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Patriot Headlines | Grassroots Commentary Daily Digest
September 10, 2015
THE FOUNDATION"[I]t may be laid down as a general rule that [the People's] confidence in and obedience to a government will commonly be proportioned to the goodness or badness of its administration." —Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 27, 1787TOP RIGHT HOOKSCan the GOP at Least Slow Iran Deal?
On the other side of the aisle, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer perhaps the worst endorsement ever: "I have concluded that this is not the best deal the P5+1 could have achieved." Not even close, as detailed by the rest of his statement. "However," he continued, "it is the agreement that the United States agreed to and that is now before the Congress. Although it was a difficult choice, I have decided to oppose a resolution of disapproval, albeit with serious concerns." Try to contain your enthusiasm, there, Steny. Comment | Share Khamenei: Israel Will Be Gone in 25 YearsNow that Barack Obama has the necessary congressional minorities to block opposition to his Iran deal, Iran's supreme leader decided to rub some salt in the wound. This time, he's back to threatening Israel. "After nuclear negotiations, the Zionist regime said that they will not be worried about Iran in the next 25 years," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote. "I am telling you, first, you will not be around in 25 years' time, and God willing, there will be no Zionist regime in 25 years. Second, during this period, the spirit of fighting, heroism and jihad will keep you worried every moment." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in his March speech to a joint session of Congress that negotiating with the Iranian regime was a fool's errand, and that Obama's "deal will not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons; it would all but guarantee that Iran gets those weapons — lots of them." Best-case scenario under Obama's deal, Iran is prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons for 15 years. That leaves 10 years in Khamenei's 25-year window to annihilate Israel. In the meantime, Obama will give Iran more than $100 billion in sanctions relief with which to keep the jihad going, just as Khamenei promised. Republicans ought to be doing whatever they can to stop this deal.Comment | Share Carson Nails Favorite Bible Verses QuestionIt wasn't long ago that Donald Trump refused to name any favorite Bible verses (likely because he couldn't). Ben Carson didn't have any trouble with the same question. Carson offered Proverbs 3:5-6 and Proverbs 22:4, both of which he quoted — the latter says, "With humility and the fear of the Lord, that's where life and wealth come from." To be fair, he had time to prepare, but we also don't doubt his sincerity as we do Trump's.Comment | Share Don't Miss Alexander's ColumnRead Obama's Middle East Legacy: A Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis, on how Obama and those who voted for him bear the burden of babies washing up on beaches.If you'd like to receive Alexander's Column by email, update your subscription here. FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSISAnother September, Another Shutdown ThreatBy Allyne Caan
This time, the sticking point isn’t ObamaCare as in 2013, or Barack Obama’s immigration overreach as in 2014, but rather continued government funding for Planned Parenthood. The nation's largest abortion mill (327,653 babies killed in 2013) rakes in more than $500 million per year in taxpayer dollars while dismembering babies and selling their body parts to the highest bidder. "[T]his arrangement is not new," notes Terence Jeffrey. "In fiscal 2012, Planned Parenthood says in its immediate past report, it did 327,166 abortions. In the year that ended on June 30, 2013, it got $540.6 million in government money. In fiscal 2011, it did 333,964 abortions, and in the year that ended on June 30, 2012, it got $542.4 million in government money." That's $1.6 billion in tax dollars for nearly a million dead babies. Oh, they say no federal money goes to pay for abortions, but is anyone really naïve enough to buy that? So approximately 30 House members who actually believe in the inalienable right to life signed a letter promising to reject any spending bill — short-term stop-gap measures included — that contains funding for Planned Parenthood. The signatories number nearly enough to mean that a spending bill retaining funding for the abortion giant will require House Speaker John Boehner to dip into the Democrat vote bin to secure enough votes for passage. That could yield other undesirable concessions in order to get those votes. It's hard to fathom fetal dismemberment would be grounds for any debate, but, alas, such is the depraved world in which we live. Despite the GOP’s strongly pro-life platform (which apparently means whatever legislators want it to mean, just like the Constitution), Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Squish One and Squish Two, respectively) have little interest in cutting off money for the abortion mill as a condition of funding the rest of the government. After all, let’s not miss the forest for the trees. Or, in this case, let’s not forget all the great women’s health care Planned Parenthood provides along with abortions. You know, the grand total of zero mammograms nationwide. (By the way, that care is available at any number of other clinics.) Members of the GOP who oppose making a costly political fight to defund the organization argue that efforts to defund the abortion giant as part of a spending bill are doomed to fail, as Obama would never sign such a bill and Congress lacks the votes to override a veto. Ergo, don't risk a shutdown for which Republicans would be blamed. Unfortunately, it is simple math. Obama would certainly veto the measure, or Senate Democrats would filibuster so he didn't have to, and Republicans likely would shoulder the blame for any shutdown. We've opposed previous no-win shutdown gambits on those same grounds. But many conservatives are asking a couple of questions. First, if Republicans aren’t willing to fight for this hill, what hill are they willing to fight for? Second, as Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) put it, “How would things have been different if Harry Reid were in charge?” The problem isn’t that pro-life conservatives are bucking leadership; it’s that Boehner, McConnell and the multitude of spineless legislators who hijack the “R” designation have proven time and again that they are unwilling to take a stand on principle — any principle — be it health care, immigration, executive overreach, spending or debt. Oh, they’ll feign a fighting spirit. But when principle demands that action back up rhetoric, GOP "leaders" suddenly become immobile. After all, in August, McConnell promised "no more government shutdowns." Efforts to defund Planned Parenthood as part of the spending bill will certainly fail, but that's arguably because the GOP’s culture of concession has conditioned Democrats to know that Boehner, McConnell and their political allies would never hold firm on any demands, even if they did pretend to take a stand. As a result, those willing to fight for life are branded as insurgents, while supposedly savvy congressional leaders try to explain why now simply isn’t a convenient time to stop the slaughter and auction of the unborn. So perhaps the lesson for pro-lifers is simple: Fewer lives will be saved through unwinnable funding fights on Capitol Hill than through changing the hearts and minds of our family, friends and neighbors. Comment | Share
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OPINION IN BRIEFMona Charen: "Republicans cannot simply shrug and announce that they lack the votes to stop [the Iran nuclear deal]. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a reputation as a shrewd inside player. He has many possible options. 1) Pass a rule by simple majority declaring that the filibuster cannot be used for grave matters of national security. 2) Announce, as David Rivkin and Rep. Mike Pompeo have proposed, that because the president is not in compliance with the Corker/Menendez legislation (which requires that all side deals be submitted to Congress), the 60-day review period has not yet begun. 3) Decide (as Andy McCarthy has suggested) that this agreement — so crucial to the security of the nation and the world — is clearly a treaty and can only be considered by Congress as such, requiring a two-thirds vote in both chambers for passage. If this is not a time for considering every possible congressional strategy, what is? The Democrats trashed the filibuster for some second-tier appointments. Republicans can revive it to prevent terrorists from getting the bomb."Comment | Share SHORT CUTSInsight: "It is the laborer's privilege to ennoble his work by the aim with which he undertakes it, and by the enthusiasm and faithfulness he puts into it." —American poet Lucy Larcom (1824-1893)Upright: "Risking not their lives — but only their political futures — the Senate must do all it can to avoid rewarding a regime that has killed Americans, is killing Americans, and that threatens a nuclear holocaust. But the filibuster is more important than national security, and the vow 'never again' carries with it two implicit conditions — so long as sixty senators agree, and enforcing the promise won’t cause too much blowback in the next election cycle. What a sad and shameful spectacle." —National Review's David French Observations: "It is eerie how much the politics of the Iran nuclear deal resemble the politics of ObamaCare. Many Democrats running for election in 2014 rode ObamaCare to defeat. Barack Obama’s latest 'legacy,' the Iran nuclear deal, is resurrecting more Democratic electoral vulnerability. Some legacy." —Wall Street Journal's Daniel Henninger Braying Jenny: “This is more than Planned Parenthood. It's about women, it's about reproductive freedom, it's about respect for women's judgment about the sizing and timing of their families. How dare [Republicans] be so disrespectful to women. How dare they be so disregarding of women's health issues.” —Nancy Pelosi Alpha Jackass: "Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president? I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?" —Donald Trump on Carly Fiorina Separation: "[Americans] need a leader who cares about them again." —Hillary Clinton with a thinly veiled shot at Obama Village Idiots: "I too am deeply concerned about Iranian aggression and the need to confront it. It's a ruthless, brutal regime that has the blood of Americans, many others, including its own people, on its hands. ... There's absolutely no reason to trust Iran." —Hillary Clinton advocating the Iran deal And last... "The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard said that the U.S. is still the 'Great Satan' regardless of the nuclear deal. President Obama quickly pointed out that the important thing is that Iran still views the U.S. as 'Great." —Fred Thompson Comment | Share 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. |
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