THE FOUNDATION
"Illustrious examples are displayed to our view, that we may imitate as well as admire. Before we can be distinguished by the same honors, we must be distinguished by the same virtues. What are those virtues? They are chiefly the same virtues, which we have already seen to be descriptive of the American character -- the love of liberty, and the love of law." --James Wilson, Of the Study of the Law in the United States, 1790TOP 5 RIGHT HOOKS
Sebelius Is Out
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has resigned, marking the first major casualty of the launch of the ObamaCare exchanges, particularly of Hindenburg.gov -- uh, Healthcare.gov. Barack Obama will nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to the post. The White House is sticking to the story that Sebelius chose to resign, but with as much political damage as Democrats have sustained over the launch, it was only a matter of time before Obama's "war on women" claimed her as a casualty. Sebelius managed to hang around until Obama could triumphantly announce his bogus 7.1 million enrolled figure, but she was notably absent from that touchdown dance. The bottom line is that ObamaCare will continue to be a disaster no matter who's in charge because it's an unwieldy and (we still maintain) unconstitutional behemoth.Comment | Share
'A State of Collapse'
Barack Obama wants immigration reform, and he's willing to quit enforcing the law to get it. A new report favorable to this result says that "the total number of 'removals' and 'returns' has actually plummeted during the Obama presidency." In fact, "In 2012, the Obama administration removed and returned almost a million people less than the height of the Bush presidency." The problem is so acute that Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) warned, "Our law enforcement system is in a state of collapse, and it's a deliberate plan by the president of the United States, and it's wrong." Indeed, when the vice president says he believes illegal aliens are "already American citizens," we have a problem.Comment | Share
White House Wage Gap
Press Secretary Jay Carney defended the White House's hypocrisy on gender wages by saying that, though they're addressing the disparity, women making 88 cents on the dollar compared to men "is better than the national average." As we've documented time and again, the Left's larger assertion of wage discrimination is thoroughly debunked when factors such as hours worked, level of risk, educational background and uninterrupted work experience are taken into account. In truth, though, the White House actually does pay its women less than the national average -- including the District itself. The Daily Caller reports, "The pay gap among women in the White House is more than twice as large as the average in the nation's capital. While female White House staffers earn about 88 cents for every dollar men in the White House make, women in the District earn about 95 cents for every dollar men make, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics." Meanwhile, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pays women just 70 cents for every $1 men earn.Comment | Share
Holder Blasts 'Divisive Adversity'
A visibly angered Eric Holder spoke before Al Sharpton's National Action Network conference and blasted the "unprecedented, unwarranted, ugly and divisive adversity" he's had to deal with as attorney general. "What attorney general has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment?" he asked, referring to Wednesday's heated House hearing. "What president has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment?" Well, writes National Review's Andrew Johnson, "Bush-era attorney general Alberto Gonzales faced calls for his impeachment during his time in the office." Likewise, Reagan's AG Edwn Meese faced heavy contempt from Democrats. More to the point, Holder and Obama are two of the most divisive political figures in American history with their complete disregard for Rule of Law. That's hardly "unwarranted" adversity, and both should be thankful they haven't been impeached. Holder insinuation that the treatment is race-based is absurd and outrageous.Comment | Share
What Qualifies Hillary?
The panel of pundits on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" considered the question of the 2016 presidential election: What makes Hillary Clinton the most qualified person to be president? As the panel discussed Hillary's looming candidacy, conservative pundit Bill Kristol asked them all to articulate in one sentence what makes her more qualified than other female Democrats "that made it on their own." The panel laughed off the question at first, but then none of them could really answer it. About all Chuck Todd could come up with in response was that Hillary traveled a lot and has a book coming out. They might as well have said, a la Nancy Pelosi, "We'll have to elect her president to find out what makes her qualified."Comment | Share
For more, visit Right Hooks.
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RIGHT ANALYSIS
As Lerner Is Held in Contempt, the IRS Scandal Grows
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Evidence has come to light that Lerner not only deliberately singled out conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for intrusive audits, stalled applications by such groups and misled investigators from the Treasury Inspector General's office, but that she actively corresponded with leftist campaign groups while conducting her official duties. Correspondence between Lerner and officials with Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center show that she had received requests by these groups to investigate conservative organizations such as Crossroads GPS, Americans for Responsible Leadership, and several others. If that weren't enough, it was also revealed that Lerner was talking about a job offer with Barack Obama's campaign arm, Organizing for Action, while she was still in charge of the tax-exempt office.
Lerner attempted to duck Committee questioning by invoking the Fifth Amendment, but she did so only after making a statement to the committee denying any wrongdoing. By making that statement, she arguably waived her rights. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said he "counted 17 separate factual assertions" that Lerner made before sealing her own lips. He observed, "That is a lot of talking for somebody who wants to remain silent." Naturally, Democrats don't see it that way. Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) accused Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) of ginning up a controversy to stir the Republican base for the midterms.
It turns out that Cummings has a few questions to answer himself. IRS emails obtained by the Oversight Committee show that Cummings' staff requested and received information from Lerner's office in January 2014 about True the Vote, one of the conservative groups under scrutiny. During a February 2014 hearing, Cummings denied obtaining any such documents. Issa has publicly asked Cummings to come clean as to why he requested the documents and why they were not shared with the majority members of the committee.
As far as we're concerned, there can be no other reason for the IRS targeting of conservative groups than to suppress Republican voter turnout in the 2012 presidential election. A recent report by the Treasury Inspector General's office indicates that there were virtually no audits of leftist groups during this time period. We'll probably never know if the IRS's actions directly led to Obama's re-election, but there can be no denying that the agency is corrupt and deeply flawed. Lerner likely didn't come up with this scheme all on her own, but how high does this scandal go? Will we ever find out?
Commentator Charles Krauthammer argues that unless Lerner is granted immunity in exchange for honest and open testimony, the prosecution against her "will die." This is sad but probably true. Democrats have consistently proven themselves more concerned with power than Rule of Law, so there is no reason to expect anyone to break ranks and tell the truth. And the Leftmedia has proven to be just another extension of the West Wing, completely uninterested in reporting any bad news unless it has the word "Republican" in it. We certainly can't be confident that the Obama Justice Department will actually pursue charges against Lerner. The House can exercise "inherent contempt" authority, which allows the chamber to detain Lerner until the next Congress in 2015, or until she talks, whichever comes first. But the corruption appears to go very deep, making it all the more difficult to root out.
Indeed, the larger issue isn't even who ordered who to do what. Democrats have been calling for a crackdown of the Tea Party from every microphone they encounter since the Tea Party began to worry them electorally. Far worse than an order from the White House would be for the IRS to pick up on this and agree ideologically. If the agency responsible for the taxation of the people has become a political thugocracy, as it appears, we really are in trouble. Sending Lerner to jail may be just, but it's only the tip of the iceberg.
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The Kerry Peace Plan Goes 'Poof'
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Read the rest of the story here.
For more, visit Right Analysis.
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TOP 5 RIGHT OPINION COLUMNS
- Charles Krauthammer: Thought Police on Patrol
- David Limbaugh: Obama's Politicized, Lawless Executive Branch
- Jonah Goldberg: Klein, Krugman Offer Biased Views of Confirmation Bias
- L. Brent Bozell & Tim Graham: Brandeis Bows to Islamic Censorship
- Michelle Malkin: The Legacy of Obama's Illegal Alien Aunt
OPINION IN BRIEF
Columnist Jonah Goldberg: "[Barack Obama] often talks about how he's not an ideologue but a pragmatist, and how he's a essentially a disinterested public servant pushing no agenda other than what all the experts agree is the best policy -- on health care, the environment, the economy, etc. He likes to say how he's open to new ideas from everywhere, but the new ideas he takes seriously just happen to come from the left and always involve more government. It's not that he's liberal, he's just right. Or as [Paul] Krugman once put it, 'the facts have a liberal bias.' Such arrogant groupthink not only leads to bad policies, but it reinforces a mass psychology that simply takes it for granted that liberals have sole access to the Truth. It's like having God on your side without having to believe in God."Comment | Share
Senator Daniel Webster (1782-1852): "Whatever government is not a government of laws, is a despotism, let it be called what they may."
Columnist Charles Krauthammer: "Two months ago, a petition bearing more than 110,000 signatures was delivered to The Washington Post demanding a ban on any article questioning global warming. ... The column ran as usual. But I was gratified by the show of intolerance because it perfectly illustrated my argument that the left is entering a new phase of ideological agitation -- no longer trying to win the debate but stopping debate altogether, banishing from public discourse any and all opposition. The proper word for that attitude is totalitarian. It declares certain controversies over and visits serious consequences ... upon those who refuse to be silenced."
Humorist Frank J. Fleming: "If you really can get away with paying women 23% less for the exact same work, why does anyone hire men? ... Big stock market crash yesterday out of fear Sebelius is going into the private sector. Luckily, the damage Sebelius did cost us only 77% as much as a male incompetent."
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
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.
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