The following are exclusive feature articles by RenewAmerica analysts. The views expressed generally reflect the values and philosophy of RenewAmerica although each writer is responsible for the accuracy of individual pieces, and the position taken is the writers own.
October 7, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST A lot of congressional "tradition" could be broken later this month when the floor vote is taken to replace House Speaker John Boehner. By that time, the Republican majority will have its nominee for the vote of the full House. (That decision is slated to be made by the GOP Oct. 8.)... (more)
October 5, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST How can things go right in Washington? Lately, there has been little reason for conservatives to think they can. And we're not about to raise hopes, only to be disappointed... (more)
September 28, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Help! Somebody rescue Madame Hillary! She is learning big-time what it's like to be on the wrong end of a presidential attack machine... (more)
September 21, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Eight years ago in this space, we raised the question as to whether the Rupert Murdoch media empire could possibly switch its ideological moorings from conservative to liberal... (more)
August 28, 2015
JOAN SWIRSKY, RA ANALYST Most people, including me, know that Megyn Kelly is not only gorgeous, but also smart, sassy, incisive in her interviews, and genuinely funny. But the interview she conducted Wednesday night, August 26, with Jorge Ramos was disgraceful - - the kind of toadying and biased interrogation that should be Exhibit #1 in journalism schools across the country about how not to be a legitimate journalist... (more)
August 10, 2015
BARBARA KRALIS, RA ANALYST Pope Francis' conciliatory language toward irregular sexual unions for the past two years has caused the fiercest fighting within the Catholic Church since Vatican II. These matters are the heart of the Church's infallible teachings on faith and morals... (more)
August 10, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Well! Well! Well! So this country does have a president who has finally found an "enemy" he can identify that seeks our nation's ultimate destruction. The name of that enemy - - (hold on; no coaching from the audience, please!)... (more)
August 3, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST It is painful to witness the screech of someone suffering from self-inflicted wounds. Such is the case with establishment or "moderate" Republicans who can't stand it when Donald Trump emerges on the scene. So let's examine the logical question: Who created the "Donald Trump" of this presidential campaign?... (more)
July 30, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST It's 2018. Chuck Spelvin, American, now faces a dilemma. Last night, he read the riot act to his pre-teenage son, who had just been suspended from school. A "disrupter." That's it! At first, no coherent elaboration. It's just that Billy Spelvin had "disrupted a class."... (more)
July 27, 2015
JOAN SWIRSKY, RA ANALYST "Schumer is not a Shomer" were the words emblazoned on dozens of placards that were held by some of the 12,000 people who flooded Times Square last week to protest the "Death to America/Death to Israel" deal that Barack Obama and his cronies made on July 14th with - - to this day, to this hour - - a palpably belligerent, anti-Western, anti-Semitic Iran... (more)
July 6, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Hillary Clinton, the "all-but-inevitable" Democrat nominee for President in 2016, has finally "clarified" what she means when she declares that "Republicans are systematically and deliberately trying to stop millions of Americans from voting."... (more)
May 21, 2015
JOAN SWIRSKY, RA ANALYST Editor's note: The following is a guest editorial by RenewAmerica analyst Joan Swirsky originally published Dec. 3, 2005, in the Canada Free Press. Joan requested we republish it in light of recent statements by GOP presidential candidates and media commentators questioning whether the Iraq war was defensible, "knowing what we know now."... (more)
May 8, 2015
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST Conservatism stands for something much larger than public policy prescriptions, government structure, and individual rights. It stands for a uniquely American type of civil society - - a society that has created a uniquely prosperous American economy and a uniquely democratic American politics... (more)
May 4, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST It doesn't seem to matter anymore. No matter which way you turn, no matter which exit for which you try to make a mad dash (figuratively speaking), you barely miss getting beyond the giant gate that slams shut in your face... (more)
April 20, 2015
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST The Obama presidency has demonstrated a fundamental difference between modern liberalism and conservatism. As reflected by Obama's dramatic extension of government into new spheres of social and economic life, liberalism believes in government as the principal occupation and identity of America... (more)
April 2, 2015
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST An article I wrote twenty years ago described the Internet as America's next frontier. And for the past twenty years, it has been a wide-open, innovative, constantly changing - - and yes, somewhat unruly - - frontier... (more)
March 20, 2015
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST It is generally agreed that the most important social mobility function a government can perform - - or promote - - is education. In an open society, education gives each citizen the opportunity to advance on his or her own merit... (more)
March 20, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST A great (but humble) man left us last week. M. Stanton Evans: patriot, journalist, prolific author, philosopher, intellect, years-long professor, and clever, down-to-earth - - funny, good friend. Whatever there was to learn that was worth knowing, Stan Evans (1934-2015) would make it his business to know it... (more)
February 25, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST You are being robbed blind. If you've looked at your tax bill lately, that may not be a great shock to you. But the sheer genius by which American taxpayers are being ripped off, often with a wink from government, is nothing short of outrageous... (more)
February 23, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Does the President of the United States "love America"? Rudy Giuliani has given voice to the most widely believed, under-publicized "worst-kept secret" in the family tree of our president, Barack Obama: that the current White House occupant does not particularly like the nation whose people made him the most powerful man in the world. Mr. Giuliani believes he knows why... (more)
February 16, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST In less than two weeks, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is scheduled to announce its intent to deprive you of your right as a citizen to have access to the internet without government interference. But you're not supposed to know about it... (more)
January 22, 2015
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST Perhaps the clearest distinction between the liberal and conservative political philosophies lies in their respective focus on government as the essential booster and protector of the working and middle classes... (more)
January 19, 2015
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST The argument used by liberals since the New Deal is that a bigger federal government is a necessary aid to the poor and average American... (more)
January 19, 2015
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST So we will all live happily ever, right? A U.S. president seems to be giving us that assurance as he's set to make nice with Fidel Castro. President Obama is making himself "relevant" in the only way a spoiled child knows how to make the kind of attention-getting noise whose message is "Hey! Don't forget me. I'm here."... (more)
December 31, 2014
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST Job creation at every level. The ability of every parent to choose the school his or her child attends. A greater mobility for those at the bottom rungs of the economic ladder. A reformed and more affordable higher education system. Targeted tax relief for low-income workers and parents. Greater access to job-skill education programs... (more)
December 22, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Jon Huntsman, Sr., Utah's wealthiest man, says Mike Lee, Utah's junior senator, is an "embarrassment" to the Beehive State. It is not unexpected that the knives are out for Senator Lee, who by now should be quite accustomed to potshots, starting with a dirty tricks campaign waged against him when he sought and won the GOP nomination in 2010... (more)
December 18, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Former CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson is the kind of intrepid reporter who will pursue the tough investigations no matter how many doors are slammed in her face... (more)
December 15, 2014
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST A wide array of issues and controversies dominate the political terrain, but none is as important as the health and future of the middle class. A strong middle class has historically stood as a pillar of American society and constitutional democracy... (more)
December 1, 2014
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST Throughout the Obama era, the issue of income inequality has been a central tool of political strategizing... (more)
November 20, 2014
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST The traditional conservative economic approach has often been a reaction to an intrusive and suffocating liberal approach. It has advocated less government regulation and more tax cuts, relying on the reasonably free hand of the private sector to provide the right mix of economic benefits. Conservatism's primary thrust has been to oppose and roll back various government-imposed drags on the economy... (more)
November 10, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Ah, yes! A sentimental trip once again down memory lane. It's like old times! This movie we have seen before, and count on its return every time Republicans score a major victory... (more)
November 3, 2014
PATRICK GARRY, RA ANALYST With the 2014 election season coming to an end, conservatives must transition from the campaigning to the governance mode. Throughout the campaign season, a growing number of conservative voices have been urging the Republican Party to articulate a positive governing agenda. They argue that Republicans cannot win just by running as a check on President Obama, as the party of government shutdown... (more)
October 20, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST There seems to be no end to the police-state atmosphere that emerges close to home with more frequency these days. Texas, like most red states, contains small dobs of blue lurking in some of its major metropolitan centers. One such place is Houston, a city (ironically) with a history of eschewing and recoiling at the very thought of zoning ordinances... (more)
October 6, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST The media will never let go of its historical narrative of the sainted Roosevelts - - Teddy, FDR, and Eleanor too. Alas, the one man in America who knew them best, Westbrook Pegler, is long gone as are they. Therefore, it is left to those of later generations to pick up the cudgels and explore history the way it really was (my, what an unusual concept!)... (more)
September 18, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Return with us now to the thrilling days of yesteryear with stranded polar bears, drowning Manhattan lecturers, British "editors" of "scientific" studies, Hollywood limousines! From out of the museums of discredited "scientific" alarmism comes a hearty "Hi-Ho, Private Jet!" The Lone Albert rides again! (Neigh! - - I mean Whooosh!)... (more)
September 10, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST At the time I'm writing this, President Obama is yet to deliver his anxiously-awaited speech to the nation, and we should soon know whether he is serious about the notion that Americans expect him to take time out from his social engineering (running our lives) long enough to focus on an enemy at the gates with plans to kill us... (more)
September 8, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST This is just too delicious! Somebody wake me up. How long do you think I can take these beautiful dreams, only to reach the real world and find out I'm back in the punching bag, an experience that Middle America suffers 365/24/7? Wake me! Shake me! Pour water on me! Anything! Just get me out of this fantasyland! I'm probably being victimized by some fiendish sadist who pulled butterfly wings when he was a kid... (more)
August 31, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST As we begin this column (Friday night Aug. 29), Andrew McCarthy - - the successful lead prosecutor in the first Trade Center bombing, the man who jailed the "Blind Sheik - - has fired off a memo on the internet through National Review that the enemy is at our gate - - literally... (more)
August 14, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Back in the near-insurrectionist sixties, a left-wing pop artist, Barry Maguire, made a smash hit, "The Eve of Destruction." It was counterculture propaganda for the time. But today, with the same title (albeit with far different lyrics), the song could be applied to America's current predicament... (more)
July 14, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST NOTE: Prior to the 2012 election, this column ran a series raising the question as to whether that election would be our last free one. Then, as now, we were (and are) witnessing what is known as the Cloward & Piven strategy: the political manipulation of the "masses" by chaos, simultaneously coming from the top (Oval Office, for example) and the bottom (the likes Occupy Wall Street, as the second ingredient.)... (more)
June 20, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST The Founding Fathers of the United States knew, and assumed it was a given, that the balanced recipe for freedom they had encoded in the Constitution they crafted would work - - provided, of course, that its constraints on power were actually followed... (more)
May 15, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST What would you think of a United States senator who, with malice aforethought, uses his power to sic the IRS on private citizens whose politics he doesn't like?... (more)
May 12, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST No doubt an old parlor game in Washington will emerge now that Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) has been assigned by House Speaker John Boehner to chair a special select committee to unravel the Benghazi scandal... (more)
May 12, 2014
JOAN SWIRSKY, RA ANALYST To: Chairman Trey Gowdy and the Select Committee on Benghazi - - Your investigation is a huge relief to millions of Americans like me who have wondered and agonized over the past almost-two years about the actual events that happened before, during, and after the September 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi... (more)
April 21, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST Apparently, we may conclude that the "core values" tolerated by the eminent Brandeis University include activities such as (for starters) female genital mutilation, so-called "honor killings," wife beatings, and forced marriages... (more)
April 3, 2014
JOAN SWIRSKY, RA ANALYST Just last week, on March 24, 2014, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (CDC) released its latest data on autism. After surveying medical and school records from 11 states, the CDC found that autism has more than doubled since the new century began only 14 years ago. Today the condition affects one out of 68 children - - five times as many boys as girls. Alarmingly, there was a 30 percent climb in its incidence between 2008 and 2010.... (more)
February 27, 2014
PATRICK GARRY Modern conservatism may be in a process of transformation. Ever since the 2012 elections, more and more conservatives have been calling for a revival of the concerns that occupied earlier stages of American conservatism: a recognition of work as the foundation of society and the economy; the opportunity of each person to work at their chosen calling and be rewarded for that work... (more)
February 24, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST It took a long time to arrive (about 80 years), but now we are entering what may be the fulfillment of a generations-long dream of aspiring monarchs (or worse): government control of America's media... (more)
February 13, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST February 5, 2014, may go down in history as the turning point in the rescue of mankind from destruction. It was on that date that the Wall Street Journal front-paged the Mystery Assault on Power Grid... (more)
February 11, 2014
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST American Civilization wiped off the earth, from the air or from the ground? Either poses a real threat to Americans. In just a split second, a city, state, or other large area (of most or all of America itself) goes dark. America runs on electricity. Without it, this nation is back in the 17th century. No anything. Within a few months or weeks, millions die... (more)
