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« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2016, 02:58:26 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 11-30-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Founders understood the truth and wisdom in George Washington’s declaration: “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master!”
Few Americans, for example, would disagree with the idea that everyone should have access to health care, but the devil is in the details. Without the vote of a single Republican, arrogant Democrats, invigorated by their electoral victories, passed ObamaCare, ostensibly to guarantee health care to every American. As a result, the IRS was granted access to our medical information, we were forced to buy an outrageously expensive product whether we wanted it or not, we faced a bevy of new taxes and burdensome regulations, and tens of millions of Christians were forced to fund abortion through their insurance.
Government is necessary to protect the rights of individuals, but it is the nature of government to expand and acquire power, and that power is acquired at the expense of individual liberties. As another Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, so eloquently put it, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”
Ironically, the very government that we empower to do our bidding against our neighbor ends up being the government that becomes our master.
Disagree? Keep in mind that when the 16th Amendment (the income tax) was proposed, its proponents promised that it would only affect the very rich. The bottom bracket was a 1% tax on income over $20,000 ($488,341 in 2016 inflation-adjusted dollars) and a top bracket of 7% for income over $500,000 ($12,208,535 in 2016 inflation-adjusted dollars). It was a way, its proponents argued, to make the rich pay their “fair share” (sound familiar?). Yet in a very short time the rates went up and the entry point for the bottom bracket went down, eventually capturing many more Americans in its web, and creating the IRS, possibly the most feared institution in American government, with the power to ruin your life and take everything you own.
Government is a necessary evil. As a third Founder, James Madison, argued in Federalist No. 5126, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.”
Thus, individual liberties are safest when government is smallest, and when the power of government is closest to the people. As constructed by the Founders, the vast majority of government is enacted at the local and state level, with only a small portion belonging to the federal government.
When they held the White House, Senate, and House under George W. Bush, the Republicans blew a golden opportunity. Instead of reducing the size and scope of government, they doubled government spending and gave us Medicare Part D, No Child Left Behind, and an expansion of nearly every federal department and agency27.
In 2016, Republicans get a do-over. While Democrats claim the GOP has no mandate because Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, Republicans can counter with the fact that the GOP won a 3.2 million national popular vote majority28 in House races, and under Barack Obama, Republicans have won a net 11 Senate seats, 63 House seats, 14 governorships, and roughly 1,000 state legislative seats.
Republicans have a rare opportunity to reduce the size and scope of government at every level, and return to the form envisioned by the Founders, where government is limited and individual liberty is vast. It’s in the best interests of every American to encourage them to do just that. Our job is to educate our fellow Americans accordingly.
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
Finally, a Real Opportunity to Repeal ObamaCare29 — Trump’s pick of Tom Price to head HHS is a good sign.
Trump’s Swamp-Draining Lobbyist Ban30 — You know, the one Clinton rescinded on the way out of office.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Star Parker: “If the teachers unions are outraged by Donald Trump’s selection of Betsy DeVos as the new secretary of education, our president-elect must have made a good choice. … For those with the least power, the poor, parents are totally locked into failing schools controlled by bureaucrats and unions. If giving parents education choice was a bad idea, why do so many want it? … Betsy DeVos' special interest is advancing freedom by bringing education opportunities to poor children. The unions' special interest is keeping a stranglehold on public schools and looking out for their members and their left-wing agenda. … A headline on the National Education Association website says, ‘Transgender students thrive in supportive schools.’ Can you imagine the NEA worrying about Christian children getting biblical values? Parents should be free to choose a school embracing transgender values or Christian values. It should be up to them, not unions or bureaucrats. Having known Betsy DeVos for years, I am confident that unions will find their fears justified, and that our new secretary of education will provide leadership to significantly improve education in our country by bringing freedom and choice to families.”
SHORT CUTS
Upright: “[Flag burning is] a First Amendment right. But you do it in front of me, I’m going to beat the hell out of you.” —Sen. Joe Manchin
For the record: “[An estimated] 83 fires are currently raging across 6 southeastern states. Eighteen of those are classified by NIFC as large and uncontained. If you get most of your news from national TV networks, this is probably the first you’ve heard of any of this. … Because it’s not happening in New York or D.C. or Los Angeles, it doesn’t really count as news. When a few snowflakes begin to fall in Washington, it’s a national emergency. When Los Angeles has a lot of traffic on Thanksgiving, it requires an international APB. But when tens of thousands of acres are burning in the South following months of drought, it barely warrants a shrug.” —Sean Davis
Alpha Jackass: “That kind of dictatorship, that kind of authoritarian leader [referring to Fidel Castro] is very similar to Trump. They lie, they cheat, they are false prophets, they promise many things but are not going to be able to comply.” —former Mexican President Vicente Fox
Eternal fate: “Fidel Castro created hell on earth for the Cuban people. He will now become intimately familiar with what he wrought.” —Sen. Tom Cotton
Vacating the narrative: “To me, I never thought Donald Trump, and I still don’t believe it today, was a racist. I don’t believe that he’s anti-African-American.” —Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Non Compos Mentis: “Maybe there will be a movement where people wear the head scarf in solidarity. You know, even if you’re not Muslim.” —CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota31
Easy for him to say: “I think moving to a popular vote system [to elect presidents] is not without peril, is not without problems. It’s not a simple one choice is all good, the other is all bad. It’s a balancing act. But I think the balance has shifted, in my mind at least, and I think that we should go to a popular vote.” —Al Gore
And last… “Wasn’t one vapid pretty boy named Justin from Canada enough? At least Justin Bieber is eye candy without the heartburn. Justin Trudeau, on the other hand, is the twinkly-eyed boy toy who makes informed adults wanna hurl.” —Michelle Malkin
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson
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