If photo ID laws are the bane to minority voting rights that leftists and assorted federal judges claim, you’d expect the public to agree. Not even close.
Eighty percent of Americans, white and nonwhite across party lines support photo ID laws, according to a Gallup poll taken Aug. 15-16:
Nonwhite: 77%
Republicans: 93%
Independents: 83%
Democrats: 63%
Last July, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Texas’ “strict photo ID law” discriminated against or disproportionately affected black and Latino voters who allegedly face hardships in obtaining the necessary documents, which include any of the following:
Sadly, we live in the era of the low-information voter. The second edition of Ilya Somin’s Democracy and Political Ignorance (2016) documents widespread political ignorance among today’s public, including voters. Although nonvoters are abysmally ignorant of politics, voters are not walking, talking political encyclopedias either. Americans are more likely to be well-informed about celebrities, such as the Kardashians, than about political leaders.
Consistent with earlier research, Somin estimates that nearly a third of the American public are “know-nothings,” who possess “little or no relevant knowledge” about public affairs.
The New York Times Style Section recently ran a report called “UNEASY BEDFELLOWS,” describing marriages that reached the point of dissolution because of arguments concerning Donald Trump. When I discussed the subject on the air, one astute caller noted that none of the couples featured in the story seemed to share a religious outlook, and he suggested that if they did, they could far more easily handle their political disputes.
Unfortunately, far too many Americans now use politics as a substitute for faith, treating party loyalty as a matter of uncompromising identity that provides meaning, transcendence and morality.
Make no mistake, so many modern political battles are not between the religious and the non-religious. Rather, the biggest contests pit different religions against each other.
In this article, the topic is not the West’s clash with Islamism. That battle can be won again. It won’t be easy, but it can be accomplished. The list of battles between the West and Islam over the centuries is a long one. Here are just two examples where the good guys got the job done: Frankish military Charles Martel defeated the followers of Muhammed near Poitiers, France in the year 732.… Continue Reading
In a rare area of agreement, both presidential candidates want to help working families with childcare expenses. Donald Trump recently proposed a tax deduction for parents who place their kids in daycare; Hillary Clinton backs an even more costly plan, providing a refundable tax credit that would send daycare reimbursement checks even to families paying no income tax.
Both candidates, however, fail to recognize the unfairness of such arrangements to parents who decide to leave the workforce or cutback hours to care for their children themselves.… Continue Reading
Donald Trump, shortly after securing the GOP nomination, attached a name to Hillary Clinton, just as he did to his opponents throughout the primary process. She was Crooked Hillary, based on a lifetime of playing fast and loose with finances, ethics, and honesty. After photos surfaced this past week showing Mrs. Clinton struggling to ascend a set of steps, as well as reports of possible seizure activity, Trump may want to rename Mrs.… Continue Reading
It’s not just the rise of moral and cultural relativism that is turning public dialogue into dueling monologues as people talk past each other; it’s a growing belief that truth no longer matters – only cause and effect.
For example, the media are not content to let Donald Trump’s provocative statements speak for themselves; they are pulling out all stops to magnify outrage for partisan purposes.… Continue Reading
America is in crisis. For the urban poor, the crisis is a national emergency. Last month I attended the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. I fully expected an exposition of the usual conservative positions on the economy, national security, the military, energy, taxes and the national debt. Although I was not holding my breath, it was also my hope that Donald Trump would tackle what the first black President has ignored for nearly eight years – a real solution to the poverty, violence, and educational failure plaguing the inner cities of America.… Continue Reading
Was it simply a faux pas? Was it ignorance? Or was it intentional? These were the questions running through my mind as I listened to Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
After mentioning that she and other Democrats were meeting in Philadelphia, the nation’s birthplace, Clinton briefly talked about the struggle that our nation’s 13 colonies had in coalescing around the shaping of our Republic. “The revolution hung in the balance,” she said, but they found “common purpose.”… Continue Reading
Regardless of the Trump-Clinton matchup, it’s instructive to contrast the Republican and Democratic Party platforms. While nearly identical in length, they reveal utterly opposite worldviews.
The 54-page GOP platform calls for greater personal responsibility; de-centralizing power; a Balanced Budget Amendment; reducing the size and scope of government; parental rights; gun ownership and religious liberty; tax incentives for economic growth; reducing taxes across the board; a crackdown on the Internal Revenue Service; overturning the Supreme Court’s rulings on Obamacare, abortion and same-sex “marriage”; rejecting any treaties not vetted by the Senate; rescinding President Obama’s executive orders granting amnesty to illegal immigrants; withholding federal funds from “sanctuary cities”; building a wall on our southern border; rebuilding American military strength, and exerting international leadership against ISIS and other threats.… Continue Reading
Federal Elections, Political | Admin | 
August 31, 2016 4:00 AM | 
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