Sept. 28, 2020
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Trump did his job, now the Senate must immediately confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court—before the election
President Donald Trump has made his choice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court—and it is Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who currently serves on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, clerked for the late Antonin Scalia and shares his textualist philosophy of constitutional and legal interpretation. Barrett is therefore a highly qualified jurist, and also one of the nation’s foremost legal minds on the Constitution — and on upholding the meaning of its words
in federal courts. She will serve the Supreme Court — and the nation — well in that regard. The Constitution always needs more defenders. On the basis for originalism and textualism, Barrett writes it has less to do with judicial restraint than with deference to the supreme law of the land, the Constitution: “The Constitution’s original public meaning is important not because adhering to it limits judicial discretion, but because it is the law. And because it is the law, judges must be faithful to it.” What higher calling is there for a judge to fulfill? The rule of law is the cornerstone of constitutionally limited government, without which arbitrary and tyrannical rule could quickly take root. Barrett will safeguard the Constitution and the rights and liberties of all Americans. Which is why confirmation should be relatively easy for both Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to get through this year — before the election. The first hearings have been set for Oct. 12, leaving more than enough time to complete the process by the end of October.
Cartoon: MAGA Choice
How dare Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a brilliant woman, mother of seven, be a conservative?
Video: Whatever Joe Biden is on!: A rich public servant and the MERIT act
Joe Biden is a common man, huh? Well, please explain why he has been raking in millions upon millions? We look at this wealthy man and why people are looking at the MERIT act to make it easier to fire federal employees."
How’s that Basement Campaign Working Out for Ya’, Joe?
The last president to win an election from the comfort of his front porch was Warren G. Harding in 1920. A hundred years later, it looks like Joe Biden is attempting to do the same, only from his basement. Reporters covering the campaign point out that Biden has taken nine days off from the campaign trail this month, something virtually unheard of in modern presidential politics. Americans expect their presidential candidates to demonstrate the stamina and mental fortitude on the campaign trail which proves that they can do the job in the Oval office. The presidency is not a virtual position and Biden’s bizarre, but rare automaton like presentations are a clear indication that he is not physically able to do the job. Unlike Biden, presidents have to work past 9 a.m.
Say No to Biden's Dim Bulb Energy Schemes
President Trump's energy policies have created an America that is energy independent for the first time in 60 years. But that could change if Joe Biden is elected president. Biden's energy plan would make America wholly reliant on countries like China and Russia.
Is corn ethanol still necessary?
With the election around the corner, the D.C. swamp is hard at work. Various special interests are trying to make their pet issue look like an election asset or liability. One interest group working overtime is the biofuel lobby. The federal Renewable Fuel Standard – or RFS – is often falsely labeled as a “pro-farmer” energy policy that helps the Heartland. In reality, the RFS has become a tool for lining the pockets of the global agribusiness complex at the expense of real American farmers. It also puts domestically manufactured fuel supplies at risk. Coupled with their support of open borders immigration policies, the RFS further enables agribusiness giants to profit at the expense of rural Americans and heartland jobs. The President promised to protect every manufacturing job and get tough on illegal immigration. Reforming the RFS would help the American
farmers that are actually working in the fields and the small US refiners that are disproportionately disadvantaged relative to the global oil giants. Change is necessary to prevent global businesses and foreign interests that are already erecting barriers to sensible immigration controls from imposing additional threats real American farmers and domestic fuel manufacturers.
Video: As Trump surges ahead in Michigan and Florida, does Biden think he can win without campaigning?
Joe Biden could be making the same mistake Hillary Clinton made in 2016, when a complacent Democratic machine watched Trump shock the world by winning one of the greatest upsets in political history. In Michigan, Trafalgar Group shows President Donald Trump still leading Biden in its latest poll conducted Sept. 20-Sept. 22, 46.7 percent to 46 percent. Meanwhile, in Florida, the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted Sept. 15-Sept. 20, finds President Trump has jumped to a four-point lead among likely voters, 51 percent to 47 percent, as the Republican Party is experiences a surge in voter registration with a record 58,000 newly registered voters in the state in the month of August alone.
U.S. Rep. Posey legislation blocks CARES Act funds from going to Communist China’s slavery and concentration camps
Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning: “Congressman Posey is holding Communist China accountable for its abhorrent human rights record, concentration camps, forced slave and child labor, organ harvesting, crushing Hong Kong and threatening Taiwan with legislation that blocks any pandemic-related economic assistance in the CARES Act to be given to any business with ties to China. Without such taxpayer protections, hundreds of millions of dollars are potentially flowing to businesses either controlled, operated or owned by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Trump did his job, now the Senate must immediately confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court—before the election
By Robert Romano
President Donald Trump has made his choice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court — and it is Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who currently serves on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, clerked for the late Antonin Scalia and shares his textualist philosophy of constitutional and legal interpretation.
Barrett is therefore a highly qualified jurist, and also one of the nation’s foremost legal minds on the Constitution — and on upholding the meaning of its words in federal courts. She will serve the Supreme Court — and the nation — well in that regard. The Constitution always needs more defenders.
In her review of Randy Barnett’s “Our Republican Constitution,” Barrett outlined a strong defense of originalist interpretation of the Constitution and of the law, urging “fidelity to the original public meaning”: “The measure of a court, then, is its fidelity to the original public meaning, which serves as a constraint upon judicial decision making. A faithful judge resists the temptation to conflate the meaning of the Constitution with the judge’s own political preference; judges who give into that temptation exceed the limits of their power by holding a statute unconstitutional when it is not.”
But the basis for originalism and textualism has less to do with judicial restraint than with deference to the supreme law of the land, the Constitution: “The Constitution’s original public meaning is important not because adhering to it limits judicial discretion, but because it is the law. And because it is the law, judges must be faithful to it.”
What higher calling is there for a judge to fulfill? The rule of law is the cornerstone of constitutionally limited government, without which arbitrary and tyrannical rule could quickly take root. Barrett will safeguard the Constitution and the rights and liberties of all Americans.
And when a law conflicts with the supreme law, it must be held to be unconstitutional, upholding Marbury ’s command for judges to “say what the law is”. Barrett writes, “At the same time, fidelity will inevitably require a court to hold some statutes unconstitutional. When a statute conflicts with the Constitution, the fundamental law of the Constitution must take precedence, and the ordinary law of the statute must give way — because, properly understood, it is not law at all. A court does not overstep simply by holding a statute unconstitutional; it oversteps if it does so without constitutional warrant.”
This is as strong a foundation for a judge as we have seen nominated in the past, and at just 48 years old, Barrett will undoubtedly serve for a good long while. This may be Trump’s strongest choice for the Supreme Court — not to take anything away from Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who each have their own strengths — but Barrett’s philosophy of law and the Constitution, as well as her stated duty to interpret the law as written could be a gold standard by which all other nominees should be judged. She’s that good.
Which is why confirmation should be relatively easy for both Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to get through this year — before the election. The first hearings have been set for Oct. 12, leaving more than enough time to complete the process by the end of October.
Politically, a rapid confirmation process makes all the sense in the world for Senate Republicans and President Trump. Leaving the confirmation up in the air would be used by the opposition Democrats to drive voting turnout against the President, whereas getting Barrett seated before the election leaves no mistake that Trump’s greatest legacy on the judicial branch is to leave the Supreme Court with a solid constitutionalist majority — the way it should be.
Democrats and the Biden campaign, hoping that a win by former Vice President Joe Biden could somehow enable them to replace the seat with a Ginsburg clone will be dashed — because the seat will already be filled before a single vote is counted, something that could demoralize Democrats on the eve of the election.
Also, considering the possibility of a closely contested election, a fully represented Supreme Court will be needed to prevent an uncertain 4-4 outcome on an issue that might ultimately determine the outcome of the election, like in Bush v. Gore in 2000. Amy Coney Barrett could very likely be a tie-breaking vote in order to ensure that votes are counted with equal protection of the laws as required by the 14th Amendment in a state where the counting of absentee ballots could go awry, for example.
President Trump has kept his promise to appoint justices of the Supreme Court, and judges of federal courts, who adhere to the original meaning and intent of the Constitution — some 218 and counting with up to 300 by the end of the year, a record for any single term in office. In just four short years, the composition of the federal judiciary is being transformed for a generation. Just imagine what four more years of Trump would hold.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
Cartoon: MAGA Choice
By A.F. Branco
Click here for a higher level resolution version.
Video: Whatever Joe Biden is on!: A rich public servant and the MERIT act
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY0c3A2BupM
How’s that Basement Campaign Working Out for Ya’, Joe?
By Catherine Mortensen
The last president to win an election from the comfort of his front porch was Warren G. Harding in 1920. A hundred years later, it looks like Joe Biden is attempting to do the same, only from his basement.
Reporters covering the campaign point out that Biden has taken nine days off from the campaign trail this month, something virtually unheard of in modern presidential politics.
Veteran political reporter Haris Alic who covers the Biden campaign for Breitbart noted in a recent article, “More than a few reporters were quick to note that the Democrat nominee’s schedule stands in stark contrast to that of President Donald Trump, who has increased his travel in recent weeks as the general election has kicked into gear.”
Biden’s staff say he is home prepping for the upcoming debates. Previously the campaign said it was focusing on virtual events as a result of concerns over Covid-19. But Alic, who has been covering Biden since last year’s Democratic primaries, said there may be more at play. He said long before Covid-19, the 78-year old Biden campaigned less than any of the other democratic candidates in the primary.
“It may be a stamina thing, or it may be that he’s up in the polls, and his staff doesn’t want him to make a gaffe,” Alic said. “But there’s a clear pattern of him not being out on the campaign trail as much as other candidates.”
Alic said the Biden campaign is doing more virtual events, potentially reaching thousands in a single “virtual social media happy hour” with the candidate. Not surprisingly, Alic said he is able to cover much of the Biden campaign without ever leaving home.
“They post a lot of his speeches on YouTube and the campaign sends links to his virtual events,” explained Alic.
While Alic would not speculate as to the effectiveness of this strategy, he said it does pose challenges for reporters trying to gauge voter reaction. In a traditional campaign, he explained, where reporters attend rallies, speeches, and other events, they would have opportunities to talk with voters to get insights into how the candidate’s message is being received. But with virtual campaign events reporters have no access to supporters or event attendees. “We’ve kind of sequestered ourselves into a little bit of a bubble.”
He believes this is “a big deal” because with just 40 days left to the election, it’s hard to know how the candidate’s message is being received by “that very small percentage of center voters” who could determine the outcome of the election.
Rick Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government, says what we are seeing from Biden does not instill confidence that he’s up to the job.
“Americans expect their presidential candidates to demonstrate the stamina and mental fortitude on the campaign trail which proves that they can do the job in the Oval office. The presidency is not a virtual position and Biden’s bizarre, but rare automaton like presentations are a clear indication that he is not physically able to do the job. Unlike Biden, presidents have to work past 9 a.m.
“America’s workers expect, at the very least, that their president will work as many hours as they do,” concluded Manning. “Given Biden’s post-Labor Day run, there is zero evidence he is up to that task.”
Catherine Mortensen is the Vice President of Communications at Americans for Limited Government.
To view online: http://dailytorch.com/2020/09/hows-that-basement-campaign-working-out-for-ya-joe/
Say No to Biden's Dim Bulb Energy Schemes
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoggGaQeV-Q
Is corn ethanol still necessary?
By Rick Manning
With the election around the corner, the D.C. swamp is hard at work. Various special interests are trying to make their pet issue look like an election asset or liability. One interest group working overtime is the biofuel lobby. The federal Renewable Fuel Standard – or RFS – is often falsely labeled as a “pro-farmer” energy policy that helps the Heartland. In reality, the RFS has become a tool for lining the pockets of the global agribusiness complex at the expense of real American farmers. It also puts domestically manufactured fuel supplies at risk. Coupled with their support of open borders immigration policies, the RFS further enables agribusiness giants to profit at the expense of rural Americans and heartland jobs.
Passed in 2005 and greatly expanded in 2007, the RFS was meant to “reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil” and promote rural economic development in the process. The law established increasing mandates for different types of biofuels, culminating in a requirement to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuel into the gasoline and diesel supply in 2022. Of that total, 15 billion gallons can be met via corn based ethanol. Unfortunately, after more than a decade of this law, it has become clear that the unintended negative consequences have outweighed the benefits.
First, the law was passed before America’s energy revolution. Since the U.S. in now the world’s largest oil and gas producer, the law’s energy independence and security justification is no longer relevant. Second, the law has actually worked to the detriment of most farmers. The Clean Air Act and RFS – both of which mandated ethanol in some fashion - have driven up farmland values, which have tripled since the 1990s. However, cash rents have also gone up in concert; rising more than 130 percent in Iowa alone since the mid-90s. Since the majority of actual farmers are tenant farmers – which work over 54 percent of cropland nationally and 57 percent in Iowa – the rise in land values has just meant more money out of the average farmers’ pockets as net farm income has plummeted over the last decade. It is also the sole reason that wealthy landowners see a net return per acre over 300 times that of tenant farmers. The erosion of farm income over the last decade, which has hit tenant farmers the hardest, has occurred despite the fact ethanol use in the fuel supply has increased by over 20 times its 1990 level.
Many of the same interests benefitting from the inflated land values attributable in part to the RFS are giant global and foreign agribusiness. Foreign investors are increasingly buying up American farmland and agribusiness is increasing gobbling up massive swaths of soil. In Iowa alone, the percentage of farmland agribusiness owned grew from 20 to 40 percent between 2002 and 2017. Large, global agribusinesses are the same interests thwarting progress in controlling illegal immigration. They are the same companies that often turn their backs on American workers to pay illegal immigrants substandard wages; giving them an unfair and immoral advantage over the yeoman tenant farmer.
Finally, adding insult to injury, the RFS also advantages global oil companies and foreign biofuel interests over small to mid-sized American refiners. Escalating compliance costs for the RFS contributed to the bankruptcy of a Philadelphia refinery in 2019. With refiners expected to post historic losses for the second quarter, RFS costs could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for many other American refiners. The cost for tradable credits needed to comply with the RFS have been skyrocketing all year. Historically, paying for the RFS has often exceeded the payroll of independent American refiners. Additionally, a quirk in the program allows global, integrated oil companies that own fuel retail outlets to generate more credits than they need, which independent American refiners are forced to buy for compliance.
Unfortunately, bankrupting tenant farmers and domestic refiners may not even be the worst part of the program. The true insult lies in the fact that we need foreign biofuel to comply with the RFS. Since the program mandates more ethanol than can be blended into gasoline due to engine and infrastructure constraints, U.S. refiners have had to rely on at least half a billion gallons of FOREIGN BIODIESEL in each of the last three years to meet the programs overly stringent requirements. Such result is the furthest thing from an America First energy policy.
The President promised to protect every manufacturing job and get tough on illegal immigration. Reforming the RFS would help the American farmers that are actually working in the fields and the small US refiners that are disproportionately disadvantaged relative to the global oil giants. Change is necessary to prevent global businesses and foreign interests that are already erecting barriers to sensible immigration controls from imposing additional threats real American farmers and domestic fuel manufacturers.
Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.
To view online: http://dailytorch.com/2020/09/is-corn-ethanol-still-necessary/
Video: As Trump surges ahead in Michigan and Florida, does Biden think he can win without campaigning?
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2wbrRaKpds
U.S. Rep. Posey legislation blocks CARES Act funds from going to Communist China’s slavery and concentration camps
Sept. 25, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of H.R. 8331, the “Accountability for CARES Act of 2020” by U.S. Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) that would block CARES Act funds from going to Chinese companies:
“Congressman Posey is holding Communist China accountable for its abhorrent human rights record, concentration camps, forced slave and child labor, organ harvesting, crushing Hong Kong and threatening Taiwan with legislation that blocks any pandemic-related economic assistance in the CARES Act to be given to any business with ties to China. Without such taxpayer protections, hundreds of millions of dollars are potentially flowing to businesses either controlled, operated or owned by the Chinese Communist Party.
“We applaud and thank U.S. Reps. Posey, Gaetz, Spano, Weber and Cloud, whose legislation protects national security, holds China to account and blocks U.S. tax dollars from funding slavery and concentration camps in one of the most tyrannical regimes in human history. Every member of Congress should support this common-sense provision, and leadership of both parties should ensure that it is included in any phase four legislation.”
To view online: https://getliberty.org/2020/09/u-s-rep-posey-legislation-blocks-cares-act-funds-from-going-to-communist-chinas-slavery-and-concentration-camps/
