The Patriot Post Digest 5-1-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-1-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

May 1, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

After eight years of Obama, the NRA convention was glad to have Trump.
The Heritage Foundation and its president, Jim DeMint, are set to part ways. Why?
The economy was surprisingly sluggish in the first quarter. There are a couple of reasons.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.” —Federal Farmer (1787)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Trump to NRA: You’ve Got a Friend in Me1

Atlanta could use a pick-me-up after a slew of traffic woes in recent weeks. And on Friday, the NRA and Donald Trump delivered. Recall that in 2016 Trump spoke at the National Rifle Association Leadership Forum as a Republican presidential candidate. This year he emerged again, only this time as president of the United States. The last active president to give remarks to the NRA was Ronald Reagan. Here are a few highlights from Friday’s speech2:

“The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end.”

“Countless members of law enforcement are also members of the NRA, because our police know that responsible gun ownership saves lives, and that the right of self-defense is essential to public safety.”

“Our police and sheriffs also know that when you ban guns, only the criminals will be armed.”

“As your president, I will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Never ever. Freedom is not a gift from government. Freedom is a gift from God.”

This is a refreshing change from Barack Obama’s anti-gun diatribes. Continuous record-setting gun sales in response to Obama’s clear distaste of firearms is the reason he earned the moniker “Gun Salesman of the Decade.” The recent gun sales decline speaks to this. Fewer guns are being purchased not because Americans are less gun-friendly but because they feel more comfortable with a pro-Second Amendment president. That said, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre cautions: “We must do all we can to support our president, because as you know, there’s an intense war that’s being waged by leftist zealots to destroy President Trump and destroy his administration. It’s up to us to speak up against the three most dangerous voices in America: academic elites, political elites, and media elites. These are America’s greatest domestic threats.”

Our own Mark Alexander was at this weekend’s confab. Stay tuned for his assessment in Wednesday’s column.

Behind DeMint’s Demise3

As news hit the airways over the weekend that former Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) was being ousted as president of The Heritage Foundation, rumors and speculation began to run rampant. As of this morning, the nation’s premier conservative think tank has yet to release an official statement, but it’s pretty clear that DeMint is indeed on his way out after four years at the helm. So, what happened?

It appears that two issues may be the primary factors contributing to DeMint’s departure. The first is the charge that DeMint overly politicized The Heritage Foundation. As a source with knowledge of the situation stated, “The reason why the board got upset with him was his management. DeMint and his people just tried running the place like a Senate office rather than a think tank. It didn’t work.” The Heritage Foundation from its inception has prided itself on being a policy-first conservative think tank in its mission to define and defend conservatism. The complaints surrounding DeMint seem to be that he favored politics over policy.

And this is where the second issue comes into play. Under DeMint, The Heritage Foundation came out staunchly against the GOP’s plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare, siding with the Freedom Caucus, which has subsequently been heavily criticized and blamed for the failed effort. The criticism stems from complaints that the Foundation offered little in the way of sound policy support needed for a solid Republican replacement plan and instead promoted a position that amounted to an “all or none4” approach to ending the Affordable Care Act. That pleased grassroots conservatives, who decidedly do not blame the Freedom Caucus for standing on principle, but it wasn’t consistent with Heritage’s historic mission.

Stinging from the recent failure to provide truly helpful policy support for a new transformative health care law and an apparent drifting from its roots, it appears the board decided that DeMint’s tenure was proving more problematic than beneficial to the cause. In the meantime, the Foundation’s former president Edwin Feulner will act as interim while a new president is sought.

Top Headlines5

Congress strikes deal on funding for 2017 to avoid shutdown. (The Hill6)

Court suspends case over Obama climate rule — a win for Trump. (The Hill7)

IRS tax fraud prevention program costs taxpayers $18.2 million, but doesn’t work. (The Washington Free Beacon8.)

Piety and Trump-bashing: The sheer awfulness of the White House Correspondents' dinner. (Washington Examiner9)

McMaster says U.S. will pay for THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea. (Fox News10)

War casualties in Afghanistan hit all-time high as country stands on brink of collapse. (The Washington Free Beacon11)

NSA ends one particular type of domestic email data collection. (Reason12)

Soros a major backer of weekend’s climate march. (The Washington Times13)

VIDEO: Students despise Obama policies … when credited to Trump. (Campus Reform14)

The average student loan debt in every state. (USA Today15)

Policy: Who should pay to cover pre-existing conditions? (E2116)

Policy: The roots of campus progressivism’s madness. (National Review17)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report18.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
A Tale of Two Slow Economies19

By Robin Smith

Why did Americans spend less money than expected in the first quarter of 2017? The low GDP growth of only 0.7% in the first quarter must be analyzed for the sake of policy, but question the Leftmedia headlines. Leftists have demonized Donald Trump incessantly during his first 100 days20 to further their narrative of an illegitimate president. This is just the latest episode.

The question about a decline in retail spending is being genuinely pondered among economists, politicians and others trying to understand the economic paradox of America’s first quarter. High consumer confidence and an investment surge in the stock market didn’t translate into strong economic growth. The optimism came in the wake created by the USS Trump throwing overboard excessive regulations with tremendous anticipation that major tax reforms are next and, hopefully, a repeal of ObamaCare. Yet consumers didn’t spend money at the pace projected nor desired.

All sorts of theories exist — from a delay in IRS tax refunds due to fraud protections involving returns claiming certain Earned Income Tax Credits to the unseasonably warm weather to the March blizzard in the Northeast.

The Wall Street Journal noted Friday, “With confidence and stock prices high, gasoline prices modest and jobs and wages increasing, spending ought to be picking up.” Nonetheless, the fact remains: Something prevented U.S. consumers from spending. This is critical when household consumption accounts for around 70% of the U.S. economy.

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The Patriot Post Digest 5-1-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
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Let’s state a few undeniable truths. First, the economy, while measured on specific, objective metrics, is also driven by perception — perhaps that’s obvious when one of those analytics is “consumer confidence.” Measuring the degree of consumer optimism about the state of their own financial health and the economy is based on the study of a consumer’s intention to spend and save. That’s sounds mighty precise, huh?

Second, it depends on whose economy it is as to whether the accounts of its health, failing or otherwise, are reported and how the topic is treated. We just endured eight years of the slowest recovery in American history — never reaching 3% in annual growth, while the federal debt doubled due to excessive government spending and regulation that flattened economic output and depressed wages. The Obama economy was good for the investor class but decimated the middle, working class, as evidenced by historic lows in labor participation for able-bodied adults.

On cue, in the last weeks of Barack Obama’s presidency, CNBC staked out any economic good news resulting from the election upset in November — meaning the death of the Regulation-Nation — as the result of the mythical growth policies of the 44th president. Noting that Trump was “heading to the White House with a pledge to revive the U.S. economy and put millions of Americans back to work,” the December 2 CNBC piece declared, “much of that goal has already been accomplished by President Barack Obama.”

The national media, formerly known as journalists, clearly talked up the Obama economy, even in the waning moments of his regime. And, inarguably, the same concubines of the DNC will criticize every aspect of the Trump administration.

Back to the underlying question, but let’s add a twist. Why did consumers hold onto their money despite the clear optimism of the Donald Trump presidency? Remove the Twitter posts from @RealDonaldTrump and #POTUS and his ongoing brawl with the #Presstitutes, the results of Trump’s first 100 days in office prove he’s keeping his campaign promises.

Remember Obama’s first 100 days? By mid-February, the American Recovery Act (a.k.a. the “stimulus”) was moving to distribute a trillion dollars in government spending for those non-existent shovel-ready-jobs, making the massive deficit spending program a blue state bailout. Obama then set out to heavily regulate the economy, nationalizing one-sixth of it and foisting major bureaucratic controls on the financial sector.

Unlike the Obama stimulus, the Trump administration is proposing historic corporate21 and individual22 tax cuts to prevent government from the confiscation of earned wealth that could be in the hands of its producer. Again, Democrats and their media enablers wail that these tax cuts “could cost the government $ 6 trillion23.”

Exactly what money does government have? And who earned the money that was confiscated via taxes? The only money the government has was taken from those of us who produce.

Thoughtful and serious economists and policymakers understand and agree that allowing consumers to maintain this hefty sum and, in turn, spend it grows the overall economy. Cutting corporate tax rates down to 15% and the pass-through taxes paid by owners of small businesses from over 39% to 15% is rocket fuel to the engine of our economy.

Meanwhile, after more than seven years of soaring rhetoric, breathless campaign promises and more than 50 repeal votes in the House during the Obama administration, ObamaCare still exists. It may be the failure thus far to repeal that monstrosity that still has the American economic engine idling at the starting line.

So to recap, when Obama entered office during a recession and drove up federal spending to unimaginable levels, proceeding to double the national debt in eight years, the media cheered the (paltry) economic growth. Now that Trump has taken office amidst slow GDP growth, his proposal to let those who earn the money keep more of it so as to jumpstart real and lasting economic growth is derided as unaffordable. The elites and the media are wrong on both counts. Keep that in mind in the days ahead.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Multicultural-Inspired Mutilation24 — Does the leftist love affair with multiculturalism have its limits? Even what’s happening in Detroit may not be enough.
Trump Counters Federal Land Grab by Invoking Federalism25 — Trump is simply correcting the abuse that took place under Obama’s watch.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Peggy Noonan: Republicans, Learn the Limits of Loyalty26
Imprimis: The Left’s War on Free Speech27
Cornwall Alliance: Poison for the Mind: The Nation on CO2 and Global Warming28

For more, visit Right Opinion29.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Peggy Noonan: “Republican officeholders should by now have figured out how to speak about our ever-interesting president, and most have not. They think since he is a Republican and they are Republican, they must defend him on all things. They are looking at it wrong. He is Donald Trump. He is not ‘a Republican.’ He is a wholly unusual historical figure who happened to them, and who now heads their party. They owe him an eager and open-minded willingness to work with him, to create helpful legislation, to join in debate and support him on areas of mutual conviction. They do not owe him a thing in terms of covering for his gaffes or oddnesses, mistakes or failures. … When being loyal involves not stating obvious truths, maybe you’re being loyal to the wrong thing. Being truthful is moral and good. It comes, for both speaker and listener, as a refreshment. Or in the practical, strategic language political figures respect, candor is the new cleverness. Everyone’s had it with evasions and circumlocutions. Stop. Say it true and keep walking.”

SHORT CUTS

The Gipper: “Of the four wars in my lifetime none came about because the U.S. was too strong.”

For the record: “It’s becoming increasingly clear that Republicans have not repealed Obamacare because a lot of Republicans do not want to repeal Obamacare.” —Byron York

A blind squirrel finds a nut: “Berkeley used to be the cradle of free speech and now it’s just the cradle for … babies. They invite someone to speak whose not exactly what liberals want to hear and they want to shutter it. This is the liberals' version of book burning. And it’s got to stop.” —Bill Maher

Non Compos Mentis: “[If] rampant Islamophobia continues, there will come a day when we must ask all women to wear a headscarf — all of them! — out of solidarity towards those who do it for religious reasons.” —Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen

The BIG Lie: “I did my job, which was to protect the American people, and I did it faithfully and to the best of my ability, and never did I do anything that was untoward with respect to the intelligence I received.” —Susan Rice

Braying Jenny: “It is absolutely unbelievable that he could be the leader of the greatest nation in the world and we cannot allow him to stay in that position.” —Maxine Waters (Just remember, she has “not called for his impeachment30.”)

Honest evaluation: “I think a lot of the people [who] came out and voted in Pennsylvania, where I’m from, were pro-lifers. With all of Trump’s problems, morally, personally, whatever, they didn’t like Hillary’s position. I think the [Democratic] party moved too far to the left on cultural issues.” —Chris Matthews

And last… “If there was a march to stop useless marches, I wouldn’t march at it because it wouldn’t accomplish anything.” —Frank Fleming

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.