Townhall Review | Conservative Commentary On Today's News

In the election of 1992 James Carville and Democrats famously said: “It’s the economy, stupid.” And they kept saying it through the reelection and the impeachment defense. Clinton argued that elites were disconnected from the kitchen table economic concerns of ordinary Americans and caught up in wedge issues and the politics of personal destruction.

Democrats argued against impeaching Clinton—for lying in his testimony about sexual misconduct—because it would threaten record highs in the Dow.

My how times have changed. Now the left plays down the importance of the economy. Newly minted pundit, Jay-Z argues on CNN  that record lows in black unemployment don’t really matter.

Well they matter to the people who are getting out of the unemployment lines. They matter to their spouses and to their children. Low black unemployment matters to neighborhoods and whole communities.

To most of us, it’s still the economy that matters and politicians who ignore that fact are, well like the man said, stupid.

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President Trump earned significant praise for his first State of the Union Address—and for good reason. It presented an affirmative vision for what unified Republican governance can accomplish. It also laid out policy priorities to keep the homeland secure and strengthen our economy.

One thing that was missing, however, was any mention of our growing deficits and national debt. Washington is spending more money than it has and more than it should—and lawmakers from both parties seem perfectly content to continue on the path we’re on. This spending requires us to borrow money from foreign adversaries, hurts our economy’s ability to grow and leaves our kids and grandkids with the bill.

A change in course is desperately needed. Indeed, reining in spending is never politically easy. That’s why it will take a leader willing to buck trends and attack the special interests—and perhaps even some in his own party—to get the job done. 

Here’s to hoping that Donald Trump can be that leader.

In the election of 1992 James Carville and Democrats famously said: “It’s the economy, stupid.” And they kept saying it through the reelection and the impeachment defense. Clinton argued that elites were disconnected from the kitchen table economic concerns of ordinary Americans and caught up in wedge issues and the politics of personal destruction.

Democrats argued against impeaching Clinton—for lying in his testimony about sexual misconduct—because it would threaten record highs in the Dow.

My how times have changed. Now the left plays down the importance of the economy. Newly minted pundit, Jay-Z argues on CNN  that record lows in black unemployment don’t really matter.

Well they matter to the people who are getting out of the unemployment lines. They matter to their spouses and to their children. Low black unemployment matters to neighborhoods and whole communities.

To most of us, it’s still the economy that matters and politicians who ignore that fact are, well like the man said, stupid.

Townhall Review -- February 10, 2018

Kimberly Strassel, of the Wall Street Journal, speaks with Dennis Prager about why the howling and protests came from Democrat, FBI, and Justice Department members following the release of "the memo."  Mike Gallagher catches up with CNBC's Larry Kudlow for an analysis on the economy, of which the Dow Jones Industrial tanked spectacularly earlier in the week.  Hugh Hewitt speaks with Congressman Mike Gallagher about a notorious figure who may have provided retired British Spy Christopher Steele with information contained in the "dossier." Michael Medved sits in with Dr. Larry Diamond, a Sr. Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, to discuss the demise of democracy, if Putin could have his way. While on with Michael Medved, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, author of “Twelve Rules for your Life,” shares how his masculine ideas are "subversive to identity politics." Ed Martin, the host of Salem's 1380 the Answer in St. Louis, invites Hugh Hewitt on his show to discuss what when wrong with the FISA warrant scandal.  Larry Elder shares about President Trump's "treasonous" comment following the State of the Union address.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Townhall Review -- February 10, 2018

Kimberly Strassel, of the Wall Street Journal, speaks with Dennis Prager about why the howling and protests came from Democrat, FBI, and Justice Department members following the release of "the memo."  Mike Gallagher catches up with CNBC's Larry Kudlow for an analysis on the economy, of which the Dow Jones Industrial tanked spectacularly earlier in the week.  Hugh Hewitt speaks with Congressman Mike Gallagher about a notorious figure who may have provided retired British Spy Christopher Steele with information contained in the "dossier." Michael Medved sits in with Dr. Larry Diamond, a Sr. Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, to discuss the demise of democracy, if Putin could have his way. While on with Michael Medved, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, author of “Twelve Rules for your Life,” shares how his masculine ideas are "subversive to identity politics." Ed Martin, the host of Salem's 1380 the Answer in St. Louis, invites Hugh Hewitt on his show to discuss what when wrong with the FISA warrant scandal.  Larry Elder shares about President Trump's "treasonous" comment following the State of the Union address.

Congress is currently considering the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. And we should all sit up and take note.

Sometimes legislation that looks almost innocuous is anything but; sometimes legislation that will have historic and long-lasting effect doesn’t go by any name that would get the citizens’ attention; and sometimes it’s almost as if politically it’s moving under the surface without much attention at all.

This reauthorization is an entire clash of worldviews in one piece of legislation. It’s to the credit of the Trump administration that the over-500-page bill is loaded with respect and concern for the future of religious liberty in the United States, and, most specifically, the future of religious liberty on American college and university campuses.

Now, all of this might look routine, but the result can turn out to be anything but routine.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of religious liberty will have a great deal to do with the final state of this bill.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The recent release of the memo from GOP Rep. Devin Nunes revealed one major fact that stands out above all other revelations: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant-or FISA warrant on Carter Page (and the three subsequent renewals of the warrant) omitted a material fact. While the FBI admitted that the information came from a politically motivated source, the bureau did not disclose that the source had been financed by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. That's a damning omission.

The non-disclosure of a material fact in an application for a FISA warrant-its minimization, indeed one could argue its camouflaging-is a very big deal and its provenance should be thoroughly investigated. It threatens to undermine every warrant submitted to a FISA court.

What I've called "Trump torque" is pulling on everyone in the news business-his critics are often overheated and his defenders tend to ignore his errors. This "torque" is twisting every single story in one direction or another.

But: It's not about President Trump. Or at least this one shouldn't be. It's about when American courts approve surveillance of Americans. And that's every American's concern.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congress is currently considering the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. And we should all sit up and take note.

Sometimes legislation that looks almost innocuous is anything but; sometimes legislation that will have historic and long-lasting effect doesn’t go by any name that would get the citizens’ attention; and sometimes it’s almost as if politically it’s moving under the surface without much attention at all.

This reauthorization is an entire clash of worldviews in one piece of legislation. It’s to the credit of the Trump administration that the over-500-page bill is loaded with respect and concern for the future of religious liberty in the United States, and, most specifically, the future of religious liberty on American college and university campuses.

Now, all of this might look routine, but the result can turn out to be anything but routine.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of religious liberty will have a great deal to do with the final state of this bill.

The recent release of the memo from GOP Rep. Devin Nunes revealed one major fact that stands out above all other revelations: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant-or FISA warrant on Carter Page (and the three subsequent renewals of the warrant) omitted a material fact. While the FBI admitted that the information came from a politically motivated source, the bureau did not disclose that the source had been financed by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. That's a damning omission.

The non-disclosure of a material fact in an application for a FISA warrant-its minimization, indeed one could argue its camouflaging-is a very big deal and its provenance should be thoroughly investigated. It threatens to undermine every warrant submitted to a FISA court.

What I've called "Trump torque" is pulling on everyone in the news business-his critics are often overheated and his defenders tend to ignore his errors. This "torque" is twisting every single story in one direction or another.

But: It's not about President Trump. Or at least this one shouldn't be. It's about when American courts approve surveillance of Americans. And that's every American's concern.

One of the saddest headlines I’ve seen in a very long time comes to us in the New York Times. The headline article: “U.K. Appoints a Minister for Loneliness.”

A 2017 report indicated that “more than 9 million Britons often or always feel lonely.”

The extremes of age are identified as two very urgent problems: loneliness amongst the young and loneliness amongst the aging.

The breakup of the family, and especially the demise of the extended family, will explain why so many especially amongst the elderly are cut off. And the advent of social media helps to explain the impact of loneliness in epidemic proportion amongst young people.

But the sad reality is that when a government establishes a minister for loneliness it’s an affirmation of a problem; it’s not likely to be a step towards the solution.

To put the matter bluntly, government can’t be our friend. When human connection breaks down at a most fundamental level, no government can solve the problem.

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