The Patriot Post Digest 5-6-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-6-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

May 6, 2016

THE FOUNDATION

“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.” —George Washington (1796)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Who Wants Unity?1

“I am confident that I can unite much of [the Republican Party],” Donald Trump said after winning Indiana and clearing the presidential field. But then he proceeded to totally undermine his own statement: “Some of it, I don’t want. There were statements made about me that those people can go away and maybe come back in eight years after we serve two terms. … Honestly, there are some people I really don’t want. I don’t think it’s necessary. People would be voting for me, they’re not voting for the party.”

Well, he’s getting what he wanted. Not only will the Bushes sit this one out2, but so will previous nominee Mitt Romney3, who says he’s “dismayed” by the turn toward “demagoguery and populism.” Speaking of populism, Sarah Palin is the only member of any previous Republican presidential ticket who’s on board the Trump Train.

And now the highest elected Republican in the land, House Speaker Paul Ryan, says, “I’m just not ready to [endorse Trump] at this point. I’m not there right now.”

Ryan has been fiercely critical4 of Trump before — of Trump’s proposed Muslim ban, his refusal to disavow David Duke and the KKK, and his encouragement of violence at campaign rallies — so what’s Ryan waiting for now? “What Republicans want to see is that we have a standard bearer that bears our standards,” he said. “I think conservatives want to know, does [Trump] share our values and our principles on limited government, the proper role of the executive, adherence to the Constitution.”

The answer is that Trump clearly doesn’t share those values. Moreover, Trump and Ryan agree on virtually no policy positions. But Ryan is almost surely going to end up endorsing him anyway. After all, Ryan will be serving as the chairman of the Republican National Convention in July.

The important takeaway here isn’t that none of these Republicans are supporting the current presumptive nominee, it’s that such animosity is precisely why Trump won. Voters clearly are so tired of the GOP that they’ve chosen a guy who promises to blow it up. Establishment5 or not, is it any wonder prominent Republicans aren’t keen to jump on the bandwagon?

“I am not ready to support Speaker Ryan’s agenda,” responded Trump. “Perhaps in the future we can work together and come to an agreement about what is best for the American people. They have been treated so badly for so long that it is about time for politicians to put them first.” Ryan is right, but the political advantage in this tussle goes to Trump.

After April Jobs Report, Where Do We Go From Here?6

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs report7 for April was more discouraging than usual, with the economy adding only 160,000 jobs last month. Every first Friday of the month for months on end, BLS reported the same thing: The economy added about 200,000 jobs; the unemployment rate hovered at 5%; wages are barely growing. Recently, Obama reflected8 on his economic legacy with fondness, boasting, “We probably managed this better than any large economy on Earth in modern history.” Meanwhile, the GDP for the first quarter of 2016 grew only a half of a percent. And regulations — Obama sure likes creating regulations — strangle9 the nation’s GDP growth by 0.8% every year. Usually, leaders boast when they manage an economy for growth, but Obama’s proud of suffocating it.

This raises the question: How does the American economy move on from this mire? The Wall Street Journal reports10 that the pitiful jobs numbers will scare the Federal Reserve away from raising interest rates in June. And the presidential candidates aren’t offering any good solutions. Hillary Clinton proposes11 extending Obama’s failed policies. And, in his braggadocio fashion, Donald Trump suggests starting a trade war with China — something that this economy isn’t strong enough to handle, points out12 American Enterprise Institute scholar James Pethokoukis. Indications are that little will improve in the years to come.

Obama Turned to Fiction Writer to Make Up Iran Narrative13

Barack Obama’s adviser Ben Rhodes is an aspiring novelist whose greatest work was the narrative leading up to the Iran nuclear deal (although arguably the Benghazi tall tale14 ranks as high). Literally, the aspiring fiction writer published one short story before his mother got him a job in foreign policy. So speaking of fiction, in a recent interview15, Rhodes boasted about duping the press, the American public and Congress on the Iran deal. The Obama administration didn’t begin negotiating the deal when the supposedly moderate Hassan Rouhani took power; the U.S. and Iran were talking about legitimizing the mullahs' nuclear program when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad still lead the country. Instead of creating plots and narratives with characters in his head, Rhodes was toying with reality, such as describing Rouhani as a character willing to talk with Obama. In part, the White House was able to do this because the American press is fragmented. The seasoned reporters have left. News organizations shuttered their foreign bureaus so they don’t have reporters on the ground in far-flung places. “The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old,” Rhodes said, “and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. They literally know nothing.”

Rhodes was able to peddle this fiction because he believed a fiction himself: That Obama and Obama alone knew more than “The blob,” the people who disagreed with Obama’s view of the world. Those people included editors, reporters, former national defense advisers — even Hillary Clinton. The Weekly Standard’s Lee Smith summarizes16, “For the last seven years the American public has been living through a postmodern narrative crafted by an extremely gifted and unspeakably cynical political operative whose job is to wage digital information campaigns designed to dismantle a several-decade old security architecture while lying about the nature of the Iranian regime. No wonder Americans feel less safe — they are.”

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

David Harsanyi: Sometimes There Is No Lesser of Two Evils17
Erick Erickson: Republicans, Apologize to Bill Clinton18
Tony Perkins: Justice Is Swerved19

For more, visit Right Opinion20.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Uncle Sam Threatens North Carolina Over Bathroom Law21

By Michael Swartz

Since the state of North Carolina passed a law to counter the city of Charlotte’s attempt at breaking down the gender privacy barrier in public bathrooms — a law that in essence decreed one’s equipment and not one’s feeling of identifying as the opposite gender determined the appropriate restroom for use — the state has suffered the wrath of the Rainbow Mafia22. Bruce Springsteen canceled a recent concert, PayPal pulled the plug on a planned North Carolina facility, and the city of Charlotte has been threatened with the loss of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. These politically correct critics scream that the law discriminates against the transgender “community” — i.e. 0.3% of the population. Predictably, Barack Obama’s administration has joined these thuggish extortion efforts with a “deal they can’t refuse.”

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-6-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Obama’s Social Justice Department™ has upped the ante by calling the law a violation of the federal Civil Rights Act. (He wouldn’t be the “first gay president23” for doing any less.) And while it’s a case that may hinge more on an EEOC regulation than actual law24, the result may be a long, drawn-out legal fight between the state and federal governments. Obama is threatening to withhold federal education money25 from the state, placing billions of dollars at stake.

So Obama is punishing poor kids by taking education money away, all for the sake of a handful of men who think they’re women.

State Attorney General Roy Cooper long since went wobbly on the law26, vowing not to defend or enforce HB2, but the Republican state legislature isn’t backing down — legislators say they have no intention of modifying the law.

While the anti-science Obama administration is ignoring human biology books by insisting North Carolina revoke its law, the Obama Department of Education is now the target of a parent lawsuit27 from an Illinois school district. Parents are rightly outraged that Obama ordered28 the school to accommodate a boy who self-identifies as a girl by allowing him to play on girls' athletic teams and use the girls' locker room, albeit with privacy curtains installed — for him. Just as in North Carolina, the school district was threatened with the loss of $6 million in federal funds, but in this instance parents are fighting back with the lawsuit brought by a group representing 73 parents and 63 students.

Nor is the fight to keep gender-separate facilities contained to the courtroom. The retail chain Target recently announced its intention to allow transgenders to use the bathroom in which they feel most comfortable. But instead of praise for its “progressive” stance, Target now faces the backlash of more than a million consumers who have signed a petition29 to boycott the store.

As Rev. Franklin Graham, who lives in North Carolina, said30, “Target certainly has the prerogative to make this decision, but it’s proving to be bad for business. I’m glad people are standing up and letting them know this is wrong.”

Yet the political ramifications of this may be limited. There’s little doubt Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders will continue the Obama line favoring those with gender disorientation pathology31, but presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump has been on both sides of the issue32.

Perhaps the real issue is whether self-identification — irrespective of biological reality or any other reality for that matter — is not only the ultimate standard, but one enforceable by federal fiat. If it is, then why is a black man “trapped” in a white man’s body not eligible for affirmative action? Or a 21-year-old “woman” trapped in a 12-year-old girl’s body not permitted to get married? Or an 18-year-old trapped in a five-year-old’s body not eligible to vote?

It’s been said that in politics, perception is reality. But this bathroom issue shows the phenomenon is spreading.

Mother’s Day

On Sunday, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, we’re reminded that among the 10 Commandments there is but one that comes with a promise: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12).

Abigail Adams once wrote her son John Quincy, saying, “What is it that affectionate parents require of their Children; for all their care, anxiety, and toil on their accounts? Only that they would be wise and virtuous, Benevolent and kind.”

President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation in 1914 proclaiming Mother’s Day a national holiday. But then again, we don’t need a holiday to express our appreciation to moms everywhere.

May God bless each and every mother among our Patriot readers.

MORE ORIGINAL PERSPECTIVE

ANALYSIS: Should the Senate Give in and Confirm Garland?33
Beating Around the Bushes2
Al Gore’s Inconvenient Reality34
Intelligence About Briefings35
Medical Malpractice on Guns36

TOP HEADLINES

Clinton Aide Huma Abedin Interviewed by FBI37
New Rule Allows Feds to Hack Millions of Computers More Easily38
Nanny State Enacts New Rule Limiting Tobacco Sales39

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report40

OPINION IN BRIEF

David Harsanyi: “It’s quite possible that Reaganism is no longer relevant or popular among a majority of voters on the right. Do people believe in conservatism (widely understood) because it’s popular, or because they find some truth in it? If it’s the latter, conservatives can either chase Trump fans by attempting to make a compelling case or offer some new ideas or better arguments. Or they can surrender and adopt Trumpism and reward the least classically liberal candidate in Republican Party history. A Clinton presidency, even with a Republican Congress, will be a disaster for conservatives, but lesser so. It was the constitutional idealism of the tea party that held back Democrats and establishment GOPers from working together to expand the reach of government. A turn to white identity politics and anger is a turn away from that idealism.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “Forced to choose, the poor, like the rich, love money more than political liberty; and the only political freedom capable of enduring is one that is so pruned as to keep the rich from denuding the poor by ability or subtlety and the poor from robbing the rich by violence or votes.” —Will Durant (1885-1981)

Upright: “Republicans owe Bill Clinton an apology for impeaching him over lies and affairs while now embracing a pathological liar and womanizer. That apology will not be forthcoming. In fact, for years Republicans have accused the Democrats of gutter politics and shamelessness. Now the Republicans themselves have lost their sense of shame.” —Erick Erickson

Non Compos Mentis: “If they’re not going to support the people that the Republicans nominated, then they need to get out of the Republican Party and admit that they’re no longer Republican, that they’re something else.” —Mike Huckabee

Braying Jenny: “At a recent campaign rally in Indiana, Cruz responded to a protester, reported to be a child, with a pompous lecture about the glories of spanking. … Does anything better illustrate the toxicity of conservative ideology better than the enthusiasm for beating children? … Much of what is fueling conservative voters these days is outrage that their unearned privilege is slipping away from them. The mediocre white man can no longer assume he’ll be treated as better than women or people of color that are more talented than he is, simply because of an accident of birth.” —Salon’s Amanda Marcotte

Belly laugh of the week: “There’s a reason that the president is the most popular politician in America, particularly among Democrats, that his approval rating is higher and his unfavorable rating is lower among Democrats than anybody else in the country. That is a strong endorsement of the work that this president has done over the last eight years or so.” —Josh Earnest

And last… “We face six months of what will be a historically hellacious campaign. Yes, we picked the wrong time to stop taking opioids.” —Peggy Noonan

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson

Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.