Douglas MacKinnon was press secretary to former Senator Bob Dole. He is also a former White House and Pentagon official. He has published hundreds of columns in every major paper in the country, and is heard and seen regularly on radio and television as a political commentator. He is also an author and novelist. His latest novel entitled "America's Last Days," about an imminent revolution in the United States, will be out in January of 2007. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon http://media.townhall.com/TownHall/icons/TH-feed-icon-128x128.gif http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon TownHall.com, Where your opinion counts. 128 Copyright (c) 2008 Townhall.com, A Salem Communications Web. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:37:39 GMT Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:37:39 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ To paraphrase world renowned environmentalist Smokey the Bear, only YOU can stop the hate-filled liberals, their unethical handmaidens in the media, and protect your nation in the process. ... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/09/03/only_you_can_stop_the_hate-driven_far-left_and_save_your_country ae17dc35-467c-40e4-8916-d6ddf15dd7a8 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:37:39 GMT After tens of conversations with "non-political" Americans living outside of the poisonous echo chamber that is our Nation's capital, I offer up this draft speech: "Thank you for that warm welcome. I'm greatly... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/08/28/a_speech_for_mccain 51a0dca8-02b8-40ed-9a67-c5fd20b20fb9 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:00:43 GMT With all due respect to Lewis Carroll and the originator of the "Humpty Dumpty" nursery rhyme, I give you this: The mainstream media sat on Obama's wall; The mainstream media had a great fall. All the slanted pollsAnd... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/08/25/mainstream_media_has_a_great_fall 082a2acf-fff5-4ca0-a4cf-d94833e19f93 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:38 GMT When: The Islamists obtain a nuclear weapon, they will use it against the United States or one of our allies. When: Our politicians shamelessly finish selling-out to get the Hispanic-American vote, the Mexican Army... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/08/14/when. 415f7f7f-e385-43d8-8235-32b01a321179 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:00:07 GMT Even before my new novel entitled "The Apocalypse Directive" came out last week, I was getting angry emails from some self-proclaimed Evangelicals. After the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call did a two-page story on the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/08/05/read_the_book_before_labeling_me_anti-evangelical 8cf6693a-fa3b-434f-8257-913a006ac39f Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:00:10 GMT By and large, much of the mainstream media is unethical, biased toward the Democrats, and openly trying to elect Barack Obama. Obviously, for those who are center-right, this is not a news flash. For us, it's as if... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/07/25/a_poll_the_msm_will_never_take 30d59a57-9e62-47b0-8ff4-421b3da9a950 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:00:51 GMT Right up front, let me state that this column is for ACADEMIC purposes only. According to friends of mine still with our government, because of my last novel, my home phone and computer became the subject of curiosity... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/07/10/is_it_time_to_create_a_new_united_states__if_so,_how 4d42a74b-8947-4df3-811b-6fdbebe39e4f Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:43:07 GMT As has been infrequently reported, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan progressed, a number of members of our military became somewhat dismayed and disturbed by the almost complete lack of positive coverage printed or... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/07/02/honor,_dont_exploit,_our_military_wounded e3308b7d-bc73-4069-b8c4-0460e4d3128b Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:01:00 GMT Back in 1996, President Bill Clinton's re-election campaign spot-welded the highly unpopular Newt Gingrich to Mr. Clinton's Republican challenger, Sen. Bob Dole. From television commercials to radio ads to speeches, the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/06/09/mcbush_-_a_strategy_of_a_losing_campaign 9bcd49da-a689-4cfe-b66a-0157cf4d848e Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:18:29 GMT As the presidential election season progresses, John McCain will have to make educated guesses about which issues the Democratic nominee uses to attack him. One he won't have to guess about is his age. The Democrats are... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/04/29/mccain,_like_reagan,_will_use_age_to_his_advantage 5b70f60b-61a4-4b24-8b9d-30688cdd205b Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:00:46 GMT Barack Obama has labeled himself the "change" candidate. In doing so, he may well be replicating the failed campaign of another change candidate. In 2006, far-left, ultra-wealthy Ned Lamont decided to challenge Sen.... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/04/23/obama__the_national_lamont 76553fc2-f48d-4b7b-8e35-6c9bc81a22f6 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:34 GMT Because of the 2008 presidential election, our nation's human spaceflight program is at a perilous crossroad. While Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain all have made allusions to supporting the program, none... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/03/26/don't_cede_ultimate_high_ground_to_china 1a7c16f5-f5a8-4f2a-9dd0-b94c8082c01d Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:23:25 GMT Should the United States have invaded Iraq five years ago? Revisionist history and partisan politics aside, I happen to believe that large elements of the argument to do so made sense at the time. But so what? Neither... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/03/19/forget_about_revisionist_history;_lets_finish_the_job c6893f02-484c-4a6f-9820-dc32f1ef03ab Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:43:35 GMT Poor Geraldine Ferraro. For simply stating what she believed to be true, many of her fellow Democrats and the liberal intelligentsia are impugning her very character and even her mental well-being. What sin did she... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/03/14/when_liberals_attack.liberals 9ba7459a-cfe9-4978-b6cd-3fe3cdbca73a Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:00:49 GMT In an article that ran recently in The Washington Times, the Montana Secretary of State made it quite clear that he and many of the elected officials of his state take the rights granted by the Second Amendment very... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/03/10/secession__yes__from_those_who_would_destroy_america 14950b1a-6669-4dc2-a870-672e27032784 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:39:39 GMT As with small children, many of the entrenched, beholden, or power-hungry hierarchy of the Republican party, simply wish conservatives could be seen, but never heard. In a very telling headline, The Washington Times... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/02/22/gop_to_conservatives__drop_dead 3b952608-d403-464e-87e6-1e583291f466 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:00:15 GMT "The more I see, the more I realize that almost no one really cares about right and wrong. They care about money and supporting anyone who opposes George W. Bush." Over a coffee last week with a high-level official... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/02/13/american_sell-outs_take_chavez_blood_money 8be5005a-9b19-4812-8104-d008b6f4aac1 Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:41:26 GMT Nobody cares. If this primary season has taught us anything, it's that almost no one really cares. Time and again, we have borne witness to the truth being sacrificed for the greater good of liberalism and a... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/02/11/talk_radio_or_else be9c10ff-1582-40e6-859f-90b7e20f147a Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:51:15 GMT Are you a conservative? Have you been paying attention during this primary season? Are you aware that after this Tuesday, your voice, if not totally silenced, may be willingly, and even gleefully, disregarded in a... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/02/04/dont_let_huckabee_and_the_media_silence_the_conservative_voice 56659a95-dc5f-4322-9727-6eba2b9b7483 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:30:18 GMT In one of the most telling moments of this primary campaign season, Brian Williams of NBC News, went out of his way to smear Mitt Romney and denigrate his religion, and none of the other Republican candidates on the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/01/28/media_canonizes_mccain_while_slandering_romney 3653bd39-4d97-4ef4-ab0c-1e2f919e92a2 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:29:18 GMT "Hate her!" So said actress and liberal activist Susan Sarandon a few years ago about fellow liberal Hillary Clinton. A well-known self-described liberal Democrat in Hollywood once said that the thing that bothered... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/01/14/who_will_david_letterman_hate_next c6c6b3b5-23cb-411d-8d89-3da6dd17beff Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:33:02 GMT As this negative and insufferably long presidential primary season continues, two truths - with apologies to Thomas Jefferson - have become self-evident. The first is that Iowa and New Hampshire seriously need to be... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/01/08/pc_diversity_in_newsrooms_elects_obama 5a62aadf-2e26-4c44-a7ee-b778066d8bca Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:08:01 GMT The new year means resolutions, and we can only hope that the Fourth Estate will make at least one of its own: A resolution that, for the sake of the nation, puts honorable journalism before political, cultural or... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/01/07/us_military_defeats_fourth_estate 780fa466-7d67-478f-b7b6-5858cceec098 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:01:00 GMT It appears to many, that New Year's Eve was the day that the last wobbling wheel of the Huckabee bandwagon, spun off before the "inevitable" crash of his hypocritical and mean spirited campaign. For it was on the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2008/01/02/mchuck-a-smear b5d4c9f7-054d-4b88-845d-c444b44ca68d Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:46:12 GMT Does anyone really care about "traditional values" anymore? Does anyone really care if the word "Christmas" is expunged from our national vocabulary? Does anyone really care if the United States of America remains... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/12/20/can_i_keep_my_guns_in_the_new_country_of_"jefferson" 51adba58-2865-4c01-924b-b3451d23ef63 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 05:01:09 GMT If you are the eventual Democratic nominee for President in 2008, who would you like to run against? Answer: A Republican you can beat. Chris Matthews, of MSNBC, recently asked, "Why is the liberal media giving... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/12/10/huckabee_--_the_ultimate_liberal_plant 43920940-b116-47aa-a6a6-43d790b9cbff Mon, 10 Dec 2007 05:55:05 GMT Presidential scholars may look back at New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's desire to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens as one of the defining moments of the 2008 election. For it was the pushing of that issue that not... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/12/02/we_are_americans 00943939-511e-4940-8d08-7a50f4180ce5 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 02:43:16 GMT As a Republican, I have watched in fascination as many in my party, the media and most of the Democrats have not only all but given Hillary Clinton the Democratic nomination, but have continually speculated how she will... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/11/23/edwards_could_leapfrog_hillary_and_obama 2ca1b1b1-5c75-4874-a6e3-0d987210bf0e Fri, 23 Nov 2007 14:17:07 GMT For those who still don't understand why so many Americans have become disgusted with the politics of today, they need look no further than the vile smear campaign that was orchestrated against former Governor Mitt... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/11/19/cowardly_gutter_politics 938b14de-7f77-4d94-849c-e2ab3673ab0b Mon, 19 Nov 2007 05:00:46 GMT You can see it. You can hear it. You can feel its immense power even though it is still a year away. The "it," is the perfect storm brewing against the eventual Democratic nominee for president. A storm being... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/11/05/illegal_aliens_have_already_elected_the_next_president_of_the_united_states 8f723246-9326-4833-823f-bc049a68c0fc Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:57:18 GMT The "inevitable" presidential candidates were, once again, front and center at the latest Republican debate. While such attention is now the norm, this particular debate may be remembered for something a bit more... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/10/31/buyer's_remorse_for_hillary_and_rudy 538f65da-87c4-46cc-891e-f22b1b6b7cb1 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:11:01 GMT 1. First and foremost, he needs to understand that, by the tens of millions, true conservatives do exist in our country. That their unbending beliefs make them -- not only the backbone of this nation -- but the hope... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/10/30/ten_things_the_republican_nominee_must_understand_to_earn_the_true_conservative_vote fc05823e-6680-465c-bb5d-34f602ce7ff9 Tue, 30 Oct 2007 04:01:00 GMT First it was Democratic Senator John Kerry accusing our troops of terrorizing Iraqi women and children. Then, it was Democratic Congressman John Murtha convicting U.S. Marines of murder in the court of public opinion. ... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/09/27/blackwater,_usa_fighting_insurgents,_our_media,_and_the_democrats 33751490-2b49-4af0-a420-2ea73601dfe7 Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:57:24 GMT New York Republican Congressman Peter King has become the latest target of those who value political correctness and pandering over the national security of our nation. For recently speaking his mind and worrying... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/09/24/message_to_pc_police_we_have_a_responsibility_to_monitor_us_mosques 01b581e3-b3fa-4d9a-9aca-aa4e1b447d0b Tue, 25 Sep 2007 01:40:10 GMT Who in the United States really supports our troops? If truth be told, basically nobody. My former boss, Sen. Bob Dole - who was grievously wounded in combat during World War II and then spent the next three years of... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/09/18/lets_face_it_--_almost_no_one_supports_our_troops 9ed23ccd-0175-41b4-8b15-88c95d74092f Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:44:31 GMT When we last left it, Prince William County in Virginia was trying to defend itself and its legal inhabitants against the massive influx of illegal aliens pouring into the county. A migration that is putting a... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/09/07/illegal_aliens_declare_war_on_the_united_states,_part_ii 92fe4347-a781-47cc-8652-c67353fb2edb Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:01:00 GMT In the cesspool that Washington has become, truth and clarity still manage to bubble to the surface on occasion. As Senator Hillary Clinton intensifies and refines her spin, deception, and self-aggrandizement, she... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/08/31/hillary_is_right_republicans_will_win_the_white_house 91c77765-37ed-495d-88d4-2d662ff1f6ce Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:01:00 GMT It can credibly be argued that the presidential election of 2008 is the most important in the history of our Republic. Why? Because if we get this one wrong, Islamic terrorists will almost certainly strike into the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/08/21/news_of_the_future_president_hillary_clinton_surrenders_america 8d350bae-51b9-4719-8fcc-ab585f1bd739 Tue, 21 Aug 2007 04:01:00 GMT 1.) Tragically, horrifyingly, but quite predictably, it's going to happen. The only question being which American city or cities? In a recent conversation with a former high level intelligence operative of our... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/08/15/the_two_things_to_know_before_your_city_is_nuked_by_terrorists 8aa59d49-4a8e-4867-9a76-91ed0423ecba Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:01:00 GMT While the current administration, as well as Democrats and Republicans in Congress, focus on the war on terror and the war in Iraq, a greater real-time threat to our way of life and the rule of law in the United... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/08/01/illegal_aliens_declare_war_on_the_united_states 86af7e60-c917-41d7-a732-1adfda5933f6 Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:07:03 GMT You have seen it. We have all seen it. Worst of all, the families of the heroic soldiers killed, have seen it. "It," is a video montage of American military vehicle after American military vehicle, getting blown... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/07/18/stop_our_networks_from_helping_al_qaeda e3efc1e6-a36e-49d7-a116-8146ab469ec2 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:01:11 GMT It's hard to imagine a firm run by a candidate for President of the United States, lobbying on behalf of a company controlled by the likes of Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, or other murderous thugs who have run... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/07/11/a_dangerous_dictator,_a_presidential_candidate,_and_judgment 42cea1d0-d99c-4b48-99cd-5c0a7451cf06 Wed, 11 Jul 2007 04:00:52 GMT As an everyday citizen of the United States, what are your realistic options when you believe your country to be in a death spiral from which it almost assuredly won't recover? If you are an American who still deeply... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/06/28/can_you_save_the_dream_that_was_america df43e1ef-ad35-4c0b-a448-21554af2af3b Thu, 28 Jun 2007 04:01:00 GMT "Are we responsible for that poor man getting killed at NASA in Houston?" So asked a friend of mine at one of the cable networks as we discussed the hostage killing in Houston on the Friday following the orgy of cover http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/05/04/murder_by_media d4d4fcb6-ee13-4b86-888a-980ec4e0cdc3 Fri, 04 May 2007 04:01:00 GMT There are a number of lasting lessons to take away from the Don Imus controversy. A critical one being that the vast majority of our nation has sadly, but predictably, fallen hostage to political correctness, the ever... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/04/16/imus,_political_correctness,_and_the_end_of_america 82acb51f-f332-42be-b8e9-7cb6bf177f15 Tue, 17 Apr 2007 01:08:28 GMT As an author and writer, I don't pretend to know much about the stock market. But as someone who does understand a bit about the publishing business, I'd advise anyone with shares in that industry, to dump them before... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/04/06/the_demise_of_liberal_publishing 27d3e451-22fd-49e8-a845-a992b6c725aa Fri, 06 Apr 2007 13:33:03 GMT With each passing day, I'm finding it more and more plausible to believe that Al Qaeda or its imitators, will inflict catastrophic and lasting damage upon our republic. The evidence is everywhere, but most of us choose... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/02/27/our_very_politicians_ensure_that_al_qaeda_destroys_us.unless 3fa16ea5-17ec-4538-8f08-6e67d78397cf Tue, 27 Feb 2007 05:01:23 GMT The infantile food fight taking place in Congress in recent days over which partisan, nonbinding Iraq resolution would get a vote is nothing short of a national embarrassment. Worse, it is a slap in the face to the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/02/20/partisan_squabbling_is_an_insult_to_troops a27a4163-7464-4e95-bc47-7f9960d509a8 Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:40:29 GMT As one who has been involved in presidential campaigns -- both intimately and as an occasional adviser -- I would venture to say that two fairly recent events have turned the 2008 election from an almost assuredly... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/02/02/gop_wins_white_house_in_'08 25232448-1a97-42fb-a39f-2556df568660 Fri, 02 Feb 2007 05:00:25 GMT With two, just published, major magazine pieces on my new novel entitled "America's Last Days," there seems to be some degree of controversy brewing. As such, I was asked if I might want to use this space to explain my... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2006/12/27/americas_last_days aa2a2b93-3208-4d99-9694-6c211664f260 Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:00:16 GMT