Townhall Review | Conservative Commentary On Today's News

The Townhall Review – September 9, 2017 US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announces the end of the DACA. Senator Tom Cotton speaks with Hugh Hewitt about the unconstitutionality of DACA and what President Trump is doing to clean up the mess former President Obama left behind. Dennis Prager looks at the sinister nature of the leadership in North Korea. Hugh Hewitt asks Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Seminary, why the need to sign the Nashville Statement. Michael Medved asks Steven Moore, of the Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, about his recent column on keeping tax reform comprehensible and simple. Dennis Prager comments on a video that Prager University put together that challenges the statistics given by feminists. Larry Elder challenges John Mitchell, staff writer for Philadelphia Tribune, about the number one problem facing the black community. Michael Medved explains the latest from Bill Nye the Science Guy and why he is back in the news.

President Trump recently announced that he intends to end President Obama’s executive action called DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which prevents the deportation of persons brought illegally to the United States as children. The Trump Administration will renew DACA permits for the next six months in order to give Congress time to act to protect the “Dreamers.” Now, let’s make one thing abundantly clear: DACA is unconstitutional. The president said in 2010 and 2011, President Obama, that it would be unlawful for a president to take the kind of action that he eventually did indeed take. The state attorneys general who were preparing to challenge the constitutionality of that executive order in court would certainly have been successful. In fact, President Trump did a favor to every DACA kid by providing a ripeness argument so that courts may delay ruling DACA unconstitutional, as they surely will. Now is the time for Republicans and Democrats to come together to provide a solution for the 800,000 people in their 20s and 30s currently protected under DACA, while simultaneously cutting off the flow of illegal immigration into our country.

President Trump’s approval numbers are low and controversies are high, nevertheless some good things are happening in our democratic system. Congress, for example, is stepping up to its responsibilities to debate and decide policy. With Trump less interested in policy particulars, Congress can become what the founders intended, the first of the branches of government. They are debating health care, tax reform and war powers instead of waiting for the president. Federalism is also flourishing, with states and cities becoming more proactive in policy affairs. I don’t always agree with them, but California and other states have figured out that they can make decisions about immigration or the environment. Again, that’s how the republic is supposed to work. There’s even a new appreciation for checks and balances and separations of power as the Constitution established them. Call them unintended good consequences of Donald Trump’s presidency, perhaps, but these are healthy signs for our democratic system.

California’s travel ban, forbidding the expenditure of state money to travel to states that have policies they don’t like, is what I call “bully federalism.” You may remember federalism, the idea that state and local governments retain considerable power in our federal system. Under the 10th Amendment, states can fight back and defend their powers against Washington. But California’s federalism is not defending against federal power, it is offensive in nature, seeking to force its policies onto other states. California doesn’t want state officials—or even university students—to travel to states that do not agree with its policies on LGBT issues. With the 6th largest economy in the world, California has the economic power to be a bully. Do we all have to be like California? Is California the only state that gets things right? Is there no respect for the laws of other states, as seems to be called for by the “full faith and credit” provision of the Constitution? No one likes bullies.

One of history’s worst natural disasters produced one of the best weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency so far. The chief executive and his administration rose to the challenge of responding to Hurricane Harvey and even his implacable media critics praised his change in attitude. The normally hostile New York Times, for instance, featured two positive headlines: “Trump, in Texas, Says His Goal is the Best Relief Effort Ever” and “Hurricane Gives Trump a Chance to Reclaim the Power to Unify.” What was so different about the president’s tone? In reacting to the catastrophe, he didn’t attack, ridicule or blame anyone; he didn’t punch—or counterpunch—at his favorite targets in politics or media. Instead, he sought to lift up, rather than to run down—an effort that inspired new hope for a successful presidency. As he now pivots toward tax reform and other crucial issues, he should continue to concentrate on the constructive while trying to remember two key words: stay positive!

Townhall Review — September 02, 2017 Franklin Graham, of Samaritan’s Purse, describes the relief effort going on in Houston. Texas Governor Greg Abbott shares how the federal, state, and local governments are coordinating to help those in need. Mike Gallagher spoke with former Texas Governor now Energy Secretary Perry on how faith communities are pulling together to assist with flood victims. Emergency room physician Dr. Beau Briese spoke with Dennis Prager about his firsthand experience in the flood. Scott Wilder, of Save the Children, spoke with Hugh Hewitt about the massive responsibility of keeping watch over displaced children. Hewitt also spoke with Wisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher about Kim Jung Un’s most recent trigger happy insanity. Larry Elder spoke with law professor, and constitutional scholar John Eastman on the President’s pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Hewitt interviews Hugh Ross, of Reason to Believe, about Al Gore’s latest movie, “An Inconvenient Sequel” as it relates to Hurricane Harvey. In contrast to society’s gender confusion, Michel Medved reviews a proclamation, released by prominent evangelical leaders, entitled “Nashville Statement.”

As Texas begins the long process of recovery from the catastrophe of Hurricane Harvey, Americans across the country should embrace four important lessons: • First, let’s acknowledge that government isn’t always the enemy—and in emergencies like this one, government at the local, state and federal levels has a crucial, life-saving role to play. • Second, we see that government alone isn’t enough—private businesses, and countless individual volunteers proved indispensable for rescue and recovery. • Third, in times of crisis our various divisions—racial, political, religious—matter less than we thought. No one asked rescuers or the rescued about political affiliation or ethnic background when lives were at stake. • Finally, the country can put aside its passionate disagreements, and work together when it’s necessary, as we strive to return to normal life. And yes, after Harvey, we’re reminded that normal life—whatever its shortcomings and frustrations—is worth defending and even cherishing in this phenomenally fortunate nation.

And still the rains come, falling catastrophically upon Houston, Texas, the larger Metropolitan areas and the entire region of the Texas Gulf Coast. As of Sunday (yes, Sunday), 9 trillion gallons of water had already fallen from the storm, enough to fill the Great Salt Lake twice according to Matthew Cappucci of the Washington Post. Now, over 20 trillion gallons are expected. In order to equal the amount of water already rained on Houston, the Mississippi River in its entirety would have to drain into that city for nine days straight. By the time the rainfall has fallen, at least some in the actuarial business for insurance companies are saying that it might be a one in 1-million-year flood that is now falling on one of the most highly populated areas of the United States. Right now we continue to be concerned for and to pray for those whose lives are so affected by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath and we pray that help can come and can come quickly.

It’s no secret that how a president responds to a natural disaster can affect his fortunes. President Barack Obama’s reaction to Hurricane Sandy contributed significantly to his 2012 reelection. President George W. Bush’s fumbled response to Hurricane Katrina was part of a ruinous sequence of events in 2005 that destroyed his second term’s political momentum. So, here’s some specific advice for President Trump. First, watch all of the coverage closely. Speak with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Brock Long often. If you must tweet, tweet only about the storm and its impacts. Act as a concerned family member would when news of a family tragedy arrives but details are few. And some advice for my colleagues in the media: Be very slow to politicize this storm. It looks to be quite awful in its impacts. And, crucially, if people express online or on air that they are praying for the victims of the storm, ditch the snarky assaults on such traditional expressions. Prayer’s not a sentiment. It’s a real and often cherished act and gift.

No matter how the efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare turn out, I’m sorry to say that President Obama’s Affordable Care Act has federalized health care forever. It has changed the conversation so that, instead of debating whether the federal government should or constitutionally may take over health care, we are instead debating how. As political scientist James Q. Wilson pointed out, once Congress has entered a field of regulation, the legitimacy of federal action is established and is rarely debated again. Sadly, in the case of Obamacare, this was accomplished by a straight party-line vote of Democrats. Surprisingly, in that same time frame, the federalization of education policy was also accomplished, but is now turning back to the states. There was such an outcry over Common Core and federal testing that teachers and parents changed the law in Washington. Unfortunately that’s not likely to happen with an entitlement like healthcare, which has now—almost certainly—been federalized forever.

The views held by the protestors in the recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia—the voices of white supremacy, neo-Nazi organizations and the KKK—have no place in our society. But make no mistake: There are other—credible—voices on the political right in America today that have been marginalized on college campuses and other venues across our country. I’m thinking of voices and organizations that advocate for the life of the unborn child or for religious liberty, which have been shouted down or categorized as hate groups. There is no moral equivalence between the views of white supremacists and the views held by those protesting against them. And the mainstream media should also be willing to differentiate between those white nationalists and, for example, today’s champions for religious liberty. Many progressives may not like them, but they do not deserve to be mixed together with the vile hatred we saw in Charlottesville. Nuance isn’t popular in today’s politics, but let’s not lose sight of the differences where they matter.

The Townhall Review -- August 26, 2017 President Trump, in a speech before America, explains his new way to look at Afghanistan. Senator Tom Cotton gives Hugh Hewitt his take and understanding of what is at state. Joining Mike Gallagher, Steven Bucci, a retired Army Special Forces officer and top Pentagon official, offers his insight into the Trump Afghanistan speech. Larry Elder invites award-winning author and seasoned journalist Liz Crokin, to explain her experience with Donald Trump on the reality TV show, The Apprentice, and how he does not at all resemble the mainstream media portrayal. Michael Medved speaks with three time elected New York Governor George Pataki about the path ahead for President Trump. Heather Mac Donald, author of the book “The War on Cops,” speaks with Larry Elder about the absurdity of a recent Oakland police department study, which indicates that policemen speak more disrespectfully to blacks than white motorists. Dennis Prager comments on UCLA professor K-Sue Park’s desire to have the ACLU refuse to help fringe groups on the far right. Prager cuts through the debate by going back to the definition of what a racist actually is.

Tragic recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia raise new questions about an old debate. Why did Southern states leave the Union in the first place, resulting in a war that killed more than 700,000 Americans? Mississippi, the 2nd of 11 states that ultimately seceded from the federal government, gave a clear explanation in its 1861 declaration of secession: “Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest in the world,” the delegates affirmed. They saw slavery as essential to their survival, claiming that, “none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun … and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.” While individuals who fought for the Confederacy may have been decent and even noble, no one should pretend the Confederate cause was honorable. As the great Mississippian and Nobel Prize-winner William Faulkner famously declared, “The past is never dead. It’s not even passed.”

Virtually all Americans agree that the KKK is a vile, racist group has no place in contemporary public debate. What constructive action can we take? If you really hate the KKK, then cut taxes. Data show that poor economic performance enflames racial tension. According to Gallup polling, after the Bush tax cuts racial anxiety went down. But since 2010 anxiety has been rising—rapidly. One reason for that is that the U.S. has been growing at half its historic rate. When JFK proposed tax cuts in the early 60s, those cuts were opposed by southern segregationists. Senator Robert Byrd threatened a filibuster if Kennedy put forth both a tax cut and a civil rights bill. He knew that lowering taxes would increase growth, causing businesses to hire more African Americans. Our growth-less recovery has helped spawn high unemployment among youth and minorities—fueling a spike in extremist groups of both left and right. It’s time to cut taxes and get those idle hands to work.

The exit of Stephen K. Bannon completes a restructuring of the West Wing that began almost as soon as the president took office and is now apparently complete. Like the physical renovation of the West Wing, it was noisy, not very attractive … but it was necessary. What is needed now are successes in cooperation with Congress—beyond confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, the Veterans Affairs reform bill, and the 14 Congressional Review Act laws that were all enormously significant—but those were low-profile victories, and it seemed like Gorsuch was half a year ago. What is needed above all is either a tax bill or resurrection of the health-care fix. Slashing the corporate tax rate is probably the easiest (and perhaps most economically significant) bit of legislation to accomplish—but so too must arrive the repeal of the Budget Control Act, which has devastated national security via the “sequester” and hamstrung a key Trump promise, that of a 355-ship Navy. The staffing reset—along with a rhetorical reset from President Trump himself begun last week—can help get things moving.