Can a good Muslim be a good American? Brian, a constitutional scholar, put the question to Michael, a national security expert, as we passed the Washington office of Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim to serve there. Ellison’s decision to be sworn in on the Quran still echoes controversially.
Can we keep America exceptional?
President Obama insists that America is not exceptional. Yet for his flawed economic policies to work, he must rely on an amazing degree of exceptionalness. Like any nation, we are not exempt from the consequences of ill-considered choices. We have the advantage of observing the outcome that decades of overspending and social profligacy have caused in Europe -- welfare dependency, oppressive taxation and insurmountable debt. And riots.
America is indeed exceptional in many important ways: freedom, innovation, opportunity, honor. But bloated government outlays and intrusive, business-thwarting regulations bring economic collapse, even here.
Ready for Some Watershed Thinking?
By John Andrews
As conservatives, the only question is not how should we vote. How should we live? How should we treat people? How should we view America and its future? I've long believed that many of the answers are hiding in plain sight, up near the Continental Divide in my imaginary hometown of the heart, Backbone, Colorado. It was the dateline for over a hundred of my Denver Post columns in the past decade, and they're now collected in a new book, Backbone Colorado USA: Dispatches from the Divide.
You can nibble these brief, practical essays like popcorn, but get ready for a healthy jolt -- this is power food for hungry citizens. Or to change the metaphor: it's watershed thinking to help readers draw the line between the postmodern laziness that will sink America and the aroused civic courage we must summon up to save our country. Order your copy today, plus a couple of extras to give as gifts. And please let me know what you think of it.
Jerry Brown slurs Whitman -- earns NOW's endorsement
The timing couldn't be more profound: just one day after California gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is caught on tape as a campaign aide calls Meg Whitman a "whore", the National Organization for Women announces -- you guessed it -- that it is supporting Jerry Brown for Governor. Proving that liberal orthodoxy trumps gender every time, NOW not only is endorsing a man over a woman in California, but it is apparently not concerned with Brown's acceptance of sexist, demeaning language being used against his opponent. In NOW's view, Whitman -- who is pro-life -- apparently doesn't warrant the kind of protection from mysogynist attacks that the group's charter is supposed to provide all women. But as it has proven time and time again, female conservatives are the wrong kind of women. Not that NOW can't be enraged by a politician's words -- just not those of Democrat politicians. Posted prominently on the NOW website, the group is vehemently denouncing Senator Jim DeMint's "dangerous comments" on gays and sexually active single women "being unfit to teach". According to NOW, DeMint's comments to a "conservative church group" make him a "sexist bigot" who is "ignorant, homophobic" and unfit to serve in the U.S. Congress. DeMint actually made these comments six years ago, and was only recently reflecting on the impact they had in the media in a speech he gave last week to the Greater Freedom Rally in Spartanburg, South Carolina. And he actually said that "gays and unmarried pregnant women" should not be public school teachers -- a statement that NOW extrapolated to mean "sexually active single women" -- as if every sexually active single woman gets pregnant. Leaving aside the wisdom of DeMint's views on these issues, is putting forward a value statement on public education really worse than calling a woman a "whore"?
For NOW -- which has never met a conservative woman it can support, a man who uses a sexist slur is still better than a self-made woman who embodies the very feminist values of hard work and female mobility that the group is supposed to stand for.
Shameful.
America is Calling: Support Ken Buck
ProgressNowColorado.com has Ken Buck in their crosshairs. The Independent, the left wing newspaper out of Colorado Springs is ridiculing Rasmussen so readers will discredit his polling data. Ken Buck's victory on Tuesday night set off a firestorm that quickly spread beyond Colorado. As typically occurs, once election results are known, the losing camp sulks off to lick their wounds and pout for a bit. Buck people would have done the same had Norton won. It's normal and allowed and with the amount of passion and intensity that went into these campaigns, anything less that heartbreak would be abnormal.
It's Friday now and the sun has continued to rise each morning since Ken Buck was handed the banner of victory. While Norton supporters have sulked, the progressive Democrats have been busy concocting a game plan to defeat Ken Buck. Can Ken win in November? Of course, he can. He defied all odds by winning the primary. He habitually ran behind in polling, fundraising, name recognition and high-profile endorsements. The results should have been different on Tuesday night if all the typical political markers had held strong.
The enormously powerful and well-funded 527, "Grow Our Party" hand-picked Mrs. Norton and funneled millions into Colorado in the way of TV ads and mailers. Some of their effort worked. There were voters that changed their mind from Ken to Jane based on the ad campaign from "G.O.P." It's time for G.O.P. to realize their efforts worked to some degree, so this is no time to pull out of Colorado. They need to mount an attack against the forces that would defeat Ken Buck.
Ken Buck has what it takes to defeat Michael Bennet. He will be excellent in debates and he does not waiver in his positions. He is extremely personable and likable and time and again, people he met on the stump would comment that if people actually heard him in person, shook his hand and looked him in the eye, they couldn't help but see his sincerity, integrity and deep commitment to fight for his country. He has a very appealing demeanor; there is nothing elite or pretentious about him which is why he immediately lead the pack among the grassroots voters that are tired and frustrated with establishment Republicans. Another common thought that echoed throughout the primary campaign was the fact that many Republicans no longer trust their county chairs and people in higher authority in the party. After all, it was on their watch that the Republicans suffered defeats in '06 and '08. Why keep following a game plan that is proven to fail?
Jane Norton needs to come out in a bold way and call upon all her supporters to not just stand with Ken Buck with their vote, but to donate. This race is going to be all about money. Ken Buck needs a war chest to strike back when lies are told and attacks are levied toward him.
Our country is calling. We need to replace Michael Bennet with the people's choice, Ken Buck. He won. He can do the job but he needs the assistance of an entire nation that understands how crucial his conservative vote is in the U.S. Senate.
Go to www.buckforcolorado.com to donate, volunteer and get involved. There will be another election in 6 years. If you aren't happy with Ken Buck at that point, you have another shot at putting someone in Washington that you'd prefer. But for now, Ken Buck is our candidate. We can support him 100% and do our best to turn the tide of this Administration, or we can sit it out because we didn't get the candidate we wanted. If you choose the latter, you've already cast a vote for Michael Bennet and more of Obama's progressive agenda.