If Donald Trump wished to make a mega deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, or even put an end to illegal immigration as he promised, he certainly had viable choices. The only way to blow that opportunity would be to cross the one and only political red line that
Democracy is still new to conservatives in certain ways. Even so, it’s strange for a democratic people to see full-throated moralism denouncing the poor from an oligarchic position. For a certain brand of conservative—and in spite of all trends pointing elsewhere—it remains what’s hot today. Ben Shapiro just stood up for that kind
In a recent stunt on the Senate floor, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) forced a vote on the use of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), the law that at least two presidents have leaned on repeatedly to justify a state of endless war. Paul’s amendment failed in the end, but
“It looks good on paper” is an timeless phrase used to describe an appealing abstract concept unworkable in practical application—or worse. To avoid wastes of time, money, and energy, in the real world the phrase is often heard and heeded. In the political world, however, it is seldom heard and almost never heeded.
President Trump’s recent decision to partner with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, of all people, has made a great many conservative and populist writers nervous. To give just one example, Ann Coulter has already suggested that she wants to impeach Trump for the heresy. Judging from her retweets, she’s far from alone. I
President Trump recently shocked the Republican establishment by making a deal with the Democrats over the debt ceiling. The logic behind the move was, if the GOP refused to govern, Trump would go to the Democrats. Trump hoped to set the table for comprehensive tax reform. Yet, already the Democrats are balking at
As North Korea demonstrates America’s vulnerability to ballistic missiles, and as President Trump pledges “many billions of dollars” for “the anti-missile,” establishment Republicans are poised to use missile defense talk today in the same way they did in the wake of Ronald Reagan’s commitment to it: profit politically from rhetoric, funnel money to
The deal President Trump struck this week with Democratic Party leadership has sent the conservative commentariat into a rage spiral. Trump, snubbing the Republican “leadership” of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, agreed to raise the debt ceiling for three months. “Principled” congressional Republicans, in an act of
One of the most prominent clichés that passes for wisdom among the GOP Establishment and conservative intellectual elite is that the Republican Party is the party of Abraham Lincoln. But Donald Trump, as we are told ad nauseam, is doing his best to sever the electric cord that ties the Republican Party to Lincoln’s political principles.
"Another Revelation of Strength," political cartoon, 1898. President Trump last month empowered U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to investigate China’s theft of American intellectual property (IP), which costs America up to $500 billion annually. A new report from Axios, however, reveals that Trump’s aggressive action on IP theft may just be the beginning.
