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« on: April 01, 2017, 05:54:32 PM » |
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________________________________________ The Patriot Post Digest 3-29-2017 From The Federalist Patriot Free Email Subscription ________________________________________
Mid-Day Digest
Mar. 29, 2017
IN TODAY’S EDITION
DNC Chief Tom Perez tells all staffers, “You’re fired!” CA shoots the messenger behind the videos of Planned Parenthood’s baby parts sale. As the GOP prepares to tackle tax reform, the ObamaCare-repeal failure looms large. Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.
THE FOUNDATION
“There must be a positive passion for the public good, the public interest, honour, power and glory, established in the minds of the people, or there can be no republican government, nor any real liberty: and this public passion must be superiour to all private passions.” —John Adams (1776)
TOP RIGHT HOOKS
The DNC Cleans House1
Tom Perez, Barack Obama’s man, is the new chief2 of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and a month into his new role he’s making waves. “The DNC has requested resignation letters from all current staffers,” NBC News reports3 [emphasis added]. The Leftmedia mouthpiece further explains it away as perfectly normal: “Party staff routinely see major turnover with a new boss and they had been alerted to expect such a move.” But the very next sentence may be a clue that maybe this isn’t the way it usually works. “However, the mass resignation letters will give Perez a chance to completely remake the DNC’s headquarters from scratch.”
Why would remaking the DNC from scratch be necessary? And does that really happen at every transition?
What a difference losing makes. Democrats have been decimated in the last few elections (2012 notwithstanding), culminating in the disastrous and shocking loss of the Entitled One, Hillary Clinton, last November. And Perez is the third leader for the party in the last year — a year that included an embarrassing Russian hack which became Democrats' favorite scapegoat for their aforementioned loss. That hack, as readers will recall, revealed4 the DNC’s unabashed favoritism of Hillary Clinton at the expense of Bernie Sanders. The revelation cost former chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz her job, and it clearly damaged party unity. After that, Interim Chair Donna Brazile was exposed for providing town hall questions to Clinton’s campaign in advance — that only solidified the anti-Bernie vibe.
Normally, we’d say Trump’s election will lead to jobs created. But, for the DNC, the first order of business is yelling, “You’re fired!”
California Shoots the Messengers5
California has charged two pro-life journalists with 15 felonies — essentially for committing acts of journalism. Two years ago, David Daleidan and Sandra Merritt of the Center for Medical Progress6 made undercover videos to expose Planned Parenthood’s practice of selling and profiting from the body parts of aborted babies. The videos shocked much of the American public and brought about renewed calls for a congressional investigation and government defunding of the nation’s largest abortion mill. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a former Democrat member of Congress, leveled charges against the two journalists for secretly recording conversations with those involved in Planned Parenthood’s aborted baby-parts selling scheme. “The right to privacy is a cornerstone of California’s Constitution, and a right that is foundational in a free democratic society,” Becerra declared. “We will not tolerate the criminal recording of confidential conversations.”
This story stinks of unabashed partisanship, cronyism and government tyranny. Former California AG Kamala Harris, a long-time supporter of Planned Parenthood, chose not to investigate the damning evidence found in the videos, but instead focused her investigation on the pro-life journalists. During the investigation Harris secretly worked with Planned Parenthood to craft legislation designed to protect the organization. Harris has since been elected to the U.S. Senate where she is a staunch advocate for Planned Parenthood, which just happened to help fund her campaign.
California’s case against Daleidan and Merrit is suspect at best. The undercover videos were recorded in public areas. Arguably it was done under false pretenses, but that was necessary for candid discussion. Even during one of the recorded discussions, top Planned Parenthood executive Deborah Nucatola says it’s not a good idea to talk about the selling of aborted baby parts in a “non-confidential setting.”
If found guilty on all felony charges, the two Daleidan and Merrit could be looking at up to 15 years in prison. The abortion industry is clearly seeking to use the force of government to put fear into those who would dare to expose and endanger their vile business. The Left will stop at nothing to protect its most sacred cow — abortion.
Top Headlines7
Senate Majority Leader McConnell affirms Gorsuch confirmation — Democrats can choose how. (CNS News8.)
Trump’s executive order on energy9 has been sorely needed. (The Daily Signal10)
President is reversing record number of government regulations. (Reason11)
House Republicans revise plan to replace ObamaCare. If at first you don’t succeed… (The Daily Signal12)
City leaders defy White House threat on sanctuary cities policies. (CBS New York13)
For sale: Your “private” browsing history — Congress passes bill allowing ISPs to sell customer Web surfing data. (ArsTechnica14)
Britain gives EU formal notice of Brexit break — prepares to restore sovereignty. (The Washington Post15)
Oregon Democrats: OK sex mutilation at 15 but want to raise tobacco use age to 21. (Washington Examiner16)
College suspends student who challenged Muslim prof’s claim that Jesus' crucifixion a hoax. (The Washington Times17)
Humor/satire: Man who constantly calls people “snowflakes” deeply offended by slightest criticism of President Trump. (The Babylon Bee18.)
Policy: Reining in sanctuary cities. (National Review19)
Policy: How paid parental leave in the U.S. could work. (American Action Forum20)
For more, visit Patriot Headline Report21.
FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS ObamaCare Repeal Failure Makes Tax Reform Harder22
By Louis DeBroux
Less than a month after taking office, Barack Obama signed the “stimulus” bill, an $800 billion pork-filled progressive goodie bag. Within a year he was bragging about the GM bailout and ironically named Affordable Care Act, better known by its pejorative moniker, “ObamaCare.”
With time those accomplishments became an albatross. The massive stimulus bill stimulated nothing but the pockets of well-connected Democrat donors. GM and Chrysler went bankrupt anyway.
More than anything else, it was the disaster of ObamaCare that led Republicans to electoral victory, securing their strongest political position in nearly a century on promises of repealing ObamaCare.
That is why the optics of what happened last week — the failure of the GOP’s ObamaCare repeal bill23 to even get a vote in the Republican-controlled House — was such a disaster. For nearly a decade the GOP promised the full repeal of ObamaCare if voters restored them to power. In 2010 the voters gave them the House, in 2014 the Senate, and in 2016 the White House. And with what to show for it?
There are two significant concerns with what happened; the substance and the optics. As a matter of substance, what happened was in many ways as the Founders intended. They gave us co-equal branches, separation of powers, and checks and balances. The branches were intended to be in tension in order to negate usurpations of power. The House negotiated with the Senate, the Senate with the House, and both with the White House.
But in the end, rather than agreeing to a compromise bill, congressional Republicans dealt their new president an embarrassing public relations blow. For a man known as the master dealmaker, this was the worst possible outcome, and it’s likely to have repercussions.
The brunt of the blame is being heaped upon the House Freedom Caucus, a group of the most conservative lawmakers. The Wall Street Journal dubbed the repeal failure the “Freedom Caucus’s Obamacare preservation act24.” This isn’t entirely unfair. While caucus members expressed legitimate concerns as to whether the GOP’s bill went far enough in fully repealing ObamaCare, as a practical matter, blowing it up may damage their cause in the long run.
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