At the core of every social, political, and economic system is a picture of human nature (to paraphrase 20th-century columnist Walter Lippmann). The suppositions we begin with — the ways in which that picture is developed — determine the lives we lead, the institutions we build, and the civilizations we create. They are the foundation

The aftermath of President Obama's meeting yesterday with the GOP leadership sparked a discussion that recurs with some regularity within conservative circles. (President Obama pronounced the meeting “extremely civil,” and Republicans concurred.) The argument is sometimes made, directly or obliquely, that civility is merely a guise, the first step toward bipartisan compromises that betray conservative

One of the errors both Christ­ians and non-Christians make is to plunge into the midst of political debates without sufficiently reflecting on first principles. Just as we need a blueprint to build a house, people need to think through what ought to be the role and purpose of government in our lives. God willed the

Tuesday's victories allow the Republican Party, at least at the Congressional level, to be an effective opposition party, not an effective governing party. The distinction is crucial. For the past two years the G.O.P. has been essentially powerless. All that has changed. Because they control the House, Republicans can force a series of votes that

After watching President Obama's press conference, Democrats who are still left standing must have been mortified. The depth of his self-delusion was stunning. To put things in perspective: the Democratic Party just suffered the worst repudiation any political party has since before the middle of the last century. The defeat was staggering in the House

In a recent interview with Philip Klein of the American Spectator, Representative Paul Ryan spoke about the limits of the strategy to defund ObamaCare: Obviously, I'm in favor of anything we can do to stop it, to halt it, but the problem we have is, he [Obama] has to sign those bills. I get this

In a speech to the Hudson Institute last week, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, in accepting the Herman Kahn Award, spoke admiringly of Kahn. Daniels quoted from Kahn's 1982 book, The Coming Boom (it can be found near the 27-minute mark): “It would be most useful to redesign the tax system to discourage consumption and encourage

Some Republicans (like Minority Leader John Boehner and Senator Lindsey Graham) argue that allowing children of illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens attracts larger numbers of illegal immigrants. They're wrong. For one thing, the evidence that “anchor babies” is a magnet for illegal immigration doesn't exist (the main motivators are searching for work and better

At Friday's iftar dinner at the White House, President Obama declared, “As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan,