Townhall Review | Conservative Commentary On Today's News

Latest Episodes:

Hugh Hewitt: Turnout, Turnout, Turnout Oct 28, 2026

Show notes

Turnout, turnout, turnout. Everybody —everybody—agrees this year’s elections on November 3 come down to turnout.

If the ordinary GOP voters and the new voters Donald Trump brought to the Republican party show up on or before November 3, Republicans will hold on to their majority in the Senate and perhaps even the House. A blue tidal wave will be averted.

That is a big “if.” History tells us the midterms for a president in his sixth year can be tough.

If the GOP gets a “thumpin’”—President Bush’s description of what they got in 2006, it will be a wipeout for Republican majorities in House and Senate. That result: Bigger deficits, cuts to defense spending, endless impeachment circuses.

The battle with Iran is nearing its end. Oil flowing out of the Persian Gulf back as prewar levels. Voters should assess all of the great news—along with the cost of gas of course—and conclude that it has in fact been good to have Republicans in charge of the Congress—and vote accordingly.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Albert Mohler: Americans Cannot Say They Weren't Warned Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

In the 25 years since deadly terrorist attack shocked the entire world on September 11, 2001, our nation has been forced to have a conversation about Islam.

And from the George W. Bush administration to the Obama administration and the Biden administration, there's been one degree or another of evasion, both by these political leaders and by our cultural and intellectual elites.

The true nature of Islam is rarely acknowledged.

All this underlines the importance of an important new book by Eyman Ibrahim, the title of the book, “Sharia versus the US Constitution: Why Americans Must Choose Freedom.”

Professor Ibrahim writes with remarkable candor and academic precision, openly asking the question of whether Islam's core commitment to Sharia law is compatible with US Constitution. With remarkable accuracy and candor, he reveals that no such compatibility exists.

It's not just an awkward fit, it comes down to a contradiction.

Islam is fundamentally incompatible with our form of government and the US constitution, and Americans cannot say they were not warned.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hugh Hewitt: "Sell it to someone else, Peggy" Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

Minnesota's massive fraud scandal could deliver a stunning Senate upset.

I’m referring to contest between longtime NFL broadcast professional Michele Tafoya and the Minnesota’s Lt. Governor, Peggy Flanagan. They’re squaring off in the senate race.

Tafoya demonstrated decades of quick on-camera thinking in her debate with Flanagan this week, combining it with a deft slash at Flanagan’s greatest vulnerability. That is: Flanagan’s apprenticeship as lieutenant governor to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during the tidal wave of fraud that swept across Minnesota after Covid-era “look-the-other-way” policies became a feature, not a bug, in Minnesota’s vast system of "safety net" programs.

Tafoya’s knockout line— “Sell it to someone else, Peggy”—was a wake-up call for the electorate.

Tafoya would have been a good candidate in any cycle. She’s a terrific one for a midterm statewide campaign when her matchup is among the most watched in the country.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seth Leibsohn: Don't Ignore What's Happening in France Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Ignoring the riots in France will not constitute the first time we downplayed important lessons from Europe at our peril.

Note the banners under which the protestors are rioting—the expanse includes every radical left-wing organization from the Revolutionary Socialist Party to Resiste Palestine to the International Communist League. Palestinian flags and keffiyehs are everywhere. What do those movements have to do with what started out as a protest over education conditions?

Everything.

The omni-cause of anti-Western civilizational sentiment is found in every part of today’s amalgamated left, yoking socialists’ Marxist philosophy to Islamism and Palestinian anti-Western violence.

Do not ignore the effort to sanitize the Democratic Socialist of America here in our country—as they look to decouple it from communism. That’s a separation wholly unknown to the members of the DSA, whose leaders and members affiliate boldly with their communist caucuses. Our DSA candidates may speak a genteel language, but the troops and members within it can be seen in full expression in the streets of France.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carol Platt Liebau: Slotkin's Threat Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin recently said something truly shocking. Speaking at the University of Chicago, she argued that Trump administration officials should be prosecuted—not because they’d actually done anything wrong, but to send a “deterrence message” to young people who might otherwise work for the administration.

She’s not alone. Florida Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon has called for her Republican opponent to be “locked up” and “punished in jail.”

This is nothing more than mean-girl politics, but with real power behind it: vilify and ostracize anyone outside your group. Except now, instead of banishment from the cool kids’ lunch table, they’re threatening people with prison.

That’s sinister. In America, we don’t prosecute people simply because we disagree with them. We debate them out in the open, fair and square—and then let the voters decide.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ed Morrissey: CBS Reporters Shocked, Shocked to Hear Weiss Wants Reporting on El-Sayed Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Scandal has once again hit CBS News, at least as defined by the rest of the Protection Racket Media. CBS reporters complained to Semafor's Max Tani that managing editor Bari Weiss has asked them to investigate Abdul El-Sayed’s many connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, unearthed by the Washington Free Beacon.

Instead, these ‘reporters’ want to make this race about Trump. At CNN, Dana Bash tried to make Mike Rogers answer for Trump’s ridicule of El-Sayed. Rogers pushed back hard enough to make Bash retreat while saying, “ I don’t want to debate with you” after bringing it up in the first place.

The question here shouldn't be whether Weiss has the authority to hand out investigative reporting assignments. It should be why reporters from CBS and all of the rest of the mainstream media aren't embarrassed that they have shown zero interest in a story where a Senate candidate supports and is supported by foreign terrorist organizations.

Bari Weiss wants her news organization to cover all candidates. Mainstream media reporters want to cover forDemocrats instead.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seth Leibsohn: In Defense of the American Experiment Oct 19, 2026

Show notes

Every time there is an election, we often are dismissed for saying, “This election is the most important of our lifetime.” We shouldn’t be. Never before has the opposition been more entrenched in, or succumbed to, a radical Marxism and Islamism than it is now. If it wins, it would put asunder everything Secretary of State Marco Rubio was lecturing about regarding the importance of Western Civilization when he was in Greece.

In years past, many took comfort by glibly quoting Ronald Reagan’s warning about losing America, speaking about a day where our sunset years would be spent with a sentimentality about an America that was. We were too casual in doing so, satisfying ourselves that Reagan was being theoretical.

This cycle we have dozens of self-declared socialists running for federal office as Democrats. They’re aligned with organizations boldly preaching Marxism, Maoism and Islamism.

This election cannot be taken cavalierly. The Democrats have welcomed the extremists into their tent. We can’t afford to welcome them into our Capitol.

Please Vote.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Albert Mohler: Rubio and the Defense of the West Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

Earlier this month, with a majestic view of the Acropolis of Athens behind him, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered an address in which he declared the enduring achievements of Western civilization, setting out a defense of the West while warning of the incalculable loss if that prized civilization were to be destroyed.

It was a tour de force. As a statement of American power, it was clear and candid. Secretary Rubio met the moment and spoke with remarkable candor. Western civilization now faces an existential crisis and those who would defend the West had better seize the opportunity before it’s too late.

Rubio’s argument from history was both urgent and classic.

The West truly stands at a moment of decision. What is at stake in this crisis far exceeds policies and platforms, though they are surely involved.

Will Western civilization endure?

I certainly hope so.

My ultimate hope is in no earthly civilization, but I make no apology for working so that the civilization my grandchildren will inherit is a continuation of the Western civilization and its Christian commitment.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carol Platt Liebau: An Ally-or-Enemy Test for Michigan Voters Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

Michigan voters face a stark choice for U.S. Senate: Mike Rogers, a former congressman, state senator, and FBI agent. Or Abdul El-Sayed, whose radical views should alarm Americans.

Consider his hostility toward Israel. In last week’s debate, he repeatedly refused to say whether Iran, our adversary, poses a greater threat than Israel, our longtime ally. He’s described Israel as “bloodthirsty” and opposes sending it defensive weapons.

There are troubling questions, too, about his family’s associations. His half- sister, a University of Chicago professor, wrote that her family had longstanding ties to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. That branch is now designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. El-Sayed denies any family ties.

Michigan deserves a senator who can tell an ally from an enemy. El-Sayed has no business in the U.S. Senate.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ed Morrissey: Policies and Platforms Matter Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

Ken Paxton won the nomination to the US Senate in Texas despite personal baggage from the end of his marriage. His estranged wife, state senator Angela Paxton, took the extraordinary step of endorsing the Republican ticket – and reminded voters what really matters in this midterm cycle.

“In a general election,” Ms. Paxton explained, “it’s not as much about the individual players on the team. It’s getting the whole team across the finish line.” She never mentions her husband or the Senate race specifically but declares her intention to vote for the full GOP ticket. To do otherwise, Ms. Paxton declares, would be to “hand the future of Texas to the other team” – and the future of the country.

Voters have the luxury of debating personalities in the primaries. In general elections, voters face binary choices on policies. With Democrats embracing socialism and Islamist radicals, Republicans in Texas no longer have that luxury. We must stand for freedom with the team we have, and follow Angela Paxton to fight for that future.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Townhall Review | Conservative Commentary On Today’s News

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected