By Rick Manning
The end of August continues to defy history as politics continues to dominate the news at a time when most in the arena normally are recharging their batteries in preparation for a very tough post-Labor Day session of Congress.
In the aftermath of the live on-air murder of two journalists, we are hearing the predictable cries for more gun control laws from those who have created the climate of victimhood and racial anger that appear to have led a deranged, pathetic man to become an assassin.
If, as the perpetrator contended, he was motivated by the tragedy in Charleston, S.C. months earlier, then it certainly can be inferred that those who used those murders to advance their political agendas by creating an increased climate of racial division should engage in some honest reexamination. It is clear that the only person responsible for the murder of the reporters was the perpetrator. It is equally clear that the incendiary rhetoric that has become commonplace since Ferguson, Mo. is creating the environment where the mentally deranged are susceptible to being pushed over the edge.
The evil raging inside the former broadcaster that led him to take the lives of those who were doing the job he had been fired from, is the same evil that resided in the man who prayed with an African American church group for an hour prior to executing them.
Evil exists, and failure to recognize it for what it is only allows it to grow. Rather than cast tragedies in simplistic wrong-headed directions, it is time for an examination of America’s heart problem that allows this kind of evil to seemingly flourish.
Speaking of evil, when Congress returns in September, they will face their greatest moral dilemma since the debate over ending slavery, when they decide whether to continue funding Planned Parenthood. In the wake of the release of a series of horrific videos exposing that organization as nothing more than a baby parts chop shop, ignorance is no longer an excuse, and tough choices will have to be made between what is seen as good politics and confronting evil.
There really is no excuse for a failure in courage. Every day, politicians ask those in uniformed service to our nation to put their lives on the line to protect America from those who mean to do us harm. It should not be too much to expect that these same leaders would put aside their fear of the negative political ramifications of “shutting down the government” in a showdown with Obama to stop providing taxpayer dollars to vile death merchants. It is this simple: anyone who votes to send a dime to Planned Parenthood might as well be taking the scalpel in their own hand and cutting through the face of an unborn black baby to get his intact brain while his heart is still beating. The next five weeks will define the very character of each of the 535 elected Members of Congress, I hope they realize it and have the courage to meet this moral crucible in our nation’s history.
On a much lighter note, Donald Trump has put the toupee issue to rest as he invited a woman from a South Carolina audience up on stage to check out his hair and provide independent verification that his bouffant is real. Somehow, I don’t think when she woke up that morning that she expected to make the national news as a Trump scalp inspector. The lesson is one a Boy Scout can appreciate — you never know what might be in store for you each day, so be prepared to make the most of it.
And in an interesting turn, presidential rivals, Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump will be appearing together at a rally against President Obama’s disastrously flawed Iranian nuclear deal. In the normal, dog-eat-dog political campaign world this is highly unusual. It would be wise for the other GOP contenders to take note that candidates can and should join common cause to prevent our nation from making a grievous mistake, and the Iran deal is just that. Not only does it provide terrorist-funding Iran $150 billion to disseminate putting our national interests at short term risk, but it also would put that rogue nation on a pathway to becoming a nuclear power. Every GOP presidential candidate should be raising the roof in demanding that the Iran deal be treated as a Treaty under the Constitution and voted down.
As August winds to an end, the seeds are being sown for the defining debates of the fall legislative season, setting the stage for the presidential nomination process. Over the next five weeks, choices will be made that will define our nation’s very future. Decisions that are much bigger than the normal political tug-of-war. These decisions will define who and what America will be as a nation and if the world will be a much more dangerous place for lovers of freedom.
The author is the president of Americans for Limited Government.
