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The Conservative Conscience with Daniel Horowitz

Daniel Horowitz, the Conservative Conscience is here to help you cut through the rhetoric and noise and EXPLORE the politically right way to think about the most important political issues.
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Now displaying: August, 2016
Aug 29, 2016

“The fate of 11 million illegals”

 

We often hear, “our immigration system is broken.” But in truth, it’s our political system that is broken.

Last week, Daniel explained the consequences of Donald Trump’s recent immigration flip-flop in Listen: The Real Problem with Trump’s Equivocation on Immigration – Ep. 52. Since then, Trump and his campaign have tried to reframe his message, yet have not backed away from his new “soft” approach.

So here we are. In almost laughable irony, the GOP nominee who essentially won the primary by promising to “build a wall and make Mexico pay for it” has acquiesced to liberal talking points on the matter. But, political hot air aside, the question still remains … what do we do with the 11 million (or more) illegal immigrants currently in our country?  Or is that really a valid or relevant question at this point?

In this episode of the Conservative Conscience, Daniel seeks to answer that very question.  In fact, the entire premise of focusing on this question at this point in time represents the myopic thinking of our political leaders.  Arguing from a philosophical standpoint, and borrowing a great deal from his new book Stolen Sovereignty, Daniel reminds America that Congress has a constitutional obligation to protect the legal citizens of this country. No such obligation exists for the illegal aliens residing here, no matter how heart-breaking the sob-stories.

Further, Daniel explains why the latest idea of “legalization without citizenship,” expressed by some in the Trump campaign and by RNC Chairman Reince Preibus, is a complete red herring and will never work.  This entire focus on what to do with illegals instead of what to do for Americans is exactly what has lead to endless new waves of illegal immigration.  

Although the election may be awash, conservatives have a responsibility to hold the line on the issues of sovereignty and security past November. We must secure the border, restrain the courts, and re-establish respect for the rule of law irrespective of what the Left, or Trump, has to say.

 

Don’t Miss:

Malkin: Trump MUST choose: Open-borders amnesty or American workers [VIDEO]

The Forgotten Man in the Immigration Debate

CR set to downgrade Trump to 'Bad' on immigration. Here’s why

Just how radical has Hillary become on illegal immigration?

RNC Chair: Deporting 12 Million People Not Practical, Legalization “The Proper Route”

https://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/rnc-chair-deporting-12-million-people-not-practical-legaliza?utm_term=.afAKjE3X9#.fr7YaMd4m
Aug 24, 2016

The Real Problem With Trump’s Equivocation on Immigration

 

The news cycle this week is saturated with headlines about Donald Trump equivocating, “softening,” or questioning his own position on illegal immigration.  In this podcast, Daniel, using his decade-long experience fighting open borders, explains what is so damaging about Trump being off message on this issue.  It’s not just the concern of a man who, to begin with, never had a firm grounding in the issue and is now all over the map.  It’s that he is messaging the issue in the worst possible way, validating the premise of Hillary and Obama.

 

One of the old tactics of the Left is to use ‘straw men examples’ of extreme manifestations of a given issue to distract from the main policy problem confronting the nation.  This is why they make the entire abortion debate about rape rather than about 50 million abortions on demand, including partial birth abortions and taxpayer funding for harvesting baby organs.  This is why they want to distract from a destructive regulatory state by asking people if they want toxic waste in their water.  And it is for this reason why they focus the immigration discussion on what to do with those already here for 1,000 years and are model citizens or Medal of Honor recipients. 

 

The key is not to get caught in their straw men and focus instead on their extreme positions.  What Donald Trump has been doing over the past few days is validating every straw man premise of the left with his gratuitous chatter and conflicting comments from campaign aids. 

 

Further disturbing is the fact that Trump keeps praising Obama for deporting people.  He is validating a widely-held belief on the Left that the “borders are more secure than ever before.”  This is demonstrably false, but it serves as Hillary’s number one defense of her policies.  It is irresponsible for Trump to self-destruct in this way.

  

In reality, as Daniel demonstrates, there are endless lines of attack Trump can open up with regards to open borders, especially with the polling on refugees, the endless executive and judicial amnesties for criminal aliens, and the security concerns with Middle Eastern illegal immigrants rushing our southern border.  Linked below are some articles with great talking points to go offense on immigration instead of turning this winning issue into a loser.  Daniel also plugs chapters 6 and 7 from his book, Stolen Sovereignty, where he breaks down all the messaging and data that conservatives need to throw at open borders advocates.  Trump and his team should order a copy!          

 

Conservative Review show links:

Jihadists being smuggled through our border, yet we can’t deport them

The Forgotten Man in the Immigration Debate

Trump on deportations: Do what Obama has done but with 'more energy'

 

Clinton deported 4 Times as many illegal aliens as Obama

How about learning immigration messaging from..Bill Clinton!?

Further Reading:

The Hill Article on Trump’s Shaky Immigration Changes

Byron York: Team Trump Makes a Mess of Immigration Issue

Aug 18, 2016

 

The Messenger Matters in Politics

With just under three months until the election, Donald Trump is losing big in almost every major category and in almost every major swing-state (and even some red states). The campaign is in turmoil and has made a habit of consistently stepping on its own foot. Having still run less ads than the Green Party’s Jill Stein, it’s like the Trump campaign is trying to lose.

 

On this week’s episode of the Conservative Conscience, Daniel Horowitz breaks down the Trump campaign’s failures and what it means for the conservative movement. “We can’t separate the message from the messenger … The messenger matters,” Horowitz argues. While Trump has certainly given strong voice to issues such as immigration and national security, his rise also comes at a cost and could hurt the message in the long run.

 

Moreover, Daniel explains why the general election is different from a primary election dynamic and why Trump can no longer rely on running a media-driven campaign as opposed to a traditional organized ground game and ad war. 

 

Conservatives should not lose heart, however, as we have never been a movement of personality, but of principle. We don’t need to jump train with every new fad – be it the tepid establishment or the so-called Alt-Right – we just need to follow the Constitution.

 

As Justice Joseph Story once said, “Let us never forget, that our constitutions of government are solemn instruments, addressed to the common sense of the people and designed to fix, and perpetuate their rights and their liberties. They are not to be frittered away to please the demagogues of the day. They are not to be violated to gratify the ambition of political leaders. They are to speak in the same voice now, and for ever. They are of no man's private interpretation. They are ordained by the will of the people; and can only be changed by the sovereign command of the people.” 

 

Also Read:

·         14 winning issues Trump could use against Hillary

·         Team Trump offers a solid security plan ... if the candidate himself can keep it

·         New Trump Campaign Manager Shilled for Open Borders Zealots

·         Trump on Clinton Foundation: “Give them the benefit of the doubt”

·         Poll: Few Support Syria Refugees Entering U.S.

Aug 12, 2016

Today, we were honored to have North Carolina’s Lt. Gov Dan Forest join us to discuss the judicial war on his state.  North Carolina is one of the few states where Republicans are actually standing up to the transgender jihad, fighting for religious liberty, and defending against fraudulent voting.  Yet, the federal courts have crowned themselves the final arbiter of every state and local issue.  They have granted standing to radical groups in order to “throw out” laws duly passed by the legislature.

In this episode, Dan Forest discusses with Daniel the importance of states doing the right thing and the need for Congress to protect them from an overbearing federal executive and judiciary.  What is going on in North Carolina is a perfect example of why conservatives must also focus down ballot and ensure that champions like Dan Forest are reelected so that states can remain the last line of defense for liberty. 

At some point, if Congress declines to stand up for the states, they will have no choice but to say no and take back their rightful power over state and local affairs.  Dan Forest explains why, through a convergence of factors, North Carolina has become ground zero in the fight for federalism.   

 

Show links

 

The Judicial War on North Carolina  

 

Aug 10, 2016

So, are you for open borders or are you for deporting every single Muslim we’ve already admitted, including those who are already citizens and are constitutionally protected from deportation?  Are you for the Chamber of Crony Commerce agenda or are you for populism/nationalism, shutting down all trade and “punishing” any company that moves overseas?

 

How about none of the above?

 

Daniel discusses the latest manifestation of this false choice presented to voters and together with Joe Koss continues to explore ways conservatives can move beyond false choices.  Whatever one does at the ballot box on top of the ticket, we must all remember that this is still not North Korea where everything depends on the selection of the chief executive of the federal government, although it is certainly important.  We still have the other branches of the federal government, the states, the culture, and activism where we must fight on all fronts.  Ultimately, it gets back to strengthening state legislatures and building a new movement that is not just a “reactionary” force to another evil, but can stand on its own two feet and the veracity of its own principles.  

 

There is not much conservatives can do at this point to speak over Donald Trump other than pray and encourage him to get back on message and go on offense on the issues.  But rather than spend the next three months defending every comment he makes or insist that all the polls are rigged, why not focus on what we can do in our states and communities to secure enduring victories that will stand, irrespective of who wins. 

 

We will have to do this at some point no matter who wins; there is no time like the present to embark on starting a fresh movement that moves beyond two indefensible parties or factions within a party.  We must create a movement that is rooted in founding principles, intellectually consistent and honest enough in its own right to have the support to just say NO to the post-constitutional violations of the federal executive and the courts. 

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A listener named Chris Johnson made this cool graphic based on something I said on the show last week. <a href="https://t.co/QbqS1M4Xl8">pic.twitter.com/QbqS1M4Xl8</a></p>&mdash; Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveDeaceShow/status/763403338708766720">August 10, 2016</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Aug 4, 2016

Daniel and Joe discuss the ramifications of focusing on personalities over principles.  So many conservatives have no come full circle to support progressivism and establishment elites over a constitutionalist in Kansas because they are so bought into a cult of personality. 

 

Similarly, so many refuse to demand any course change from Trump, even as he is headed for a historic landslide loss, because they are so obsequious to his every whim.  This not only hurts our principles, but is strategically dumb.  The entire purpose of holding our nose for him is to defeat Hillary Clinton, but if everyone defends his indefensible campaign without demanding a course correction, he will lose anyway. 

 

 

Show Links

 

“Conservatives” cheering the loss of Tim Huelskamp have lost their conscience

To Beat Hillary, Conservatives Must Demand a Course Change

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