The Patriot Post Digest 12-20-2016

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The Patriot Post Digest 12-20-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Dec. 20, 2016

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Electors secure the will of the American people.
Michelle Obama wants to #BringBackOurHope.
Expect Democrats to field candidates in 2020 — just not competent or satisfactory ones.
And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” —James Madison (1822)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Trump Wins, Again1

The Electoral College members cast their votes yesterday, securing Donald Trump as the next and 45th President of the U.S. In spite of all the efforts by some Democrats and the Leftmedia to convince “faithless electors” to vote against the will of the people, there was little drama. Ironically, it was Hillary Clinton who ended up with more faithless electors voting against her than did Trump.

Interestingly, the Left’s attempt to sow seeds of doubt regarding the legitimacy of Trump’s victory has only proved to further establish its validity. For example, Jill Stein’s ridiculous demand for recounts in the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin resulted in Trump gaining votes. Then there is the ploy suggesting that, because Hillary won the popular vote, Trump’s victory should be viewed as artificial. To that line of reasoning the best response is the Constitution and Rule of Law, which helped prove to yet another generation of Americans the wisdom of the Founding Fathers in crafting a system that preserves states' rights and limits the power of a centralized federal government.

A final item to note is the fact that neither candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Clinton received 48% to Trump’s 46%. Which means even if U.S. presidential elections were decided by the popular vote, neither candidate would have received a majority, furthering the complaint expressed by the Left that a minority of Americans has decided for the majority. In other words, it would not have resolved their supposed problem. The good news is that there is little the Left can do now but whine and complain. Trump is President-elect.

FLOTUS: Say, We Sure Could Use Some Hope2

Voters sent Barack Obama to the White House in 2008 because his campaign slogan resonated: “Change We Can Believe In.” In his 2008 victory speech, Obama spoke of the “arc of history” bending “once more toward the hope of a better day.” He added, “It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.” After eight long years, change did come. But hope? We’ll let Michelle Obama speak for herself. From a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey:

Winfrey: “Your husband’s administration, everything, the election, was all about hope. Do you think that this administration achieved that?”

Obama: “Yes. I do, because we feel the difference now. Now we’re feeling what not having hope feels like. Hope is necessary.”

If that sounds contradictory, that’s because it is. Here’s a more accurate translation: “Michelle Obama Confesses To Oprah: 8 Years Of Hope And Change Left People Without Hope3.”

Exit polling shows4 that the overwhelming majority (82%) of Trump voters saw him as someone who could break the status quo. Moreover, 68% of his supporters said the country was on the wrong trajectory. And as Allahpundit adds, “The exit poll also asked people if they thought life for the next generation of Americans would be better than, worse than, or about the same as it is for theirs. The split was 37/33/25. The ‘hope’ presidency couldn’t crack 40 percent on a basic question about your kids' lives being better than yours.”

Hope was a promise that was never delivered. That the Obamas miss this proves just how incapable they are of seeing outside the mainstream. The only “hope” they offer now is a future that doesn’t include a supposedly unfair electoral college.

Top Headlines5

Long before Obama lectured Putin and Trump about hacks, he was covering for Russia. (Washington Free Beacon6)

Terrorist attack in Berlin leaves a dozen dead. (Associated Press7)

Russian ambassador gunned down in Turkey. Shooter shouts “Allahu Akhbar.” (National Review8.)

Trump picks Vincent Viola, trading executive, for Army secretary post. (The Washington Times9)

George Soros' “staggering” campaign to swing local prosecutor elections. (The Daily Signal10)

Obama ready to block drilling in Arctic and Atlantic while claiming credit for low gas prices. (Bloomberg11)

“Big Coal” target of Obama’s 11th-hour regulations. (The Washington Times12)

Legacy record: Obama grants historic number of federal prisoners clemency — 78 pardons and 153 commutations. (The Washington Post13)

NC moves to repeal transgender bathroom law after Charlotte rescinds LGBT ordinance. (The Charlotte Observer14)

GM sends layoff notice to 1,300 Michigan workers as sales slow. (Bloomberg15)

Democratic women most likely to block “friends” on social media over politics. How open-minded of them. (The Washington Times16)

Policy: How to rebuild our defense. (The Insider17)

Policy: How to repair our society. (The Insider18.)

Don’t Miss Patriot Humor

Check out She’s Always Russian Around19.

If you’d like to receive Patriot Humor by email, update your subscription here20.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Can the Democrat Party Recover? Let’s Hope Not.21

By James Shott

Having blown the 2016 “sure thing” coronation of Hillary Clinton, and having magnificently failed to realize how badly they had alienated the people who live between the two coastal liberal strongholds, not noticing their growing displeasure and desire for change, we are left to wonder if the Democrats can return to Earth in time to rebuild their party and find candidates to head the party ticket in 2020. It would be better for America if the party died, to be replaced by a party that actually cared about constitutional governance and our great nation. But let’s deal with what’s there.

In their desperate blame game over what happened, Democrats have blamed James Comey and the FBI, Jill Stein and Bernie Sanders, WikiLeaks, racism, sexism, fake news, Russia, and voters. Everyone and everything is to blame except the DNC itself and its horrible candidate.

After the election there were demonstrations by Clinton supporters that turned into riots, crying sessions and a search for safe spaces. Then came the panicked reports that Russian hacking impacted the election, which led to efforts to undermine the Electoral College by persuading Republican electors to not vote for Trump, as their voters have instructed them. There were instances of intimidation and death threats against some electors.

But no evidence has been advanced to prove that the Russians actually changed votes or affected the results of the election. Besides, all the Russians really did was hack Democrat emails that were then released by WikiLeaks, which exposed the lies, deceit, corruption and collusion of the Clinton campaign, the DNC and the media to the public. Since their dirty little secrets were exposed to the world, naturally the Democrats had to try to get the electors to overturn the results of the election.

Of course, Democrats, shall we say, disagree with this analysis. But the fact remains that they are so badly flummoxed and disoriented that we have every reason to wonder if they can recover in time for their party to function well enough to field competent candidates for the next presidential election.

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The Patriot Post Digest 12-20-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Okay, we expect them to field candidates — just not competent or satisfactory ones.

Assuming the DNC is able to establish lucidity — a big assumption — who are the potential candidates? Eight years of Obama has decimated the Democrat bench of up-and-comers. Which means only a few fossils remain.

Odds are that if Clinton is still alive and well, she will put herself out there again, despite her weak performance in 2008 and her substantial defeat this year. There are alternatives, of course, but some are even older than Hillary.

The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto cites22 a poll by Public Policy Polling showing that “Joe Biden leads the way for Democrats with 31 percent to 24 percent for Bernie Sanders, and 16 percent for Elizabeth Warren.” As if to underscore the depths of confusion among Democrats, however, Taranto goes on to say that they also expressed preference for younger candidates: “57 percent of Democrats say they want their candidate to be under the age of 60, and 77 percent say they want their candidate to be under the age of 70. Only 8 percent actually want a candidate who’s in their [sic] 70s.”

He points out that by the time of the 2020 election the favored potential candidates will be north of 70: Biden will be 77, Sanders will be 79, and Warren, the baby of the group, will be 71. Based upon the ages of the favored Democrats, Taranto jokingly termed the DNC the “Great-Grand Old Party.”

James Hohmann, national political correspondent for The Washington Post, suggests23 that, since VP candidate Sen. Tim Kaine has seemingly declined to seek the presidency in 2020, the door is open for other recognizable faces to enter the fray. Those faces include New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand, who took over Clinton’s Senate seat when she became secretary of state.

In addition to the aforementioned possibilities, opinion writer Chris Cillizza names24 some other lesser-known potential candidates. California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November, is the first African-American woman elected to the Senate since Carol Moseley-Braun in 1992. Cillizza points out that she also represents the largest and most-Democrat state in the country, and that her “law-and-order-background” as AG will help her.

With first a business background, then serving as a mayor and now Colorado’s governor, John Hickenlooper would have broad appeal, Cillizza believes. One negative is Hickenlooper’s somewhat moderate political position, which may not appeal to the current hard-left state of the Democrat Party.

Having demonstrated an ability to work across the aisle to achieve things for veterans and child adoption, Cillizza believes Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has a positive profile for national office. Her state isn’t exactly a fundraising hotbed for national politics, but her ambitious demeanor may be attractive to Democrats.

Cillizza also argues that while current First Lady Michelle Obama has never run for office or expressed interest in doing so, she has excellent name recognition and “star power,” and she would go into a race for the nomination as a beloved figure.

So, after Biden, Sanders, Warren, Booker and Obama, the other possibilities have the name recognition hurdle to clear. Watching who says and does what during Trump’s first couple of years will help clarify the DNC’s dilemma.

Of course, if none of the above finds favor with Democrats, Kanye West has already thrown his hat into the ring, and Martin Sheen of the recent effort to persuade electors to not vote for Trump is available. He’s never been a president, but he did play one on TV.

In any case, as 2016 comes to a close, Democrats are in dire straits. Such situations rarely remain permanent in politics, but those of us who fight for Liberty can make the most of our moment.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Trump Picks Fiscal Hawk to Lead Budget Office25 — America’s debt is an issue Trump has not forgotten about and intends to tackle head on.
China’s Power Play26 — The rise in tensions isn’t caused by Trump, but Obama.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Rich Lowry: Only Hillary Is to Blame for Her Loss27
Dennis Prager: Where Have All the Christmas Decorations Gone? A Meditation on Joyless Secularism28
Cal Thomas: Hope and Humility29

For more, visit Right Opinion30.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Rich Lowry: “The hack of the Democratic National Committee disrupted the early going of the Democratic convention, but the convention was still a wild political success that gave Hillary a big bounce. The subsequent WikiLeaks release of John Podesta’s emails constituted a steady drip-drip of discomfiting information, yet most of it didn’t break through in the media. Certainly none of it had the effect of the James Comey letter 11 days before the voting, which dominated the coverage for days and led to an immediate slide in Hillary’s poll numbers. This is why Democrats tend to lump in James Comey with the Russians when arguing that the election was hacked, even though he’s the director of the FBI, not the FSB. Comey is a public servant who had to grapple with the unprecedented circumstance of a major political party knowingly nominating a presidential candidate under FBI investigation. Who thought this was a good idea?”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The moral justification of capitalism is man’s right to exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself; it is the recognition that man — every man — is an end in himself, not a means to the ends of others, not a sacrificial animal serving anyone’s need.” —Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

Belly laugh of the week: “My suggestion to the president-elect is, you know, going through the legislative process is always better, in part because it’s harder to undo.” —Barack “Executive Order” Obama

Braying Jackass: “[Donald Trump] doesn’t know much. One thing he does know is how to get angry, white men to vote for him.” —Bill Clinton

Sore loser: “James Comey cost her the election.” —Bill Clinton

Hindsight is 20/20: “I wish I had seen around that corner and not had that discussion with the former president [Bill Clinton], as innocuous as it was, because it did give people concern.” —AG Loretta Lynch

Ya think? “This past election was challenging for me as a citizen to watch and experience. It was painful.” —Michelle Obama

Dezinformatsia: “By overwhelming majorities, Americans would prefer to elect the president by direct popular vote, not filtered through the antiquated mechanism of the Electoral College. … The Electoral College, which is written into the Constitution, is more than just a vestige of the founding era; it is a living symbol of America’s original sin.” —New York Times editorial board

For the record: “Just a reminder as we keep hearing about the popular vote: No one was trying to win it. A race for popular vote would be totally different.” —David French

And last… “The electoral college worked great in 2008 and in 2012. The only difference this time is the outcome is one the NYT doesn’t like.” —Stephen Miller

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.