The Patriot Post Digest 3-17-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 3-17-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Mar. 17, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Hacking, wiretapping, and more hacking. But Trump wasn’t colluding.
The Left’s latest lame attempt to attack Neil Gorsuch.
Trump’s budget cuts aren’t exactly “yuge,” yet Dems go nuts.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“Foreign influence is truly the Grecian horse to a republic. We cannot be too careful to exclude its influence.” —Alexander Hamilton (1793)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Russians, Hackings and Allegations1

The favorite conspiracy narrative peddled by Democrats and their Leftmedia allies after Donald Trump’s historic election victory was the baseless theory of the Trump campaign colluding with Russia in order to throw the election to Trump. After months of the intelligence community conducting investigations, no evidence has yet been found to substantiate the Left’s claims. And the narrative seems to be quickly dying. On Thursday, Barack Obama’s former CIA director, Mike Morell, threw more cold water on the collusion narrative, stating, “There’s no little campfire, there’s no little candle, there’s no spark. And there’s a lot of people looking for it.” As Trump has been saying, there is simply nothing there.

But there also appears to be little evidence to support Trump’s claim last month that Obama “wiretapped2” his Trump Tower headquarters during the campaign. This bomb shell announcement was effective in that it brought back to light other instances in which Obama targeted journalists and others for surveillance. It also served to effectively counter the mainstream media’s meritless accusation against Trump and his supposed Russian connections. While there seems to be little evidence in support Trump’s claim, questions still abound as to whether Obama may have ordered some sort of surveillance of Trump or of his associates. Trump hasn’t backed off his accusation.

This week, a much more substantive Russian spying story came to light. Four Russians were indicted for the massive criminal hacking of Yahoo in 2014. Two of the Russians are agents of the FSB — the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, equivalent to our CIA. These agents were part of Center 18, which was a unit that had been working with the FBI in helping to catch cyber criminals. The creation of this cooperative cybersecurity task force was Obama’s brain child.

But here’s the rub. A report from the Justice Department states, “Instead of working with the FBI and CIA to catch hackers, the FSB officers were actually working with hackers themselves.” Isn’t that what one would expect spies to do? To put it bluntly, Obama wanted to play nice with Moscow and foolishly invited the foxes into the hen house. This is the real story that should have Americans seriously worried, not some unsubstantiated story of Trump colluding with the Russians.

Leftmedia Attempts Hit Piece on Gorsuch3

The New York Times decided to help out its Democrat buddies by running a story clearly designed to be used as a hit piece against Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. The Times article, entitled “Neil Gorsuch Has Web of Ties to Secretive Billionaire4,” attempted to paint Gorsuch as a puppet of the wealthy conservative business man Philip Anschutz, due to the fact that Gorsuch had previously worked for the man years ago when he was a lawyer. The story submits no compelling evidence supporting its insinuation of corruption and offers little anecdotal evidence besides. It’d be laughable if it weren’t so outrageous. The best they could come up with is that Gorsuch and some executives at Anschutz’s companies decided to go in together on buying a vacation house. Shocking, no?

This story contains about as much news as Rachel Maddow’s silly reveal of Trump’s 2005 tax return5. There’s no there, there. Gorsuch had already disclosed all his prior business ties, including his having worked for Anschutz. He has also recused himself from hearing any cases involving his former clients. The fact that Gorsuch is friends with former clients is only natural. Besides, it’s not as if Anschutz is some nefarious fellow. His business assets are well known and are all above board.

The problem for the Leftmedia and Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is their belief that a judge should base his rulings primarily upon social activists' concerns, not upon the Constitution and the letter of the law. Gorsuch has a sound and proven track record of ruling appropriately, even if he thinks that a given statute may need changes. In his rulings, he has repeatedly recognized and emphasized that a judge is bound and limited by the law, and that it’s the role of legislators, not judges, to create laws. That’s why Gorsuch presents such a threat to leftists and their disregard for the Rule of Law.

With activist justices such as Sonia Sotomayor6 and Ruth Bader Ginsburg7 already on the bench, it’s indeed refreshing to hear a judge speak so clearly about the limits set upon the judicial branch by the Constitution. The more Democrats and the Leftmedia attempt to smear Gorsuch, the more he’s proving to be an excellent choice for the Supreme Court.

Top Headlines8

12.2 Million signed up for ObamaCare in 2017, half of what CBO projected. (The Washington Free Beacon9)

Trump on the House’s health care bill: “We will take care of our people or I’m not signing it.” (Hot Air10)

Judge who froze first travel ban hands Trump a victory. (Washington Examiner11)

Senate approves National Security Adviser McMaster, 86-10. (Defense News12)

Rex Tillerson: Military action against North Korea is “on the table.” (NBC News13)

White House on climate change: “We’re not spending money on that anymore. … A waste of your money.” (CNS News14)

It’s not fake news: Predators are taking advantage of Target’s fitting room policy. (The Daily Signal15)

Minimum wage effect: McDonald’s tests mobile ordering before national rollout. (Associated Press16)

Assisted suicide loses in New Mexico. (National Review17)

What you didn’t know about St. Patrick. (FaithZette18.)

Policy: Trump must drain the Iran appeasement swamp in the State Department. (Washington Examiner19)

Policy: Regulatory implications of the American Health Care Act. (American Action Forum20)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report21.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Trump’s Budget Axe Falls on Discretionary Spending22

By Michael Swartz

Beltway bureaucrats can’t say they weren’t warned23 about the number of cars that would be uncoupled from their taxpayer-funded gravy train. As President Donald Trump alluded to in his campaign and promised24 prior to his address to a joint session of Congress, there are a number of federal agencies that will be subjected to large-scale cuts and 19 that will be shuttered entirely25 if Trump has his way with the budget.

On the chopping block: The favorite conservative targets26 of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Corporation for Public Broadcasting. As the Washington Post screamed27, this budget is the “worst-case scenario for arts groups.”

Instead, the Trump proposal is a budget that’s heavy on certain core government issues — you know, constitutionally enumerated powers such as defense and immigration. As previously noted, Trump calls for a $54 billion increase28 earmarked for defense spending and billions set aside for border security and combating illegal immigration. Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney was tasked with producing a budget “that emphasizes national security and public safety,” and the OMB head has delivered.

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The Patriot Post Digest 3-17-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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It goes without saying that major media outlets, which still buy ink by the barrel, have gone off the rails with angst25 regarding the Trump budget blueprint — in particular, the aforementioned Washington Post, which caters to the bureaucrats who may soon find themselves in the position of seeking an honest living in the private sector.

But the Post and other media outlets aren’t writing to deliver the facts about the budget; they’re writing to warn Congress about derailing the gravy train that’s in place. Why else would these relatively modest cuts in the grand scheme of a $4 trillion budget be compared to the plans Ronald Reagan had29 when he first took office? (All we’re missing is Tip O'Neill and his fellow Democrats vowing the budget will be “dead on arrival” in Congress.)

But when a candidate runs on a platform that puts America first, it should surprise no one that defense wins out over foreign aid. Thus, the State Department is subject to a 28% cut30. Trump wants to put $1.5 billion into a down payment on a border wall as well, along with funding additional judges to deal with deportations. While the Department of Education as a whole will be leaner to the tune of $9 billion31, Trump allocates an extra $1.4 billion to school choice programs.

These are all things the voters who supported Trump demanded. As is the call to bring the Environmental Protection Agency to heel32 with a cut of almost one-third of its current budget. Addressing so-called “climate change” won’t be a priority item for the Trump administration, and EPA apologists are already claiming Trump’s reductions will make it “easier for polluters to get away with breaking the rules.”

Lefty columnist Eugene Robinson laments33, “Trump budgets for a dumber, dirtier America.” Trump probably even hates puppies.

Yet since much of Congress will face the voters before President Trump does, members seem to have a cool reception to the budget proposal. “The administration’s budget isn’t going to be the budget,” noted Senator Marco Rubio, adding that all any president can do is give a suggested blueprint to Congress.

Rubio’s reminder is made evident by the fact that over the last six years Republicans in Congress routinely ignored Barack Obama’s budget proposals. His 2012 offering won exactly zero congressional votes. That gridlock led to government by continuing resolution, with attempts to control spending such as the sequester eventually falling by the wayside along with the debt ceiling. A compromise continuing budget resolution passed last December spared us the prospect of a government shutdown just before Christmas, but that temporary fix will expire at the end of April. So this Trump budget proposal may simply be the opening point of negotiations to deal with that as well as an increase in the debt ceiling.

The overarching question in all this talk about the budget, though, is similar to the one bedeviling congressional Republicans who campaigned for the last eight years on their opposition to ObamaCare only to punt on full repeal34 after voters put the GOP fully in charge of government. Now that they have a president who’s willing to eliminate many of the agencies the GOP vowed to dismantle if they were put back in power, will they stand up to the media and lobbyists to do so? The answer to that question may dictate whether Trump’s presidency will be a difference-maker or simply the latest in our nation’s drift from freedom and prosperity toward a European-style mediocrity.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

A Nation of Addicts35 — The epidemic of opioid addiction has clearly raised the stakes.
Political Labels Aren’t Always What They Seem36 — The Democrat/Republican label is often relative to geography.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Erick Erickson: The Hue and Cry Is Tiring37
David Limbaugh: Judge Watson’s Abominable Travel Ban Ruling38
Charles Krauthammer: The Real World of ObamaCare Repeal39

For more, visit Right Opinion40.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Erick Erickson: “President Trump wants to curtail the Meals on Wheels program. The progressive outrage over this is to declare the budget ‘not Christian.’ Let us leave aside the humor of people who demand Christians bake cakes for same-sex weddings claiming a budget cut is anti-Christian. … There is no evidence that such programs cannot be responsibly handled by non-profits and local communities. Christians, in fact, are admonished throughout the Bible to take care of widows, orphans, refugees and the poor. Thanks to an ever-expanding federal government, many Christians have abdicated personal responsibility for that care to the federal government. Churches were given a way out of needing strong social programs because the government took them over. As a result, people became less dependent on local churches and their local community in general. Whether cause or correlation, there is no real dispute that as American society becomes increasingly secular, families break down, vitriol in the public square increases and society destabilizes.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “America is another name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine Providence in behalf of the human race.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Observations: “If President Trump blinks, protestors take to the street. If he yawns, a Starbucks goes up in flames by outraged anarchists. If he tweets, progressive activists burn trashcans and hurl them onto interstates blocking rush hour. There is nothing the president can do to avoid the left-wing outrage. It is exhausting just observing it.” —Erick Erickson

Braying Jenny: “Because I have information about the president doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily a scandal. It doesn’t mean that it’s damning information. If other people leapt to that conclusion without me indicating that it was, that hype is external to what we did.” —Rachel Maddow (So now she’s admitting Trump’s taxes are much ado about nothing5? Whew!)

Doubling down: “If you are old and you have no health insurance … and you’re sick, you will die. You may die because you can’t get to a doctor when you should.” —Bernie Sanders

The BIG Lie: “One of the biggest differences between Democrats and Republicans is, we really do want to work in a bipartisan way. We have enough humility about ourselves to think there might be a good idea on the other side.” —Nancy Pelosi

“Should we subject all spending to the harshest scrutiny? We certainly should. And those of us who have advocated for some of it are the harshest critics. … But that’s not what [Trump’s budget] is about. This is systemic deconstruction of the federal government and its role.” —Nancy Pelosi

And last… “In America, once an entitlement is created, it’s extremely difficult to get rid of. It turns out that people like free things. And when they can’t get stuff for free, they like to purchase it at way below true cost. The wrong road comes with amazing subsidies. The right road has a daunting tollbooth.” —Jonah Goldberg

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Managing Editor Nate Jackson

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