Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.
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Biden Administration Maligns Border Patrol – So there were no whips, and the firsthand account by the photographer said that no “whipping” with the reins took place. Is the issue here that the Border Patrol agents were doing their jobs and trying to enforce U.S. border laws? Following the release of the pictures, the Biden administration went into full-on disinformation mode with the help of their media allies. “To see people treated like they did, horses barely running over, people being strapped,” Biden said of Border Patrol agents. “It’s outrageous. I promise you those people will pay. There will be an investigation underway now, and there will be consequences. There will be consequences.” There certainly were consequences for the Border Patrol agents who were there at the border doing their jobs. The administration suspended the use of horses, which have been used in border enforcement for most of the last century. Horses perform particularly well in the particular conditions of the Southern border, according to the Border Patrol Museum. They are more useful off-road and do less damage to the environment. With less environmental impact and reduced carbon emissions, you’d think the left would be all for it. But that’s not how this works. Heritage expert: Jarrett Stepman

White House plays down split with military over Afghanistan withdrawal – By nearly all accounts, the withdrawal was ill-conceived from the start, rushed in its execution, and uncoordinated with international partners. It created the worst possible conditions under which to evacuate American citizens and others, fatally undermined the Afghan government and military, and facilitated the Taliban’s victory. It is a stain on America’s honor and prestige, and its consequences will be felt for years to come Heritage expert: Sec. Robert Wilkie

The True Purpose of Election Audits – Those who are dismissing this audit are losing track of what an audit is supposed to do: it isn’t to overturn an election but to see if there were any mistakes, discrepancies, or omissions in the election. The discrepancies, errors, and other potential problems revealed by the audit, such as votes potentially cast by individuals in multiple counties and from addresses where they no longer lived, raise serious questions about the election process in Maricopa County and the competence of its election officials. The margin of potential errors is within, or may exceed, the margin of victory. While the report does not indicate the outcome of any election would change, this is a serious issue that warrants close scrutiny. This audit is not the end of the process; election officials and state legislators should closely examine the audit report to identify the problems identified and conduct a thorough investigation to verify what happened in the specific problems listed in the report and implement new procedures to ensure they do not reoccur. Heritage expert: Hans von Spakovsky

5 Supreme Court Cases to Watch in the 2021-22 Term – Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: This is the most important abortion case in the last 30 years. Essentially, the Supreme Court will have an opportunity to reconsider—and potentially overrule—its wayward decisions Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In 2018, Mississippi enacted the Gestational Age Act, which prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of gestation except in cases of medical emergency or severe fetal abnormality. The state legislature set forth two findings in the law: 1) 75% of all nations do not permit abortions past 12 weeks’ gestation, and 2) an unborn human’s heart starts beating after five to six weeks’ gestation and by nine weeks all “basic physiological functions are present.” It’s hard to overstate the potential impact of this ruling, whether it be a decision upholding the lower courts’ decisions and reaffirming Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which would be a huge blow to the pro-life movement, a moderate ruling that would gradually diminish prior abortion precedents, or a broad decision completely overturning its prior decisions. Heritage expert: Zack Smith

Beware the Strings Attached to All That Government Spending – For everyone already fearful of even higher inflation — or worse, 1970s-style stagflation — adding another $4.6 trillion in federal spending (including the $1.1 trillion infrastructure and $3.5 trillion reconciliation packages) only exacerbates these concerns. Moreover, specific policies would add fuel to current fires. It’s already hard enough to find workers with a record-high 10.9 million job openings in the U.S., but the proposed infrastructure package calls for simultaneously increasing the demand for infrastructure workers while limiting the supply of such workers to strictly unionized workers — making roughly one out of every eight construction workers eligible for construction projects. Heritage experts: Joel Griffith and Rachel Greszler