Feminism watch: Attacking Melania Hurts the Cause

Every few months, writes Katie Frates at The Daily Caller, “women of the left find a new way to belittle” incoming First Lady Melania Trump, “providing solid evidence that girls are jealous, envious husks of emotion determined to tear down any woman more successful than them.” Fact is, “political mean girls are rejecting the newest girl in town, and, much like the left is doing with Donald Trump, every single action she takes will be met with derision . . . She will be bullied and picked away at by a class of people touting themselves as defenders of her gender.” Says Frates: Anyone “who fancies herself a champion of women’s rights, then turns around and lessens a woman’s worth for superficial reasons, should consider the message they’re sending.”

Never-Trumper: I’m Giving Him a Chance

Erick Erickson, whose early article is widely cited “as one of the major pieces to spark the #NeverTrump movement,” has had a change of heart. Writing at Fox News, he says that “those of us who were so completely wrong about the election should exercise some humility. If we got that much wrong, the odds are we got a lot of other stuff wrong, too.” To those who are still #NeverTrump, he says “it is ridiculous to double down now after being so wrong,” just as it’s “equally ridiculous to become an apologist for a man I was so critical of.” Conservatives should “call balls and strikes as we see them. And if all you call are strikes, perhaps you are not an umpire who can be trusted.”

From the right: Blas’ Lawless Data Destruction Plan

Mayor de Blasio “is attempting to destroy all of the documents associated with the city’s municipal-identification program” in “a scandalous attempt” to “protect undocumented immigrants from federal law,” writes Alexandra DeSanctis at National Review. Two state Assembly members, Ron Castorina and Nicole Malliotakis, have filed suit to block the move, citing “public-safety threats.” Last week, “a state appellate court granted . . . a temporary injunction preventing the destruction of records at least until December 21.” Malliotakis says “the safety and security of the people of New York City is her No. 1 concern,” citing “the generally lax requirements associated with the city’s municipal-identification program.”

Security reporter: Russian Hacking? Blame Obama

Since taking office, President Obama “has downplayed the threat of Russia,” most famously in his debate jibe at Mitt Romney that “the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.” Yet now, writes Claudia Rosett at The Hill, he has “recast Russia, with its hackers, as the supreme villain of the hour . . . putting its thumb deliberately on the scale for Trump.” Such “dire concerns . . . would be more convincing were [Obama] taking swift action to deter and punish [the] Russians,” but “he appears more interested in damaging President-elect Trump.” This “caps almost eight years in which Obama variously excused, denied, ignored or backed down before the predations of Putin’s Russia.” Yet defending “America’s democracy against Kremlin plots” is “the job of the sitting president,” not a candidate.

Conservative take: US Navy’s Dignity Is Under Siege

“Ours is the world’s best navy,” writes Josh Gelernter at The Weekly Standard, with “one embarrassing shortcoming: Its ships are named by idiots.” Case in point: the new destroyer USS Carl Levin, named for “a Democratic senator of no great distinction.” Turns out “politicians — in this case, Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, former governor of Mississippi — have started naming $2 billion dollar warships for each other.” And not just other pols, but also union activist and leftist icon Cesar Chavez. Says Gelernter: The US Navy “needs to be taken seriously; by us, by its enemies, and most importantly, by the people who serve in it. Politicians strip it of its traditions and its gravitas at our peril.”

— Compiled by Eric Fettmann