Pat Bagley / Salt Lake Tribune

By Tina Dupuy

The Republican brand is that they’re on the side of business. “Corporations are people, my friends,” uttered doomed 2012 presidential candidate, CEO-turned-Massachusetts-Governor Mitt Romney. At the time I assumed what he actually meant was, “Corporations are my friends, people.”

This has been the bottom line for the GOP: Business is their business. Even South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley defended the odious decision to have the Confederate flag fly at her state’s capitol grounds by saying, “I can honestly say I have not had one conversation with a single CEO about the Confederate flag.”

Democrats have been typecast as anti-corporatist job-killing commies and Republicans as Ayn Rand-fan big business friendlies.

The problem with these tropes is the world has left the Republican platform behind, and they’ve yet to get the memo.

The first inkling of this recent phenomenon is media personality, Republican id, Donald Trump entering the congested 2016 GOP field. “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best; they’re not sending you,” Trump said in his off-the-cuff announcement speech. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

This is not actually a departure from things other Republicans have said about Mexican immigrants. They’ve been a favorite froth-maker of the Republican base for decades. Rep. Steven King infamously called Mexicans drug mules, Rep Brian Billbray said you can tell if people are here illegally by their shoes and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer erroneously claimed Mexican immigrants were beheading people at the border. Not to mention building a double-layered fence to quarantine the states from our southern neighbor is actually in the RNC’s 2012 official platform.

But then, surprisingly, in the wake of Trump’s comments, he’s lost his long-term business partners. NBCUniversal fired him from his gig firing celebrities in primetime and is also not airing his Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants. Macy’s dumped his line of neck, ties making it clear Trump’s diatribe doesn’t gel with their values. Trump is a businessman and his expressing what the GOP believes is no longer helping his business.

And then there’s the SCOTUS decision securing same-sex marriage rights in all 50 states, which proved to widen the chasm between corporate America’s ideals and the increasingly antiquated Grand Old Party. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee called for insurrection. Yet-to-announce Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker called for a constitutional amendment. Jeb Bush said he believes in traditional marriage. Junior Senator Ted Cruz, who clearly played hooky during civics class, made the following embarrassingly stupid statement: “For those who say the marriage decision yesterday is the law of the land, it is fundamentally illegitimate, it is wrong, it is not law, and it is not the Constitution.” Failed CEO Carly Fiorina expressed concerns about religious liberty. Wikipedia plagiarist Rand Paul said the government shouldn’t be involved in marriage. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the latest on the heap, said he didn’t agree with how it was done. Jobs-jobs-jobs Texas Governor Rick Perry said he didn’t agree with the decision at all. Trump, of course, blamed it on frontrunner Jeb Bush because his brother appointed Chief Justice John Roberts (Roberts was in the minority of the 5-4 decision).

This is not actually a corporate-friendly message any longer. News Corp, parent of Fox News, has been offering same-sex partner benefits since 1999. By 2013, 65 percent of Fortune 500 companies offered the same. This year’s gay pride events saw floats and sponsors from the likes of Coca Cola, McDonalds, Walmart, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Gap, JCPenney, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Bank Of America, Chase, TD Bank, HSBC, Citibank, Capital One, US Bank, Mastercard, State Farm, Allstate and Metlife. That’s just to name a few. The SCOTUS decision prompted companies like Facebook, AT&T, American Airlines and Nike to launch ads celebrating equality. Oreo pictured their iconic sandwich cookie with rainbow-stacked filling. Jell-O, Kellogg’s, Target and Visa briefly included the colors of marriage equality in their logos.

Corporate America, it seems, has become more liberal and progressive on gay marriage than anyone running for president on the Republican ticket. For a party that likes to think of itself as listening to business leaders, they’re tone deaf when it comes to equal rights.

Consider this fun fact: Republicans canonized corporations and then corporations went about sanctifying gay marriage.

In the immortal words of Rick Perry, “Oops.”

By Susan Stamper Brown

“…when the wicked rule, the people groan.” — Proverbs 29:2

Forget diamonds. A Glock is this girl’s best friend.

Strapping one on my thigh over camos is a pretty sexy fashion statement if you ask me. Functional too, especially now that crime’s on the rise in the U.S. thanks to the anti-cop, soft-on-crime Progressive left. Crime’s moving in the wrong direction. The world is on fire and America’s enemies are taking advantage of our President’s impotent leadership. Domestically, it’s as if Gotham’s been reborn.

So I carry a Glock and target shoot rather than shop at Target.com in my spare time.

How ironic that Pope Francis scolded Congress for gun sales, yet was surrounded by a veritable army of gun-wielding security forces while here in the United States. His protection was reinforced with metal detectors and high fences surrounded by layer upon layer of Vatican security guards, Secret Service and federal agents, counterterrorism units and local police.

As nice of a person the Pope appears, this is how the far-left rolls. “Do as I say, not as I do” is their motto.

That this degree of firearm protection is necessary to protect the Pontiff shows us what happens in America when the anti-cop, anti-gun, wrist-slapping, soft-on-crime left is in control. Fact is, over the last year, ten large U.S. cities have experienced a sobering rise in murder rates.

To no surprise, all but one are run by Democrat mayors.

Milwaukee saw a 76-percent increase in murder rates. St. Louis followed with 60-percent, Baltimore, 56 percent, Washington, 44 percent, New Orleans, 22 percent, Chicago, 20 percent, Kansas City, 20 percent, Dallas, 17 percent, New York, 9 percent, and Philadelphia 4 percent. Chicago’s had at least 2,300 shootings this year with more than 50 on the September 26 weekend and at least 45 the weekend prior.

That’s a big deal. A Joe Biden kind of big deal.

If I were the mayor of one of those crime-ridden cities I’d pull a John Boehner and resign. But Democrats (and most of the GOP establishment) care much less about the people they represent as they do about themselves or their deep pocket donors.

Predictably, the relentless blathering we hear from the left about social justice has dangerously fallen on the wrong ears. It’s become like poison to the souls of some very angry people. Obviously, the Black Lives Matter [BLM] movement interprets this blathering as a license for violence. Protestors are regularly seen disgustingly taunting police chanting, “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon” after cop killings. In July, the group’s founder, Patrisse Cullors, reportedly interrupted a conference yelling, “Burn everything down” with fellow activists.

Rather than standing against it, the Democrat Party dove deeper into the dumpster, affirming the group at a DNC meeting in August. They’re in good company. The White House has entertained them and Democratic Party presidential candidate hopefuls followed suit. Martin O’Malley apologized to BLM for his sensible statement that all lives matter. In early August, Bernie Sanders, the candidate I envision as what happens when Sesame Street’s Bert is crossed with Ernie (Bernie), was driven offstage by BLM activists in Seattle. Thereafter, he’s pandered to them, loading his social media with BLM topics.

And then there’s Hillary Clinton… Mysteriously, she’s found a way to keep BLM from interrupting her events. Maybe someone should check her emails.

According to the New York Times, at least 35 of the nation’s cities have experienced increases in murders and violent crimes. Though no one knows exactly why, it sure seems the reason for the uptick in violence is what the NYT calls “intense national scrutiny” err, the Obama administration’s unwelcomed insertion into local issues like Ferguson, Missouri. That, coupled with all the anti-cop, anti-gun rhetoric floating around out there has led to less policing. And less policing emboldens criminals.

And that, my friends, is why this girl’s glad she owns a Glock.