Paul Ryan

It may not yet be time for Republicans to worry but it’s clear if they don’t improve that more elections like last week’s Pennsylvania disaster will follow. There’s still plenty of DC swamp left to drain – and they’d better get back to doing it or the base’s enthusiasm will evaporate.

We urge CHQ readers to call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard (1-866-220-0044) to ask for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Tell Rep. McCarthy there should be no internet sales tax in the omnibus, no funding for Planned Parenthood, no Chuck Schumer earmark for the bloated New York – New Jersey tunnel, no insurance company Obamacare bailout and no Ex-Im bank cronyism in this year’s omnibus.

No life or death issues are easy and often there are good arguments on both sides. It’s just plain arrogance on behalf of liberals like Dianne Feinstein to claim there are no reasonable alternatives to banning “assault weapons”. Political decisions have consequences indeed.

President Trump must resist the urge to do a deal and back DACA legislation decoupled from the rest of the conservative immigration reform agenda unless he wants to make Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House and mire the remainder of his presidency in Democrat-led investigations and impeachment hearings.

Populism has become a dirty word but only because Trump’s critics and enemies accuse him of enslaving himself to the will of the masses. Trump’s lack of core principles is problematic at times (guns and immigration) but keeping his campaign promises, on balance, is a good thing.

Odds are Joe Biden won’t get anywhere close to the presidency and neither will anyone from the epicenter of leftist angst, California. 2020, like every election, will depend on the candidates’ ability to generate sufficient enthusiasm to win a party nomination and then the general. The Democrats have an uphill climb.

The omnibus spending bill, slated to be an eye-popping, Obama-level $1 trillion-plus has become a catchall for practically every spending priority of the Democrats, while calls from conservatives for spending discipline and conservative policy riders have been given the cold shoulder by the House and Senate leadership.

If I were Trump the first thing I’d do is offer Kim Jong-un a big hunk of cheese instead of an olive branch. The North Koreans aren’t interested in peace as much as the opportunity to persuade the U.S. to roll back its crippling economic sanctions. We’ll see how it all turns out.

The world would be a better place if we could occasionally laugh and joke the way Deion Sanders did the other day at the NFL combine. There will always be occasions to treat certain subjects seriously – but if we’re to survive as a people maybe we’d just better smile and get over it.

We all know Trump is no Ronald Reagan, nor can he ever expect to be thought of in the same light as the man who saw America as the “Shining City on a Hill.” That said, Trump deserves the leeway to achieve his own vision of making America great again. I think we should give it to him.

To immunize GOP voters from the lethal complacency bug the party must run strong conservative candidates, not just rubber-stamps who will march to Mitch McConnell’s drumbeat and fail to fight for Trump’s agenda. We need boat-rockers seeking to annihilate the status quo.

The jury’s still out on the validity of trade protectionism. History seems to support many sides of the argument, but they can’t all be right. Perhaps President Trump is correct in saying it’s time for a change; either way it appears the swampy status quo is on its way out.

Truth is, there are lots of things in Washington today causing Americans to do a double-take. President Trump is clearly interested in furthering the conversation on guns and willing to accept whatever Congress comes up with as long as it’s reasonable. For the rest? Wait and see.

The media will never cease complaining about the way Trump handles communications – or anything else the outsider non-politician who now occupies the Oval Office does. Critics are a dime a dozen in the swamp; what really counts is what’s getting done right before our eyes.

With his early declaration of intention to run again in 2020 President Trump demonstrated he’s all-in on his agenda and committed to making America great again. In doing so Trump proved he’s a man of action and resolve. It’s time we got to work to ensure he gets his second term.

One way or another both parties have a lot to contemplate ahead of this year’s midterms. The Republicans have their retirements and #NeverTrumpers, but the Democrats are battling over something much larger and potentially more destructive -- a fight over the soul of the party.

The old saying “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out” is little comfort when you have no clue whether friends are even prepared to assist when the time is ripe. It’s a lesson 17 unfortunate souls in Florida will no longer have the opportunity to appreciate.

The media will always frame complex issues in the most biased way feasible. It’s easy to drum up sympathy for liberal causes by showing students chanting and holding signs in front of the White House; it’s much more difficult to face the realities of liberal governance head-on.

It’s only natural for American political observers to always consider the next election as the most important one of a generation – and this year’s midterms are no different. A lot can happen before November arrives; for now it’s probably best just to sit back and watch the show.

President Trump needs fighters on issues like gun rights. Wednesday’s CNN town hall showed the opposition is intense and he’ll require reinforcements in Congress with the backbone to look people in the eye and hold firm on principles – otherwise the battle is lost already.