Radio America Online News Bureau

Despot on the Ropes, Biden’s Gun Control Nonsense, Rush: Moore Was a Dem Then

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America celebrate the coup that no one in Zimbabwe will call a coup, as despotic leader Robert Mugabe is placed under house arrest.  They also fire back at Joe Biden as the former vice president either suggests the hero who stopped the church shooter in Texas should not have been able to have a semi-automatic rifle or he ignored a perfectly good question about him wanting to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens.  And they scratch their heads as Rush Limbaugh points out that Roy Moore was a Democrat at the time his alleged sexual assaults took place and other Democrats at the time said nothing about him.

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Are Politics Distracting Christians from Proclaiming Christ?

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Are politically active Christians a critical force in changing public policy towards a more biblical perspective or are they getting drawn into ugly political infighting that distracts them from sharing the gospel and ultimately damages their witness to unbelievers?  America’s most widely syndicated columnist fears it’s the latter.

In his latest column, longtime conservative activist and writer Cal Thomas says many Christian conservatives get so immersed in politics, they become convinced they are indispensable to God’s plans.

“There is an unstated conceit among some evangelicals that God is only at work when a Republican is elected, even a Republican who does not share their view of Jesus, or practice what He taught. It is the ultimate compromise, which leads to the corruption and dilution of a message more powerful than what government and politics offer,” writes Thomas.

In an separate interview, Thomas says the endless flurry of controversies and scandals keeps believers away from their primary mission.

“The first thing we learn about Satan in scripture is not that he’s evil – that comes later – but that he’s subtle or crafty.  And I think there’s a lot of effort in this country to get evangelicals especially off their focus on Jesus of Nazareth and onto the kingdom of this world,” said Thomas.

While the debate plays out over the allegations against Alabama U.S. Senate Roy Moore, some Christians in Alabama have used scripture to defend Moore even if he did engage in sexual contact with a 14-year-old., with the state’s auditor comparing the alleged relationship to Mary and Joseph and other likening the offense to stealing a lawn mower.

Because of the political, cultural, and moral issues at stake, Thomas says many believers they have no choice but to vote for Moore no matter the facts from 38 years ago.  Thomas disagrees.

“The argument I’m getting on Facebook and other social media is, ‘Well, the Democrat opponent is pro-abortion and you want to continue the murder of babies and Judge Moore is pro-life.’  Well, I don’t think that’s the real issue.

“Even if Moore got elected, one more vote in the Senate is not going to stop the killing of babies in this country.  The pregnancy centers and sharing the gospel for a changed life is what’s going to change them.  And that’s the greater power,” said Thomas.

The bottom line, says Thomas, is that too many Christians are looking to politics for the solutions to life’s problems.

“Too many of us are worshiping at the shrine of Washington politics and especially the Republican Party.  That is always bound to disappoint, as we’ve seen with a Republican majority in both houses of Congress and a supposed Republican in the White House that [are not] getting anything done,” said Thomas.

Thomas has plenty of experience at the intersection of faith and politics, teaming up with the late Rev. Jerry Falwell in the late 1970s to urge evangelical Christians to get involved in politics and to make a positive difference.

He says he learned some hard lessons from that experience.

“I was vice president of Moral Majority.  I was there.  We thought we were going to organize conservative evangelicals and conservative Catholics and Orthodox Jews into a voting bloc that would give trickle-down morality from Washington.  It didn’t work because none of that changes the human heart.  The gospel of Jesus Christ changes human hearts, and when hearts are changed, nations are changed,” said Thomas.

So what is the proper role of Christians in the public square?  Thomas says there are some things they should be doing.

“We should vote.  We should pray for those in authority, but we shouldn’t expect more from government than it can deliver,” said Thomas.

What believers should not do, according to Thomas, is mistake earth for their permanent home.

“This is not our kingdom.  This is not where we’re going to spend eternity.  The world is going in the direction that the scriptures forecast.  These people who say they’re going to make the world a better place, no you’re not.  That’s left up to Jesus when he returns.

“He’s the only one who’s going to make the world a better place because he’s going to restore it to the way it was.  We’re not going to be able to do that through the political system,” said Thomas.

Many Christian conservatives push back on that argument by pointing out they are active precisely to resist movements antithetical to scripture, including abortion, the changed definition of marriage and other secular movements aimed at culture and their children.

Thomas says Christians have always been persecuted, including the crucifixion of Christ Himself, and urges Christians to live out the gospel rather than responding in kind in contentious debates.

“We should turn the other cheek.  We should be respectful and kind to our enemies.  We’re to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, visit those in prison, care for widows and orphans, feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

“Not as a social gospel as our friends on the left do – salvation by works – but as a means of demonstrating God’s love for the physical self so that you can share the greater message of their greater need, which is transformation, not reformation,” said Thomas.

Thomas says embracing Christ’s commands to love God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourself would give non-believers a radially different view of what it means to be a Christian.

“The average unbeliever looks at believers today and what do they see?  We’re against all kinds of stuff.  We’ve got a long, long list of everything we’re against, but what are we for?  Who are we for?  [Jesus’ commands] are the greatest evangelistic tool that Jesus ever gave us.  But how many people actually apply it?” asked Thomas.

“If we obeyed the calling of Jesus and His instructions, this world would be turned upside down,” said Thomas.

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Dems Turn on Bill Clinton, Special Counsel for Hillary? Paul’s Puzzling Attack

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see many liberals suddenly coming to the realization that Bill Clinton’s behavior towards women was inexcusable and his accusers were treated badly when they came forward during his presidency, but they also note that this epiphany comes when Democrats want the moral high ground in the Roy Moore saga and when the Clintons are of no use to them anymore.  They also welcome the idea of a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, and Uranium One.  And they note Rand Paul has hired a personal injury lawyer as the legal process unfolds against the neighbor who assaulted him, even as Sen. Paul asserts the two of them haven’t spoken in years.

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Army Lifting Mental Health Ban on Recruits

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The U.S. Army is lifting an ban on recruits with a history of mental illness as a means of boosting recruiting numbers, a unilateral decision that could damage readiness and actually hurt the effort to recruit quality young Americans into serving their country in uniform.

The Army made the decision in August, but is only making it public now as it fears efforts to recruit 80,000 new soldiers by September 2018 may fall short.  Americans who deal with bipolar disorder, depression, self-mutilation or drug and alcohol abuse are not eligible to be recruited although the Army insists it will screen such applicants vigorously to ensure they are fit for service.

That’s not good enough for Center for Military Readiness President Elaine Donnelly.

“This is not a good sign,” said Donnelly.  “At least one expert quoted in the USA Today story said that when you induct people who have psychological problems, it is definitely a red flag.  Those psychological problems often get worse in the military.  Rates of suicide in the military are much higher than in the civilian world.”

She says one of the recruiting headaches is that a growing number of young people are not physically fit for the military, but she says that shouldn’t trigger a sliding standard on mental health.

“Issues of mental competency also are important.  Mental conditions that detract from readiness to deploy, that interfere with unit cohesion, that contribute to stress and controversy within a given unit, these issues also are important,” said Donnelly.

She it’s not the first time the military has gone down this road.

“We have pressures to include transgenders in our military.  Gender dysphoria is one of those mental conditions that render a person unqualified for military service.  It’s one of many.  Now we see the list being edited to include some mental conditions in the same way,” said Donnelly.

Donnelly says the policy decision makes life more difficult for others in the military, starting with the recruiters, who may soon be urged to accept applicants that ought to be rejected.

“I think the pressure will be on to meet the quotas,” said Donnelly.

She also says problem cases who slip through recruiting and training have and could again become major headaches for battlefield commanders.

An in an ironic twist, Donnelly says the effort to relax standards may actually hurt recruiting of the people the military want and need to sign up.

“The military is a very special institution.  It requires special young people to join.  If you start playing games with standards and making excuses for including people who are not suited for military service, that’s only going to make the problem worse,” said Donnelly.

“We have to be very careful.  Not everybody is eligible to serve in the Armed Forces.  And if you pretend like it is an equal opportunity employer, then you put everybody’s lives at greater risk,” said Donnelly.

So why is the Trump administration allowing this?  In short, it may not have much of a say at all.  Donnelly says the Army can change the policy without any input from Congress.  Furthermore, she says President Trump’s people still aren’t on the job.

“It was only last week the new Secretary of the Army was confirmed.  So this was a decision made by people from the Obama administration, not the Trump administration,” she said.

“The person in charge of personnel matters in the Department of Defense hasn’t even been confirmed yet, the Trump appointee.  So this may be an open issue that may be revisited and I hope it will be,” said Donnelly.

 

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Trump’s Asia Trip, Processing the Ray Moore Story, Hannity Fans Bash Keurigs

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America discuss President Trump’s Asia trip and how most of the visits suggested a good working relationship with key leaders.  Jim offers his take on the Roy Moore saga, pointing out that we often think we know political figures and are shocked when allegations come forward, but he says the truth is we know very little about them at all.  And they shake their heads as Sean Hannity fans publicly destroy their Keurig coffee machines after the company pulls advertising for Hannity’s TV show over his coverage of the Roy Moore story.

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Mixed Bag for Vets in First Year of Trump

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As America pauses for Veterans Day this weekend, a leading advocate for improving the VA system that cares for those who have served this nation in uniform says the VA system has made made some important improvements in the first year of the Trump administration but she says some badly needed reforms are happening far too slowly.

Jessie Jane Duff served as a gunnery sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps.  She is now a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research.  She gives the Trump administration a ‘B’ grade thus far in improving the health care system for veterans.

Duff says Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin has made progress on some bureaucratic issues, including closing down 430 vacant buildings around the nation and another 284 that were underutilized.

“That can save $23 million a year.  That money can now be going to health care or receiving mental health care for these veterans,” said Duff.

She says other efficiencies are also now in place.

“They have improved same-day services for primary and mental health care at all of their medical centers.  They’re making it easier for veterans to file online health care applications.  They’re receiving eight times as many online applications this year.  That’s good,” said Duff.

Duff also applauds collaborative efforts with the private marketplace to allow veterans to get minor health care needs, such as flu shots, taken care of outside of VA facilities.  Veterans living in rural areas more than 40 miles from a VA hospital also have greater access to private sector health care.

She is also encouraged that Shulkin is informing the public of any disciplinary actions within the VA in real time.

“They also became the first agency to post information on employee disciplinary actions online.  That’s a must.  How many times did we hear about disciplinary actions after the fact, after they had either resigned from a position or transferred to a new job.  They had covered up in the past,” said Duff.

But while those positives are making life easier for veterans, other major priorities are moving at a glacial pace.  Duff says is taking entirely too long to implement a modern system to seamlessly transfer medical records from the Department of Defense to the VA.

“This ordeal, which should have been corrected ten years ago, has fallen on President Trump’s lap and on Secretary Shulkin’s lap, is apparently going to take another eight years,” said Duff.

Another major frustration is the slow turnaround on veterans’ health care claims.  She says in a digital world, the kind of backlog we see at the VA is simply unacceptable.

“There should not be any kind of backlog.  A backlog means you’ve been waiting over 125 days for your claim to be addressed.  In my opinion, it should be no more than a 30 to 60, no more than a 90-day turnaround,” said Duff.

“We’re not sending anything by the Pony Express anymore.  We’re not even sending anything by the Postal Service anymore.  Everything is electronic.  Everything should be expedited and that should immediately shave off 30 days,” said Duff.

While Duff is adamant about the turnaround times, she admits forcing standards on bureaucrats often leads to the scandals we saw just two years ago.

“The problem when you give these deadlines is you start having people fraudulently putting down numbers.  That’s what created the basic backlog in the first place,” said Duff.

So while progress has been made at the VA in 2017, Duff says there are still great concerns.

“It’s just very dismaying to me to see that these things still are going to take long to happen.  How many more veterans are going to die waiting?  How many more veterans are not going to get adequate care?” asked Duff.

While she hopes to see rapid improvement on issues like claim turnarounds and record transfers, Duff warns that a federally-run health care program is always going to have problems.

“The fear I have is that government health care is always going to be muddied down with government bureaucracy,” said Duff, once again urging the VA to partner with outside health care providers.

“Let Blue Cross or whatever health care system that’s willing to take on veterans that are away from hospitals.  Let’s get this moving,” she said.

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GOP Fixes Adoption Credit, Moore’s Awful Defenders, Bergdahl to Get Back Pay?

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David French of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer House Republicans for listening to the backlash and reinstating the adoption tax credit into their tax reform bill.  They also discuss the allegations of sexual misconduct reported by the Washington Post about GOP Alabama U.S. Senate nominee Roy Moore, and while debate over the veracity of the accusations continues, they are appalled at the number of Republican officials in Alabama who don’t see a problem even if the stories are true.  And they groan as Bowe Bergdahl may end up getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay from his time in captivity after deserting his unit and misbehaving before the enemy.

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GOP Tax Bill: Several Good Parts But Needs to be Improved

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The House tax reform bill is now out of committee and headed for a vote on the House floor, and a leading advocate for small businesses says there is a lot to like in this legislation for businesses and individuals but she says there is definitely room for improvement.

Karen Kerrigan is president of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council and an influential voice on tax and regulatory policy impacting small businesses.  Just last week, she sat to the left of President Trump at a White House meeting on tax reform.

Kerrigan says a number of key provisions are very good, especially dropping the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent.

“It’s a really solid bill in terms of lowering rates, making those lower rates permanent, advancing simplicity for small businesses.  That was very important, both on the business side and on the individual side,” said Kerrigan.

“We think those lower rates are going to be very helpful to allow them to reinvest more of their capital, more of their profits into their business at the end of the year,” she added.

And tax rates are not the only component that excites Kerrigan.

“If you do have these immediate cuts on the business side and also the expensing piece – you can’t forget about that – full expensing or expanded Section 179 expensing.  That’s really going to trigger a lot more investment and a lot more confidence.  Then you’re going to see higher growth in the economy as well,” said Kerrigan.

While corporations would see their tax rate plummet more than 40 percent, businesses other than corporations may face a murkier future.  While dropping small business taxes to 25 percent, the GOP bill also keeps the top individual rate  – through which many small businesses files with the IRS – unchanged at 39.6 percent for those making over a million dollars per year.

So will those businesses, known as pass-throughs, get relief?

“It really depends,” said Kerrigan, who says those making less than a million per year ought to benefit greatly from lower business taxes and lower individual rates.  But that relief will not be happening for everyone.

“As it stands, there is a complicated formula, the 70/30 formula, that basically says from a pass-through perspective that 70 percent will get taxed from a wage perspective, which is the individual rate which may be higher for some small business owners.  Thirty percent would get that lower rate,” said Kerrigan.

“What we’re trying to do is improve that pass-through rate.  So maybe there’s better parity, perhaps 50/50, perhaps 40/60.

“The key right now is allowing more small businesses, particularly those that are in the upper income bracket, to get that 25 percent rate.  We think those are resolvable and hopefully we’re going to get to a point where many small businesses are going to benefit from the lower rate,” said Kerrigan.

A major tactical consideration for lawmakers is how to craft the bill so senators can pass it with a simple majority.  Senate rules only allow that to happen if the tax bill does not create additional deficits.

The Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, says the House GOP plan would add $1.7 trillion of deficits over the next decade.

Kerrigan pushes back on the CBO in two ways.  First, she points out the CBO’s refusal to factor in economic growth in projecting deficits, a policy known as static scoring versus the dynamic scoring that Kerrigan and others believe is more accurate.

“They leave out the reality in terms of dynamic scoring and the impact that incentives and reduction and putting more money back into the private economy  has on growth and people’s behavior and business behavior and that drives growth,” said Kerrigan.

Second, Kerrigan says the CBO has a lousy track record with its projections.

“You’ve got to remember the CBO has been notoriously wrong on a whole range of things over the past 5-10 years.  If you look at their predictions on Obamacare, how many people would be insured under Obamacare, really wrong on that.  The cost of coverage on Obamacare?  They’ve been dramatically wrong on that as well,” said Kerrigan.

As the debate heads to the full House floor and begins separately in the Senate, Kerrigan is confident that Republicans are largely headed in the right direction, but she still wants to see it get better.

“We are working on a bunch of issues so that small businesses will be able to keep the value of that lower rate and get that 25 percent rate.  It’s a process and we’re at the table and we’re trying to improve this bill as much as possible so that it will have the best effects for small business and for the economy as well,” said Kerrigan.

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GOP’s Tax Reform Blunders, TSA Fails Test Again, USA Today’s Chainsaw Bayonet

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America blast congressional Republicans over their embrace of scrapping the adoption tax credit and for considering an end to the property tax deduction.  They also slam the TSA for failing miserably yet again in the latest test designed to see if our blue-shirted friends can actually stop guns, knives and bombs from getting through checkpoints.  And they get a kick out of USA Today suggesting you could add a chainsaw bayonet to an AR-15 rifle.

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Huge Dem Wins Due to GOP Inaction in D.C.

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Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says Democrats there turned out in droves to register their animosity towards President Trump and he says Republicans didn’t see the same passion from their voters because of failure after failure from the GOP in Washington.

On Tuesday, Democrat Ralph Northam coasted to an easy nine-point win over Republican Ed Gillespie.  Democrats also won the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general and are on the brink of a stunning capture of the majority in the House of Delegates, where Republicans had enjoyed a 66-34 margin.

Pundits around the nation are offering endless analyses for the results, but Cuccinelli – the man who led the GOP ticket as the party’s nominee for governor four years ago – says the dominant performance from Democrats really boils down to one party’s base being fired up and the other one discouraged.

“On the Democrat side, it is correct to say that Trump motivated their most left-wing voters,” said Cuccinelli, who says exit polls show voters who backed Bernie Sanders in 2016 were far more energized than those who sided with Hillary Clinton.

“If you look at Hillary Clinton’s top 50 precincts in 2016, the voter turnout there only went up about one percent from the last election.  If you look at Bernie Sanders’ top 50 precincts, the voter turnout exploded almost 20 percent,” said Cuccinelli.

He says that kind of enthusiasm was only evident on one side of the aisle on Tuesday.

“You’re never going to keep the left from being upset about Donald Trump and the Republicans.  They’re going to come, right?  So, the way to deal with it is to turn yours out.  And unless you can deliver victories for them when you have both houses (of Congress) and the presidency, they will wonder what’s the point.  That’s what happened yesterday,” said Cuccinelli.

Despite no members of Congress being on the ballot in Virginia on Tuesday, Cuccinelli firmly believes unfulfilled promises in Washington depressed the GOP turnout.

“Republicans are demoralized and dispirited at the complete failure of Republicans to keep their promises in Washington.  As far as ordinary Republican voters can remember, they haven’t delivered on anything,” said Cuccinelli.

He says the most glaring example is the inability to repeal Obamacare, but he’s unimpressed with the rest of the track record as well.

“You’re hearing what amounts to a muddling debate over the tax bill.  Yes, Neil Gorsuch is on the Supreme Court, and I hate to say this, but that was a long time ago,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli does not believe Tuesday’s results guarantee another political tsunami in the 2018 midterm elections, but he says it will happen if Republicans don’t put some legislative wins on the board.

“Are we going to be in a position, like we were in Virginia, of unilateral disarmament.  And by that I mean where we have nothing to motivate our side

“They have something to motivate their side and it isn’t going away.  Unfortunately for America, what this is going to lead Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to do is simply be more obstructionist because lack of accomplishment is the Republicans’ Achilles heel,” said Cuccinelli.

He says the solution for that is simple.

“Pass Obamacare repeal, not a watered-down version but the real deal.  Pass a real tax cut bill, not some mealy-mouthed thing there’s no reason to get excited about.  They can fix this and one result of this will be to put a lot more pressure on congressional Republicans to perform,” said Cuccinelli.

Many of the House of Delegates seats won by Democratic challengers came in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington.  And Democrats did not win those races with moderates but with very liberal candidates.

“In Northern Virginia, there was a transgender, (and also) a self-declared socialist.  These are wild-eyed radical lefties.  Antifa is very happy with the outcome with some of these people,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli doesn’t think Virginia voters embraced liberal politics in voting our their delegates.  He says the liberal candidates just rode the wave.

“People in those districts weren’t electing a socialist because somehow the city of Manassas in Prince William County suddenly turned socialist.  Those were simply the down ballot candidates at a time that the anger wave on the left carried them over the finish line,” said Cuccinelli.

He says Republican incumbents were done in by an unenthusiastic base that once again points to a lack of accomplishments in Washington this year.

“Good candidates down ballot were not in a position to resist the environmental wave that they were in: the negative one from the Democrats and then the lack of a wave of momentum coming from Republican accomplishment.

“Imagine how this would be different if five weeks ago Obamacare had been repealed instead of having some watered-down, mealy-mouthed go down anyway.  Would Ed Gillespie have made up a nine and a half point difference?  No, but down ballot would your delegate have lost like that?  Probably not.  Would mine?  Probably not,” said Cuccinelli.

However, Cuccinelli says Republicans do face a bigger and bigger problem that has nothing to do with this year’s political dynamics – the influx of big-government liberals into Northern Virginia.

“The astonishing growth of the federal government over the past two decades has led to a massive importation of pro-government voters into Northern Virginia.  Somebody’s got to run that growing leviathan, right?

“They haven’t moved to Maryland for the past 35 years.  They moved to Virginia because the taxes are lower and quality of life is higher.  But they vote like where they come from: New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli blames both parties for the explosive growth in the federal government and says that tells the story of Democrats winning elections in Virginia far more than demographic shifts.

“What it really is is the growth of the swamp.  Northern Virginia is home of the swamp.  It’s where government lives is in Virginia.  That has been killing us for a long time,” said Cuccinelli.

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