It's odd to make this observation, because there are still many pressing issues; because we live in a time of division and outrage; and because I make my living writing conservative political polemics, but most of the issues that motivated me to get involved in U.S. politics on the Republican side are being resolved.
That was driven home to me on Tuesday, when a Democrat who backed J Street and its criticisms of Israel lost in a primary to a Democrat who backed Israel and was supported by AIPAC. In 2010, I was the first political candidate to stand up to J Street anywhere, when I challenged Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) in Illinois.
During that election, Obamacare was the major issue on voters' minds. The most offensive part of that law was the individual mandate, through which the government forced people to buy insurance. Republicans could never fulfill their promise to repeal Obamacare, but Trump killed the individual mandate.
Another big issue was spending. The Tea Party opposed massive deficit spending but both parties continued to spend big. They could do so, as long as there was low inflation and slow economic growth. Now that we are facing inflation not seen in forty years, Americans are thinking seriously about fiscal restraint.
Reality is also beginning to intrude into energy policy. Democrats could make sweeping, utopian "green" policies when energy was plentiful and fuel prices were low. Now that our grid is near the breaking point and gas is expensive, there is a growing will to compromise (though we are not quite there yet).
And as for the 2020 riots and "defund the police" -- well, you still see stupid Black Lives Matter signs and flags in liberal neighborhoods in many American cities, but voters, even in left-wing San Francisco, are busy throwing out the George Soros-backed prosecutors who helped drive a nationwide crime wave.
Back to foreign policy: I can't think of any issue on which I've ever agreed with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), whom I regard as one of the most destructive political figures in America. Yet she did the right thing by going to Taiwan this week and confronting China, amid President Joe Biden's weakness.
Biden probably didn't mind much, because he announced the killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan. That didn't make up for his disastrous withdrawal last year, or for trashing Trump for similar counter-terror operations, but at least killing terrorists is once again a bipartisan pursuit.
And while Biden returned empty-handed from the Middle East in terms of Saudi concessions on oil, he reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel against Iran. He also walked back earlier promises to build a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem. In other words: he abandoned his own policies, and embraced Trump's policies.
Abortion was not a major motivation for me, politically; I regard myself as personally pro-life, and I donate to an organization that provides financial support to pregnant mothers in need, but I never thought the government should be involved in the early stages of pregnancy. It's a theological issue, IMO.
Regardless, Roe v. Wade is now gone, thanks to Dobbs and Trump's appointees, and behold: the parade of horribles promised by the left is failing to materialize. Voters in Kansas(!) rejected a pro-life amendment to the state constitution. Boundaries are being set in the states, where this issue belongs.
I feel as if I'm starting to see the world I hoped for, coming back together. And maybe I can take some pride in helping bring about this outcome, because when J Street started their crap, I stood up to it. And others, later, did the same. We are back to bipartisan support for Israel. Maybe there is hope on other issues.
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...