Trump's rise may not be as disastrous for the Republicans as the critics believe
You don’t have to look very far to find fraught (or gleeful) prognostications about an impending Republican crack-up – but the truth may be less obvious. And it all comes down to the rise of Donald Trump. The March 3 issue of the National Post contained several such ruminations, including a front-page piece from Andrew Coyne…
Start by focusing on changing the hearts and minds of the angry old white men who support him
Donald Trump is irrelevant. Yes, yes, of course: the racist, sexist, extremist reality TV billionaire is the biggest news story on the planet, bigger than ISIS and Justin Bieber combined. Yes, he is newsworthy because he says outrageous, offensive things, and because the media cannot bring themselves to ignore him. He isn’t merely newsworthy, either.…
If you’ve a long memory and a thing for American politics, the Vatican’s recent anti-Trump intervention may have rung a bell
If you’ve a long memory and a thing for American politics, the Vatican’s recent anti-Trump intervention may have rung a bell. Once upon a time, the loyalties of Roman Catholics were deemed suspect, and savvy churchmen learned to be wary of overt partisan involvement lest the fire be inadvertently stoked. Pope Francis seems to have…
The Christian obligation to support the underdog is a biblical imperative that goes back to the ancient Israelites
The international media was recently abuzz with a “feud” between Pope Francis and Donald Trump. The attention-grabbing headlines made for some entertainment while shining a spotlight on Christianity and politics in the United States. On the papal plane flying home from Mexico, reporters asked Francis about Trump’s plans to deport illegal immigrants and build a…
Canada’s relationship with its biggest neighbour, ally and trading partner is about to radically change
One thing this week’s presidential primary in New Hampshire has proven is that Canada’s relationship with its biggest neighbour, ally and trading partner is about to radically change. It’s about to take a dramatic turn to the right. Or is it to the left? Quite honestly, it’s hard to say which direction the relationship is…
What does Trump really know about Mexican culture and the Muslim faith?
An online article in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix newspaper reported the anguished reflections on the La Loche school shootings of an Ottawa-based psychiatrist who travels regularly to provide clinical services in northern Saskatchewan. Several comments in the online threads criticized the author for daring to have opinions on what was wrong, given that she didn’t…
For Trump, it all comes down to the art of the deal
Much of the media on Donald Trump describes him as both a buffoon and a right-wing conservative. But National Review, the magazine that midwifed the modern American conservative movement, begs to differ on the latter part. And to make its views clear, it’s just published a special issue entitled Against Trump. To quote the magazine’s…
Canadians shouldn't feel too superior to Americans: there are examples of Trump-style racism in our past
Canadians don’t like Donald Trump. From the prime minister right on down to your average Canadian citizen, we don’t like the things that the Republican presidential candidate says. At all. We don’t like his use of vulgarities to describe women (he calls them “fat pigs,” “dogs,” and “disgusting animals"). We don’t like what he has…
Canada's healthcare system a model to be avoided
By Jason Clemens and Bacchus Barua The Fraser Institute As is often the case in U.S. politics, Canada’s healthcare system was raised during the recent Republican debate as a functioning alternative to the U.S. model. But when front-runner Donald Trump described Canada’s healthcare system as working just fine, he was out of step with the…