Making Abortion Unthinkable

Gov. Kay Ivey (AP News)

I heartily applaud Alabama for (effectively) banning the barbaric practice of abortion! Undoubtedly, this law will soon be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which will hopefully result in the long overdue overturning of Roe v. Wade.

However, we must keep in mind that while changing the law is important, even more important is the changing of hearts and minds. We can and should completely ban abortion by law, but the reality is that laws can and do change frequently, and unfortunately many people will still obtain abortions illegally.

If Roe v. Wade was overturned tomorrow, it would undoubtedly save countless innocent lives. However, we would be back in the same boat we were in prior to 1973. Abortion would still be legal in many states, and pro-choice advocates would immediately start working overtime to reverse the decision. A couple liberal Supreme Court appointments later and the cycle will repeat itself.

Until we are able to instill a respect for the intrinsic value of a human life, back into society, the fight over abortion will not be won. As St. John Paul II said in Evangelium Vitae, we must transform our society from a culture of death to a culture of life.

So yes, we must work tirelessly to give the unborn the full protection of the law, but we must work just as hard, if not harder, to change the hearts and minds of our fellow human beings. Because if human life has no value, then what does have value? The right to life is the very centerpoint of not only the U.S. Constitution, but also natural law. Once human life becomes something we can toss aside, all other morality soon follows.

We must continue to speak out against the evil of abortion, even if the law changes. We must show compassion to mothers who are facing an unplanned pregnancy. The pro-life movement must continue to support women when they do choose life, creating viable and readily accessible alternatives to abortion. We should push for funding for crisis pregnancy centers (instead of for Planned Parenthood), and reform the adoption and foster care systems, to make it easier for couples to adopt and for mothers to give their child up for adoption. When a woman is facing a challenging pregnancy, pro-lifers must be the first to reach out with assistance. We need to make the alternatives to abortion so effective, so easy, that choosing life becomes the common-sense decision.

In short, we need to make abortion not only illegal, but more importantly, unthinkable.

Athletes Should Not "Shut Up and Dribble"

No, professional athletes should not "shut up and dribble" or "stick to sports."

Using that logic, plumbers should shut up and tighten pipes, truckers should stick to driving, lawyers should shut up and sue, and the only people that should ever talk politics is politicians and political science professors. Does that sound like the kind of world you want to live in?

You may not agree with LeBron James' views on guns or Chris Long's view on Donald Trump, but they have just as much right as anyone else to express their opinions.

I didn't hear any conservatives telling Benjamin Watson to stick to football when he spoke at the March for Life last year. Or Matt Birk, when he chose not to visit the White House because of President Obama's support of abortion. So don't be a hypocrite, just because you disagree with these athletes.

The beautiful thing about America is that every single person has a say in how this country is run. Telling someone to "stick to sports" or "stay in their lane" is really the antithesis of this idea, and an acknowledgement that certain individuals views do not matter.

I am glad to see athletes speaking up on issues that matter to them. In fact, I wish even more athletes would do so. It's a sight better than the typical reasons athletes make the news. We should encourage more athletes to get involved in their communities and start becoming a positive force for good in the world, whether we agree with their political views or not.

Instead of criticizing LeBron for speaking out, why not respect him for being a great role model his entire career? Instead of bashing Chris Long for boycotting the White House, why not praise him for donating his entire salary this year to charity.

Conservatives, we can do better.

The Greatest Forgotten President

Americans yearning for the leadership of former presidents is quite the common occurrence in today’s tumultuous political times. “If only we had another Abraham Lincoln or George Washington,” people wistfully say. While this is certainly an admirable wish, there is another president they should look to. Perhaps the kind of man really needed to lead the country today is neither Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, nor even Roosevelt. Perhaps the ideal president for this era of crippling debt, absurdly complex regulations and miles of red tape, tense international relations, and endless partisan bickering is a man perhaps most known for his propensity to say as little as possible. In a time when politicians rant, rave, and constantly make wild accusations on national television (or Twitter), perhaps what is needed is a president who once said, “The words of a President have an enormous weight and ought not to be used indiscriminately.”

By now it has become abundantly clear to whom this refers. Indeed, what average American would not have instantly guessed that the above refers to the 30th, and last genuinely fiscally conservative president, John Calvin Coolidge Jr.?

Now, before you laugh, hear me out.

It is true that the average person likely knows very little about Calvin Coolidge, and that is undoubtedly just how he would have wanted it. However, the general lack of familiarity with the Coolidge presidency is certainly no indicator that his accomplishments were few. In fact, quite to the contrary, Calvin Coolidge, though he said very little, acted slowly, and with much deliberation, did a great deal of good during his six years as president. And the best part about Coolidge is that both sides of the aisle could probably find something to appreciate in his policies.

Limited government conservatives of today would adore President Coolidge. It was noted that Coolidge's propensity for doing nothing was exactly what made him so popular. The Father of Modern Journalism, Walter Lippmann, once said of Coolidge, “This active inactivity suits the mood and certain of the needs of the country admirably. It suits all the business interests which want to be let alone.... And it suits all those who have become convinced that government in this country has become dangerously complicated and top-heavy...” Coolidge firmly believed that the best government was a small government, and governed as such, perhaps even to a fault. Coolidge famously vetoed the McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill not only because of its high cost, but also because he believed that agriculture should exist “on an independent business basis,” rather than being propped up by the government. Unsurprisingly, the size of government actually shrunk during Coolidge's time in office. This fiscal restraint allowed the United States to pay off one fourth of its national debt. Imagine for a minute, policies today that would allow the United States government to pay off $5 trillion of its debt!

In President Coolidge, the “taxation is theft” crowd would find a true champion. Silent Cal took office in 1923 and by 1927 he had completely eliminated income tax for all but 2% of the population. How is that for tax cuts?

Many conservatives question the power and influence of the United Nations. Coolidge would have as well. As president, he blocked the United States from entering into the League of Nations because he believed that it did not serve American interests. He also helped enact tariffs to protect American businesses from predatory foreign influences.

Coolidge favored a non-interventionist approach to foreign policy. While he was not an isolationist, it was clear that he preferred for America to keep to itself unless absolutely necessary. America ratified the Kellogg-Briand Pact during the Coolidge presidency, which, while it ultimately failed in its purpose of preventing another war, ended up serving as a basis for post-World War II international law.

“Silent Cal” is perhaps most recognized for his advancement of civil rights in America. In a time when African-Americans were subject to widespread and often violent discrimination, Coolidge was a champion of civil rights. In his first State of the Union address he said, “Numbered among our population are some 12,000,000 colored people. Under our Constitution their rights are just as sacred as those of any other citizen. It is both a public and a private duty to protect those rights. The Congress ought to exercise all its powers of prevention and punishment against the hideous crime of lynching […].” What a stark contrast to a few years prior when Woodrow Wilson publicly advocated for segregation. During Coolidge’s presidency the Ku Klux Klan gradually faded into obscurity. In 1924, he signed the Indian Citizenship Act, giving United States citizenship to all Native Americans, further cementing his status as one of the earliest supporters of civil rights.

If all these arguments are still unpersuasive, consider the fact that Calvin Coolidge is still the only president to have been born on Independence Day. He was clearly destined for greatness. (Note: reportedly, sources close to the family have said that there were indeed fireworks and multiple bald eagles present for his birth. This claim is being further investigated, but the author has found no reason of yet to doubt its veracity.) On a non-political note, Calvin Coolidge was a noted animal lover and once said, “Any man that does not like dogs and want them about does not deserve to be in the White House.” On top of all that, his taciturn and mysterious ways earned him what is assuredly the greatest nickname of any president: The Sphinx of the Potomac.

Over the last several decades Republicans and Democrats alike, anxious to advance their respective agendas, have drastically increased the size and influence of government. Even Lincoln and Reagan, men who are very nearly worshiped by conservatives, had a hand in this; Reagan increased government spending and Lincoln increased government influence. Maybe it is time to look to a new example of conservative ideals. Conservatives wax eloquent about the benefits of small government, so perhaps it is time to look to the example of a president who actually shrunk government, practiced true fiscal restraint, and believed that the best government was a limited one. Calvin Coolidge got government out of Americans’ way, and as a result the country enjoyed one of its most prosperous decades to date. Calvin Coolidge is exactly the president this country needs today.

A Few Thoughts on #NeverTrump and #NeverHillary

In light of Evan McMullin's recent announcement that he will be mounting a conservative, independent challenge to Trump and Clinton (don't worry, we all had to Google him too), here are a few of my thoughts:

1. If you are supporting a 3rd party or independent candidate because you truly believe he or she has a legitimate shot of winning at least a state or two, then good for you; I respect that. Go out and work hard for that candidate. Trying to break the two party stranglehold on American politics could potentially also be a respectable reason to vote 3rd party.
2. Despite this election being between the two most unpopular nominees in history, the odds of any candidate not named Trump or Clinton winning a state are still extremely low. In a society where a large percentage of people could not even name the two main candidates, it will be incredibly difficult for a candidate with low name ID to gain any traction. Especially without the backing of a major party.
3. If you're voting 3rd party merely to take a principled stance or keep your conscience clear, that's fine too. Just realize that as a conservative, you are essentially saying that Hillary would be better than Trump, because every vote he loses is a vote gained for her. Same goes for liberals voting for Jill Stein; you guys are essentially allowing Trump to be elected. Like it or not, that's how it works in a two party system, especially given the nature of the electoral college. To say otherwise is merely wishful thinking (unless you fall into the first category of people I mentioned).
4. I still intensely dislike Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and as of this moment, I have not made up my mind on whom I will be voting for, if anyone. Rest assured though, it will not be Hillary Clinton.
5. No matter how much you detest the candidates at the top of the tickets, please, please, don't let that deter you from showing up to vote this November. There are hundreds of principled candidates down the ballot that need your support. The Presidency is only one office, and can be held in check by the courts, Congress, and state governments.

Tragedy in Orlando

Tragedy struck in Orlando, Florida on Saturday. In what appears to be the largest mass shooting in U.S. history and one of the worst terror attacks since 9/11, a man walked into a nightclub, slaughtered forty-nine people and wounded countless others. I have waited until now to say anything about this, primarily because I have been trying to fully process the horrific nature of this crime; trying to comprehend what could bring a human being to kill his fellow human beings like this; trying to understand why this keeps happening and why nothing ever seems to be done to prevent it. It's hard to know what to say in the face of such evil, such sadness.

My heart breaks every time something like this happens. My heart breaks for the victims whose lives were taken from them prematurely, but most of all my heart breaks for their families who had their loved ones ripped away from them in such a tragic and brutal manner. Tragedies like these don't only affect the victims and their families, but also every one of us. An attack on any American is an attack on every American, and even more so, an attack on anyone is an attack on all of us as human beings. As these shootings become more and more and more commonplace I think we all find ourselves becoming increasingly more callous. It's far too easy to brush off these massacres as "just the way it is now." Let's not ever cease to be horrified and saddened at these acts of terror.

While there is obviously a political discussion to be had, I am not going to get political here. Now isn't the time for division or politics. Forty-nine people were just brutally murdered. Forty-nine families just lost their loved ones. We should pray for them, grieve with them, support them. Then, let's channel our emotions, our anger over what happened into action. For now, hold your loved ones a little closer tonight and spend a few minutes thanking God for them because you never know when they might be taken away from you. God bless and keep you all.

Bernie is Right; America Has a Problem

Alright, I'm just going to say it: Bernie Sanders is right. He is right that America has a problem with income inequality. The very rich are getting even richer while the rest of America's wages have flat-lined and even decreased. He is right that Americans should not have to bail out the big banks or car companies when they fail due to their borderline criminal activities, and he is right that sometimes these big executives should be tossed in jail. Finally, he is right that so many politicians are in the pockets of billionaires and special interests, and answer to them instead of to their constituents.

We should not be surprised that so many people are voting for Bernie and Trump when they feel like politicians have some nothing for them and don't care about them. I read an article awhile back called "The Pitchforks are Coming for Us Plutocrats." Well, it appears that they have arrived. People are disillusioned with the political class and haves turned to the only two people in the race that seen like they would be any different. Sanders and Trump are different symptoms to the same disease, and no one is more to blame than the political class and establishment politicians, of both parties, which has spent decades getting rich and getting re-elected instead of doing their job and working to solve the plight of so many people.

All that being said, most of Bernie's solutions to these problems would not improve this situation. In fact, in the long run, his policies would worsen the situation. You can point to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden all you like, Senator, but socialism has never, and will never work in an economy of this size. Capitalism is not the problem; crony capitalism is. True capitalism drives people to succeed, while crony capitalism and socialism burden people with regulations and taxes, smothering their will to keep trying. Instead of levying more taxes and increasing regulations on our economy, we need to cut taxes and make it easier for people to be successful. We need to make it easier for smaller businesses to compete with the huge corporations that are stealing their profits. And we need to make America a business friendly country so companies quit taking people's jobs to China and Mexico (man, I sound like The Donald now). Hard-working Americans are the ones who will solve this crisis, not the government. It's time for Uncle Sam to get out of our lives and let us succeed.

Presidential Primary Endorsement

When Rick Santorum, my long-time favorite candidate, suspended his campaign following the Iowa caucuses, I intended to "endorse" a new candidate prior to the New Hampshire primary. However, I found myself entirely unable to decide on a single candidate. The field was still full of great options. I did, however, manage to narrow down my choices to John Kasich, Chris Christie, and Marco Rubio.

Before I reveal my choice (which probably will not be a huge surprise to many of you), let me first explain my thought process.

First and foremost, I am looking for a candidate who will protect human life at all stages. Excepting Donald Trump, all the candidates running are pro-life in most cases. Chris Christie almost immediately removed himself from the running with his despicable attacks on Rubio's strong pro-life beliefs. I understand that most candidates out there are in favor of exceptions in the case of rape and incest, but Christie took it a step further than that and accused Rubio of being too pro-life. For me, that was unacceptable. He then made it an even easier choice for me by dropping out of the race. That left me with Kasich and Rubio. Obviously, Rubio has the upper hand on this issue, as he is unashamedly pro-life in all cases, whereas Kasich allows for exceptions in the case of the life of the mother, rape, and incest. But I do admire John Kasich's strong record of fighting for life as Governor of Ohio, most recently his defunding of Planned Parenthood.

After the life issue, the most important thing to me this election is that we choose a candidate who can beat the Democratic nominee. I firmly believe that another four or eight years of Democratic control would be nothing short of disastrous for America. The problem here was that I think both Kasich and Rubio both have an excellent shot at beating Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. Most people agree that they are the two most electable Republicans in a general election.

I have long said that Republicans need a candidate who can be an eloquent spokesman for the conservative movement. We need the face of our party to be a man or woman who will not only unify the party, but also expand the party. The last time we had such a candidate was in the eighties with Ronald Reagan. Reagan united America in a way that few Presidents have been able to do. He built a coalition of  not just conservative and moderate Republicans, but also the so-called "Reagan Democrats." In order to start winning national elections again Republicans have to expand their base. America is becoming more and more diverse, and frankly, the demographics are not on our side. In Governor Kasich and Senator Rubio I see two men capable of doing this, each in a different way. Kasich has already done this in Ohio. He is an extremely popular Republican governor of a state that twice voted for President Obama. Kasich has succeeded in Ohio by being a true compassionate conservative. He really does care about people, especially the less fortunate and those who are suffering. His quiet leadership and empathy was manifested as he campaigned for president and connected with people in a way that I saw with few other candidates. I think everyone was moved by his powerful interaction with the young man in South Carolina. Rubio takes a different, but equally effective approach. His relentless optimism, energy, and determination are inspirational. He is an eloquent speaker who can articulate conservative values in a way that is understandable, logical, and appealing. He is a fresh face in a line of work that is dominated by career politicians too concerned with getting reelected to actually get anything done.

Finally, I want a candidate who will know how to get things done without compromising his values or betraying the trust of those who elected him. In short, I want someone with the guts to stand up to the establishment Republicans and the Democrats but with the ability to work with the other side. Again, Ronald Reagan was a perfect example of this. He was a principled conservative who also managed to work with the Democrats to get things done when he needed to. This is where I started to see separation between my two choices. While I love Gov. Kasich, I worry that he has been in the game too long already and could turn out to be just another establishment guy who caves to the Democrats whenever they demand it. This might be an unfounded fear, but we conservatives have been betrayed by their own party one too many times.

A brief word on the candidates I previously ruled out. While I admire Jeb Bush for his years of service and his strong conservative record as governor of Florida, it was clear that this just wasn't his year. As unfair as it might be, he represents the past, in a time when most people want something new. Ted Cruz is a fearless defender of liberty. He has unflinchingly stood for conservative principles during his career as a litigator and as a Senator. However, he has a serious likeability problem. He does not seem to be the type of candidate that would unify the country, since he is disliked by so many people. I admire him and would love to see him on the Supreme Court or as Attorney General, but I don't believe he is the messenger the party needs at this time. Ben Carson is a brilliant surgeon and a good man, but is wholly unqualified to be president, in my opinion. He is dead last in the race and I have a hard time understanding why he is still in the race.

I have spent weeks debating this choice with myself. But in the last few days it has finally become crystal clear to me. We cannot afford to wait any longer to stop the frontrunner. Donald Trump must be defeated and conservatives must unite behind a single candidate in order to defeat him. It's clear that this candidate won't be Cruz, as his base (Evangelical voters) has been stolen by Trump. And while I still admire John Kasich, I no longer see a path forward for him either.

For these reasons, I have decided to support Senator Marco Rubio for president. Marco is a man of faith, and a principled conservative who is well liked by conservatives and moderates alike. I believe he has the ability to unite the party and the country. Most importantly, I believe he is the only remaining candidate with a chance to defeat Trump. I would love to see a Rubio-Kasich ticket in November. With all due respect to the Democrats, a Rubio-Kasich ticket would thrash all comers.

And just so you know I'm not all talk and no action, I am going to put my money where my mouth is and make my first political donation and become a financial supporter as well. Yes, stuff did just get real, folks. Maybe I can buy myself some of that influence Bernie Sanders is always talking about.

I ask that you all consider joining me in supporting Marco Rubio. Together we can usher in a New American Century.