RealClearPolicy Articles

Our elected representatives in Washington should champion policies reflecting the will of the American people and cease their divisive rhetoric. The fact is the issue of abortion is not nearly as divisive as politicians would like to make it. While most Americans believe abortion should be legal in the first trimester (69% support), majorities also oppose abortion being legal in the second (55% oppose) and third (70% oppose) trimesters. This is the will of the American people. It also tracks the standard of Europe, where most countries protect the right to an abortion in the...

It’s no secret that the American people are more concerned about crime and safety than almost any point in the last 30 years. Headlines are dominated by acts of violence and lawlessness, instilling fear, panic, and anger in the hearts of many hardworking citizens. The leftwing defund the police battle cry has been totally destructive. However, those of us who really want public safety should not pretend all our policing strategies are perfect. Our nation’s public safety systems are not immune from the bloat, waste, and ineffectiveness that naturally grows in massive government...

It’s that time of year. Associations and nonprofits are flying members into Washington to make their case to Members of Congress and their staffs to make laws, repeal laws, add money to special causes, or take money from someone else’s cause.  Lobbyists know that it’s hard to break through the noise without (a lot of) money. But the right PR assets can turn client handshakes and 15-minute meetings into media coverage that drives the policy changes your clients want.  Make your clients matter to the press  Lobbyists know more than almost anyone that building...

President Reagan famously quipped, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” T This tax season, the IRS is launching its Direct File program in select states to become not just the tax collector, but the tax filer. This is a massive conflict of interest that puts tax dollars—and taxpayers—at risk. The move was not a response to a strong demand from American taxpayers. Instead, it appears the Biden administration went to lengths to justify its decision to further insert the federal government...

The Biden administration has signaled that the finalization of its ban on menthol tobacco products is imminent, despite vigorous opposition from the law enforcement community, civil rights groups, and many Black and Latino activists. Those who argue in favor of a menthol ban claim it will not have disparate policing impacts, placing their faith in the idea that the FDA will not enforce the post-ban possession of mentholated tobacco and nicotine products at the individual level, nor will there be state or local laws empowering police to arrest people for their...

Since late February, gang violence in Haiti has surged, overwhelming government and security forces and plunging the nation into further turmoil. The United Nations estimates that armed gangs now control 80 percent of the nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The recent wave of violence in the Caribbean nation’s ongoing gang wars erupted as multiple armed groups banded together, pledging to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who came to power after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 and announced postponing Haiti’s elections again last year. Citing ongoing...

California has signified success and prosperity for more than a century. Anyone with a dream came here to make it a reality. Innovators, creatives, and business tycoons alike have found opportunity in the Golden State and now, more than ever, it is imperative that we support these trailblazers toward a brighter future.  In its 2023 State Economic Competitiveness Index, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) ranked California 45 of 50 states in its assessment of the state’s overall competitiveness and economic outlook. The Tax Foundation listed California as 48 of 50...

As I’ve watched some of President Donald Trump’s former appointees and allies say they can’t support him in 2024, I was reminded of a similar scenario in American history.  In 1936, Former New York Gov. Al Smith decided that he could not support President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s re-election. Smith was a popular reform Democrat who had been elected Governor of New York four times. In 1928, he became the first Catholic ever nominated for President by a major party. To strengthen his campaign, Smith convinced Roosevelt, who was then recovering from polio at Warm...

President Joe Biden’s Securities and Exchange Commission has created an ugly can of worms through its ‘universal proxy’ rule, which empowers activist investors to harm American businesses. This rule was used by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) during Workers United’s, an SEIU affiliate’s, recent negotiations with Starbucks.  Using the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), a union advocacy group which an SEIU executive chairs, to file various proxy battles aimed at Starbucks leadership, the SEIU was able to secure collective bargaining agreements...

Wednesday, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu met with Senate Republicans via video link. Netanyahu’s only friends in the world seem to be Republicans in the U.S. Republicans seem to have forgotten the example of Ronald Reagan. When Israel began heavy bombing of West Beirut nine weeks into its 1982 invasion of Lebanon, President Reagan called then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and expressed ''outrage'' at the ''needless destruction and bloodshed.” Begin halted the bombing the next day. Biden is no Reagan. He has been characteristically timid and feckless in his attempts to...

Advocates of investing based on environmental, social, and governance factors, or ESG, promised that it would transform how business performance is measured, to society’s benefit. Yet, far from being revolutionary, ESG is just the most recent manifestation of an old fallacy—that businesses create wealth for their owners but little else of value for society.  When a business makes a profit, its trading partners or stakeholders, including customers, employees, and suppliers, also gain. Yet these gains are ignored by ESG and other rating schemes that claim to measure the...

The Left is running a full-scale effort to reshape consumers’ lives using every tool at their disposal, be that through regulations, product bans, or ideological lawsuits.  A key part of this campaign is public nuisance lawsuits that seek to impose billions of dollars in liability on disfavored industries for “causing” amorphous, nationwide (or worldwide) problems like climate change, gun violence, or drug addiction.  The climate change public nuisance lawsuits are a particularly deep well of opportunity for leftwing activists and officials.  Can’t stop...

How does the old saying go – if you are not winning, you are losing. Right now, the United States military is losing to China in the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) for military applications – specifically logistics. As a conservative, I want to make sure spending is targeted and necessary and AI for defense logistics qualifies as a funding priority within the defense budget. Although Congress has appropriated significant funds for military AI applications in the past, the focus and resources have been largely directed to other elements of warfighting, such as...

As Congress attempts to pass vital military aid to Ukraine, reports are emerging that the final legislation may include a revitalization of the Lend-Lease program – a callback to the legislation that enable America to support its allies before entering World War II. Here are Five Facts on Lend-Lease. The original Lend-Lease Act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 11, 1941. The legislation marked a pivotal shift in U.S. foreign policy by allowing the provision of military aid to allies during World War II without immediate compensation. This policy was...

As an historian, it has been fascinating to watch the left try to impose new language to describe people in the country illegally. The left has gradually pushed accepted language away from “illegal aliens” (the term in law), to “illegal immigrants” (the most common term), to “undocumented immigrants” (the left’s current favorite term), and now to “newcomers” (the Joe Biden White House’s latest experiment in gaining language dominance). It all reminds me of Vladimir Lenin’s great language coup of 1903. The Russian...

There is a growing exodus of people moving from high tax states to low tax states. One reason is that states with large budgets are trying to find ways to sneak new taxes into the bills of state residents. A current bill pending in New York state is a case study in bad policy that ends up hurting a state in the long run with high taxes and people voting with their feet. New York hasn’t secured its place among the top states for outmigration only because of its first-in-the-nation combined tax burden. The Vampire State, as it has become well-known, hits its residents in the wallet in...

Last week, a bipartisan group of House Members introduced a bill to force ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to sell the popular video app to a buyer from the United States or another friendly country. TikTok fought back.  It began sending its users pop-ups urging them to “take action” against a “TikTok shutdown.”  (In fact, the bill would not shut down TikTok, but merely require it to be sold to a buyer from a friendly country.) TikTok users, including minor children, flooded Congress with calls.  Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) recounted...

With decisive wins during the March 12 primaries, former President Trump has cemented his status as the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee. President Biden’s slumping approval ratings and various polls that show roughly two-thirds of Americans believe the country is on the “wrong track,” makes a Trump victory in November a clear possibility. While polls will tighten in the coming months, business leaders should take seriously the possibility of a second Trump term and prepare accordingly. Business leaders need to carefully analyze Trump’s...

President Joe Biden’s recent foreign policy moves are baffling. By any rational standard, they are undermining Israel and helping Hamas. When Biden was caught on an open microphone following his State of the Union Address telling Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado that Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were “going to have a come to Jesus meeting,” you have to wonder what he’s thinking. It was a weird comment for two reasons. First, it is unlikely the leader of the Jewish state will have a “come to Jesus moment.” (Maybe a come to...