Commentary
“Like Charlie, you are touching lives too!”
From time to time, I receive a flattering comment like this from one of my readers. I decided to include it in my lead because it arrived after my last piece in which I wrote that Charlie Kirk’s legacy would live on, and I was considering my approach to fulfilling that promise.
That I touch lives like him is quite a stretch. Charlie spoke with tens of thousands of people every day, at a college gathering, nationally televised interviews, on his podcast and others. But if I can touch just one reader with my commentary, I’m happy.
There’s a major difference in the way we communicate. While Charlie relished one-on-one debates with people, when I set up Kramerontheright, I chose to forego the reader response feature. I merely wanted a way to present my thoughts on the political scene and didn’t want the hassle of handling responses. However, I welcome the occasional comments I receive from friends who know how to reach me.
Charlie’s widow, Erika, vowed that her husband’s movement would not die, and I remarked that without Charlie that seemed unattainable. But after seeing the crowds that came to Phoenix and Glendale, Arizona last Sunday to celebrate his life – people from all walks of life – I became a believer in that possibility.
But what can I do to help, other than continue to cover conservative issues and keep progressives on the left honest as it states in the heading over this blog? While I have been impressed with Charlie’s faith, I couldn’t hold a candle with my limited knowledge of scriptures; but I will more than likely be commenting on his effect on religion, especially on young people.
As I began to put my thoughts together, Ben Domenech’s column in The Spectator, “How Does The Right Move On From Charlie Kirk?” appeared in my inbox. And word of the first stop on Turning Point’s nationwide tour of college campuses since Kirk’s assassination at the Utah Valley University – the University of Minnesota – was there, too.
“The loss of Charlie is profound because its not just about the organization or who’s carrying it forward,” wrote Domenech quoting Texas Rep. Chip Roy, “but about an individual uniquely gifted by the Lord, who combined principle and courage with a level of goodness and kindness.
“There’s a new generation that is growing out of TPUSA, new people not yet known to us, who can reignite the American spirit and carry it forward. If they can do that, there is hope for not just the nation, but for a real Christian revival when people are hungry for it.”
Concerned over the response at the liberal University of Minnesota, wondering about the first stop on the tour without Kirk, I began reading a timeline-styled account in the leftist Minneapolis Star Tribune with contributions by a few reporters.
Conservative commentator and writer Michael Knowles, appearing for the late Kirk, received enthusiastic applause as some 2,000 people making up the sold-out crowd filed into the university’s Northrop Auditorium.
As he answered questions from attendees, a light shown on an empty chair on the stage with a white T-shirt bearing the word FREEDOM, like the one Kirk was wearing when he was shot, draped over it, was there to remember Kirk.
While the crowd was generally respectful, outside there were individuals with Black Lives Matter flags, and a man with a bullhorn shouted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho Turning Point has got to go.” How original.
Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Winsley indicated she was surprised that the event was still being held saying she had heard concerns from students and residents.
“Hate has no place in Minneapolis,” she said in a written statement, “and I am deeply frustrated that the University of Minnesota has attempted to normalize a group that is tied to hate-filled ideology and extremism.”
As I look to the future of Turning Point USA, I reflected on the organization’s success to date. Selena Zito, an excellent grassroots journalist I follow, who gathers material in eastern Ohio and much of Pennsylvania which she contributes to several newspapers, points to the large numbers of excited young people.
“Young women, young men, they’re excited, they’re happy, they feel purposeful, and a lot of that came from Charlie. They are not going to shrink. They are going to be bold and purposeful in carrying forward what he inspired them to be part of,” Zito said during on an appearance on The Hugh Hewitt Show.
As we listen to the radicals on the left- AOC, Crockett, Swalwell and others – it’s easy to understand why they and nearly 100 others couldn’t support H. Res. 719 – Honoring the life and legacy of Charles “Charlie” James Kirk in a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives last week. He was responsible for the young vote that helped elect Donald J. Trump president, and they know they don’t have anyone, nobody like Kirk, nor an organization like Turning Point as they look to the midterms and 2028.
I’ll be watching the Turning Point movement, and so will Charlie.
May God continue to bless the United States of America.
