Friday Digest
September 27, 2013
THE FOUNDATION
"They define a republic to be a government of laws, and not of men." --John Adams
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
The Republican Endgame
by Mark Alexander
Despite all the Leftist rhetoric
about ObamaCare being "the law which must now be funded," it was wholly
rejected by Republicans in the Senate and House, along with many House
Democrats. Thus, proposals to defund it, delay it or amend it are
exactly in line with what our Founders expected legislators to do in the
interest of defending and sustaining Rule of Law.
After 41 previous attempts to
delay or amend this behemoth, House Republicans attached a "defund"
DemoCare condition to its Continuing Resolution legislation (CR being
that "pass the buck" gimmick to fund government without actually passing
a budget -- which has not been done since George Bush's last year in
office). Using the CR to make their case against nationalized health
care effectively elevated Republican objections above the political din
-- thanks in large measure to the much-maligned efforts of Sen. Ted
Cruz. Republicans had no intention of "shutting down government," but
have used the CR to force Democrat votes on defunding, delaying or
amending key ObamaCare mandates.
Here is the Republican endgame
(yes, there is one, even if GOP "leadership" is trying to catch up with
the rank and file): There is a growing grassroots storm brewing in
opposition to socialized medicine, now that the reality and consequences
of ObamaCare are starting to sink in. Accordingly, some
non-establishment Republicans in the House and Senate have thrown up a
DemoCare dare, a measure to defund this job-killing budget-buster, which
is really a strategic long shot effort to delay implementation of the
"individual mandate" until after the 2014 election when Republicans
believe they will have generated enough political opposition to the plan
to significantly modify major portions of the law. Indeed, Obama has,
for political expediency, already unilaterally (and unconstitutionally)
delayed implementation of the employer mandate.
Of course, the House "defund tactic" won't pass the Demo-controlled
Senate, so Republicans are banking that Demo Majority Leader Harry Reid
will strip that measure from the current Continuing Resolution and send
it back to the House, where Republicans will return a clean CR, but then
replace "defund" with "delay" as a condition for raising the debt
ceiling, which we hit sometime between 17 and 22 October. Additionally,
they will return the debt ceiling legislation to the Senate with a "wish
list" of other amendments, which should include one requiring that all
members of the House and Senate and their staffs will be subject to all
provisions of ObamaCare, as well as other items to include tax reform,
approval of the Keystone pipeline, regulatory and entitlement reforms
including means-tested Medicare, and a "chained" Consumer Price Index
(CPI).The delay measure, and most if not all of the other Republican amendments, will be rejected by the Senate, at which point Republicans should get out of the way and let the Senate send the Continuing Resolution and the upcoming debt ceiling legislation to Obama, thus allowing the ObamaCare mandates to go into effect as scheduled. (There is an old adage: When your adversary is defeating himself, don't interfere.)
The net effect of the Republican strategy is that, in advance of 2014, Democrats in the House and Senate will have to vote on a lot of measures and then will have to defend those votes ahead of the 2014 elections. In regard to the measure to "delay" the implementation of ObamaCare, Demo votes against that "compromise" will be judged harshly in states and districts with only modest support for ObamaCare, amid growing grassroots protests against Obama's socialized medicine scheme.
What will drive those grassroots protests?
Obama, the consummate narcissist, having embraced the name
"ObamaCare," will himself, along with current and future generations of
Democrats, suffer a reversal of political fortunes after ObamaCare is
implemented. Why? Because every American of every political stripe who
has any issue with health care, whether a hangnail or heart transplant, a
delay in a doctor's office or in critical care for a loved one, will
tie blame for their discontent like a noose around the necks of Obama
and his Democrats, who were solely responsible for forcing this
abomination upon the American people. No matter how Fab-Tastic ObamaCare
may be for some Demo constituencies, Democrats are going to be the
target of every health care complaint.
Even Demo National Committee
chair and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz can see that pitfall
from her perspective in the House. She is insisting that Democrats "must
not treat every minute provision in the law as sacred." She added that
Demos "should be open to suggestions for improving the law."
If Republicans successfully herd the inevitable consumer
dissatisfaction and anger toward Democrats, the electoral awards will be
substantial in 2014, 2016 and beyond. Of course, given that
establishment Republican have a propensity for snatching defeat from the
jaws of victory, that's a big "if."Comment | Share
|
Adding to the List of Problems
ObamaCare's exchanges are scheduled to kick off Oct. 1 with the individual mandate going into effect, but they're not ready. And there's another significant problem with the law as written.Read more and comment here.
Second Amendment: Kerry Signs UN Anti-Gun Treaty
by Mark Alexander
|
Secretary of State John Kerry
made our nation a signatory to the United Nations' Arms Trade Treaty,
ostensibly regulating small arms trade between nations.
At the signing ceremony, Kerry
claimed, "Make no mistake, we would never think about supporting a
treaty that is inconsistent with the rights of Americans, the rights of
American citizens to be able to exercise their guaranteed rights under
our Constitution. This is about keeping Americans safe and keeping
America strong. This treaty will not diminish anyone's freedom."
Make no mistake, the ATT is a Trojan Horse.
Barack Obama and Kerry assure us
that the treaty exempts any regulation of domestic gun sales and
ownership in the U.S., but with the stroke of a pen, it could implement
severe gun restrictions and even confiscations -- an end run around the
Second Amendment that would provide political cover for gun control
Leftists in the Senate and House.
Indeed, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) warned that if this treaty were
ratified, "Make no mistake, they will ultimately register, ban and
CONFISCATE firearms owned by private citizens. Not long ago, Obama told
Sarah Brady from the anti-gun Brady Campaign, 'I just want you to know
that we are working on [gun control]. We have to go through a few
processes, but under the radar.'"
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) rightly
put Kerry on written notice, informing him that the ATT is "dead in the
water," concluding, "The administration is wasting precious time trying
to sign away our laws to the global community and unelected UN
bureaucrats."
But, in what amounts to another end run around our Constitution,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), fully aware that he can't
possibly win the necessary two-thirds majority of votes in the Senate to
ratify this treaty, may not allow any vote at all. If that happens,
Obama might just sign the treaty and ignore the constitutional mandate,
as he habitually does when Rule of Law interferes with his political
agenda.Then what?
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, in a letter to Obama, expressed his concern about this issue, and demanded he not take any further action on the ATT without the consent of the Senate, because the treaty raises "fundamental issues" concerning "individual rights protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution."
To be clear, the Constitution
specifies in Article II, Section 2: "[The President] shall have Power,
by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties,
provided two thirds of the Senators present concur..."
As John Jay elucidated this specification in Federalist No. 64: "The
convention have done well, therefore, in so disposing of the power of
making treaties, that although the President must, in forming them, act
by the advice and consent of the Senate..."Article VI specifies: "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."
In other words, the Constitution specifies that duly ratified treaties are "the supreme Law of the Land," with the exception that such treaty may not violate provisions of the Constitution.
Let's see who abides by their Oath to Support and Defend our Constitution regarding this treaty...
Comment |
Share
CULTURE
UN Now Really, Positively Sure Man Is Causing Warming
|
According to Reuters,
"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a report
that the current hiatus in warming, when temperatures have risen more
slowly despite growing emissions, was a natural variation that would not
last." That's a curious explanation considering beforehand they were
telling us global warming would continue unless drastic
initiatives were taken to combat climate change. In fact, no one among
the IPCC panel foresaw the possibility of a temperature hiatus.
Scientists for years have argued that the rise in greenhouse gases would
dwarf any natural factors that would potentially balance the observed
global warming.
"The study, meant to guide
governments in shifting towards greener energies, said it was 'extremely
likely', a probability of at least 95 percent, that human activities
were the dominant cause of warming since the mid-20th century," Reuters
continues. "That was an increase from 'very likely', or 90 percent, in
the last report in 2007 and 'likely', 66 percent, in 2001." The irony
here is almost too much: As the globe has cooled counter to projections over the last 15 years, their "certainty" regarding the matter increased. Sounds, well, "progressive."
Officials were quick to hype the report. "The heat is on. Now we must
act," declared UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. "Those who deny the
science or choose excuses over action are playing with fire," trumpeted
John Kerry. "If your doctor was 95 percent sure you had a serious
disease, you would immediately start looking for the cure," proclaimed
European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard.
On the other hand, you may want to reconsider your doctor if they've been continually and profoundly wrong.
And don't forget, climate change will kill 750 million people.Comment | Share
ECONOMY
The Efficient Way to Burn Money
|
The latest blemish on the DoE's
record: Ecotality Inc. The company received a $99.8 million federal
grant in August 2009 for the EV Project, a plan to develop charging
stations in metropolitan areas. Instead, it's gone bankrupt, filing for Chapter 11 protection.
Yet even as Ecotality is the latest in a string of failures
characterized by the massive implosion of Solyndra, the Obama
administration is ready to pour another $8 billion into a program meant
to develop "complex, unproven, and expensive" technology the private
sector won't touch. It's likely a significant sum of that money will go
to those who financially backed the president
in one of his two campaigns, such as a recent $4 million grant to
LanzaTech, a biofuel company. A key investor in LanzaTech also holds
interests in eight other companies that have benefited from federal
assistance.Perhaps the TransCanada Corporation needs to pony up some political contributions so they can get in on the fun. All they want to do is build the Keystone pipeline.
Comment | Share
|
|
|
NATIONAL SECURITY
FBI Under Fire
|
A substantial contingent of FBI
agents and resources arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, this week to begin
investigating the Westgate Mall attack. The purpose, in part, is to
determine if there are links to the Islamic terrorists killed there and
American citizens with origins in the region, or if American citizens
were indeed involved in that attack. The FBI is being criticized for the
three-week delay getting on the ground after the Islamic assault in
Benghazi, yet arriving just three days after the Nairobi assault. Of
course, that criticism is misplaced because the Benghazi delay was
political (read: "Democrat obfuscation"), not tactical.
In less favorable news about FBI
operations, Justice Department investigation revealed that certain FBI
field offices willfully violated rules against interacting with known
terrorist organizations. Of particular interest is the New Haven field
office, where agents were allowed to develop and coordinate a
diversity-training workshop with members of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR has been directly linked to
Hamas and was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2007 trial in
which it was proven that charitable front groups in the U.S. were
funneling contributions to al-Qaida. The directive to work with CAIR was
provided by FBI field office managers and the Bureau's public outreach
arm, the Office of Public Affairs.
Comment |
Share
BRIEF OPINION
Essential Liberty
Columnist Selwyn Duke: "Given
how important economic freedom is, we should note how it's lost: through
lack of appreciation. After all, cease to value something, and you may
not preserve it -- demonize it enough, and you'll surely destroy it. ...
[O]ur whole modern world is a tribute to economic freedom. ... The
problem here is that people tend to take what they have for granted and
view wealth in relative terms. ... In America today [being poor]
generally means you have an older car, a TV, refrigerator, air
conditioning and a host of other luxuries. The reality? Our government's
'poverty line' is a political ploy. In an absolute sense, there is
very, very little poverty in the U.S. -- because of economic freedom.
Our great discoveries, inventions and innovations were not made by
bureaucrats, nor generally at their direction. ... Economic freedom
unleashes the creative capacities of the common man, from border to
border, transforming the populace into an army of wealth creators. And
nothing can compete with that. Without creation, there can be no
distribution."
Comment |
Share
Don't Miss It -- These quotes and quick-hit stories are available daily under Right Hook on our main page!
Re: The Left
Columnist Michelle Malkin: "Like
an estimated 22 million other Americans, I am a self-employed
small-business owner who buys health insurance for my family directly on
the individual market. We have a high-deductible PPO plan that allows
us to choose from a wide range of doctors. Or rather, we had
such a plan. Last week, our family received notice from Anthem BlueCross
BlueShield of Colorado that we can no longer keep the plan we like
because of 'changes from health care reform (also called the Affordable
Care Act or ACA).' ... In short: Obama lied. My health plan died. ... My
family is not alone. Across the country, insurers are sending out
Obamacare-induced health plan death notices to untold tens of thousands
of other customers in the individual market. ... Obamacare is destroying
the private individual market for health insurance by design, not
accident. For hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of self-employed
job creators, three fundamental Obamacare truths are becoming as clear
as Obama's growing nose: 1) You can't keep it. 2) We're screwed. 3) The
do-gooders don't care."
Comment |
Share
Political Futures
Columnist Cal Thomas: "The
president [in his UN speech] said America has been humbled by its
foreign adventures. Humility and retreat are not a policy, unless we
plan to surrender to Islamists. He didn't articulate America's foreign
policy, because he doesn't have one. Islamic fundamentalists can only be
encouraged by this speech. They include Iran's president, Hassan
Rouhani, who wants to suddenly make nice with President Obama in large
part to ease crushing economic sanctions. ... If the United Nations
could bring peace and prosperity to the world, progress toward that goal
should have been made by now. Instead, 68 years after its founding,
wars and rumors of wars are increasing."
For more, visit The Right Opinion.
CHRONICLE QUOTES
The BIG Lie
Barack Obama: "[N]o Congress before this one has ever -- ever -- in history been irresponsible enough to threaten default, to threaten an economic shutdown, to suggest America not pay its bills, just to try to blackmail a president into giving them some concessions on issues that have nothing to do with a budget."Comment | Share
Braying Jackass
Barack Obama: "A few years from now, when people are using this to get coverage, everybody is feeling good about the choices they've got, there are going to be a whole bunch of folks that will say, 'Yeah, yeah, I always thought this provision was excellent. I voted for that thing.' You watch. It will not be called ObamaCare."Demo-gogues
Nancy Pelosi: "I do think ... that none of us should be negotiating on the debt ceiling, it should just be lifted. When it comes to the C.R. (continuing resolution], the president has negotiated. ... [T]his is a president who has been so bipartisan and that is a quality that the American people like."From the 'Non Compos Mentis' File
Harry Reid on whether Democrats would consider repealing the medical device tax found in ObamaCare: "No, they can play around all they want. Some of the biggest supporters for doing away with the stupid tax -- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that -- doing away with that tax have told me they will not support that on CR."Comment | Share
Dezinformatsia
NPR's Cokie Roberts: "I also
think ... that some of this Tea Party anger is racist and that having a
non-black person on the ticket will diffuse it to some degree."
Comment |
Share
Village Idiots
Bill Clinton: "I think it's
important for you to tell the people why we're doing all this outreach,
because this [law] only works, for example, if young people show up. ...
We've got to have them in the pools, because otherwise all these
projected low costs cannot be held if older people with preexisting
conditions are disproportionately represented in any given state."
Short Cuts
Humorist Frank J. Fleming:
"Where did we get this idea that we need to save the environment? Has
the environment ever tried to save us? No. Since the dawn of time,
nature has tried to kill us. Earthquakes, plagues, sharknados -- nature
is always trying to find new ways to wipe us out."
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team
Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment