The Patriot Post Digest 4-3-2019

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The Patriot Post Digest 4-3-2019
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Apr. 3, 2019
https://patriotpost.us/digests/62171-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“There is no maxim in my opinion which is more liable to be misapplied, and which therefore needs elucidation than the current one that the interest of the majority is the political standard of right and wrong.” —James Madison (1786)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/62169-founders-quote-daily

IN TODAY’S EDITION

The first Democrat presidential candidate with an immigration plan…1
What to make of the Republican train wreck on health care.2
Daily Features: More Analysis3, Columnists4, Headlines5, Opinion in Brief6, Short Cuts7, Memes8, and Cartoons9.

IN BRIEF

Castro’s Immigration Crisis Plan: Open Borders10

“Is there any number of illegal border crossings into the United States that would strike Democrats as an emergency?” asks Byron York11. His point is to show that, regardless of the ebb and flow of border apprehensions12 over the last 20 years, the system is overwhelmed and there is indeed a border crisis.

Enter the first Democrat 2020 presidential candidate to actually put forward an immigration plan. Julian Castro, who just happens to be Hispanic, “unveiled a far-reaching immigration plan on Tuesday that would make it easier for illegal immigrants to enter and remain in the United States,” reports13 The Washington Free Beacon.

Let that sink in. Amidst a worsening border crisis, Castro wants to open the borders further.

Castro claims he’s “Putting People First14,” which is ironic on many levels, not least of which is the stark contrast to President Donald Trump’s “America First” push. Castro certainly isn’t putting American workers first, let alone immigrants who made the effort to come here legally.

Among numerous changes to existing law, according to the Free Beacon, “Broadly speaking, Castro’s plan would extend legal rights, and eventually citizenship, to all people illegally residing in the United States; make it substantially easier to legally and illegally immigrate; and conversely make enforcement of immigration law substantially harder by removing law enforcement from the equation almost entirely.”

Why? Because, Castro argues, “Migration shouldn’t be a criminal justice issue. It’s time to end this draconian policy and return to treating immigration as a civil — not a criminal — issue.”

This isn’t surprising, of course. Democrats over the last decade have gone from insisting on and voting to fund a border wall to advocating open borders and flat-out rejecting the idea that there’s a problem. “I’m from the border; there’s no crisis there,” Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) said recently. “There is no crisis on the border,” echoed Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). And the Democrats’ foremost Leftmedia propaganda outlet, The Washington Post, echoed that via opinion writer E.J. Dionne: “There is no crisis at our nation’s border.”

Nothing to see here; move along.

But there is something to see. Here are just two headlines in the last 24 hours:

“DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen: Traffickers Using ‘Child Recycling’ Rings To Bring Migrants Into U.S.” (The Daily Wire15)

“5 Federal Courts on Mexican Border Lead Nation in Criminal Convictions.” (CNS News16)

A final note: It’s not clear that Castro’s approach actually will appeal widely to Hispanics. As our Thomas Gallatin noted17 Monday in covering Trump’s threats to close the border, “Recent polling finds that Trump now has a 50% approval rating among Hispanics, indicating favorable support for his border-enforcement policy among a demographic of Americans the mainstream media claims would be opposed.”

https://patriotpost.us/articles/62166-castros-immigration-crisis-plan-open-borders

Trump Holds Health Reform Until 2020 Election18

Following his meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday, President Donald Trump declared that he would put on hold any attempts19 to comprehensively replace the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare, until after the 2020 elections. Trump’s latest comments come as an about-face from his declaration just last week in a speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee, when he asserted, “Republicans should not run away from health care. If we stay away from the subject, we’re going to lose.”

In that speech, Trump argued that Democrats controlled the optics on the issue of “health care right now, and we have to take that away from them.” However, it now appears that Trump has conceded to McConnell’s political assessment on the issue and is willing to wait. “We had a good conversation yesterday afternoon and I pointed out to him the Senate Republicans’ view on dealing with comprehensive health care reform with a Democratic House of Representative,” McConnell stated. He added, “I made clear to him that we were not going to be doing that in the Senate. He did say, as he later tweeted, that he accepted that and he would be developing a plan that he would take to the American people during the 2020 campaign.”

Unfortunately, from a politically practical standpoint, McConnell is right. The fact of the matter is that, since 2017, a majority of Americans have favored keeping ObamaCare rather than repealing it, and Republicans are far from unified on a plan in any case. Yet Trump is still determined to address the hot-button issue, writing, “The Republicans are developing a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than ObamaCare. In other words it will be far less expensive & much more usable than ObamaCare. Vote will be taken right after the Election when Republicans hold the Senate & win back the House.”

As we have repeatedly argued, once a massive government program gets started and people become dependent upon it, it becomes nearly impossible to end that program, or even shrink it. Now, Trump and Republicans are essentially forced into fighting to prevent ObamaCare’s expansion rather than simply repealing and ending it. Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing to grow it into a government-run, single-payer system via Medicare for All.

It appears that in asserting he and Republicans will tackle health care and “it will be truly great HealthCare that will work for America,” Trump is recognizing that the vast majority of the American public has embraced the concept of government involvement in health care. The debate on whether government has a role is essentially over. Trump’s populist instinct is telling him that Republicans must jump on board or be left at the station protesting in vain.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/62168-trump-holds-health-reform-until-2020-election

ON OUR WEBSITE TODAY

Featured Analysis: Hollywood Hypocrites Threaten Boycott Over Georgia Heartbeat Bill20 — While the Peach State moves to protect innocent life, leftists demand that life be taken.
SCOTUS Rejects ‘Painless’ Capital Punishment21 — Pain during the administration of the death penalty does not violate the Eighth Amendment.
40 Acres and a Mule, or a 40-Ounce and Some Food?22 — History shows us the difference between the approach in 1865 and today’s reparations.
Video: The Chicago Fire: America at Its Best23 — It’s not the Oct. 8, 1871 fire that was so remarkable; it’s what happened afterwards.

TOP NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

“The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to authorize a subpoena for the full, unredacted report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian interference in the U.S election and alleged obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump,” NBC reports25. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler asserted, “The Constitution charges Congress with holding the president accountable for alleged official misconduct. That job requires us to evaluate the evidence for ourselves — not the attorney general’s summary, not a substantially redacted synopsis, but the full report and the underlying evidence.” In truth, this subpoena is for the sole purpose of continuing the Democrats’ fishing expedition.
According to Fox News26, “A group of Democratic senators on Tuesday introduced a measure to do away with the Electoral College, picking up on a talking point that has caught fire in the 2020 Democratic presidential field.” MNSBC’s Hallie Jackson is right27: The scheme has “a percent chance” of success. But Democrats know that, just like they know there’s nothing “there there” when it comes to alleged Russian collusion. The point is to fire up and enrage the base.

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The Patriot Post Digest 4-3-2019
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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House Democrats have been tirelessly blocking the infanticide-barring Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act. In fact, they’ve obstructed a vote more than two dozen times. But Townhall reports28 that the GOP “made an effort to bypass their Democratic colleagues Tuesday by bringing a discharge petition to the floor in order to get a vote.” A total of 218 votes — 21 coming from Democrats — will be required. And while it’ll undoubtedly be a hard sell, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins notes29, “For at least three Democrats, there’s no question. To the relief of their constituents, Congressmen Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.), Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) not only support the GOP’s crusade, they’re cosponsors of it.” Let’s hope more join.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s successor will be former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot. According to Fox News30, she “easily won the Chicago mayor’s race Tuesday, earning support from every part of the city to defeat a longtime political insider and become the first black woman and openly gay person to lead the nation’s third-largest city.” Lightfood stated, “We can and we will break this city’s endless cycle of corruption.” If she’s serious, she can start by pursuing justice in Jussie Smollett’s hate-hoax case31.
The war chest grows: “Sen. Bernie Sanders, considered to be one of the frontrunners early in the Democratic presidential primary race, raised $18.2 million in campaign donations in the first quarter Tuesday. According to campaign manager Faiz Shakir, this $18.2 million was raised with almost 900,000 individual donations, from 525,000 contributors. The average donation was $20, and 99.5% of the donations were $100 or less. Shakir said that a majority of the donors are under 39 years old. Shakir said that the Sanders has campaign has $28 million in cash on hand.” (CBS News32) The runner up? Kamala Harris with $12 million.
“New Zealand lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a bill Tuesday that would ban the weapons used to kill 50 people in mosque shootings last month,” reports33 USA Today. “Just one of Parliament’s 120 members opposed the bill in the vote, the first of three needed as lawmakers plan to fast-track the bill into law.” Police Minister Stuart Nash exemplified New Zealand’s callous attitude toward God-given Liberty by stating, “Owning a firearm is a privilege, not a right.” America’s Democrats would fit right in.
Meanwhile, closer to home: “The Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday passed a series of gun-control bills that were introduced in response to the mass shooting that claimed eleven lives at the city’s Tree of Life Synagogue last year. The legislative package, which passed 6–3, prohibits the public use of assault-style rifles like the AR-15 used in the synagogue shooting, bans the use of armor-piercing ammunition and high-capacity magazines, and allows the authorities to temporarily seize the firearms of anyone determined to be dangerous.” (National Review34)
Humor: Democrats now have enough candidates to seize White House by force (The Daily Wire35)
Policy: On the issue of Trump’s directive to cease foreign aid to Central America, Heritage Foundation analyst Ana Quintana says, “Foreign aid should never amount to philanthropic handouts or aimless feel-good programs. Funds should be strategically allocated to further U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives.” Read more36 about how the U.S. can leverage this policy shift.
Policy: New York’s decision to join the cabal of states outlawing plastic bags in grocery stores is a futile decision, writes Hans Bader at the Foundation for Economic Freedom37. “Plastic bags are less than one percent of all litter. Moreover, alternatives like cloth and paper bags are in many cases worse for the environment than plastic bags, and far worse for public health.”
For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights38.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/62167-wednesday-top-news-executive-summary

OPINION IN BRIEF

Walter Williams: “In 1938, 11 percent of blacks were born to unmarried women. By 1965, that number had grown to 25 percent. Now it’s about 75 percent. Even during slavery, when marriage between blacks was illegal, a higher percentage of black children were raised by their biological mothers and fathers than today. In 1940, 86 percent of black children were born inside marriage. Today, only 35 percent of black children are born inside marriage. Having no father in the home has a serious impact. Children with no father in the home are five times more likely to be poor and commit crime, nine times more likely to drop out of school and 20 times more likely to be in prison. Our generous welfare system, in effect, allows women to marry the government. Plus, there is shortage of marriageable black men because they’ve dropped out of school, wound up in jail and haven’t much of a future.”

SHORT CUTS

Friendly fire: “Join the straight-arm club. Just pretend you have a cold and I have a cold.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s39 memo to Handsy Joe Biden40

For the record: “There’s nothing in the regulations that require [Attorney General William Barr] to reveal anything. And the best test is the shoe-on-the-other-foot test. … If [James] Comey had said, ‘We’re just not gonna indict Hillary Clinton on the emails,’ and the Republicans said, ‘Wait a minute. We heard you have a report that says she was extremely careless. We want you to release that,’ the Democrats would have jumped up and down and [said], ‘No, no, no. Prosecutors don’t say anything negative about people they haven’t indicted.’” —Alan Dershowitz41

The BIG Lie: “[Donald Trump] hasn’t been exonerated by anybody except his own hired henchman.” —Rep. Steve Cohen42

Dezinformatsiya: “While [Trump’s] technically exonerated from a crime, is he exonerated from his behavior as a president?” —NBC’s Chuck Todd43

Braying Jackass I: “We’ve just got to survive these next 22 months or so. I think [Trump] is in danger of being the worst president in the history of the United States.” —Eric Holder44

Braying Jackass II: “[Trump] in my mind is the most dangerous president in modern American history.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders45

Hyperbole: “If Trump gets his way, the cost of health insurance for you will be so high that many people literally will not be able to afford it. Thousands of people will literally die. That’s Trump’s health insurance plan.” —Bernie Sanders46

Non Compos Mentis: “It’s the correct thing that the [Jussie Smollett] charges were dropped. … I have learned this isn’t unusual.” —Rep. Maxine Waters47

Letting the cat out of the bag: “The question is, if we make the global commitment to reduce … greenhouse gases, can we reverse the climate change we’re seeing now? Right now, nobody knows.” —Al Roker48

Still bitter: “I don’t believe Republicans should have another [Supreme Court] nomination until we square the deal when they stole the last seat.” —Gov. Jay Inslee49

And last… “The Democrats on the left … want to get their hands on the [Mueller] report … so that they can leak it. So they can leak it to all their buddies in the media. So that they can continue on going down rabbit holes of pretending that there is some kind of Russian collusion.” —Rep. Devin Nunes50

https://patriotpost.us/articles/62145-wednesday-short-cuts

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Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher