Conservatism

Americans At Least Pretend to Want Less Government

Featured image As government at all levels continues to grow, as our federal debt spirals out of control, and as the constitutional ideal of limited government fades into history, it is good to know that most Americans at least claim to believe in smaller government. Rasmussen reports: By a 14-point margin, most voters still prefer a limited-government agenda. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 52% of Likely »

Want Healthy Kids? Go Right

Featured image Reality is what you already know. Data is when someone puts numbers to reality. Like, for example, this Institute for Family Studies/Gallup survey, via Breitbart: Children of conservative parents are more likely to have good mental health compared to children of liberal parents, according to a new Institute for Family Studies (IFS) and Gallup research brief published Thursday. “As it happens, being raised by liberal parents is a much larger »

Please Help Conservatism Win

Featured image As you probably know, I run Minnesota’s largest and most effective conservative organization, Center of the American Experiment. We are now well into the fourth quarter, and fundraising is my main activity. Every year, Minnesota’s charities collaborate on Give to the Max Day, when citizens are encouraged to support their favorite non-profits. It has turned into a pretty big deal and a good fundraising opportunity, and it is coming up »

If Only the Conservative Party Were Conservative

Featured image You may have heard that Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been forced out of the British Cabinet, apparently because she correctly complained about the fact that London’s Metropolitan Police show favoritism toward Muslim demonstrators (often, rioters) compared with other groups, like the “far right.” Braverman’s critique was not gratuitous; as Home Secretary, she had ultimate responsibility for the Metropolitan Police. Nevertheless, it was enough to get her fired. Braverman did »

Americans Are On Israel’s Side

Featured image Our “elite” universities–a designation that doesn’t mean their students know anything about history, can do math, know anything about science or are acquainted with Western (or any) literature–have come down heavily on the side of Hamas in the current Middle Eastern conflict. This may be due to the fact that Islamic countries have poured billions of dollars into their coffers, or maybe it is just the usual perversity of American »

“Why should I ever vote for a Democrat again?”

Featured image Matt Taibbi is one of a group of honest liberals who are not blind to the contemporary Left’s faults. At Racket News, he writes about his testimony before Jim Jordan’s House Weaponization of Government Committee, which apparently prompted a visit to his home by the IRS. Jordan’s House committee investigated, with the result that the IRS has announced a new policy on home visits. The substance of the investigation is »

Mugged By Reality

Featured image Bari Weiss is one of America’s top independent journalists, with a popular podcast. We have followed her work here for a while. The Gazan invasion of Israel, with its attendant horrors, seems to have pushed her over the edge. Read the whole thing; it is eloquent: Journalist Bari Weiss, a Jewish liberal who quit the New York Times over its anti-Semitism, writes: ”As a Democrat who has been left homeless, »

One Day In the Media

Featured image In addition to my day job and writing for Power Line, I do quite a bit of radio as well as some television and podcasting. Yesterday I did two radio shows and a podcast, talking about Gaza’s attack on Israel, “Allahu Akbar” on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol, the ongoing fiasco in the House of Representatives, and more. Just for fun, here are those three appearances. First, morning »

A Politician For Our Time

Featured image Pierre Poilievre is the leader of Canada’s Conservative Party. In this viral clip, he is interviewed by a hack left-wing journalist while munching an apple (Poilievre, not the journalist). It makes for an enjoyable couple of minutes. I especially like Poilievre’s response to the “some people say” ploy that is so beloved by liberal journalists: Pierre Poilievre casually smacks down a left wing journalist while munching on an apple. pic.twitter.com/FeAcjCncvw »

Buy Ari’s Book

Featured image Tonight was the Minnesota Republican Party’s annual Elephant Club dinner. Former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer was the speaker. My wife and I were luckily seated at the head table. Ari did a very good job, speaking mostly on the topic of his recent book, Suppression, Deception, Snobbery, and Bias: Why the Press Gets So Much Wrong―And Just Doesn’t Care. His speech included a Power Point with egregious »

Strong Men Lean Right?

Featured image I think most people intuitively think of physically strong, macho men–guys like Scott, Steve and me, for instance–as conservative. Of course, the stereotype doesn’t always hold true. But a recent study confirms that the stereotype does, indeed, exist: [C]onservative men are perceived as physically stronger than liberals, according to scientists. The University of Arkansas-led research carried out four experiments to investigate the link between political orientation and chiselled physiques. As »

Does Conservatism Work?

Featured image I wrote here about the fact that Mississippi, America’s poorest state, has now surpassed the United Kingdom in per capita GDP, linking to an article in the Telegraph by Douglas Carswell. Carswell is a tremendously interesting guy: a Member of Parliament for 12 years, one of the founders of the Brexit movement, who left the U.K. to run a free market think tank in Mississippi. Last week was the State »

Has Tucker Lost It?

Featured image I haven’t seen as much of Tucker Carlson as most conservatives, since it is a long time since I have watched Fox News and I haven’t followed his recent efforts on Twitter. But I find him likable and agree with him most of the time. Check out, however, this podcast with Adam Corolla, which runs more than an hour: It is vintage Tucker, and as usual I agree with most »

From Malawi to the Conservative Movement

Featured image Martha Njolomole is one of the most extraordinary people I know. She grew up in Malawi, in East Africa. Her family was poor, although not particularly so by Malawian standards. Her home had neither electricity nor running water. She walked a considerable distance to and from school, and when she got home she walked a mile or two to a well for water, which she carried home in a bucket »

A Day at the Fair

Featured image Over the years, I have chronicled on this site my visits to the Minnesota State Fair, one of America’s great spectacles. I have photographed seed art, butter sculptures, and much more. In years gone by, I did radio broadcasts from the Fair. And for the last two years, my organization, American Experiment, has had a booth at the Fair for one Saturday. We have a prime location near the Grandstand. »

The Great Realignment

Featured image Matt Taibbi offers a bracing assessment of the current political landscape at Racket News and YouTube. “Campaign 2024: Not Left Versus Right, But Affluent Versus Everyone Else.” It is the sort of thing that ten years ago, I wouldn’t have taken seriously. But now… The realignment of major parties away from blue against red and toward a rich versus poor dynamic is America’s most undercovered political story. *** There are »

Mississippi, Beacon of Progress

Featured image Why did one of Britain’s leading advocates for Brexit leave the U.K. to head up a policy organization in Mississippi? Douglas Carswell explains in the Telegraph: You might be surprised to learn that Mississippi, the poorest state in the US, is now wealthier than Britain. Mississippi’s GDP per capita last year was $47,190, slightly above the UK’s approximately $45,000, though still well below the overall American average of $70,000. While »