Plus, progressive cities descend into chaos. Monday, August 10, 2020 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer Trump Takes Action President Trump put Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer back on their heels Saturday. At an afternoon press conference, the president listed just some of the non-Covid junk that was in Pelosi's $3.5 trillion bill, like a mass release of illegal immigrants from detention centers and felons from prisons. He then signed four executive orders designed to do the following: Continue enhanced unemployment benefits with an additional $400 per week. Grant a payroll tax holiday for individuals making $100,000 or less. For 68% of American workers, the payroll tax is a greater burden than their federal income tax liability. Continue the eviction and foreclosure moratorium. Continue the deferral of student loan payments and interest. New Day, New Outrage Up until Saturday afternoon, virtually every media commentator and leftist politician had their talking points: Congressional liberals claimed they wanted to help the American people, but Donald Trump and Senate conservatives were blocking them. Never mind that Trump had offered to quickly approve the things that everyone agrees on but Pelosi and Schumer rejected it. But then Trump acted Saturday and the left was outraged. "He has no authority to do this," they claimed. "What about the Constitution?" they whined. "It's too small, not enough," they complained. Excuse me. But does this end up helping the American people or not? Yes, it does. The Left's Dilemma The president has put Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer between a rock and hard place. Are they really going to go into the federal courts to get liberal judges to block aid we have been told is essential to preventing people from starving and losing their homes? Stay tuned. We'll see. Sen. Dick Durbin admitted it was "a moral dilemma" for his party. Grumbling On The Right A handful of Republicans like Sen. Ben Sasse are also questioning the president's authority. But the money he's using has already been appropriated. For example, $44 billion for the extra unemployment benefits is coming from FEMA. There's no doubt that we are facing an emergency because of this pandemic. That's not the fault of any American, but rather of the Chinese communists. On the payroll tax holiday, Barack Obama did something very similar, citing the economic emergency of the Great Recession following the 2008 financial meltdown. Nancy Pelosi supported it then. The legal issue essentially boils down to the president's ability to reprogram funds already appropriated for other purposes in order to address a particular emergency. It is the same argument politicians from both parties raised against the president's authority to use funds for the border wall. They lost those challenges. (Here and here.) Here's the larger point you need to understand: Pelosi and Schumer were effectively using millions of Americans as hostages, attempting to force President Trump to accept various left-wing proposals that had virtually nothing to do with the coronavirus. For example, they stuffed their "emergency stimulus bill" with hundreds of billions of dollars to states for "election safety and security." Translation: They want to send millions of ballots to people who had not requested them. There are provisions in Pelosi's bill prohibiting voter ID. Progressive Cities Descend Into Chaos Caravans drove down Chicago's Magnificent Mile and looters jumped out of cars ransacking high-end stores, presumably to honor the memory of George Floyd. The looters grabbed as many iPhones and whatever else they could get their hands on, as overwhelmed police helplessly stood by. Gucci, Macy's and Nordstrom were some of the stores that were hit. There was more disturbing unrest in Portland. Leftist Antifa thugs set fire to the Police Association building and also poured into residential neighborhoods. In Washington, D.C., an Antifa group marched through upscale Georgetown with a really compelling banner that read, "Free The People, Fight The Power, F--k The Police." Startled Georgetown residents who came to their windows had lasers or high-powered lights flashed in their eyes. More Signs Of Resistance It's clear from the march into a St. Louis residential community, which resulted in one couple becoming very famous, and from what we saw in Chicago, Portland and Washington this weekend, that the demonstrators have gotten the message to get out of the inner cities and hit the suburbs. But when left-wing demonstrators attempted to march on a "Back the Blue" rally in Fort Collins, Colorado, they encountered some resistance they were not expecting. And when they went after a veteran in a wheelchair, well, let's just say it didn't end well for them. We've been urging churches and synagogues to make sure security measures are in place to protect congregants during worship. I think houses of worship need to take additional steps to ensure they are protected at night from arson, vandalism and other attacks. If you live in an area run by cowardly progressive mayors who have handcuffed the police, find like-minded people in your neighborhood and have a meeting about what you are going to do if some kind of threat comes to where you and your family live. A Man For This Time Ed Meese was exactly the kind of conservative attorney general we needed in the Reagan era. He was very close to President Reagan, having worked with him for decades prior to coming to Washington. They both knew where Reagan wanted to take the country and they worked brilliantly together to achieve those goals. Bill Barr had no prior relationship at all with Donald Trump. But he is exactly the right man in the right job for this time. He showed it again last night during an interview with Mark Levin. Barr warned about the left's "lust of power," about the "Bolsheviks" in many of these so-called "social justice organizations" and about Antifa's fascist tactics. Barr also called out the mainstream media for lying to the American people by downplaying the violence that has taken place in Portland and other cities. MAKE YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION NOW As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations to American Values are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions may be mailed to the following address: American Values PO Box 1223 Merrifield, VA 22116-1223 Phone: 703-671-9700 SIGN UP FOR GARY BAUER'S "END OF DAY REPORT"  VISIT END OF DAY ARCHIVES EMAIL GARY BAUER FOLLOW GARY ON PARLER American Values | ouramericanvalues.org ‌ ‌ American Values | PO Box 1223, Merrifield, VA 22116-1223 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by [email protected]