The Patriot Post Digest 3-1-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 3-1-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Mar. 1, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Trump delivers his best speech yet. We offer the highlights.
There are five key problems with ObamaCare that illustrate the need for repeal.
Justice Department drops its suit against Texas' voter ID law.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Trump 2.01

By Thomas Gallatin

Donald Trump has a knack for delivering the goods when all the odds makers are predicting failure. After a shocking election victory that was followed by a contentious first month in office, many expected to see only more of the same from Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress2. And then last night happened, leaving Democrats and the mainstream media stunned and questioning if they had just witnessed Ronald Reagan resurrected.

Yes, Trump’s speech was that good and that powerful. No embarrassing gaffes, no petty recriminations against his detractors; Trump simply reiterated his core campaign promises while reaching out with a genuinely unifying message. The whole speech was woven together by its optimistic outlook for the nation’s future. Aside from his very presidential demeanor, the most powerful aspect of Trump’s speech was how he showed his heartfelt concern and love for the American people.

From the beginning, Trump reached across the aisle and disarmed his critics. “We may be a nation divided on policies,” he said, but “we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms.”

Trump’s overall tone was both realist and optimistic. He stated, “Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice — in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. That torch is now in our hands. … A new chapter of American Greatness is now beginning.”

He also gave voice to genuine pride and love for America saying, “A national pride is sweeping across our Nation. … What we are witnessing today is the renewal of the American spirit.”

Throughout the speech Trump remained future focused, with several references to America’s 250th anniversary nine years from now.

Heavy on both substance and conviction, he once again reminded Congress and the American people of his campaign promises. He listed may of the actions already taken to rouse the economy, drain the swamp and fight against illegal immigration. He also touted his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to become the next constitutionally committed Supreme Court justice.

Trump also espoused a decidedly different tone on law enforcement than did Barack Obama, who was more apt to question police motives and practices rather than condemn deeds of lawless. As Trump put it, “We must work with, not against, the men and women of law enforcement. We must support the incredible men and women of law enforcement.”

Trump did not waver from his inauguration speech commitment3 to lead with an America first policy, but he hit a much better tone in stating it: “My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America.” On foreign policy he reassured America’s allies of the U.S.’s commitment to NATO, while at the same time acknowledging their need to meet the fair demands of agreed upon financial commitments.

Fifty-three times Trump received a standing ovation, but the highlight of the night and the most touching and memorable moment was his recognition of Carryn Owens, the widow of Navy SEAL Ryan Owens, who was killed in the recent mission in Yemen. Trump said, “Ryan died as he lived: a warrior, and a hero, battling against terrorism and securing our nation. Ryan’s legacy is etched into eternity.” This brought a standing ovation that lasted two minutes. This moment more than any other displayed Trump’s big heart. As public as it was, it seemed also to be a window into Trump’s ability to personally connect with people. Despite the Leftmedia caricature, he is a man who sincerely cares for others.

Trump concluded his speech with similar magnanimity to how he began it: “We all bleed the same blood. We all salute the same flag. And we all are made by the same God. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless these United States.”

One of the more noticeable and quite frankly best indicators of Trump’s successful address Tuesday night were the shell-shocked expressions on the faces of all the Democrats. Humorously, several Democrat women had chosen to dress in white in a display of protest against Trump’s supposedly anti-woman policy. Yet like snow on a warm day, as soon as the speech ended they quickly evaporated to the exits, assuredly looking quite foolish.

Was this speech a rebirth of Reagan? No. Trump is populist as fully evidenced last night, whereas Reagan was a traditional conservative, and Trump’s was not a call for shrinking the size or cost of government. Yet Trump did capture, like Reagan, the hope and optimism in the American spirit. America now has a president who undoubtedly loves his country and has her best interests at heart. Trump displayed why so many voted for him and are hopeful in his leadership.

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Five Huge Problems With ObamaCare4

In Donald Trump’s Address to Congress2 last night, he made much of repealing ObamaCare. “Mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for America,” he said. “The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost of health insurance, and that is what we will do.” He laid out the guiding principles for reform: “First, we should ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage, and that we have a stable transition for Americans currently enrolled in the health care exchanges. Secondly, we should help Americans purchase their own coverage, through the use of tax credits and expanded Health Savings Accounts — but it must be the plan they want, not the plan forced on them by the government. Thirdly, we should give our great state governors the resources and flexibility they need with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out. Fourthly, we should implement legal reforms that protect patients and doctors from unnecessary costs that drive up the price of insurance — and work to bring down the artificially high price of drugs and bring them down immediately. Finally, the time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines — creating a truly competitive national marketplace that will bring cost way down and provide far better care.”

Most Americans at this point know that ObamaCare isn’t all it was cracked up to be. But do they know just how bad it’s been? Hudson Institute senior fellow Jeffrey Anderson explains5, “In passing Obamacare, its supporters promised the moon. Obamacare was allegedly going to cost $938 billion over ten years, result in 23 million people getting insurance through its exchanges as of 2017, reduce the typical family’s premiums by $2,500 a year, and make sure that if you liked your health plan and doctor, you could keep your health plan and doctor. Seven years later, Obamacare is projected to cost $1.938 trillion over ten years (exactly $1 trillion more), only 9 million people have insurance through its exchanges as of 2017 (just 40 percent of the original CBO projection), the typical family’s premiums have exploded, and millions of people who liked their plans lost their plans, as Obamacare effectively banned them. Many of them lost their doctors as well.”

That’s pretty bad. Anderson also lays out the five worst things about the law.

It denies Americans choice and undermines their liberty.

It denies Americans affordable health insurance.

It raises federal spending by about $2 trillion when we’re nearly $20 trillion in debt.

It fuels the unseemly alliance between Big Government and Big Business.

It consolidates and centralizes power and money.

That’s all why repeal is so critical. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker made just that case, saying, “This is an important issue because I don’t think we can reiterate enough, ObamaCare is collapsing. The Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable, and not me or any of these [Republican] governors … but a Democratic governor said that last year. It is collapsing right now and to show compassion [toward] our fellow citizens, we’ve got to do something about it. That’s why we’re on top of it.” Let’s all encourage our elected representatives in Congress to repeal this monstrosity.

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The Patriot Post Digest 3-1-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

DOJ Drops Out of Lawsuit Against Texas' Voter ID Law6

The Department of Justice informed the Washington-based Campaign Legal Center (CLC) that it would no longer be joining in a lawsuit against the state of Texas. The CLC had originally brought the lawsuit against the Lone Star State claiming that its voter ID law discriminated against minorities and the poor. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had last year ruled that the law was indeed discriminatory and ordered that it be changed before the November election.

The law, which had required a voter to establish proof of identification with any one of seven forms of ID, was expanded to allow the signing of an affidavit declaring an impediment to obtaining the required identification which then permitted voting. The Fifth Circuit will soon rule on whether the law was designed in order to discriminate against minority voters.

Meanwhile last Friday, Virginia Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe vetoed a bill that would have required “the local electoral boards to direct the general registrars to investigate the list of persons voting at an election whenever the number of persons voting at any election in a country or city exceeds the number of persons registered to vote in that county or city.” McAuliffe’s justification was that the bill would have imposed too much of a burden on local elections officials.

The motive for creating the bill was due to the unintentional discovery of over 1,000 people having illegally registered to vote in eight Virginia counties. It was not generated out of a merely reasonable yet hypothetical fear of voter fraud, but out of a genuinely verifiable one. And yet McAuliffe found the potential for over-burdening elections officials of greater concern than combatting the real threat of voter fraud. Talk about misplaced priorities.

An elected official’s job is to do the will of the people, and that will is most clearly voiced via the ballot box. Any elected official unconcerned with protecting the integrity of the vote displays a profound contempt for democratic processes to which they owe their privileged position of leadership.

A poll released by Gallup last August revealed that a vast majority of Americans favor some form of voter ID laws — this included majorities in both parties and both whites and non-whites. Opposing voter ID laws is not a winning issue for Democrats and is ironically un-democratic. All it does is continue to expose just how invested they are in opposing the sensible Rule of Law and the democratic process.

Top Headlines7

Trump’s moving tribute to SEAL Ryan Owen and his widow Carryn. (The Washington Times8.)

Yemen special ops mission that cost Owen his life produced valuable intelligence. (Washington Free Beacon9)

Demo rebuttal to Trump highlights everything wrong with the Democratic Party. (The Federalist10)

ObamaCare will be replaced. (The Daily Signal11)

Key Republican would vote against GOP’s ObamaCare replacement over tax credit disagreements. (Fox News12)

The next dilemma of the Republican tax overhaul. (The Wall Street Journal13)

Obama preps return to political spotlight. (PoliZette14)

New DNC chair Tom Perez has record of executive overreach. (Washington Examiner15)

GDP for Q4 holds at 1.9%, despite consumer-spending jump. (MarketWatch16)

Hundreds of federal bureaucrats caught watching porn at work. (The Washington Free Beacon17)

Policy: Trump’s defense proposal would boost a languishing military. (The Daily Signal18.)

Policy: What Mattis’s plan to defeat ISIS should look like. (National Review19)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report20.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Making America’s Military Great Again21 — A look at Trump’s budget proposal for the Armed Forces.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

L. Brent Bozell & Tim Graham: Networks Yawn as DNC Lurches Further Left22
Joe Bastardi: Fact-Checking Bill Nye23
Walter Williams: Undermining Academic Achievement24

For more, visit Right Opinion25.

OPINION IN BRIEF

L. Brent Bozell & Tim Graham: “For weeks now, former Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Rep. Keith Ellison have been campaigning to lead the Democratic National Committee. And for weeks, the networks have ignored it. … The media have hyperventilated about the ‘alt-right’ and the anti-Semitism and the Islamophobia that are allegedly infecting the Republican Party. If that’s acceptable journalism, why not pay attention to Ellison’s radical record? Making him deputy chairman doesn’t make it less newsworthy. … He compared 9/11 to the Reichstag fire that led to Hitler’s rise. He defended Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam against (easily proven) charges of anti-Semitism. He said that black Americans don’t have to obey the government because it considers them to be ‘less than human.’ And he met in Saudi Arabia with a radical Muslim cleric who endorsed the killing of U.S. soldiers. Perez also has a record on race worth recounting. … He dismissed a voter intimidation case against two members of the New Black Panther Party who threatened voters at a polling place in 2008. He also took the position that white people were not entitled to protection under the Voting Rights Act. … Just as the media don’t see their untrammeled advocacy against Trump as damaging to their brand, they don’t see lurching further to the left as a problem for Democrats. In both cases, conservatives may enjoy watching them flail hopelessly inside their leftist bubble.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “Education is the best provision for old age.” —Aristotle (384-322 BC)

For the record: “Nationally, [in 2015] 17 percent of black students scored proficient in reading, and 7 percent scored proficient in math. … The nation’s high-school graduation rate rose again in the 2014-15 school year, reaching a record high as more than 83 percent of students earned a diploma on time. Educators see this as some kind of achievement and congratulate themselves. The tragedy is that high-school graduation has little relevance to achievement.” —Walter Williams

Upright: “It’s hard to remember a more powerful moment in an address to Congress. When President Trump paid tribute to Carryn Owens, Navy SEAL William ‘Ryan’ Owens' widow, America saw the face of sacrifice. … Because Carryn Owens had the courage to attend such a public gathering so soon after her great loss, we saw how raw and so very real it is to give to your nation the people most precious to you. That sacrifice is why we owe our Gold Star families the deepest respect, why they’re revered in military ranks, and why — just for a moment — a nation can unite to give honor to whom honor is most certainly due.” —David French

Praise from the Left: “[Trump] became president of the United States in that moment. Period. … That was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics. … That thing you just saw him do — if he finds a way to do that over and over again, he’s going to be there for eight years.” —Van Jones

And last… “Unity is a tall order, not least because of the president’s own combative nature, but also because of the poisoned well of partisan politics and a newly militant media. But however fruitless, presidents are still supposed to try to bind the nation together. Trump tried on Tuesday, and perhaps began to succeed, or at least started to oblige more of his opponents to accept that he really is the president. He certainly behaved as the president.” —Washington Examiner

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Managing Editor Nate Jackson

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