Free Republic

I was unable to watch President Trump's speech to Congress in real time but heard it was phenomenal. I watched it the next day, and it was even better than I expected. There was enough meat in the first five minutes to satisfy a hungry audience of Americans and fuel an extensive column, but it just kept getting better. I don't agree that Trump became presidential for the first time that evening as so many opined in chorus, because I think he's been presidential since his inauguration and also because I don't subscribe to the commentariat's superficial concept of...

Each passing day, this presidential election becomes more distasteful, but that doesn't relieve me of my duty to do what I believe is right. During the primaries, there were 17 GOP candidates, and I chose the one I believed would be the best for America. Now my realistic choices have been narrowed to two candidates -- Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton -- one of whom will be the next president. What does this mean for me? Well, some people on the right faced with this binary choice have concluded they can't in good conscience vote for Trump, no matter...

It is hard to deny that there is a worldwide impulse against elitism, globalism, unaccountable regulatory bureaucracies and illegal immigration that is powerfully present in the United States and transcends the Donald Trump candidacy. The vote to leave the European Union won decisively in Britain, which doubtlessly shocked the elites and political forecasters. Populist forces have also gained ground against former leftist strongholds in other parts of Europe. Many attribute this trend to an uprising of working-class voters, who have been damaged by the global economy and ignored by elites. That certainly proved true in the Brexit vote, in which...

Remember when the left passionately insisted that public schools distribute free condoms to students on the bizarre theory that they were going to have sex anyway and we might as well make it safe? Well, the results are in, and the left isn't looking too great. When this nation was first experiencing the AIDS scare, liberals were adamant that we had to saturate the culture with condoms for teens to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. They ignored warnings that this massive giveaway program would publicly sanction and, thus, encourage teen promiscuity. They rejected reports that condoms are hardly...

David Limbaugh discusses the need for Republican party unity. I found the entire interview interesting but especially at the 25 min mark. His take on party unity then is quite different than it is now.

I constantly hear that only Donald Trump supporters can understand the Trump phenomenon, as if it were inaccessible to nonbelievers, like the secret knowledge of ancient Gnostics. But I don't believe it's a matter of comprehension. Trump supporters are so tired of the ruling class and are so adamant about a handful of issues that they seem willing to overlook even monumental flaws in their candidate, so long as he will carry the torch against Washington -- at least on those major issues. They aren't just willing to ignore flaws; they don't care about them, because things are so bad...

What a perfect storm for the quintessentially conservative candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, a freedom lover's one-man dream team. He's not just an ideal constitutional conservative; he is perfectly situated to capitalize on the anti-establishment sentiment in the GOP electorate because he has been in the trenches, proving he'll fight the insiders from within. Then in rides brash businessman Donald Trump -- a wildcard of a political maverick -- and sucks all the anti-establishment oxygen out of the politisphere. He apparently has just the right personality, just the right bluster, just the right bravado, and more than enough money and moxie...

As the Christmas season approaches, I want to explain why I am so enthusiastic about the subject matter I've written about in my new book, "The Emmaus Code: Finding Jesus in the Old Testament." As I came to Jesus Christ kicking and screaming, I have always been passionate about sharing the epiphanies that led me to become a believer. I love to relate my excitement about the Bible and encourage others to give it a chance -- really give it a chance -- and to avail themselves of the full riches of God's Word. I admit that before I embraced...

Once again, President Obama emerged from his permanent sabbatical on the war on terror to inform us, in a bizarre address from the Oval Office, that he has things firmly under control and there's no need for us Americans to be concerned. Excuse me if I'm not comforted. Obama has made quite clear that he is blind to the threat that radical Islam represents to America and the rest of the civilized world. He obviously believes that Islam produces no more or worse terrorists than any other religion or cult and that it is wrong to focus on the radical...

One of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes points out, as only Lewis could, that Jesus was either the Messiah (and the Son of God) as prophesied in the ancient Jewish scriptures, or He was a liar, a lunatic, or, worse, the "Devil of Hell." Wrote Lewis: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and...

The Emmaus Code: The Key to the BibleFrank Turek | Nov 11, 2015 The Bible? How can you believe in an ancient collection of fanciful myths written by a small group of Hebrews thousands of years ago? And why would you think such a collection of ancient writings should have any bearing on our lives today? New York Times best-selling author David Limbaugh has answered those two questions adeptly in his latest two books. In last year's Jesus on Trial, Limbaugh artfully tells of his journey from skepticism about the Bible to his realization that the Bible is actually true....

I dedicate the lead of this column to thanking CNBC for displaying its rank liberal bias in last night's GOP presidential debate for all the world to see. In relative terms, "all the world" is not that far off if you consider last night's audience size compared with the network's usually paltry ratings. The more people who saw this charade from the network's alleged moderators the better for America. My first reaction as this spectacle unfolded was muted outrage, shaking my head that this atrophied arm of the mainstream liberal media would show its colors so overtly, without any pretense...

Liberals are famous for shaming conservatives for their past associations with questionable characters, while they exempt themselves from the same standards. What a shocker! Every other week, a liberal Twitter troll cites a Republican politician's innocent appearance at some long-forgotten political event with the likes of a Ku Klux Klan member, hoping to besmirch his reputation. Better yet, sometimes one of them will post a black-and-white photo of such an appearance, as if it's a smoking gun that will end the hapless Republican's career. It shouldn't surprise you that liberals had no problem with Sen. Robert Byrd's despicable association with...

I learned a little bit about the Donald Trump phenomenon after my appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News Channel show this week, as my comments led to galactic feedback on Twitter -- some positive, some negative. Hannity showed segments of his interview with Trump and asked me and the other guests to respond to various aspects of it. Some of the Twitter critics were upset with Fox News, alleging that it failed to provide a balanced picture, seeing as all three of us appeared anti-Trump. In this case, Fox News deserves to be defended because I believe it tried to...

Can we simultaneously love our children and betray their generation and generations unborn? Do I have your attention? I hope so, but I can't take credit for that lead. I stole it from Page 1 of Mark Levin's new book, "Plunder and Deceit: Big Government's Exploitation of Young People and the Future." Conservatives have long decried the left's feigned concern "for the children" while it pursues an agenda that is wrecking their future, from Social Security and other budget-busting entitlements to the undermining of our national security. But no one has devoted a book to turning this meme on its...

The long-simmering disconnect between the Republican Party's conservative base and its leaders in government has degenerated into a full-blown schism. While President Obama accelerates his increasingly radical agenda, the GOP, despite its congressional majority, can barely muster an objection, let alone block his momentum. Other than to offer a toothless public rebuke of Obama's destructive schemes, what was the point of the 2014 GOP congressional landslide? It's no longer just a small percentage of conservatives questioning the GOP. Our people are furious — and rightly so. I've recently shared my opinion that Donald Trump's explosive surge is because of his...

Lately I've shared my lament that in America today we are witnessing a surreal transformation of the greatest nation in history. Last week, a spate of headlines made this point better than I could make it on my own. I was minding my business, mind you, surfing the Internet to check out the news and political sites and forums I customarily visit, and these news and column headlines, most from last week, some from a bit earlier and a few from this week, bombarded me. I wasn't looking for trouble. Nor was the satirical website The Onion one of the...

President Obama's stunning declaration that the global image of the United States has greatly improved under his administration is another example of his ideology and narcissism's blinding him to his many policy failures. During a White House event with the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, he managed to turn the subject to himself, saying, "People don't remember -- when I came into office, the United States in world opinion ranked below China and just barely above Russia. And today, once again, the United States is the most respected country on earth." As evidence, the White House cited a Gallup poll,...

I read an opinion piece this week by liberal writer Joan Walsh decrying the presumed jubilation of "white America" and the media over a mother's public spanking of her son for participating in the Baltimore riots. Walsh quotes the mother, Toya Graham, as acknowledging that she "just lost it" when she saw her son on camera and went into action to get him off the streets. Walsh writes: "Her moment of losing it made her a hero to much of white America — and not just to the right. Coast to coast, the media is hyping Graham as 'Hero Mom'...

Please forgive me, but I'm singularly unimpressed with Hillary Clinton in general, but especially as a Democratic presidential candidate. I'm neither smug nor complacent about the likelihood of defeating her, but I am incautiously optimistic. I hope I'm not wrong; the country can't take four more years of the same disastrous policies. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that Hillary appears to be the anointed candidate with virtually no one in the party surfacing to challenge her for the nomination. If she was ever a good candidate, her time has clearly passed, because the mythical image that she has invested so...