The Patriot Post Digest 7-3-2017

________________________________________
The Patriot Post Digest 7-3-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

Mid-Day Digest

Jul. 3, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

The GOP’s ObamaCare repeal is jeopardized by Democrats’ class warfare rhetoric.
A couple of polls illustrate the challenges facing American Patriots.
Democrats continue to follow Nancy Pelosi, and that’s good for Republicans.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“This was the object of the Declaration of Independence. Not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of, not merely to say things which had never been said before; but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take.” —Thomas Jefferson (1825)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Republican Gridlock Over Repealing ObamaCare1

Republicans hold majorities in both houses of Congress and a Republican sits in the White House. Yet there is still delay and gridlock in the attempt to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Part of the problem is that, once again, Republicans are far too easily manipulated by Democrats’ class warfare mantra of “benefit cuts for the poor to pay for tax cuts for the rich.” Democrats and their Leftmedia colluders2 continuously conflate welfare with rights, and Republicans are seemingly unable to expose the inherent fallacy of that argument. Even more frustrating is that Democrats aren’t doing anything new, and still Republicans can’t seem to get past it.

Liberty, the foundational principle upon which this nation was founded, recognizes innate, God-given human rights. Rights as opposed to welfare. Liberty both offers and requires the individual to make choices — the consequences of which, whether good or bad, the individual is responsible for. Welfare seeks to protect individuals from the consequences of their poor and foolish choices. Essentially, welfare demands that the responsible pay for the irresponsible, which robs both individuals of their right of Liberty.

Democrats created the concept of welfare equaling “rights” by conditioning people to believe that they are helpless to help themselves and therefore the government must provide welfare programs as a means of protecting human “rights.” Nothing could be further from the truth. And yet it seems no Republican since Ronald Reagan has been able to effectively expose and combat this leftist myth with the positive message of Liberty lifting all boats.

Now Republicans in the Senate are waffling again over the fallacy of health care being a “right.” One would have to be blind not to see that ObamaCare is collapsing and untenable. It is costing taxpayers trillions all while increasing health care costs for families. Democrats scream about how Republicans “will kill people” if they repeal the “Affordable” Care Act. Republicans need to respond with the fact that ObamaCare is the government stealing money and Liberty from the American people. Republicans need work toward restoring the Liberty Barack Obama and his Democrats stole. This what the GOP message should be; this is what their mission should be about — not acquiescence to Democrats’ leftist conflation of government-provided welfare being a human right. Republicans need to stop being scared of their own shadows, and do the right thing.

What Do Americans Think of Patriotism and Liberty?3

Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate the 241st anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. Our nation boasts a rich history and myriad reasons4 for that celebration. But there are some troubling things worth pondering.

For example, a recent YouGov poll5 holds some disturbing numbers about patriotism6. Four in 10 say they are very patriotic, and eight in ten are at least somewhat so — but nearly half the country thinks other people are losing patriotic fervor. Perhaps that’s because of the unbelievably rancorous political rhetoric these days. Indeed, the partisan split is stark — almost two-thirds of Republicans call themselves very patriotic, as opposed to just one-third of Democrats.

Another group of Americans is also troublingly unpatriotic — Millennials. More than a third of them aren’t patriotic. Hot Air’s Allahpundit elucidates7, “They’ve grown up in a bad economy, saddled with skyrocketing education debt, reminded daily that their standard of living may well be worse than their parents’, and forced to live with the reality that federal entitlements won’t be there for them when they’re 65.” And yet Millennials are evidently blaming the country instead of bad, leftist policy.

In another interesting Fox News poll8, while the majority (51%) of Americans are proud of the U.S., a whopping 79% of voters don’t believe George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and our other Founders would be all that impressed.

The question is worth asking: Are we honoring the sacrifice made by those who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to secure our independence and Liberty? Are we stewarding what was bequeathed to us at great cost?

In 1776, after the signing of the Declaration, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail: “I am apt to believe that [the signing of the Declaration] will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”

Let’s work to secure our Liberty, and to make sure that all Americans have reason to celebrate.

Top Headlines9

Capitol police have investigated more threats against members of Congress so far this year than in all of 2016. (Hot Air10)

Report: Attacks on religious liberty increased 76% in three years. (The Federalist11)

More than 1,370 counties may only have one health insurer serving them. (USA Today12)

Google to give $2 million to campaign involving leading gun control groups. (The Washington Free Beacon13)

Carl Bernstein: The media needs to do a “different kind of reporting” during this “malignant presidency.” (Hot Air14)

Trump literally slams CNN on Twitter, calls network “fraud news.” (The Washington Free Beacon15)

Defense Department delays costly transgender policy, for now. (The Daily Signal16)

No rise in hate-crime rate since 2004. (Reason17)

The U.S. fertility rate just hit a historic low. Why some demographers are freaking out. (The Washington Post18.)

“How many hot dogs do Americans eat on the 4th of July?” and other Independence Day numbers. (Washington Examiner19)

Policy: Why America celebrates the Fourth of July. (The Heritage Foundation4)

Policy: A warning sign for Democrats attempting the Full Bernie. (The Week20)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report21.

EDITOR’S NOTE

We will not publish on Tuesday as our staff and their families celebrate Independence Day. We’ll be back on Wednesday, July 5. Have a safe and blessed holiday, and may God continue to bless our great nation!

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Pelosi Progressives — The Winning Formula for Republicans22

By Robin Smith

Political parties once had the power to stand on their own platforms of ideas and policies. Voters would ideologically or practically align with Democrats or Republicans based on values and issues. As money and the power of incumbency have grown, along with the now-24/7 cable news cycle and the rise of social media platforms, individuals in leadership, particularly those of significant tenure and position, have become the face of their respective partisan groups.

It’s true that some conservatives and Republicans cringe at that fact. Now that President Donald Trump is moving his agenda, complete with his, er, extraordinary mannerisms, as the face of the Grand Old Party, angst is on display among the Republican ranks. Democrats are buoyed by this fracture and perpetuating the fairytale of Russia/Trump collusion to derail any agenda.

But there’s a chink in the Left’s political battle armor that’s proving to be an existential threat to their work to regain the House majority in the 2018 mid-term elections: The face of the Democrat Party and the political Left is House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

In the special congressional elections that have occurred following Trump Cabinet appointments, Democrats intentionally declared each one served as a referendum on Trump’s unpopularity. Yet all four special elections were lost by well-funded Democrats. So much for the all-out rejection that is supposedly brewing among the American electorate against Trump’s agenda.

________________________________________
The Patriot Post Digest 7-3-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________

Two of these congressional races must be noted. First, in Montana, the GOP candidate to replace Ryan Zinke was charged with misdemeanor assault of a reporter the evening before voters went to the polls. Despite his popular folksy Democrat rival looking to benefit from a nationwide flurry of horrible press for manhandling a member of the “fake media,” Greg Gianforte won — maybe because he manhandled the media. Not only did Trump not cost Republicans a seat, but the accepted belief that media is the problem worked in favor of a fed-up Gianforte, who was pressed with a hail of questions about the GOP health care proposal. Montanans chose that over the whole state being represented by Nancy Pelosi’s values.

In Georgia’s 6th congressional district, a peach of a race shaped up with historic fundraising. Democrat nominee Jon Ossoff, who hadn’t found it necessary to yet live in the district he sought to represent, couldn’t vote for himself, nor could most of his California donors and big money coming from Planned Parenthood. When records show that of the almost $24 million raised by the Democrat, nine times more contributions came from California than within Georgia, Karen Handel, the GOP candidate was accurately able to state, “He’s raised millions outside of Georgia from Nancy Pelosi and outsiders who just don’t share our priorities. My opponent doesn’t live here [and] doesn’t share our values.” Ossoff and Pelosi lost to Handel23.

In short, Pelosi’s unabashed hard-left stances based on sensationalized information are rejected, as were Barack Obama’s. But Nancy gets a little extra help in her public disapproval due to some of her antics. Let’s walk down memory lane.

Who can forget the oldie but goodie during the cram-down-our-throats passage of the insultingly name “Affordable” Care Act? Then-House Speaker Pelosi declared24, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Or what about her later declaration that “I believe the [Republican-controlled] House of Representatives, at this time, is an unsafe place for children and other living things”? In December 2016, the California congresswoman whose worth is estimated at $100 million avowed, “I don’t think people want a new direction. Our values unify us and our values are about supporting America’s working families.”

Another favorite videoed moment of Pelosi was in January 2017, just days after Trump’s inauguration. Democrats marched in protest of Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban,” which merely called for a temporary pause in travel from nations Barack Obama identified as being of risk. Oh, the theatrics as the anti-Trump crowd watched Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana trotted out to the microphone to challenge Trump’s move. The hot mic picked up Pelosi feeding lines to him: “Tell them you’re a Muslim. Tell them you’re a Muslim.”

So, as Pelosi provides reliable ammunition for Republicans — and no, the use of this metaphor is not a call to arms or violence — why does she remain as the face of the Democrats?

It’s simple, really. The 77-year-old, first elected to Congress in 1993, is a fundraising powerhouse on the Left. Since rising to House leadership for Democrats in 2002, she is credited with raising almost $568 million for leftist candidates. Perhaps it’s no wonder the Democrat Caucus has moved so hard-left. Furthermore, as noted in the June 27 CNN analysis declaring “Nancy Pelosi Can’t Be Beaten,” you can’t beat anybody with nobody. The shallow pool of candidates who might oppose Pelosi’s leadership are not viewed as credible — there are no young guns in the wings who pose a threat.

Pelosi’s unpopularity is no recent development. Back in 2013, Gallup showed she earned the distinction of being the most unpopular congressional leader. Just over the last eight weeks in 11 House districts that are targeted by Democrats for 2018, Pelosi’s job favorability didn’t surpass 37.2%.

Democrats may want a new face of their party, but their blindness to the authentic issues facing working Americans has been exposed. Republicans have much work to do in the House (and Senate) to capitalize on what’s become a gaping hole in Democrat armor — the obstinacy of the hard-Left. Thank you, Madame Pelosi.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

A Death Panel by Any Other Name…25 — An infant in England is suffering and socialized medicine won’t fix it. In fact, doctors want him to die.
Judge Blocks New California Gun-Control Law26 — A temporary injunction on a law that unconstitutionally limits and criminalizes standard-capacity firearm magazines.
‘The Resistance’ Tries to Foil Voter Fraud Probe27 — Despite growing concern over the rampancy of voter fraud, some states won’t partake of the investigation.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Jeff Jacoby: When I Ride the T, I Miss My Auto-nomy28
George Will: The Scars of Our Nation’s Violent Birth29
Michael Goodwin: The 2016 Election and the Demise of Journalistic Standards30

For more, visit Right Opinion31.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Jeff Jacoby: “The festival of American independence is a good moment to give thanks for the immense changes wrought in our society by mass car ownership. Starting with cleanliness: At the turn of the 20th century, when people mostly relied on horses to get around, American cities were vast equine cesspools. ‘In New York City alone,’ the historian David Kyvig wrote in his history of the years between the world wars, ‘15,000 horses dropped dead on the streets, while those that lived deposited 2.5 million pounds of manure and 60,000 gallons of urine on the streets every day.’ Automobiles made Americans far freer and wealthier than they would have been without them. They brought knowledge, experience, and natural beauty within reach of innumerable men and women of modest means. They ended the desperate isolation and loneliness of rural life, gave rise to the consumer paradise of modern retailing, and made it possible for upward strivers to escape tenement life and own a home of their own in the suburbs. One last word before this Fourth of July, courtesy of a splendid 2010 Dodge Challenger commercial: ‘There’s a couple of things America got right: cars and freedom.’ George Washington couldn’t have said it better.”

SHORT CUTS

The Gipper: “Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but Democrats believe every day is April 15.”

The BIG Lie: “Oh come on. Jesus would have made the cake.” —Joy Behar lecturing Jack Phillips, a baker in Colorado whose religious liberty case the Supreme Court is going to review

Missing the forest for the trees: “Republicans talk a lot about freedom and choice. But you cannot truly be free if you can’t afford health care or food or medicine.” —Bernie Sanders

Braying Jackass: “If we don’t stand up for tolerance and moderation and respect for others, if we begin to doubt ourselves and all that we have accomplished, then much of the progress that we have made will not continue. What we will see is more and more people arguing against democracy. We will see more and more people who are looking to restrict freedom of the press, and we’ll see more intolerance, more tribal divisions, more ethnic divisions, and religious divisions and more violence.” —Barack Obama, who fomented all of the divisions he decries

Does “American leadership” include circumventing Congress? “In Paris, we came together around the most ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change. … An agreement that even with the temporary absence of American leadership will still give our children a fighting chance.” —Barack Obama

Braying Jenny: “Women are outraged and fed up with this President. Impeachment isn’t enough. Should we explore exile?” —Maxine Waters

Non Compos Mentis: “The 25th Amendment is utilized when a president is perceived to be incompetent or unable to do his or her job.” —Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

And last… “The Dems are going to somehow stumble into repealing the 22nd Amendment and Trump is going to be president forever.” —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.