Thursday, August 15, 2013

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Ashton Kutcher A Cultural Conservative? 

I know that is probably a stretch given that he stars on the CBS show "Two and A Half Men," which is basically a 30-minute sex joke. But Sunday night, Kutcher must have stunned Hollywood elites with some conservative views during his brief remarks at the Teen Choice Awards. 

Knowing he was going to speak before an audience of impressionable teenagers, no one would have been surprised if he had uttered the usual left-wing claptrap about global warming or loving whomever you choose. Instead, Kutcher thoughtfully considered his remarks to this particular audience and gave a defense of work that would have made Ayn Rand proud and then redefined "sexy" in a way that would have made the late Reverend Jerry Falwell proud.

Here's what he said about work and opportunity: 
 

  • "I believe that opportunity looks a lot like hard work. When I was 13, I had my first job with my dad carrying shingles up to the roof, and then I got a job washing dishes at a restaurant, and then I got a job in a grocery store deli, and then I got a job at a factory sweeping Cheerio dust off the ground. 

    "And I've never had a job in my life that I was better than. I was always just lucky to have a job. And every job I had was a stepping stone to my next job, and I never quit my job until I had my next job. And so opportunities look a lot like work."

Then he really shocked the Hollywood left with this definition of "sexy:" 
 

  • "The sexiest thing in the entire world is being really smart. And being thoughtful, and being generous. Everything else is crap, I promise you. It's just crap that people try to sell to you to make you feel like less. So don't buy it! Be smart, be thoughtful and be generous."

Hard work. Responsibility. Generosity. Thoughtfulness. Those are some of the values that built this great nation, and they are the values that will sustain it. It is a message our youth desperately need to hear in an age of moral relativism. 

Obamacare Deal Splitting GOP? 

When Obamacare was being drafted, Republicans successfully passed an amendment requiring members of Congress and their staffs to obtain health insurance through the Obamacare exchange program. It was a brilliant political move intended to guarantee that our political elites and those they rely on were participating in the exact same program they were creating for the rest of us. 

As time went on, the politicians became increasingly nervous. Capitol Hill Democrats hounded President Obama to intervene to spare them from their own creation. Obama's unilateral and legally suspect Obamacare waiver for members of Congress should have been a huge political gift to the GOP and opponents of Obamacare. 

But even if GOP elites are out of touch with the grassroots outrage, some candidates evidently do not want to be associated with this latest example of congressional hypocrisy. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who is running for the Senate, has introduced legislation to undo the Obamacare waiver for Congress. 

"As long as Obamacare remains law, Members of Congress should not receive exchange subsidies that are not provided to other Americans," Capito said. I have no doubt that Capito's legislation will be overwhelmingly popular with voters in West Virginia. 

Meanwhile, Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, is using the issue very effectively in her campaign to unseat incumbent Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY). In a press release this week, Cheney challenged Enzi to renounce the waiver, saying: 
 

  • "The hypocrisy is stunning. But all too typical of how Congress works. Members cut special deals for themselves so they don't feel the pain their laws inflict on the general public. That's one of the reasons I'm running for the Senate -- to end this self-serving, behind the scenes deal-making."

Sen. Enzi is a decent man and a solid conservative who has staunchly opposed Obamacare. It would be ironic if this is the issue that ends his political career. But it could be that politically potent. 

Taking A Bullet For Biblical Marriage 

Folks, I'd like to ask each of you, right now as you are finishing this report, to say a brief prayer for our country. A year ago today, Floyd Lee Corkins II, a militant homosexual rights activist, stormed the lobby of the Family Research Council and shot a security guard, Leo Johnson, in the arm.

But Johnson fought back and his heroic actions that day probably saved many lives. Corkins targeted FRC, an organization I was honored to lead for nearly ten years, because it was listed as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center for believing in traditional marriage. Yes, Leo Johnson literally took a bullet for biblical marriage. 

But while Corkins thankfully failed in his attack on FRC, five liberal justices on our Supreme Court committed an act of judicial terrorism that struck at the very foundation of our constitutional republic. The court's liberal majority accepted a radical redefinition of marriage and imposed its morality on the rest of society.

In doing so, five unelected judges rejected thousands of years of Judeo-Christian understanding, as well as congressional statutes, and set the stage for invalidating the will of the people in more than two-dozen states that have voted to maintain the traditional definition of marriage. Does the consent of the governed matter at all anymore? 

It seems as though America is on the verge of criminalizing the Book of Genesis. And with Obamacare's assault on conscience, the danger to religious liberty cannot be overstated.