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Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas is one of the most widely syndicated political columnists in America. Based in Washington, he is a wide-ranging social commentator, not a "beltway insider," who supports traditional conservative values and the American "can-do spirit." He'll take on virtually any topic, from the decline of the family to growing terrorism worldwide.
A syndicated columnist since 1984, he is the author of “America’s Expiration Date: The Fall of Empires, Superpowers and the United States” (HarperCollins/Zondervan, January 2020). His latest book is “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen in 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books, May 2023). Readers may email Mr. Thomas at tcaeditors@tribune.com.

Columns by Cal Thomas

THOMAS: Consensus or censorship?

The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted a "finding" to the White House Office of Management and Budget that will force the Obama administration to decide whether to limit greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. If adopted, new laws and regulations will likely follow that have the potential to change our lifestyles and limit our freedoms.

March 27, 2009

THOMAS: Channel anger at Pelosi, Frank, Dodd

One of the more familiar sayings in politics is, "Don't get angry, get even."

March 25, 2009

THOMAS: Prevailing politics of envy

When politicians get on their high horses about something, it is almost certain that a considerable amount of horse manure will get spread around.

March 20, 2009

THOMAS: No one defends Bernard Madoff

The bilked have provided numerous sound bites denouncing Bernie Madoff as "evil," a word whose true meaning is sometimes difficult to grasp in our "nonjudgmental" age.

March 18, 2009

THOMAS: Journey to destruction

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," said Confucius. But a journey of whatever length presumes one has a destination in mind. With President Obama's executive order authorizing expanded federal funding for research using stem cells, produced from the destruction of human embryos, the destination will be left up to scientists, as will any "speed controls."

March 13, 2009

THOMAS: Republicans have forgotten who they are

Republicans think they are somebody else: liberals.

March 11, 2009

THOMAS: A taxing situation

Class warfare costs, but not the people at whom the rhetorical mortars are aimed.

March 6, 2009

THOMAS: Guilty consciences

For social liberals, what is it about abortion that makes some of them consider it a sacrificial rite through which only the killing of an unborn child can truly liberate a woman from the clutches of paternalism?

March 4, 2009

THOMAS: The president and the governor

After weeks of "talking down" the economy and concern among some of his supporters that his sobering prognosis for the nation's recovery might be affecting America's natural optimism, President Obama delivered a speech to Congress on Tuesday, parts of which sounded as if they could have been written by a Republican.

February 27, 2009

THOMAS: Changing nation

"Always pay the bank" was my father's economic advice. In good times and in bad, whether I had low, moderate or high income, I always paid the bank. The bank now offers me loans.

February 25, 2009

THOMAS: Time to say goodbye

General Motors made my first car. It was a 1955 two-tone Chevrolet with stick shift and black tires. It had an AM radio and air conditioning, if I hand-cranked the window down in summer. It came with bench seats, the better to have your date close to you. I bought it used (this was before cars were "pre-owned") in 1961. My Dad co-signed the $750 note, which I paid.

February 20, 2009

THOMAS: Why Obamacare may beget euthanasia

Thanks to former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey and her recent essay on Bloomberg.com titled "Ruin your health with the Obama stimulus plan," we know of another problem with the just-passed stimulus bill, one that may threaten the lives of many Americans.

February 18, 2009

THOMAS: The other Indiana

When President Obama visited Elkhart, Ind., on Monday to flog his economic stimulus plan (aka, more government spending), he saw a struggling town in the midst of a relatively prosperous state. Had he taken the time to visit Indianapolis and to meet with Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, he would have seen a different picture.

February 13, 2009

THOMAS: Happiness or misery?

In Charles Dickens' novel "David Copperfield," Wilkins Micawber delivers an economics lesson to young David that has been lost on most congressional Democrats, the president and many of us. "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

February 11, 2009

THOMAS: Honestly Abe

Had enough of Abraham Lincoln? Of course you haven't. In the bicentennial year of his birth, Lincoln is more interesting than ever.

February 6, 2009

THOMAS: Once more into the breach

Like Linus van Pelt sitting alone in the pumpkin patch, George Mitchell, Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, is in that dysfunctional region thinking that if he and the Obama administration demonstrate enough sincerity the diplomatic equivalent of the Great Pumpkin will arrive, making all things right.

January 30, 2009

WATCH: The Sitdown With Alex Swoyer Sen. Rick Scott on Fauci, voter ID and 2026 Senate odds

The Anti-Weaponization Fund: Trump’s $1.776 billion plan may be down — but is it out?

WATCH: Inside the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ and the shifting politics of Latin America Michael Shifter joins Guy Taylor