Conservative Conversation and Community
“They are searching for every haystack they can possibly find in hopes that there’s a needle somewhere that they can bring forward and say, ‘A-ha, we have something to impeach him,'” says Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. “And the American people are seeing it for what it is.” Tune in for a special bonus podcast interview.
More Since the beginning of November, Cody Howdeshell has been in Hong Kong, delivering first aid to the protesters. He’s seen some of the violence first hand: the Hong Kong police, he says of one time, “went in and they beat these kids that were already half dead with their nightsticks and began to absolutely tear them out with no mercy, probably dislocating limbs, and shoved them against the wall and arrested them.” He joins the podcast to share why the protesters want freedom and more, what he thinks will happen in the long term, and what he believes Americans should learn from Hong Kong’s experience.
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Health care continues to be a top issue for Americans — but it’s not getting much attention from Congress. Rep. Greg Murphy, a urologist and House member, brings a unique perspective to the health care debate.
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Charles Mitchell, who leads the Commonwealth Foundation in Pennsylvania, is worried about children’s access to charter schools in the Keystone State. “Our governor has declared war on opportunity for Pennsylvania families,” Mitchell says, referring to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. “He’s issued 11 executive orders, the plain intent of which is to put the kibosh on charter schools.”
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Should students go straight to college after High school? Tommy Nelson, Senior Pastor of Denton Bible Church, would argue no. “Colleges now are trying to make you a living, but not a life,” he says. To combat this problem, Nelson has created GAP, a 9-month leadership program where high school graduates can learn theology, life skills, job skills, and more before attending a university.
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“Democrats are intent on impeaching President Trump for something. It really doesn’t matter to them what it is,” says Heritage Foundation legal scholar Tom Jipping. He joins the podcast to explain why lawyers, not lawmakers, are doing much of the questioning, what’s next for the impeachment process, and what the main takeaways are from the hearing Wednesday.
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“I consider myself a liberal. I still consider myself a feminist,” says writer Meghan Daum. But the past few years have left her shaken. “I did not feel that the new left was necessarily representing my values all the time. There was a sort of purity-policing that interestingly we used to associate with the right,” she says. Between #MeToo, smugness on social media, the Covington high schooler incident, and an interest in the so-called “intellectual dark web”, Daum is carving out her own political path.
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In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote–and lost the election. Cue a renewed interest from the left in demolishing the Electoral College. Now 15 states and the District of Columbia have joined the National Popular Vote Compact. Trent England, director of Save Our States, joins the podcast to discuss what his group is doing to increase enthusiasm for the Electoral College.
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When she was 21 years old, Claire Culwell found out a huge secret about her past: her biological mom had tried to have an abortion when she was pregnant with Claire and her twin. While Claire’s twin didn’t survive, Claire did–and that revelation changed her life. “I knew that I couldn’t stand for what abortion does. And so, I chose to take a stance and to speak out,” she says.
Plus, Dan Bartkowiak of the Pennsylvania Family Council joins the show to discuss what’s going on in the Keystone State.
More A 130-year-old bakery in Ohio was accused of racism after arresting an Oberlin College student for shoplifting. Hostilities and boycotts against Gibson’s Bakery have escalated into a court case debating free speech. Legal Insurrection, a must-read political and law website, has followed this case since its beginnings in 2016.
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None of us want to think about another attack on America. But nor do we want to be unprepared if such an attack occurs. Dakota Wood, the lead editor of The Heritage Foundation’s Index of U.S. Military Strength, explains that right now the military’s readiness status is
“marginal.” In other words, between aging equipment and other problems, we’re far from ready to fight if have to wage war against two
More President Donald Trump’s nominations of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh may be the most high profile judicial nominations he’s made, but they’re far from the only. “One out of every 4 active judges on the United States Court of Appeals have been appointed by President Trump,” says Adam Kennedy, deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of communications at the White House. “And the average age is actually a full 10 years younger for these justices than under President [Barack] Obama.”
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Free speech has seen better days on the college campus. Increasingly, conservative ideas are unwelcome and even shouted down. At some schools, religious groups are being kicked off campus for not allowing non-believers to run their organization. It’s a concerning state of affairs—and yet, many students are pushing back and winning in the courtroom. In today’s episode, I speak with Casey Mattox about upholding the First Amendment on campus. We also discuss whether tech companies have any role in protecting free speech.
Read the lightly edited transcript of the interview, posted below, or listen on the podcast:
More Chicago is known for its deep dish pizza, skyscrapers, and freezing cold winters. Unfortunately, it’s also known for high crime, fiscal woes, and political dysfunction. Other major cities have reformed their political system over time, but not Chicago. The city remains stuck with an outdated political model where the mayor is essentially king, making it harder to address long-term problems. My guest today, Austin Berg, has co-authored a book about this that explains how Chicago can finally break free from its past.
We also cover the following stories:
More Those struggling with same-sex attraction or hoping to walk away from a homosexual lifestyle may find some encouragement from Liz Flaherty and Elizabeth Woning, who both once lived a lesbian lifestyle.
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As the national debt grows larger and larger, our lawmakers continue to spend obliviously–and even on frivolous things. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., is not happy about how much government agencies are spending on swag, and she recently introduced legislation to end things like the government spending over $600,000 on coloring books.
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The New York Times’ 1619 Project is the latest attempt from the left to re-tell history. But Dr. Allen Guelzo thinks the Times made some key errors. ” The hope of many members of the Constitutional Convention, that slavery could be abolished, was linked to their conviction that the abolition of slavery was simply one more step that needed to be taken to free us from the inheritance of British colonialism and British imperialism,” Guelzo, a research scholar at Princeton University says. “The 1619 Project tends to invert that.” Guelzo also talks about reparations, capitalism and its role in our history, and more.
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More Lynn Meagher has two adult children who identify as transgender. “A lot of these kids have concurrent mental health issues, and they find a place to fit in because as soon as you say that you’re trans, you get love-bombed,” she reflects. “You get love-bombed online, you get love-bombed on at school … As soon as you say you’re trans, you turn into a star. And kids are thirsty for that kind of affirmation.”
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The leader of ISIS is dead. The man who directed so many brutal killings, tortures, and atrocities took his own life in a tunnel after being hunted down by U.S. forces. What does that mean for the fight against ISIS, both in Syria and abroad? Today we discuss that with Jim Phillips, a Middle East expert at The Heritage Foundation. Plus: Kanye West’s full embrace of the Christian faith is doing pop culture a new one. We discuss his latest album and film.
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More “I Like Mike” was the campaign Taylor University freshman David Muselman created when a handful of progressive students tried to keep Vice President Mike Pence from visiting Taylor’s campus.
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