The Patriot Post Digest 2-2-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-2-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Feb. 2, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

    Democrat hostility toward the new secretary of state is just beginning.
    The GOP takes action to end Democrats' stall tactics on nominees.
    Only a “progressive” worldview is deemed patriotic by the Left.
    And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“My ardent desire is, and my aim has been … to comply strictly with all our engagements foreign and domestic; but to keep the U States free from political connections with every other Country. To see that they may be independent of all, and under the influence of none. In a word, I want an American character, that the powers of Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves and not for others; this, in my judgment, is the only way to be respected abroad and happy at home.” —George Washington (1795)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Rex Tillerson Is Confirmed1

On Wednesday, the Senate, by a margin of 56-43, voted to confirm Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. All 52 Republicans approved, with four Democrats breaking ranks to throw their support behind Donald Trump’s nominee. Tillerson’s ride through to confirmation was by no means smooth, as no other past presidential nominee for secretary of state has received fewer votes. But after all the commotion Democrats made, he’s through.

Tillerson’s confirmation by no means signals the end of Democrat opposition. The dustup over his global business connections and supposedly cozy relationship with Russia2 was merely designed to establish the narrative. In reality, Democrats are just fine with his confirmation. They’ve secured their “resistance” position with a majority of Democrats having voted against his confirmation. For Democrats and the Leftmedia, Tillerson is compromised. So as soon as the opportunity arises, one can bet the Democrats will be front and center hollowing about how they warned America against Trump’s compromised nominee.

Tillerson takes over a State Department that may be quite hostile to his leadership. A State Department that was recently headed by two failed presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. A State Department that has over the last eight years witnessed the rise of the Islamic State, Russian aggression in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, the Syrian civil war, a disastrous nuclear deal with Iran, the normalization of relations with Cuba, and the repeated snubbing of Israel. A State Department desperately in need of a course correction. Secretary Tillerson certainly has got his work cut out for him, and you can count on the Democrats giving him no quarter.

GOP to Dems: Enough Obstruction3

On Wednesday, Democrat obstructionists in the Senate started right where they left off on Tuesday4, when they boycotted nominees Tom Price and Steven Mnuchin, leaving them in limbo. They tried the same stunt again, only this time they snubbed5 EPA nominee Scott Pruitt too. They even used the same excuses by claiming to be stuck in an ethical quandary. Sen. Tom Carper stated, “If Scott Pruitt is serious about serving as our next EPA Administrator, he should be more than willing to provide [Democrats] complete answers.” Nice try, but this faux reasoning has nothing to do with the boycotts. As we’ve stated, these shenanigans are ultimately about derailing the GOP’s momentum.

Therefore, Republicans were left with little choice but to take action6. According to The Hill, “The Senate Finance Committee advanced a pair of Trump’s nominees with only Republican members present — Steven Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department, and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as secretary of Health and Human Services. By unanimous consent, the Republicans gathered in the hearing room agreed to change the committee’s standing rules, which normally require at least one member of each party to be in attendance for committee work to proceed.” It only stands to reason that other committees, like the one tasked with approving Pruitt, will be forced to do the same thing.

Meanwhile, there was additional progress elsewhere. Despite Democrats' best efforts to sabotage and delay his vote, The Hill also reports7 that “a Senate committee voted to confirm Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to be attorney general on Wednesday, two days after the growing controversy surrounding President Trump’s travel ban on seven Muslim nations led to the firing of an acting attorney general for insubordination. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Sessions 11-9 along party lines. His nomination now goes to the floor, where he is widely expected to be confirmed given the GOP’s 52-seat majority.” Imagine that — a group of Democrats that decided boycotting wasn’t the answer.

Top Headlines8

    Jeff Sessions approved by Senate committee, heads to full Senate. (The Hill7)

    Betsy DeVos nomination on shaky ground after two union-supported Republicans defect. (Washington Free Beacon9)

    Iran put “on notice” after nuclear-capable cruise missile and ballistic missile tests. (USA Today10)

    The past six presidents have used executive power to block certain classes of immigrants. (The Daily Caller11)

    Homeland Security IG opens investigation into travel ban. (The Intercept12)

    Man lied about claim his mom died as a result of Trump’s ban. (WJBK13)

    180 federal employees sign up for civil disobedience workshop. (PJ Media14)

    “Inclusive” snowflakes riot at UC Berkeley, forcing cancellation of Milo Yiannopoulos talk. Trump responds by threatening to cut federal funding15. (CBS SF16)

    Marquette University faculty attempts to sabotage Ben Shapiro event. (National Review17)

    Ceding to demands, Pepperdine will remove Christopher Columbus statue. (The College Fix18.)

    Policy: A regulatory reform agenda for the first 100 days. (Heritage Foundation19)

    Policy: Rethink school accountability. (U.S. News & World Report20)

Don’t Miss Alexander’s Column

Read It’s the Constitution, Stupid…21.

If you’d like to receive Alexander’s Column by email, update your subscription here22.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
The Left’s ‘un-American’ Smear23

By Allyne Caan

When leftists take a torch to Old Glory, take a knee for the National Anthem or take an apology tour around the world24, they’re lauded as heroes of free speech. But when a Republican president does something leftists don’t like, he’s “un-American.”

This is the latest slur the Left is hurling at President Trump as a result of his recent executive order implementing a temporary travel ban. Incidentally, this order is worth a moment of consideration both for what it does and does not do25. As we previously noted26, despite leftist hysteria, the ban is not what the Left claims. In fact, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also enacted temporary bans.

But what a difference an election makes. What under Obama was a noble endeavor to protect Americans under Trump is suddenly “un-American.” Hence, liberals from academia to Hollywood to government are donning robes of patriotism to denounce the president. Morehouse College professor David Dennis Jr., for example, called27 New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s support of Trump “far more threatening to America than taking a knee during the National Anthem” because Trump is — per Dennis — the consummate “un-American.”

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The Patriot Post Digest 2-2-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Then, there’s Hollywood. At the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards, Julia Louis-Dreyfus took to the podium and announced28 Trump is “un-American” because of the “immigrant ban.” And Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said29 Trump’s actions “are so un-American it pains us all.”

Four states — Washington, Massachusetts, New York and Virginia — are even suing30 the Trump administration over the order, with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman calling it “unconstitutional, unlawful and fundamentally un-American.” This is the same guy, by the way, who unlawfully went after31 Exxon Mobil and other “aggressive climate deniers.”

Of course, the “un-American” attribution is hardly limited to immigration issues. The Left likes to slap this label on anyone who disagrees with their views. Are you pro-life? No, you’re “anti-American,” said32 NARAL president Ilyse Hogue. (That whole “right to life” thing in the Declaration of Independence must be pretty un-American to Hogue, too.) Do you believe boys should actually pee in boys' restrooms? You’re not rational. You’re “un-American.”33 Do you oppose the government-takeover of the health care industry? You’re not pro-freedom, you’re “un-American.”34

For those who seem so ready, willing and able to identify what makes someone “un-American,” it’s amazing how little they understand about what makes someone “American.”

Contrary to the Sandra Flukes of the world, being American doesn’t mean free condoms for all. Nor does it mean free health care. It doesn’t mean safe spaces or safety pins, government-mandated school lunch menus or free cell phones. It doesn’t mean free college tuition or a guaranteed job upon graduation. It doesn’t mean gender identity affirmation or global citizenship. It doesn’t mean the right to kill a child or the right to make some one else pay for you to do it.

And, despite what the Left is crying, being American doesn’t mean demanding indiscriminately open borders.

As Michelle Malkin explains35, “America’s Founding Fathers … asserted their concerns publicly and routinely about the effects of indiscriminate mass immigration.” James Madison, for example, stated, “It is no doubt very desirable that we should hold out as many inducements as possible for the worthy part of mankind to come and settle amongst us, and throw their fortunes into a common lot with ours. But why is this desirable? Not merely to swell the catalogue of people. No, sir, it is to increase the wealth and strength of the community; and those who acquire the rights of citizenship, without adding to the strength or wealth of the community are not the people we are in want of.”

Indeed, being American actually means embracing the ideals that men and women, far braver than some Hollywood talking heads, have given their lives for, by the tens of thousands over the last 250 years. The ideals of personal responsibility and industry; the belief in the equality of all men based not on government dicta but on the reality of a Creator; the freedom to do not whatever you want but whatever is right.

Leftists can toss around accusations of “un-Americanism” as long as they’d like. But until they demonstrate that they understand what it means to be American, their attempts at contrast will continue to fall flat.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

    BSA Surrenders to Gender Confusion … Again36 — The Boy Scouts will now accept transgender “boys.”
    More Americans Than Not Support Travel Ban37 — The proscription isn’t as hated as Democrats claim.
    When Sally Yates Defied the Courts38 — The former Acting AG epitomizes the rule of men, not Rule of Law.
    The Democrats' Playbook39 — The Left campaigns to demonize Trump as evil and immoral.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

    Cal Thomas: The Narrative40
    Victor Davis Hanson: When Normalcy Is Revolution41
    Victor Davis Hanson: When Normalcy Is Revolution41
    Mona Charen: It’s Not What You Say; It’s How You Say It42

For more, visit Right Opinion43.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Cal Thomas: “Even before [Judge Neil Gorsuch] was announced, liberal groups pledged to oppose him and urged Senate Democrats to filibuster the nominee in retaliation for the Republicans' refusal to give an up or down vote on Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. … Does Judge Gorsuch have the best possible experience? Yes, but it won’t matter to Democrats. A great education? Yes, doesn’t matter. Good temperament? Yes, doesn’t matter. The fact that he was unanimously approved by the Senate for his appeals court seat won’t matter either, even though some of the Democratic senators who voted for him are still in the Senate and may vote against him this time out of party loyalty. … Democrats have run out of ideas, even bad ones, and have nothing left but name-calling and protests. The fact that voters have rejected their agenda has not yet resonated with them. They are like people who attend oldies concerts and wave their hands in the air, eyes closed, singing ‘The Age of Aquarius,’ like it is 1969 again. For them, the sun isn’t shining in, it’s setting. That narrative hasn’t changed.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The Fed was largely responsible for converting what might have been a garden-variety recession, although perhaps a fairly severe one, into a major catastrophe. … Far from the depression being a failure of the free-enterprise system, it was a tragic failure of government.” —Milton Friedman (1912-2006)

Upright: “Trump seems a revolutionary, but that is only because he is loudly undoing a revolution.” —Victor Davis Hanson

Alpha Jackass: “We have had a leader who’s repeatedly demeaned women, wants to defund organizations that benefit women, calling on the media to shut up, specifically wants to give preferential treatment based on religion. Are these values really much different than the Taliban’s?” —Whoopi Goldberg

Braying Jenny: “[Trump] believes that he was elected as a dictator.” —Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Demo-gogues: “Instead of focusing on jobs and wages, Republicans have decided to launch an all-out assault on affordable health care in America. Their plan is to repeal the Affordable Care Act, slash Medicaid, and destroy the sacred Medicare guarantee that has protected generations of Americans. The Republicans' plan won’t make America great again. It will make America sick again.” —Nancy Pelosi

The BIG Lie: “We’re capitalist and that’s just the way it is.” —Nancy Pelosi

Non Compos Mentis: “In our sanctuary cities, [illegals] are not disobeying the law. These are law-abiding citizens. It enables them to be there without being reported to ICE in case of another crime that they might bear witness to.” —Nancy Pelosi

And last… “I have spoken more with Donald Trump in the last month … than I have spoken with Barack Obama in the last eight years.” —Paul Ryan

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.