Recent Viewpoints

Voter turnout this election season has been higher than normal. But data from Pew Research helps put the higher than normal numbers of voters in their proper perspective. Through the first 12 primaries of 2016, the combined Republican turnout has been the highest since at least 1980. Democratic turnout has been the highest since 1992, although there was a high turnout in 2008. Now for the reality check. The combined Republican turnout was only 17.3 percent of eligible voters. The…

When President Obama was in Austin for a music festival, he said: “We’re the only advanced democracy in the world that makes it harder for people to vote.” He talked about barriers politicians put up that “make it as hard as possible for our citizens to vote.” I must admit, I do not know what he is talking about. Let’s start with a requirement to show a photo ID. I don’t consider that a barrier to voting, but let’s for…

Although there are have been some protesters at various presidential rallies, most of the media attention has been on those protesting Donald Trump rallies. That is understandable since many of them have used bare-knuckle tactics and a mob mentality. To listen to some in the media, it is Donald Trump’s fault that these clashes are taking place. Certainly his provocative rhetoric has intensified the reaction. But let’s put some of this in context. Leftist groups routinely shut down events on…

The United States Justice Department is considering taking on a new function: going after climate change deniers. Climate change deniers, or climate deniers, for short, are people (often scientists) and corporations who don’t buy into the theory of climate change, formerly known as global warming. It is true that the climate constantly changes, due entirely or almost entirely to natural and God-ordained forces. The most controversial part of the theory of climate change states that mankind holds great responsibility for…

In nearly every one of the presidential campaigns you hear lots of doom and gloom. And I agree that there are many things in this country that need to be fixed. But it is also worth remembering that things are better than we know. David Harsanyi reminds us that in many ways, we never had it so good. He argues that we have lost any sense of context. Let’s compare our current situation to the Great Depression. Let’s compare our…

As we get closer to April 15, more and more Americans hope they don’t have to deal with the IRS and an audit of their tax returns. But some Americans have had to deal with the IRS for years just to get a tax-exempt status. You may remember the IRS scandal from five years ago. Congress demanded answers, and the IRS and other political officials said the problem was just a few rogue employees in Ohio. Congress asked for the…

Every year the Ruling Class in America takes more power away from the people by seizing control of the government. Lawrence Lindsey writes about this in his new book, Conspiracies of the Ruling Class. The irony is that many people might actually think he is part of the Ruling Class. He has served as a Federal Reserve Governor, Harvard professor, and assistant to three presidents. That is why the observations in his book are so powerful. He documents the shift…

If you have wondered how so many evangelicals can vote for Donald Trump, you are not alone. Many commentators admit that it is one of the most puzzling aspects of the 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump lost the evangelical vote to Ted Cruz in Iowa, but has done well with evangelical voters since then. Ralph Reed in a recent column attempts to bring some light to the subject. He first explains that Donald Trump isn’t doing any better among evangelical…

We are all familiar with the racial controversies that developed at the University of Missouri. In the end, the chancellor and the president resigned. Once that happened, it was easy to see that the controversy and the subsequent resignations would have a detrimental impact on student enrollment. Apparently, this caught the university off guard. Fox Sports was able to obtain a copy of the interim chancellor’s letter to the university community. “I am writing to you today to confirm that…

Pastor and author Max Lucado has written lately about decency as it relates to the presidential election. Decency is sort of a minimum demand we make on many of our relationships. Max Lucado writes of his three daughters and how he  “reserved the right to interview their dates.” He’d want to know: Did the young man “behave in a decent manner? Would he treat my daughter with kindness and respect? Could he be trusted to bring her home on time?…

Why do so many candidates talk about their humble upbringing and sometimes even pretend to be poor? Let’s face it. Most of the presidential candidates this year are quite rich. They pay more in taxes each year than most of us make in a year. Still they tell us a story that sounds like it was taken from a biography of Abraham Lincoln. Other commentators have noticed this. Victor Davis Hanson refers to them as “Log-Cabin Candidates” and Ian Tuttle…