Category Archives: Townhall
Townhall.com Staff: Kagan Displays Legal Knowledge, Reveals No Legal Views
By Ilya Shapiro In questioning by Senators Hatch, Kyl, Feingold, and Grassley, Elena Kagan revealed that she has a firm grasp on legal precedent, including what exactly the Court said in Citizens United (as distinct...
Ken Klukowski: Kagan on the Banning Pamphlets and the First Amendment
Senator Orrin Hatch did a great job of pressing Elena Kagan on her shocking views of the First Amendment. After she was confirmed as SG, her office argued (I was in the courtroom for the argument) that the government...
Michael Medved: Surprising Common Ground on Immigration
Pundits like to suggest the public is powerfully polarized on immigration, but polls show there's actually much common ground. Big majorities want better border security and a crackdown on undocumented workers;...
Carol Platt Liebau: Leaving the Sinking Ship . . .
Members of the lefty finger-in-the-wind brigade are starting to desert the President in droves. That's because they realize the Obama presidency is shaping up to be a disaster, and they're trying to absolve themselves...
Kevin Glass: Fact Check: “Full and Good” Access?
On the hot-button issue of military recruiters during her tenure as Dean of Harvard Law School, Elena Kagan today proclaimed that "...the military at all times had full and good access" on campus.This is simply not...
Jillian Bandes: Break Dancing In The Senate Judiciary Hearing Room
There hasn't been any break dancing in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room just yet, but there are a few juicy nuggets we can pull out of what has transpired. The first is something other nominees before her...
Townhall.com Staff: Kagan the Tight-Lipped, Fair-Weather Originalist
By Ilya Shapiro Here's what you have missed if you don't have the luxury of watching C-SPAN all day: * Senator Sessions went after Kagan hard on the Military-Recruiting-at-Harvard imbroglio. I don't think he did any...
Chris Field: Who Does Eric Holder Really Work For?
The Obama Justice Department, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder, seems more interested in playing politics with the prosecution of terrorists and defending jihadists than in nailing down convictions to help protect...
Townhall.com Staff: Here We Go Again
By Ilya Shapiro A few brief points as we get into the main event in the hearings looking at Solicitor General Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court. First, thanks so much to Townhall for having me blog about...
Jillian Bandes: A Tale Of Stimulus Money In Portland
An independent audit cannot confirm or deny whether the city's expenditure of $503 has actually increased employment in their area. Why? Part of it is slow implementation, because only 35 of those projects had actually...
Ken Klukowski: Kagan “Doesn’t Know” if She’s a “Legal Progressive”
Senator Sessions (R-AL) just quoted a liberal lawyer friend of Elena Kagan who said she was a "legal progressive." Sessions asked Kagan if she considers that a fair label. She just said she doesn't know what that phrase...
Jillian Bandes: Kagan Is Political: Don’t Expect Anything More
The them of the Kagan hearings today is going to be the nominee's judicial experience. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) says that she has had less experience than anyone nominated to the Court in 50 years, because she has...
Jillian Bandes: Civil Rights Act, Robert Byrd, And Rand Paul
Politics Daily's Mary Curtis says Robert Byrd's initial rebuke of the Civil Rights Act was excusable given that he apologized for it, and that he knew how to right himself because he had the benefit of hindsight. She...
Jillian Bandes: Gumshoes Gone Wrong
A fascinating tale of modern gumshoery has emerged on from the streets of Boston, New York, and Virginia, as ten Russian agents were arrested after nearly a decade of living in the United States. During that time, they...
Carol Platt Liebau: The Closed Mind of the American University — and the Court’s Martinez Majority
It is remarkable that a majority of the Supreme Court (5-4) would actually believe it is constitutionally permissible for a public law school to withold funding to a religious organization on campus simply because that...
Greg Hengler: Sessions Blistering Kagan: You “Demeaned Our Soldiers” & Care “More About Politics Than Law”
Here's what Sessions outlines in his opening statement: Kagan's adoration towards judicial activists; blocking restrictions on partial birth abortion; kicking the military off Harvard's campus; suppressing speech;...
Michele Bachmann: Big Win Today for the Second Amendment
Today, the Supreme Court handed down a decision that says that Second Amendment is still the law of the land. While Second Amendment advocates celebrate a victory, I have to point out what's so shocking about the...
Greg Hengler: Al Franken Caught Sleeping During Kagan Testimony
If you had the pleasure of watching Kagan's paint dry testimony today, you would second Franken's sentiment. Killing us with her cadence. Ahhhhh!
Helen Whalen Cohen: Good News For Guns, But Not Freedom of Association
The McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court decision is big news, but it isn't the only opinion worth noting. Another important opinion was handed down today, in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez.In 2004, the Christian...
Carol Platt Liebau: The Constitution Rules!
The Supreme Court has todayaffirmed that the Second Amendment secures a fundamental right to gun ownership that cannot be abridged by the states.The importance of this ruling can hardly be overstated. For years,...
Michael Medved: ‘Unconscionable Discouragement of Savings
Reflecting prevailing liberal perspectives, the New York Times ran a front page story using words like "unconscionable" to describe the idea that billionaires who die in 2010 can leave their money for their families,...
John Campbell: The Stimulus Masquerade
Would it surprise you to learn that as of right now job losses have returned to their pre-recession levels? Would it also surprise you to know that, in the 2001 recession, employers cut 3.1 million more jobs than have...
Jillian Bandes: Second Amendment Roundly Applies To States
The Supreme Court's McDonald v. Chicago decision today ruled that local government cannot place overly-burdensome restrictions on their citizens ability to own firearms. It was a landmark ruling for the Second...
Greg Hengler: Fmr Shell Oil Pres: Obama’s Oil Drilling Moratorium Will Lead To $1.50-$2.00 More Per Gallon By 2012
Remember when Rupert Murdoch labeled Obama's policies as "dangerous" and predicted that unemployment would reach 10 to 11 percent on Cavuto back on June 8, 2009? Well here we have former president of Shell Oil, John...
Carol Platt Liebau: Disgracing Democracy
By resorting to legislative trickery in order to enact their unpopular agenda, Democrats show profound contempt for the people who elected them -- and even go so far as to endanger the civic health of our democratic...
Chris Field: The Myth of the Conservative Supreme Court
Ever since the Supreme Court wrongly delivered the presidential election to George W. Bush in 2000, the court has rapidly accelerated its hard-right activist tilt. At least that's what People for the American Way...
Meredith Jessup: Census Managers Fired After Falsifying AT LEAST 10,000 Questionnaires
Isolated incident or rampant fraud? NY Daily News reports, you decide.
Michele Bachmann: Next Up, Financial Reform
The next big piece of legislation that Congress will consider this summer deals with reforming our Financial Regulatory system. Similar to the health care bill passed three months ago, this final bill negotiated between...
Jillian Bandes: Worst Line Of The Year
Camile Paglia has produced the worst line in the history of pop journalism when reporting on the quest to find a version of female Viagra:The implication is that a new pill, despite its unforeseen side effects, is...
Jillian Bandes: G8, G20 Meetings Come To A Close
We always knew this past weekend's G20 and G8 meetings were going to be a farce, but it was interesting to witness how much of a farce they actually were. Targets were set to cut deficits, targets were cut to impose...
Jillian Bandes: Kagan Hearings Start Today
Elana Kagan's Supreme Court hearing start today, and you can get up-to-the-minute information here on Townhall's blog throughout the entire process. We have two of the brightest legal minds covering the events: Ken...
Jillian Bandes: Give The Unemployed Higher Welfare Checks!
This egregiously wrong suggestion is brought to you by the New York Daily News' Errol Lewis.
Jillian Bandes: Sen. Robert Byrd Dead At 92
He was the nation's longest-serving Senator.In comportment and style, Byrd often seemed a Senate throwback to a courtlier 19th century. He could recite poetry, quote the Bible, discuss the Constitutional Convention and...
Jillian Bandes: Limbaugh: Turtles On A Plane
Good for a laugh, from Rush:Yesterday there was a story that BP was setting turtles on fire, and I didn't find any confirmation. This is out of Atlanta: "A caged, 2-inch turtle traveling with a 10-year-old girl caused...
Jillian Bandes: Weekly Standard Praises Obama
They think his choice to replace McChrystal with Obama was a good one.
Jillian Bandes: IRS Set To Tax BP Relief Money: Was This Obama’s Plan?
The Internal Revenue Service declared that it would tax BP's Obama-mandated $20 billion slush fund at the same rates other income is taxed. It's common knowledge that BP offered up the $20 billion only after Obama...
Meredith Jessup: Obama’s ‘Border Security’ Plan
Courtesy of AZ Gov. Jan Brewer: Do you support Arizona's efforts to secure our borders? Be ARIZONA STRONG. Sign the pledge and show your support today!
Carol Platt Liebau: At Least He’s “Smart,” If Only In Part
So much for Joe Biden's "regular guy" cred. After encountering a frozen custard store manager who asked him to lower our taxes, the Vice President called the young man "a smartass" -- to his face, no less.No doubt...
Meredith Jessup: Not Nice: Biden Calls Shop Owner a ‘Smart Ass’
During a visit to a local ice cream frozen custard shop, the manager insists that the vice president's frozen treat is on the house. In exchange, he jokes, Joe Biden can work to "lower our taxes." Moments later, Biden...
Meredith Jessup: Can Kevin Costner Save the Gulf?
Not gonna lie--it's been pretty strange hearing Kevin Costner's name thrown in the mix with potential solutions for bringing relief to the areas affected most by the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of...
Meredith Jessup: Re: The Anatomy of a Smear
This week, we rolled out a couple of features from our July issue of Townhall Magazine: the cover story, which focuses on the "100 Americans the Left Hates Most," and "The Anatomy of a Smear: the Left's Fight to Silence...
Greg Hengler: AFL-CIO Chief Economist Calls Cavuto An “A**hole”
"Profanity is the attempt of a lazy and feeble mind to express itself forcefully." "Profanity is the use of strong words by weak people." "Profanity is a crutch for the conversationally handicapped." "When a man uses...
Carol Platt Liebau: Orwellian
Mark Hemingway lays out the dirty and dispiriting details of the DISCLOSE Act, passed yesterday in the House.First, every Democrat (and the two Republicans) who voted for this law should be asked whether they believe...
Michael Medved: For the “Last Stand” Anniversary: Savor the Earthy Tall Tales of “Little Big Man” (1970)
June 25th marks the anniversary of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the epic 1876 fight between the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry and a huge army of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors that is widely known as "Custer's Last Stand."...
Meredith Jessup: Petraeus Setting Sights on Amending Rules of Engagement?
Someone may FINALLY be doing something about our military's ridiculous rules of engagement, which have needlessly put our soldiers in harm's way and made it increasingly difficult for them to carry out their mission. ...
Meredith Jessup: Hang In There, Gulf Residents
...the IRS is coming to the rescue!
Meredith Jessup: Gallup: Conservatives Hit Record Numbers
According to the latest poll from Gallup, conservatives (not Republicans) are peaking their popularity at record numbers today:Conservatives have maintained their leading position among U.S. ideological groups in the...
Greg Hengler: “Now There Will Be One Agency Whose Sole Job Will Be To Look Out For You”
The man knows no boundaries.
Chris Field: The Anatomy of a Smear
We should've seen it coming.As his Fox News Channel television audience exploded in 2009, it was only a matter of time before the liberal Left organized itself into a full-court press against Glenn Beck.Since the...
Jillian Bandes: Al Gore: Crazy Sex Poodle?
I wouldn't doubt it. With all those environmentally sensitive feelings he's got swimming around in him, it's entirely possible that he goes poodle-crazy in the bedroom. That was the choice phrase used by his accuser, a...
Townhall.com Staff: The Democrats That Wouldn’t Govern
Guest post by Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.) It's becoming more obvious to the American people every day that this administration was slow to respond to the crisis in the Gulf. And the Democrats don't have a plan. They don't...
Jillian Bandes: Hitting Back Early On Cap-And-Trade
Obama is itching to get cap-and-trade back on the table now that the oil spill provides him with a reason to say it's necessary. Energy companies are fighting back, trying to insist that any Kerry-Lieberman climate...
Jillian Bandes: Friday Fun: Is Cheerleading A Sport?
The Quinnipiac University women's volleyball team doesn't think so - and they're taking it to court.
Jillian Bandes: Iran Cancells Second Flotilla To Gaza
Via Stratfor:Iran's Red Crescent Society canceled the planned shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Ynet reported June 24. The organization's secretary-general, Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, said at a press conference that...
Carol Platt Liebau: A Lefty Litmus Test
By hiring General Petraeus, Barack Obama has taken just one more step toward President Bush's approach to fighting the war on terror -- along with okaying the Patriot Act, drone attacks, intercepts, military tribunals,...
Chris Field: RE: M. Stanton Evans’ Brilliance
Before Glenn had Stan Evans on his show tonight, Stan's book "Blacklisted by History" had an Amazon ranking of #305,678. As of 7:52pm tonight, the book's at #14.Nice.UPDATE: As of 8:31pm, it's at #1. Double nice.
Chris Field: Glenn Beck Commends Townhall Magazine on Fox
In case you missed Glenn's TV show tonight:
Michele Bachmann: So Much for the First Amendment
Today, Democrats in the House narrowly passed their controversial DISCLOSE Act to counter a recent Supreme Court decision regarding campaign contributions. This bill is designed to block organizations from engaging in...
Chris Field: M. Stanton Evans’ Brilliance
I cannot tell you how much it thrills me that Glenn Beck had Stan Evans on his TV show tonight to discuss the history of the Communist movement in America and the truth about Sen. Joe McCarthy.Stan is one of my all-time...
Jillian Bandes: DISCLOSE Act Passes The House – Senate Passage Uncertain
The controversial bill threatens to restrict campaign contributions from some of our most important political players. It has received widespread notice from Republicans after the National Rifle Association negotiated...
Chris Field: Townhall Magazine on Glenn Beck TV and Radio
Rumor has it that Glenn Beck will be featuring the July 2010 issue of Townhall Magazine on his 5pm Fox News show tonight. The July cover story is "The 100 Americans the Left Hates Most," and there's a great feature by...
Meredith Jessup: Notable & Quotable
Then-Senator Barack Obama, speaking during a hearing with Gen. David Petraeus:"This isn't a criticism of either of you gentlemen, it's a criticism of this President [Bush] and the administration, which has set a mission...
Chris Field: The Most-Hated Americans: Glenn Beck #1
As we have watched the ongoing fight in America over the direction of the country, the actions of the Obama administration and Democratic Congress, and the efforts of the tea party movement, the Townhall editorial team...
Michael Medved: One Movie That’s Worth the Hype
The critically acclaimed blockbuster TOY STORY 3 counts as one of those rare films that actually deserves its worldwide success. With projected earnings of $500 million, and serious Oscar attention guaranteed, the movie...
Meredith Jessup: 23 Minutes of Pure Conservative Bliss
Via RightScoop, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's interview from yesterday with Fox News' Neil Cavuto:
Meredith Jessup: Blagojevich Aide: President Obama Knew of Plot
The plot thickens in Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times reports:A top aide to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he believed Barack Obama knew of Blagojevich's plot to win himself a presidential Cabinet post in exchange for...
Carol Platt Liebau: Did Obama Know?
It's stinky, for sure . . . Valerie Jarrett jockeying for an appointment to the Senate, Rod Blagojevich demanding a Cabinet post in exchange for naming her Obama's Senate replacement, everybody talking back and forth...
Meredith Jessup: Glenn Beck’s ‘Overton Window’ Hits Top of NYTimes Bestseller
Glenn Beck's latest book, a fiction thriller called The Overton Window, is slated to debut at #1 on the July 4th New York Times adult fiction bestseller list--Beck's sixth consecutive #1 NYT bestselling book. The...
Jillian Bandes: Day Of Work Lost After France Moves Up Retirement Age
French labor unions took a day off work after President Nicolas Sarkozy said he wanted to raise the retirement age for French workers from 60 to 62. The unions took to the streets with the hopes of disrupting the...
Jillian Bandes: Pew Poll: Stimulus Has Not Helped Job Creation
Americans think that last year's stimulus "has not helped the job situation" by a margin of 60 percent to 33 percent, according to a new Pew poll. Yet, the Obama administration desperately wants to pass more stimulus...
Jillian Bandes: Romanoff & Sestak Bribes Aren’t Out Of The Spotlight
Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Lamar Smith (R-Texas) aren't giving up on the White House's bribery in the Colorado and Pennsylvania primaries. Right now, it doesn't seem like any illegal action has occurred -...
Jillian Bandes: Obama’s Energy Policy: Crippling Employment, Increasing Dependence On Foreign Oil
Let's check up on this drilling-moratorium timeline.On April 30th, Obama arbitrarily says that no new drilling will take place until the cause of the Deepwater Horizon spill is known. On June 11th, the experts who...
Chris Field: Read Our Cover Story on GlennBeck.com
We worked with the Glenn Beck team to provide our readers and Glenn's listeners a chance to read our cover story (and some other goodies) at Glenn's website. If you want to take a look at our list of "The 100 Americans...
Chris Field: July 2010 Cover: 100 Americans the Left Hates Most
Subscribers are getting their copies now. Don't miss this issue -- order today.
Meredith Jessup: Re: Hiring “General Betray Us”
Predictably, Move-On.org has scrubbed their website clean of their "General Betray Us" nonsense. The General was apparently only a bad guy in the Left's eyes during the days of the big, bad Bush administration.
Greg Hengler: Flashback: Obama Tells Petraeus The Surge Had “Modest” Impact
Are you shocked that Obama's words are inconsistent with his actions? Lee Habeeb highlighted this aspect of Obama's character in his famous "Is Obama Wright" video back in March 2008. At least we can say our president...
Carol Platt Liebau: Hiring “General Betray Us”
As predicted here, President Obama has sacked General McChrystal, replacing him with David Petraeus.Hey, I've been a fan of General Petraeus -- back when Obama's buddies at MoveOn.org were trashing him, and Obama simply...
Greg Hengler: Matthews: Capitalism Is To Blame For BP Oil Spill
Does Matthews credit capitalism and the free market system for the reason he can put food on the table?
Jillian Bandes: Obama Plays Politics With McChrystal’s Dismissal
Obama gave a long, dramatic speech when announcing that he had fired Stanley McChrystal. At every point in the speech, Obama made sure to frame the issue to his advantage. Here are a few key quotes from our Commander in...
Meredith Jessup: McChrystal Relieved of Command; Petraeus to Replace Him
After meeting with President Obama for about 30 minutes, Gen. Stanley McChrystal has left the White House complex. No word yet on what went down or whether the General will return for a AfPak policy meeting scheduled...
Meredith Jessup: Obama Administration Moves Forward With Plan to Purchase Illinois Prison…
...regardless of whether Congress okays the funding and transfer for Gitmo detainees.
John Campbell: Trimming the Fat
The spending lobby, the mainstream media, recipients of taxpayer largess, and virtually all elected Democrats would have you believe that we have already cut spending to the bone and that there is no more to be done and...
Jillian Bandes: Top Dem: Middle Class Tax Hikes Are Inevitable
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, yesterday:As the House and Senate debate what to do with the expiring Bush tax cuts in the coming weeks, we need to have a serious discussion about their implications for our fiscal...
Jillian Bandes: Once Again, Oil Cleanup Stalled By Obama
Unsurprising: the federal government blocking rescue dredging from Gulf shores, which would've been used to create protective sand berms. There were apparently environmental concerns.This is just one more thing in a...
Jillian Bandes: McChrystal Hasn’t Tendered Resignation
He did offer his resignation, however. The confusion stemmed from a report from Time's Joe Klein, which was clarified via Twitter last night.Clarification from Joe Klein: Gen. McChrystal as "offered to resign" he has...
Jillian Bandes: Iran Offers To Help Obama Contain Oil Spill
What a twisted development. Via Israel National News:Iran is ready to rescue President Obama if he requests help, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Tuesday. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin...
Jillian Bandes: Karzai Asks Obama Not To Fire McChrystal
As Obama meets with McChrystal, it's worth keeping this message in mind: Afghan officials said Wednesday that firing Gen. Stanley McChrystal would disrupt progress in the war and could jeopardize a pivotal security...
Townhall.com Staff: New Layouts
You may have noticed a few redesigns occurring recently. Today we've rolled out new columnist content pages with the aim of improving speed and reducing ad space in our columns. What do you think? Edited: We've had...
Meredith Jessup: Amnesty by Executive Order?
According to NumbersUSA, rumors are swirling around Capitol Hill that the Obama administration may provide amnesty for the country's 11-18 million illegal aliens via executive order. Sens. Grassley, (R-Iowa), Hatch...
Jillian Bandes: Susan B. Anthony List’s Statement On Haley Victory
From their president, Marjorie Dannenfelser:Nikki Haley's runoff victory is one more example of the electoral power of authentic, pro-life feminism in this election cycle. Public polling consistently shows that the...
Carol Platt Liebau: How About a “Humble” Policy Like America’s?
It's being reported that General McChrystal has tendered his resignation in the wake of the Rolling Stone piece.It's easy to see how the President would feel tempted to accept it, under the auspices of reasserting...
Jillian Bandes: Nikki Haley Wins GOP Gubernatorial Primary In South Carolina
She pulled off off a solid victory with 54 percent of the vote in 31 percent of the precincts reporting. Rep. Gresham Barrett's trailed at 45 percent. It went just as planned - with Haley's movie star looks and adoring...
Meredith Jessup: Obama Administration IGNORES Judge’s Ruling on Drilling Moratorium
As we reported earlier today, a Louisiana Judge threw out President Obama's six-month moratorium on offshore drilling. Tonight, the administration is moving forward with a moratorium.AP reports that Interior Secretary...
Meredith Jessup: McChrystal Resigning?
The UK Telegraph is reporting that its "senior Capitol Hill source" says Gen. McChrystal has "tendered his resignation" to President Obama and the White House is "actively discussing a replacement who could quickly be...
Greg Hengler: Obama Talks About the “Poor Judgment” Of McChrystal
Here's my prediction: Obama will give McChrystal a pass; he needs to, and those close to him know this.
Jillian Bandes: Reid Cut Doc Fix: The Beginning Of The End For Medical Access
Majority Leader Harry Reid has just enacted a 21% cut in doctors pay that will go into effect retroactively from January of this year. From Politico:Never before has Congress allowed such a deep Medicare cut to go into...
Meredith Jessup: Holy Kyl: Obama Advocated “Trading” Border Security for Amnesty in 2004
Via NakedEmperorNews:
Meredith Jessup: Updated: Judge Blocks Obama’s Offshore Drilling Moratorium
The Associated Press is reporting that a Louisiana judge has blocked the 6-month deep-water drilling moratorium imposed on America's oil companies following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April. Tweeting from the...
