates in Pennsylvania and New York running as democratic socialists.  In the wake of a 2016 poll showing that 43 percent of millennials view socialism favorably, this has led pundits to wonder whether democratic socialism is a viable movement in America.

In short, the answer is no. 

Young people are not interested in true socialism, which is the state owning the means of production and distribution.  

What millennials favor is a larger welfare state. In fact, when Bernie Sanders ran for president and Denmark became a hot topic, their prime minister felt the need to clarify that it was not a socialist country, but instead an extensive welfare state.

I don’t know which is more discouraging, that young people think they are in favor of socialism or the fact that they don’t know what socialism is. 

 

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The best way to overhaul a culture is to change the way it thinks. Here’s one major way to change cultural thinking: stifle the free exchange of ideas.

This is what’s happening in California right now. Assembly Bill 2943 would make it an “unlawful business practice” to engage in “a transaction” aimed at promoting “sexual orientation change efforts with an individual.”

This pernicious bill is an attempt to silence those who want to help people with unwanted sexual feelings. Many religious and non-religious people agree that we flourish when we honor the basic design of our bodies for both sexual practice and personal identity. This bill is Orwellian: Silencing those who seek to provide help and wholeness to people who are reaching out.

California legislators ought to do what the people have elected them to do: protect free speech and enable people to live a free life.

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USA TODAY recently hailed nine TV comedians who specialize in mocking President Trump. Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Bill Maher, Samantha Bee, Jimmy Fallon, Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Michelle Wolf all identify as outspoken liberals.

 

Alternative programming from conservative comedians could earn great success by capturing just 10% of the late-night comedy audience. The purpose shouldn’t be to defend Trump–defense isn’t funny. Instead, a conservative comedy show could go after laughable libs like Pelosi and Schumer, Bernie and Hillary, while mocking politically correct comics and their predictable mockery of Trump.

If a network embraced the obvious opportunity, they could laugh all the way to the bank.

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Some Democrats are hysterical over the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, but they couldn’t have picked a more reasonable and thoughtful jurist to get worked up about.  Even a liberal law professor at Yale recently opined in the New York Times that Judge Kavanaugh is a “superb” nominee and his legal chops are rivaled only by some of our country’s most notable jurists.  

Indeed, those who support the rule of law have much to look forward to in a Justice Kavanaugh. He shows a reverence for the Constitution and a healthy skepticism of unbridled powers for the federal bureaucracy.  

Which brings us back to politics: Democrats have pledged to oppose him simply because he was nominated by a Republican. Let’s hope they reconsider—and give this good man the support he deserves.

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