The Front Page Cover
2016 The truth will set you free
Featuring:
Lion Ted
by Jeremy Carl
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GOP Convention Highlights, Final Day
Ivanka Trump: "For more than a year, Donald Trump has been the people's champion, and tonight he's the people's nominee. Like many of my fellow Millennials, I do not consider myself categorically Republican or Democrat. More than party affiliation, I vote on based on what I believe is right, for my family and for my country. Sometimes it's a tough choice. That is not the case this time. ... Real change — the kind we have not seen in decades — is only going to come from outside the system. And it's only going to come from a man who's spent his entire life doing what others said could not be done."
Billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel: "I build companies and I support people who are building new things, from social networks to rocket ships. I'm not a politician. But neither is Donald Trump. He is a builder, and it's time to rebuild America. ... Americans get paid less today than 10 years ago. But healthcare and college tuition cost more every year. Meanwhile Wall Street bankers inflate bubbles in everything from government bonds to liar-Hillary Clinton's speaking fees. Our economy is broken. If you're watching me right now, you understand this better than any politician in Washington. And you know this isn't the dream we looked forward to. ... When Donald Trump asks us to Make America Great Again, he's not suggesting a return to the past. He's running to lead us back to that bright future."
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus: "To some people — and some presidents — America is just another country. To Republicans, America is the greatest nation on earth. We don't apologize for America. We celebrate America. At every level, Republicans stand for aspiration and achievement. We stand for peace and prosperity. We stand for freedom and fairness. These values have inspired people the world over, ever since we won our freedom over two centuries ago. ... If liar-Hillary Clinton is given the chance, she'll stack the Supreme Court with activist left-wing judges who will treat the Constitution like a doormat. You can kiss your gun rights goodbye if she ever finds her way into the White House. In foreign policy, a liar-Clinton presidency means forgetting our friends and enabling our enemies. ... You all know [Donald Trump has] brought millions of new voters into our Party because he's listening to Americans who are anxious about a country which has lost its way." -The Patriot Post
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A Series of Election Questions
The 2016 Republican National Convention is now in the books, and the Democrats' version begins Monday. With that in mind, here are some considerations for Republicans of all stripes — elected officials, party poohbahs and voters, whether registered GOP or merely considering their votes — in this tumultuous election year.
The most remarkable thing about the 2016 cycle is how disliked both parties' nominees are. And, particularly on the Republican side, how bitterly divided some folks remain. Yet notwithstanding a few third-party options, either liar-Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be the president come Jan. 20, 2017. So what's a voter to do?
The Patriot Post has for 20 years been on the front lines of the fight for Liberty and Rule of Law. We regularly (and vigorously) advocate for the Constitution and First Principles. That includes often asking, how do we best advance our principles?
Conservatives are far more likely than leftists to stand for principle, which sometimes puts them at odds with "the team." There may be a few disgruntled Bernie Sanders voters out there, but the fact is Democrats always come together when it counts. That means they often achieve more of their objectives than Republicans do. And even when Republicans do accomplish their goals — slowing the advance of Barack nObama's agenda, for example — many on the team complain that a near-sack and incomplete pass on nObama's part wasn't a pick-six by Team Red. Of course, no team scores on every play.
Here, then, are some questions to ponder:
-Will liar-Hillary Clinton sign a repeal of nObamaCare? Will Trump?
-Will liar-Clinton seek to raise taxes? Will Trump?
-Who will put forth a better foreign policy vision? Will either candidate restore America's standing in the world?
-What will each one do about the Islamic State and the global terrorism threat?
-What will the two candidates do with immigration policy?
-What would a Republican Congress be able to do with Trump?
-What would a Democrat Congress be able to do with liar-Clinton?
-Will liar-Clinton appoint judges and justices who will uphold the Constitution? Will Trump?
-Does either candidate have the character of a president? If not, does that matter any more?
Perhaps the biggest questions are these: Does party trump principle? Or is it the other way around? Do the two ever work together? Is principle advanced when the team loses?
We suppose if you asked 100 people those questions, you'd get a variety of thoughtful answers. But that's what faces voters when they head to the polls. -The Patriot Post
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OPINION IN BRIEF
Mona Charen: "By praising him so often and so unequivocally, didn't Cruz help to detoxify Trump? Cruz is a decent and honorable person, but he abetted Trump's indecency until Trump's muzzle swung in his direction. And by sowing so much unfair suspicion about the Republican Party, didn't Cruz help create the 'burn it down' mood of 2016, which, in the end, devoured Cruz's own hopes, along with so much else? Politicians position, hedge and dodge. Understood. But when that positioning comes in the form of undermining a key institution, i.e. the Republican Party, it's playing with fire. Institutions take decades or generations to build. The Republican Party, for all its faults, was the only vehicle for conservative ideas in our society. Ted Cruz, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and the rest picked an ironic time to undermine it, since the party has never been more thoroughly conservative (at least as reflected in elected officials) than it was in 2016. Now, with a Trumpified Republican Party, conservatives are homeless and arguably crippled. If Trump wins, the transmogrification of the Republican Party will be total and “conservatives” will be Trumpites. If he loses (which is much more likely), the stain of Trumpism may keep Republicans from the White House for another generation. Either way, conservatism is the loser." -The Patriot Post
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Just Who Is the ‘Establishment?’
by J. Kenneth Blackwell
by J. Kenneth Blackwell
{theacru.org} ~ We all claim to hate the “establishment.” And why not? Look at the mess around us. It’s obvious that the folks in charge haven’t done a very good job... But who is the establishment? The term gets tossed around a lot as an insult these days —- even by some people who sure appear to be part of it. Some of those campaigning against the establishment assume that anyone holding office is a member. That’s a big mistake. Many of the most courageous warriors for liberty were elected to something. After all, if the government is the problem, then you’ve got to get into it to fix it... http://www.theacru.org/just-who-is-the-establishment/
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Afghanistan, a Model for nObama’s
Failed Global Leadership
by Ari Lieberman
{frontpagemag.com} ~ Twin suicide blasts struck Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul last week killing at least 80 and injuring as many as 260. The death toll is likely to rise as many of the injured are in a critical state... The resultant carnage was gruesome even by Afghan standards. Bodies in grotesque, unnatural postures, were strewn about. Some had severed limbs while others were decapitated. The Islamic State, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh – the nObama administration is still in the midst of formulating a policy on what to call them -- claimed responsibility for the atrocity. Those targeted were Afghan Hazaras, Persian-speaking people who are followers of the Shia brand of Islam; the rest of the nation practices Sunni Islam. They are a victimized minority who comprise roughly 20 percent of the Afghan population and were protesting lack of electricity -- a luxury most Westerners take for granted – when the blasts occurred. The impoverished Hazaras have also proven to be a fertile recruiting ground for the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has utilized members of the group as mercenary proxy soldiers to fight its sectarian conflicts in Iraq, Syria and possibly Yemen. And thanks to the $150 billion cash infusion from nObama’s Iran deal, the malignant mullahs will be able to sustain the payroll and likely expand their mercenary force, thus further fueling instability and sectarian violence... http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263627/afghanistan-model-obamas-failed-global-leadership-ari-lieberman
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liar-Hillary VP pick's dark ties to Islamists
by Leo Hohmann
{wnd.com} ~ Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee liar-Hillary Clinton’s newly-announced running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, has been portrayed as a safe pick, a “pristine” candidate with a history of missionary work in Central America... a fluent Spanish-speaker and a moderate by Democrat standards. But a new report out by a national-security expert suggests maybe Kaine’s record isn’t so clean after all. He has a history of embracing Islamists, writes Ryan Mauro in an article for the Clarion Project. “He appointed a Hamas supporter to a state immigration commission; spoke at a dinner honoring a Muslim Brotherhood terror suspect and received donations from well-known Islamist groups,” says Mauro, a fellow with the Clarion Project and an adjunct professor of homeland security at Liberty University in Virginia... http://www.wnd.com/2016/07/hillary-vp-picks-dark-ties-to-islamists/
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Carson – Amazed At Level Of
Corruption Throughout Politics
by Rick Wells
{rickwells.us} ~ liar-Hillary Clinton is once again denying any involvement in the latest email scandal. This newest opportunity for her to profess her innocence is centered on the DNC conspiring with the liar-Clinton camp to steer the nomination her way... Of course she’s claiming complete ignorance of any wrong doing. We’ve seen her in action before; we know how much her denials and her word are worth. Dr. Carson is asked about one of the emails in which the CFO for the DNC, Brad Marshall, floated the idea of attacking Sanders on his religion. Carson replies that using one’s religion against them regardless of who they are is a bad idea and unconstitutional. They discuss how this was done to Sanders because he was the outsider candidate that the establishment opposed, in a manner similar to the Trump candidacy. They talk about why Trump was able to persevere where Sanders was not. Dr. Carson attributes it to the level of corruption within each party...
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The REAL Reason Barack And Michelle nObama
Lost Their Law Licenses Is EXPOSED
by Clyde
{gopthedailydose.com} ~ Disturbing new reports have surfaced that claim both Barack and Michelle nObama lost their law licenses for criminal reasons... According to Before It’s News, Barack Hussein nObama surrendered his law license in 2008 in order to dodge charges that he lied on his bar application. His wife Michelle also surrendered her law license back in 1993, after a federal judge told her she could either surrender her license or be charged with insurance fraud...
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Three Charged in $1 Billion
Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Scheme
by Bob Adelmann
{thenewamerican.com} ~ Last Friday the Justice Department charged a Miami-area healthcare operator, a hospital administrator, and a physician’s assistant with conspiracy involving submitting fraudulent bills to Medicare and Medicaid exceeding, for the first time, $1 billion... The three included Philip Esformes, the owner of more than 30 Miami-area nursing and assisted-living facilities, hospital administrator Odette Barcha, and physician assistant Arnald Carmouze. They were charged with money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, and receiving kickbacks, along with other charges. The conspiracy had been going on for 14 years, and came to a end with the help of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF), which began investigating healthcare fraud in March 2007. Since that time, nearly 3,000 defendants, including doctors, nurses, physicians' assistants, hospital administrators, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers have been charged with bilking Medicare for more than $10 billion...
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Marine Corps F-35B Makes its
Red Flag Air Combat Debut
by Gidget Fuentes
by Gidget Fuentes
{usni.org} ~ The Marine Corps’ next-generation fighter took to the skies last week with its military contemporaries during Red Flag, the military’s premier advanced aerial combat training exercise... Six jets with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 flew to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., on the north edge of Las Vegas, to join with nearly 100 aircraft for the Red Flag 16-3, the third of four air-to-air exercises the Air Force is hosting this year in the vast Nevada Test and Training Range. Aircraft participating in the exercise, which began July 11 and runs through July 29, are practicing a wide range of missions including aerial combat, attack and close-air support in mock war games against opposing forces. This Red Flag marks a debut of sorts for the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and VMFA-121, which one year ago became the military’s first operational F-35 squadron. Last December, the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, Ariz.-based squadron practiced expeditionary operations while supporting 1st Marine Division units during exercise Steel Knight across southern California, and it has continued to build up its flight and operational experience ahead of this first large-scale, multi-service exercise... https://news.usni.org/2016/07/25/marine-corps-f-35b-makes-red-flag-air-combat-debut?utm_source=USNI+News&utm_campaign=2ab4433013-USNI_NEWS_DAILY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0dd4a1450b-2ab4433013-231491269&mc_cid=2ab4433013&mc_eid=3999f18767
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OK, liar-Hillary:
Have fun defending nObama's record
by David Limbaugh
{wnd.com} ~ Some Republicans are disillusioned with their party’s nominee, but imagine how rank-and-file Democrats must feel. Their presumptive nominee, liar-Hillary Clinton, not only is exceedingly unappealing in her own right but also seeks to fulfill Barack nObama’s third term and must defend – even champion – his disastrous record... Apart from liar-Clinton’s own baggage – her corruption, her empty record, her enabling of her husband’s sexual exploits, her enormous unlikability – she has sidled up to nObama so much during his tenure that she is stuck with his record, whether she likes it or not. As President nObama’s record reflects the worst presidential performance in modern memory – and probably longer – liar-Clinton has her work cut out for her, but she will have a smorgasbord of excuses available... http://www.wnd.com/2016/07/ok-hillary-have-fun-defending-obamas-record/
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To liar-Hillary, black votes matter
by Thomas Sowell
{wnd.com} ~ Black votes matter. If Republicans could get 20 percent of black votes, the Democrats would be ruined. This is highly unlikely, given the approach used by Republicans... However, the point is that Democrats must not only continue to get nine-tenths of black votes, they also need to get a high turnout of black voters on Election Day. People who expected the election of President Barack nObama to lead to racial healing and a post-racial society failed to take account of the political reality that racial healing and a post-racial society would, at a minimum, reduce black voter turnout. Black votes matter to many politicians – more so than black lives. That is why such politicians must try to keep black voters fearful, angry and resentful. Racial harmony would be a political disaster for such politicians... http://www.wnd.com/2016/07/to-hillary-black-votes-matter/
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ISIS lauds "results" of a bloodthirsty
Ramadan, claims 5200 victims
by LISA DAFTARI
by LISA DAFTARI
{familysecuritymatters.org} ~ In a celebratory infographic posted online, the Islamic State is claiming major victory in killing and injuring up to 5,200 people over the holy month of Ramadan... The infographic, lauding the "results" of a bloodthirsty Ramadan, published by ISIS' Al Naba weekly magazine notes the 14 terror attacks around the globe attributed to ISIS including the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida and the Dhaka, Bangladesh bakery attack. They also mention the Magnanville, France stabbing of a police officer and his wife and a suicide bomb attack that killed 14 Nepalese soldiers who worked at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan... http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/isis-lauds-results-of-a-bloodthirsty-ramadan-claims-5200-victims?f=must_reads
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Lion Ted
by Jeremy Carl
{nationalreview.com} ~ What happened last night on Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messenger, and e-mail was unprecedented, for this writer at least. It started almost as soon as Ted Cruz left the podium in Cleveland, and it built up momentum until it quickly became an avalanche. I didn’t just hear from politicos (though I certainly did hear from them) or conservatives (ditto) – I heard from liberals, moderates, and even from friends who are relatively apolitical. Some wanted to hear my opinion on Cruz’s speech and the subsequent reaction. But most just wanted to let me know that they thought it was fantastic.
Most of those I heard from were movement conservatives – not surprising considering that movement conservatives have been among the strongest anti-Trump partisans. But other messages came from liberals, including my sister, who messaged me “Yeah, Ted Cruz!” – the first time she has ever praised a Republican other than her brother.
Obviously, not everyone at the convention center felt the same way, though to some degree, as Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort seemed to acknowledge, the boos were choreographed by the Trump campaign. Yet the party establishment (and hard-core Trump supporters) will be more furious at Cruz than ever before, at least until November, at which point the political wisdom, or lack thereof, of Cruz’s move will be more apparent. However, it is well worth pointing out, even a Trump victory in 2016 would not automatically be devastating to Cruz’s future prospects. Trump must both win in 2016 and govern reasonably effectively (by conservative lights) for Cruz’s non-endorsement to live in long-term infamy. Cruz does not believe that will happen.
Yet for all of the political analysis of Cruz’s supposed calculation in not endorsing, much of it seems too clever by half — as the analysis largely reflects the author’s predisposition toward Cruz. In that regard, I should state my own biases. While I have at times been critical of Cruz, in general I am a fan. I endorsed him in the 2016 election, and nothing from last night causes me to reconsider that endorsement (quite the opposite). What’s more, Cruz’s decision shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone paying attention to the post-election statements from either the senator or his team. In various conversations with people close to the campaign in recent weeks, they were unanimous that they did not expect Senator Cruz to ever endorse Donald Trump, and certainly not at the convention. And Senator Cruz’s team went out of its way when they were given a speaking slot to indicate that an endorsement was not required of them in exchange for it. Frankly, it was gross political malpractice by the Trump team to allow Cruz to deliver his speech essentially unvetted, yet, given other gaffes made at the convention, it’s hardly surprising.
In this case, the simplest explanation for Senator Cruz’s behavior is also the best one: He didn’t endorse Trump because he didn’t think Trump was worthy of endorsement.
Donald Trump insulted Cruz’s wife, (presumably) planted false tabloid stories about him in the National Enquirer, and suggested, completely baselessly, that his father might have been involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. Beyond these outrageous personal insults, it is clear that Trump’s conservatism, such as it is, has little in common with the limited-government, pro-federalism conservatism of Senator Cruz.
Does that mean that Cruz might not have endorsed Trump were it obviously politically advantageous for him to do so?
Of course not.
Cruz is a political animal — he isn’t Ron Paul searching for the most extreme way of standing by his principles with no regard to their practical consequences. But those close to Cruz felt that strategically, the political implications of his move were unknowable. While a Rubio-style soft endorsement would have been politically much safer, ultimately there were presumably enough unknown unknowns about the politics that Senator Cruz decided that the best course of action was simply to do what he felt was right and hope, without any guarantees, that the politics would eventually work out for him.
Ultimately, Cruz’s performance in the hall outlined his strongest political quality: his courage, a virtue that, ironically, he shares to some degree with his Trumpian nemesis. For those of us who believe that courage is the virtue we will need most if we are to have any chance of effectively challenging liberalism’s false premises and rolling back its cultural hegemony, that courage is the reason we can make peace with Cruz, whatever his other flaws.
And Cruz’s courage is very different from Trump’s. Trump’s “courage” is more akin to the courage of a man who simply doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him (and therefore it tends to come packaged with a healthy dose of pathological narcissism and a failure to listen to good advice). Despite the stoic face he puts on, it is clear that Cruz is to some degree bothered by the opprobrium that is heaped on him (indeed, his discomfort was even visible at times during the speech). But it is a far more human and admirable courage than Trump’s hyper-confident bluster. This is not to suggest that Cruz is not a calculating politician (indeed he is, far more than most). Nor does it deny that he may well bear some responsibility for other behaviors that have not endeared him to his Senate colleagues. But after all of the calculating is done, Senator Cruz, more than any other national Republican, is willing to go out alone and defend an unpopular conservative position when doing so may have substantial personal and political costs.
”It was the glory of this man that he could stand alone with the truth and calmly await the result,” said Frederick Douglass at the funeral of his fellow radical abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, who first took up the cause at a time when it was deeply unpopular. While the stakes of Cruz’s speech, significant though they were, pale in comparison with the battles fought by Douglass and Garrison, the core principles Douglass stated apply equally. And in this case, the truth, whether or not the delegates in Cleveland wanted to hear it, is that Donald Trump, whatever virtues and vices he may have, and regardless of whatever GOP officialdom wants to pretend, is not a conservative, at least in the way that Americans have thought of conservatism over the last several decades. Ted Cruz didn’t join #NeverTrump yesterday. But he did declare that he wasn’t going to pretend that Trump’s record was something it wasn’t.
Senator Cruz’s decision was clearly unpopular with many GOP delegates and insiders in Cleveland. But for many in the wider political world outside the convention hall, Lyin’ Ted became Lion Ted on Wednesday night. And 2016 will likely not be the last time we’ll hear his roar.
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