Ken Blackwell & Ken Klukowski

Elections are about choices, and 2012’s pivotal election showcases two very different visions for America’s future. Governor Mitt Romney is quickly consolidating the Republican base to enthusiastically support him this November. His speech this weekend at Liberty University illustrates these efforts, providing an opportunity to underscore Romney’s embrace of American exceptionalism in both his public and private life. (more)

Sadly, some are exploiting the Trayvon Martin shooting to target self-defense laws that protect innocent lives. These laws safeguard law-abiding and peaceable citizens, and are not to blame in the tragic Florida incident. Stand Your Ground laws did not apply in that situation, and statements to the contrary are irresponsible and misinformed. (more)

Protecting the integrity of the ballot box is essential to our democracy. Laws requiring voters to show identification at the polls are common-sense measures to prevent fraud and corruption, and ensure that each year's election returns accurately reflect the will of the people. (more)

The far left is making an unprecedented two-track move to derail states’ efforts to protect the integrity of the ballot box for this November’s elections. While the Department of Justice (DOJ) is blocking state efforts, liberal activists are taking this issue to the United Nations Human Rights Council. (more)

“Whoever says later may find later is too late,” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said last week. His words drove Western policymakers into a tizzy. Everyone wants to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, but not everyone is willing to do what it takes to bring that about. (more)

Informed in 1960 that the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. would be voting for the Protestant Richard Nixon, Sen. Jack Kennedy smiled and said: “We all have fathers.” It was typical of his wit. Kennedy’s own father was a notorious anti-Semite and appeaser. Young Jack would never repudiate Old Joe, or fail to cash Joe’s hefty checks. Kennedy would win that election and go on to present Congress with the most far-reaching civil rights legislation in a century. (more)

The United States is at a fork in the road regarding which way we will go as a people. The 2012 election could be the most important in our lifetime, and conservative leaders have reached a consensus on how to channel the energy and concerns of the American people to realize historic change this year. (more)

Eric Holder’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an all-out war on voter-ID laws and other measures designed to safeguard the electoral process. Although Holder’s actions are purportedly to prevent African-Americans from being disenfranchised, the reality is that they serve the crass political purpose of ensuring that Holder’s boss gets re-elected next year. (more)

Governor Perry created a buzz recently when he said that President Obama is a socialist, though he was quick to add that the president loves his country and simply doesn’t understand how America’s market-based economy works. If the president understood the private sector, Governor Perry explained, he wouldn’t pursue tax and regulatory policies that crush job-creators and prevent wealth creation. (more)

Gov. Rick Perry stated at the outset of his presidential campaign that he is running for president based on his principles and leadership accomplishments, not his oratorical skills. By focusing on Perry's debate missteps, the media is deliberately ignoring his record and charisma. (more)

President Barack Obama’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is on a job-killing rampage. It’s claiming unprecedented powers far beyond what federal law allows. In the context of Obama’s other agencies’ decisions, these executive actions paint a picture of what has become an imperial presidency. (more)

Liberals are trying to kill the prospect of a balanced-budget amendment (BBA) in the ongoing battle over the debt ceiling. Some on the right respond that they might settle for a “clean” BBA. But there are two types of clean BBAs, one of which would be worse than no BBA at all. (more)

Liberal pundits are panicking over constitutional conservatism. They shouldn't be, because all children — whether their parents are liberal or conservative — will benefit from constitutional conservatism’s ascendency. If America elects a constitutional conservative president and Congress in 2012, we’ll move forward as a freedom-loving nation. (more)

Time magazine’s cover story shows the U.S. Constitution and asks, “Does it still matter?” Reading this story, we kept waiting for Emmanuel Goldstein to show up for the Two Minutes of Hate. It was difficult to discern whether we were reading Time or Orwell’s 1984. (more)

Our media colleague Chris Matthews just got a thrill up his other leg. He announced on MSNBC that he’s figured out what the black community needs: same-sex marriage. He’s wrong on religious liberty, and he’s wrong on the economics both of marriage and of the black community. (more)

On March 31, Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee introduced a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to make it a constitutional requirement for Washington, D.C., to end our deficit spending and our culture of debt. And our national grassroots organization, Pass the Balanced Budget Amendment, is working with them to compel lawmakers to approve this change to the Supreme Law of the Land. (more)

The Obama administration has not shown us it cares about the persecution of Christians. This is obvious. At a time of rising persecution of Christians throughout Muslim lands, the president has nominated Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook -- a “motivational speaker” with questionable qualifications -- to hold the critical position of U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. (more)

The latest TV scandal is over MTV’s new show, “Skins.” The show casts child actors (not adults who play children on camera) with a plot where kids are involved in drugs, sex and reportedly even prostitution. It’s pushing the envelope in terms of coarsening society, evidently going for the shock value of being one of the edgiest shows on cable television. (more)

Litigation over the Obamacare individual mandate has captured the public’s attention, as we’ve written previously for the Washington Examiner and the Wall Street Journal. But the ultimate goal in challenging the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care law is not the mandate; it is severability. (more)

Same-sex marriage is back as a front-burner issue in American politics. (more)