Larry Elder's Townhall.com Column

Why Jeremiah Wright Matters -- Still

2012-05-24T00:01:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
In the 1967 comedy "A Guide for the Married Man," Joey Bishop's wife catches him in bed with another woman. As his wife stands at the bedroom door screaming at the sight, Bishop and the mistress calmly get up, make the bed and get dressed.

Will Gay Marriage Force Black Churches to Reconsider Democratic Party?

2012-05-17T10:56:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
President Obama's affirmation of gay marriage threatens to undermine the near-monolithic black support Obama enjoyed in 2008. Several members of the black clergy now say they intend to sit out the presidential election. One poll from last November found black opposition to gay marriage at 58 percent, higher than the rest of the country, which is about evenly split.

Obama-Loving Media Spin the Economy

2012-05-10T00:01:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
National Public Radio's Kai Ryssdal recently talked about the weak economy. His guests, two reporters from The Washington Post and The New York Times, acknowledged the obvious -- that the economy is underperforming.

If Mormonism Is Fair Game, so Is Jeremiah Wright

2012-04-26T00:01:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
A well-regarded Republican strategist at a private gathering recently warned, "And just wait until they play that Mormon card." By "they," he meant the Obama campaign and its complicit media cheerleaders.

Five Myths of the 'Racist' Criminal Justice System

2012-04-19T00:01:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
Calling America's criminal justice system "racist" is not confined to "civil rights leaders" like the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Then-Sen. Barack Obama, during the 2008 presidential campaign, said it, too. Blacks and whites, said Obama, "are arrested at very different rates, are convicted at very different rates (and) receive very different sentences ... for the same crime."

Leftist California Professors "Corrupt" Higher Education

2012-04-12T00:01:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
"I don't know any polite way of putting this -- but he's lying," said professor John Ellis, president of the National Association of Scholars' California division. Ellis was reacting to a critic's characterization of the NAS's damning report, "A Crisis of Competence: The Corrupting Effect of Political Activism in the University of California."

The Media Downplay Murder When It's Black-on-White and Black-on-Black

2012-04-05T10:28:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
Why did the Trayvon Martin case become such a huge national story? Is it because an innocent black teenager lost his life at the hands of a man, George Zimmerman, who "racially profiled" him? Is it that the victim is black and the shooter was not?

Jesse: Trayvon Proves 'Blacks Are Under Attack'

2012-03-29T00:01:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
No matter whether Zimmerman is charged or convicted, a tragedy occurred. But is Jesse Jackson right, that the death of Trayvon Martin suggests "blacks are under attack," presumably by racist non-blacks?

ObamaCare Still a Disaster -- No Matter How the Supreme Court Decides

2012-03-22T00:01:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
"I am a refugee," my anesthesiologist told me after I had awakened from my third surgery in 12 years -- one to repair a muscle tear in my left shoulder and two for the same disc in my lower back. "I am part of the British 'brain drain' of the late '60s. Doctors could not make any money. So I left." Britain's loss, my gain

Where's Sharpton's Apology for Accusing a White Man of Raping a Black Teen?

2012-03-15T00:01:00-04:00

Larry Elder Column
"Meet the Press" host David Gregory asked his panel "where civility has gone in our public discourse." Incredibly, one panelist urged people to be more "mature" and not "poison the atmosphere."

"Outrage" Over Limbaugh - What About Left-Wing Misogyny?

2012-03-08T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
"A firestorm of outrage from women after a crude tirade from Rush Limbaugh," said NBC anchor Brian Williams. This was followed by a reporter who said: "In 2012, the personal is political. What began as a debate over religious freedom has devolved into what some call a 'war on women.'"

'Honest' PBS Clinton Documentary Lies About the Economy

2012-03-01T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
Whether Bill Clinton was a good president, whether he deserves the credit for balanced budgets and projected surpluses or whether he should have been impeached are matters about which reasonable people can and do disagree. A new movie doesn't take that tact.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson -- Vote Your Race

2012-02-23T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
What if actor Clint Eastwood gave an interview in which he explained why, in the 2008 presidential election, he voted for John McCain: "I voted for McCain because he was white."?

Whitney Houston Critics Called Her 'Too White' -- Black Republicans Can Relate

2012-02-16T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
Whitney Houston struggled with something else that black Republicans and black non-Democrats can understand: ridicule and ostracism for "selling out," or "acting white," or not being "black enough."

Aren't Republicans Supposed to Be Colorblind?

2012-02-09T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
Oh, for crying out loud! Ethnic-based Cabinet appointees? Do we still need to go out and "seek" people of a certain color or religion to show "fairness and inclusion"? What about considering the best people possible -- isn't that the only appropriate answer to that question?

Democrats Love Taxes -- They Just Don't Want to Pay Them

2012-02-02T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
Forgive Republican candidate Mitt Romney for his alleged failure to adequately explain why he paid "only" 14 percent of his income in taxes.

Newt Declares War on Media

2012-01-26T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
The Republican re-embrace of former Speaker Newt Gingrich says a lot about whom he sees as his opponent -- and it isn't just President Barack Obama. It's the media.

On Gay Marriage, Media Gives Obama a Pass

2012-01-19T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
Why does President Barack Obama enjoy a no-fly zone on gay marriage?

Univision Attempt to Blackmail Marco Rubio -- Hispanic Groups Yawn

2012-01-12T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
Why aren't the Hispanic advocacy groups up in arms? Rubio symbolizes the wrong kind of Hispanic -- an anti-amnesty, pro-legal immigration Republican conservative who refuses to play the role of oppressed victicrat.

The Importance of Ron Paul

2012-01-05T00:01:00-05:00

Larry Elder Column
It is quite extraordinary what the rumpled, unpretentious 76-year-old OB/GYN has already achieved. Many Republicans now agree: If the GOP listened to Paul on domestic and economic issues, their "brand" would look a lot better.