The Left's Culture Of Crime
 
Last night, the large Christmas tree outside the Fox News studios in Manhattan was set on fire by one of the thugs freely roaming the streets of Bill de Blasio's New York City.  Criminality and disorder, fueled by left-wing ideology, are sweeping across America. 
 
Just a few weeks ago, another thug who should have been in jail attacked a Christmas parade in Wisconsin, killing six and wounding dozens.
 
This weekend, there will be more mass looting in our major cities.  More churches will be desecrated and vandalized.  In some cases, churches will be the targets of arson.  You may not have heard of these church attacks because our hostile left-wing media ignores them. 
 
The people committing these horrible crimes are responsible for their actions.  But there are many others who have created the culture that empowers these barbarians.
 
In recent years, the socialist progressive left has demonized our brave men and women in law enforcement.  They have demoralized the police and defunded them.  Now many cities can't recruit cops. 
 
Leftist groups pushed the idiotic idea to release defendants without any bail requirements.  So, all over the country, people who should be in jail for previous offenses are out committing new crimes. 
 
Last summer, anarchy in the name of social justice swept our cities, and went largely unpunished. Leftist mayors and city councils turned our streets over to criminals.  Anyone who spoke out against the rioting was, of course, labeled a racist. 
 
Not surprisingly, only 27% of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction.  The rest of us know that we must get back to law and order and reliable standards of right and wrong, or even worse days are ahead.
 
 
 
The Party Of Lawlessness
 
The Republican Party has its divisions, which the media gleefully reminds us of every day.  But there are growing divisions in the increasingly socialist Democrat Party too.  And they are becoming more evident as Joe Biden's approval ratings plummet. 
 
The chaos in Democrat-run cities is driven by two insane ideas – no bail requirements and defunding the police.  These ideas were spawned by the left.  Now that we're seeing the predictable results, leading voices on the left aren't backing down, they're doubling down. 
 
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested that the reporting of widespread smash-and-grab looting was a hoax.  Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose city resembles a shooting gallery, actually blamed retailers for not having sufficient security. 
 
Immediately after a thug with a long criminal record carried out a domestic terrorist attack against a Wisconsin Christmas parade, members of the socialist Squad doubled down on their insane ideas.  AOC pushed bail reform, and Rashida Tlaib pushed a plan to empty all federal prisons, putting even more criminals on our streets. 
 
To call them "tone deaf" would be a gross understatement!
 
Los Angeles police arrested 14 looters last week, but the left-wing Soros-backed district attorney released them with no bail. 
 
Homicides hit a record high in Philadelphia, but the city's radical district attorney just denied that there is a "crime crisis" in the city of Brotherly Love. 
 
But something is changing.  It's not that Democrats are suddenly seeing the light.  Instead, they're feeling the heat. 
 
Americans are increasingly afraid to go shopping or walk outside after dark.  Now, Democrats are afraid of the increasing polling data (here and here) indicating that the American people are ready to clobber them at the ballot box in next year's elections.
 
That's why Attorney General Merrick Garland announced yesterday that the Justice Department is launching new initiatives to combat violent crime.  And White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki felt the need to disagree with AOC and the mayor of Chicago. 
 
So, yet another fissure has emerged within the Democrat Party.  There are other fissures too.  Just ask Sen. Joe Manchin. 
 
But now a new fight is erupting between Democrats who know that lawlessness is not a winning issue and the Marxist left that appears to revel in the breakdown of normalcy and order.
 
 
 
Biden, Putin & Ukraine
 
Am I the only one troubled by the fact that Joe Biden was not in Hawaii on the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor to honor the few remaining American heroes who saved our country in World War II? 
 
Well, he did spend some time yesterday on a Zoom summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin over growing tensions with Ukraine.  The main point Biden put on the table was this:  If Russia violates Ukraine's borders, Biden will impose economic sanctions on Russia. 
 
I couldn't help but notice the irony.  Biden seems to think border integrity is important in Ukraine, but not so much for the United States.  Since the first day he occupied the Oval Office, Biden has pushed his radical open borders agenda. Illegal immigration has surged to record highs and deportations are down 90%. 
 
No one is arguing for a military confrontation between the United States and Russia.  But America must always have a credible threat of deterrence.  Our enemies must believe that we might use military force.  But even the New York Times wonders if Biden's leadership is credible enough to dissuade our enemies from their aggression.
 
There's a reason Putin didn't mass 100,000 troops on the border of Ukraine when Donald Trump was president.  There's a reason North Korea stopped its missile tests after Trump read Kim Jong Un the riot act.  There's a reason Arab states allied with Israel under Trump's leadership.
 
It's safe to say that Putin's staff is looking at Biden's threatened sanctions to determine how they can work around them.  If Putin believes he can, it's likely you will wake up soon to this headline: "Russian Forces Smash Into Ukraine." 
 
By the way, Trump supplied significant weapons to the Ukrainians so they could fight for themselves.  When Russia last invaded Ukraine and seized the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the Obama/Biden team sent blankets and ready-to-eat meals.  No doubt Putin is expecting a similar response from Biden again. 
 
 
 
Hispanics Move Right
 
A new Wall Street Journal poll contains some big news.  Hispanic voters have moved significantly to the right, and are now evenly split in their support between the two parties heading into the 2022 elections. 
 
That's great news, but here's my concern:  The GOP party establishment and its corporate wing will misread this news and argue that we need to be more open to mass immigration.  That would be a huge mistake! 
 
This shift among Hispanic voters began when Trump's signature issue was securing the border and stopping the slide of working-class wages.  This shift is continuing at the same time the GOP is vehemently opposing Biden's open borders agenda.
 
Contrary to the "conventional wisdom," we are seeing growing Hispanic support at the very time we are insisting on stopping illegal immigration.   
 
So, what explains this shift among Hispanic voters?
 
The big story is not a "Hispanic" story.  The big story is that while woke corporate CEOs are leaving the GOP and becoming left-wing Democrats, working-class Americans of all races are shifting to the Republican Party.
 
Now is the time for Republicans to double down on secure borders.  One of their major themes should be, "We cannot continue to undermine working-class Americans by forcing them to compete against slave labor in communist China or against millions of illegal immigrants."
 
In addition, we should emphasize values issues, including the sanctity of life and school choice.  Finally, the GOP should aggressively call out the Democrats for their drift toward socialism, and it should sound the alarm against the growing danger of Marxism in America.  Many Hispanics, as well as other immigrants, came here to escape failed communist/socialist regimes.
 
 
 
Religious Discrimination On Trial
 
The Supreme Court heard arguments today in a critically important case for religious liberty.  At issue is Maine's policy of providing vouchers for parents to send their children to private schools but only if those schools do not offer religious instruction.  In other words, the state of Maine is blatantly discriminating against religious schools.
 
Again, it can be dangerous to assume too much based on the questions and statements the justices make during oral arguments.  But the conservative majority appears likely to strike down the Maine law on a 6-to-3 vote, and doing so would be consistent with recent decisions.
 
A few years ago, the Supreme Court struck down a Missouri law that prohibited religious schools from receiving state grants that were available to other private institutions.  Last year, the court overturned a Montana law that barred religious schools from receiving state-funded scholarships that were available to other private schools.
 
Just a reminder:  If Hillary Clinton had made the last three Supreme Court appointments instead of Donald Trump, a decision in today's case would likely be 6-to-3 in favor of state-sponsored discrimination against Christian and other religious schools.