Real Political Leadership is Fearless in the Culture War

Written by John Biver

Here’s a quote for you:

The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardliness, it is conformity. — Rollo May

Here’s what courage sounds like:

Don’t waste your breath trying to bully me in Louisiana. It is absolutely constitutional to have religious liberty and economic freedoms. — Bobby Jindal

It’s also called leadership — you can’t have genuine leadership without courage.

What we’ve heard from most of the Republican candidates for president isn’t exactly inspirational when it comes to the issue of marriage.… Continue Reading

Quinnipiac: Walker Leading in Iowa

Jeb drops to 5% in latest Iowa poll.

Written by Michael Warren

A new Quinnipiac poll of likely Iowa Republican presidential caucusgoers finds Wisconsin’s Scott Walker in front of the GOP pack with 21 percent support and a 9-point advantage over his closest primary opponents. That’s down from 25 percent and a 12-point lead in Quinnipiac’s February poll, but Walker remains ahead of his Republican rivals, with senators Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, all huddled together behind the Wisconsin governor.… Continue Reading

The 2016 Presidential Race, Explained in 4 Charts

Religious Liberty Crisis Report Card

Written by Maggie Gallagher

Rod Dreher is right: the rage of the powerful against Indiana for daring to pass a state RFRA without the consent of the LGBT community marks a dramatic cultural and political inflection point,as I have pointed out in National Review. For the first time, a vanilla religious liberty bill similar to those passed in 19 other states was deemed “antigay” per se, and powerful corporations rushed in to punish the people of Indiana economically for their moral views on liberty.… Continue Reading

A Bold Proposal for Conservative GOP Candidates

Written by J. Matt Barber

“My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’” ~1 Corinthians 1:11-12

As Jesus warned, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25). Nothing has borne out this reality in recent decades like that exasperating spectacle called the Republican presidential primary.… Continue Reading

Reviewing Ted Cruz’s Image Among Republicans Nationally

Written by Frank Newport

Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the 44-year-old Canadian-born Texan who is now just in his third year as a U.S. senator, announced during a speech earlier this week at Liberty University in Virginia that he is running for his party’s nomination for president. He thus has the distinction of being the first major candidate from either party to announce an official candidacy. Cruz said in his announcement today, “I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to reignite the promise of America, and that is why today I am announcing that I’m running for president of the United States.”… Continue Reading

Are Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal Theocrats?

Written by Wallace Henley

“The theocrats are coming!” shriek some sentinels of the contemporary political battlefield every time a Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Rick Perry, or Bobby Jindal clear their throats.

Paul Revere, having seen the lanterns in Boston’s Christ Church bell-tower, shouted out, “The British are coming!” Today’s harbingers of theocratic threat get their signals from the towers of secularity, some latticed with ivy, others in the form of broadcasting antennae, and still more in the shape of looming skyscrapers.… Continue Reading

Ideal GOP Candidate Should Support Three Legs of Conservatism

Written by Chad Groening

Sandy Rios, director of governmental affairs at the American Family Association, says those “three legs” are social issues, national defense, and the economy.

Several potential Republican candidates are concentrating their efforts on Christian conservatives.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal hosted a prayer rally in his home state, sponsored by the American Family Association, in which he called for a national spiritual revival.

Dr. Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, spoke this past weekend at a Houston megachurch conference billed as an effort to “restore the soul of America.”… Continue Reading

Early Presidential Prospects

Written by Thomas Sowell

The more optimistic among us may hope that the Republicans will nominate somebody who stands for something, rather than the bland leading the bland — the kind of candidates the Republican establishment seems to prefer, even if the voters don’t.

With 2015 just getting under way, the buzz of political activity makes it seem almost as if we are already in the midst of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Among the Democrats, Hillary Clinton is honing her message to appeal to the mindset of the left wing of her party, whose support she will need in her second attempt to get the nomination as the Democrats’ presidential candidate in 2016.… Continue Reading

Hillary’s Money Problem

Written by Michael Medved

Hillary Clinton’s status as a wealthy celebrity will make it difficult for her to deploy the populist narrative that helped Democratic nominees win the popular vote in five out of the last six presidential elections. How can a woman who boasts a net worth of at least $21 million and hobnobs almost exclusively with well-heeled financial titans and movie stars, plausibly denounce Republicans as the party of the rapacious rich while portraying Democrats as defenders of the downtrodden?… Continue Reading