Sept. 8, 2022
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Biden DOJ Attacks First Amendment Right to Petition Government in Alabama
By Rick Manning
The Biden Department of Justice just unleashed its political subpoena power in the state of Alabama, and no one should be surprised that a conservative group has come in their crosshairs – all because they had the temerity to urge the state legislature to pass a law stopping the use of puberty blockers on minors.
Eagle Forum of Alabama (EFA) has worked hard over the past three years encouraging the Alabama state legislature to pass legislation blocking the distribution of puberty blockers to children, and after seven separate legislative hearings, long and loud public debate, intense media coverage and an intervening election in 2020, they finally succeeded.
The response by opponents was swift and constitutional, they filed a federal lawsuit urging the Court to find the legislation unconstitutional. Not surprisingly, the Biden Justice Department announced that they would be joining the law’s opponents in the lawsuit as was their right.
What was surprising is the subpoena the EFA received on August 9, 2022 demanding all information related to the non-profit’s legislative activities promoting the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion And Protection Act (VCAP) since 2017.
In an exclusive interview with Americans for Limited Government, EFA Executive Director Becky Gerritson made clear that the subpoena was “impossible” to fulfill as it demanded five-year of information with a demand for every piece of paper and communication on the legislation including drafts.
Mrs. Gerritson’s affidavit to the Court made public today makes this point asserting, “Eagle Forum of Alabama is not a party in this legal action. The DOJ subpoena is broad, intrusive, and meant to harass. It seeks 5 ½ years of information, including: all private communications with legislators or anyone else regarding VCAP; every note, meeting-minutes, letter, policy goals and strategy effort, speech, presentation materials, research, polling; drafts of the bill or its amendments (which can be found on the legislative website); and documents pertaining to publicly-posted social media and webpages, etc.”
But the bigger issue, beyond the perjury trap set by the Justice Department letter where any scrap of paper discovered that had not been provided could be used as evidence of perjury, is the profound chilling effect the subpoena has on the First Amendment right to petition your government.
For those at the Department of Justice who might be reading this, as a refresher, the First Amendment to the US Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
It is that nasty little inclusion at the end of the amendment that apparently doesn’t get taught in the finest Ivy League Law Schools, “and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
In spite of the Biden attack on dissent to his government policies last week, the U.S. Constitution still exists and as it was designed to do, serve as a protection against an avaricious government seeking to impose its will on the people of the United States.
There can be no doubt to the intent of the subpoena, it was to intimidate and punish the Eagle Forum of Alabama and every other conservative group in the country from vigorously participating in the political arena. After all, how dare those flyover MAGA people push legislation that offends the sensibilities of the fashionable crowd in power.
This is why this case on whether the Biden Justice Department has the legal authority to attempt to ruin a small, but powerful group for legally petitioning their government in Alabama, goes to the heart of our very Constitutional right as the governed. Whether you are on the left or right, this blatant attempt at legal intimidation, should scare you, because if they can do it to one group, they can do it to all groups.
As Eagle Forum of Alabama’s response warns, “This should cause every single advocacy group or individual in America engaged in the legislative process to pause and consider the potential ramifications if any part of this subpoena is allowed to stand.”
By the way, as a side note, if Becky Gerritson’s name sounds familiar it is because she was one of the leaders who pushed back and won against the Obama administration’s attempt to use the IRS to take down legally constituted tea party groups.
I think the Justice Department is going to wish they picked on someone else in this fight.
Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.
To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2022/09/biden-doj-attacks-first-amendment-right-to-petition-government-in-alabama/
Biden gets no bump from dark MAGA Republican speech as race for Congress comes into focus
By Robert Romano
President Joe Biden received no bounce in polls from his dark Sept. 1 speech in Philadelphia, Pa. outlining the supposed “threat” to “the very foundations of our republic” posed by former President Donald Trump and the so-called Make America Great Again (MAGA) Republicans.
58 percent disapproved of his handling of his job before the speech, and 57 percent afterward, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
Same with the Economist/YouGov poll: only 41 percent approved before the speech, and only 41 percent approved afterward, losing 2 points among suburban households and 4 points among rural households. He did get a boost among urban households in Democratic areas, undoubtedly owing to the partisan tone of the speech itself.
All told, 54 percent of suburban households disapprove of Biden, and only 40 percent approve, a massive 14-point gap, Economist/YouGov reports.
The speech itself seemingly signaled the start of the campaign season ahead of the Nov. 2022 Congressional midterms even as it marked a sharp departure by Biden from his inauguration speech’s promise to unite the nation: “Bringing America together. Uniting our people. And uniting our nation.” This was not the same Biden whose strength in suburban households helped him eke out a slim victory over Trump in 2020, and who he needs to shore up if his party is to have any hope in November.
Instead, Republicans remain favored to certainly take back the House, according to the latest projection by RealClearPolitics.com, showing 218 seats that lean Republican or are safe Republican, and only 183 seats that are lean Democrat or safe Democrat. Republicans are expected to pick up between 5 and 39 seats, with a 22-seat average.
As for the tossups, 28 out of 34 seats up for grabs are held by the Democratic Party. Just 6 belong to Republicans.
To hold onto the House in November, Democrats need to win not only every single one of the tossup races, but at least one or some of the lean Republican races.
Meaning, Biden really needed to appeal to at least a few Republicans — who are more enthusiastic about voting in the midterms than Democrats in poll after poll — and not turn off independents and suburban households, if he was hoping to lead his party to victory in November.
With the slimmest of majorities in Congress to make such a hyperpartisan speech targeting Trump and his other political opponents — all the while the Justice Department is busy pursuing criminal charges against Trump and his supporters — mixed government, the most likely outcome of the Congressional midterms, seems a bit more certain than it did prior to Biden’s speech.
Biden blew it. And surely his handlers noticed, for not a day later, Biden was tripping over himself to convince reporters he did not mean every single Trump supporter was an “extremist threat” to the fate of democracy in the world. That’s because Biden needs at least a few Trump supporters to vote Democrat in November. You know, after he called them extremists but then pretended to forget his speech.
On Sept. 2, Biden clarified his remarks, stating: “I don’t consider any Trump supporter a threat to the country.”
But by then the damage was already done. Biden blew it, and when the results for the House of Representatives are announced in November, it may be hard not to look back on this ominous Sept. 1 speech as solidifying public discontent ahead of the elections, all the while Democrats lovingly embraced the hate-Trump Kool-Aid. Stay tuned.
Robert Romano is Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2022/09/biden-gets-no-bump-from-dark-maga-republican-speech-as-race-for-congress-comes-into-focus/
Video: DOJ Subpoena Suppresses First Amendment Rights of Alabama Group
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYg9xKU91yE
F. Vincent Vernuccio and Steve Delie: Right-to-work is a sure bet in an uncertain economy
By F. Vincent Vernuccio and Steve Delie
Gloomy economic signs are giving the public deja vu. Talk of a recession triggers flashbacks to 2008. Sky-high gas prices evoke memories of the Carter presidency. It’s true, the economic challenges we face today are not new. But neither are the solutions.
The past clearly shows us which policies boost the economy. And few are as compelling as the right to work. For 75 years now, right-to-work states have protected employees from being required to pay a union as a condition of employment. Simply put, right-to-work means an employee cannot be fired for opting not to pay a union.
And allowing individual workers to decide whether paying a union is worth it consistently delivers benefits — for employees, businesses, and state economies.
For example, employment in states with right-to-work policies is higher , as study after study has shown. And it’s not just that workers are employed. They’re also getting paid more. A 2013 study found that right-to-work boosts personal income. Research also confirms that workers in right-to-work states are more productive .
Not surprisingly, these benefits give right-to-work states’ workforces a boost.
The advantage is clearest in right-to-work states that border a state without right-to-work protections. Employees living in border counties often cross state lines to seek work in the right-to-work state next door, a recent study shows.
Given its clear benefits, right-to-work has gained support from both sides of the political aisle.
In a recent survey in North Carolina, 71% of likely voters said they would support an amendment to the state constitution that cemented right-to-work protections. The survey sample skewed slightly Democratic, challenging the idea that right-to-work is a partisan issue.
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina echoed the sentiment, saying, “There are nine words etched within the North Carolina General Statutes that every state should adopt: The right to live includes the right to work.” Rep. Foxx calls right-to-work laws “a xxxxxx” that defends both workers and entrepreneurs.
And that defense has served the country well in times of economic uncertainty.
One need only look at how states have recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic to see that right-to-work states have provided more opportunity and employment, even in the toughest of times. The latest jobs report shows that, compared to when the pandemic began, right-to-work states now have 595,900 more jobs. States that have not embraced worker freedoms have 1,493,000 fewer.
Of the 13 states that have fully recovered their pre-pandemic employment, 11 are right-to-work states.
As economic uncertainty looms, the promise of a sure thing becomes more valuable than ever. Perhaps now is the time for states without right-to-work protections to consider the data and revisit the benefits these laws could bring. They will not only strengthen the economy but also meaningfully improve quality of life for citizens.
And that might be the best news workers have heard in a while.
Steve Delie is director of labor policy for Workers for Opportunity , a project of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. F. Vincent Vernuccio is a senior labor policy adviser for Workers for Opportunity and president of the Institute for the American Worker.
To view online: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/faith-freedom-self-reliance/right-to-work-is-a-sure-bet-in-an-uncertain-economy