Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.

 
 


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The Left Continues to Peddle Lies about GA Voting Laws  <[link removed]>– Not only has Joy Reid displayed her complete ignorance of what is actually going in elections in Florida, but her attitude that minority voters are incapable of coping with common sense
requirements like voter ID is patronizingly racist. There were almost a million more Floridians registered to vote as of Sept. 30 than in 2018, the last midterm congressional election. Florida’s reforms have not prevented anyone from registering to vote or turning out to vote. Numerous studies on election reforms like voter ID show that states that have implemented such reforms have seen their registration and turnout increase. Heritage Expert: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>  
 
State Attorneys General Write to AG Garland <[link removed]> – This year, a trio of medical organizations urged <[link removed]> Garland to investigate the “organizations, individuals, and entities” carrying out “coordinated attacks . . . that threaten federally protected rights to health care for patients and their families” in providing “gender-affirming” treatment. The letter <[link removed]> from the American Medical Association (AMA), Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) claimed that “The attacks are rooted in an intentional campaign of disinformation, where a few high-profile users on social media share false and misleading information targeting individual physicians and hospitals, resulting in a rapid
escalation of threats, harassment, and disruption of care across multiple jurisdictions.” The medical associations asked the Department of Justice to take “swift action to investigate and prosecute” individuals responsible for the alleged interference with “providing evidence-based gender-affirming care.” In anticipation of what Garland might do in response,
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan
Skrmetti <[link removed]>, joined by 12 other state attorneys general, wrote <[link removed]> to Garland as well, urging him not to mobilize the DOJ and FBI against parents and others critical of increasingly widespread efforts to provide chemical and surgical
interventions for minors who are gender dysphoric. Heritage Expert: Sarah Parshall Perry <[link removed]> 
 
Unaccountable bureaucrats, experts interfere with popular sovereignty <[link removed]> – The court has not forbidden Congress from giving its powers to the administrative state. It has, however, put both the legislative and executive branches on notice that it no longer buys into Wilson’s vision. Will these gentle nudges solve the problem of administrative rule? Probably not.  Only Congress can solve the problem it created, and gentle nudges are probably not enough to goad that lazy body to motion. A sharper prod is needed. The court might provide that by dealing delegation a strong blow. Eliminating an unconstitutionally constituted agency or reinvigorating the constitutional principle that Congress cannot give its job to the administrative state might do the trick. It’s not clear that the Supreme Court is willing to do any of that. But it’s probably the best chance we have of reclaiming popular sovereignty. Heritage Expert: GianCarlo
Canaparo <[link removed]> 
 
Shock Poll: Americans Prioritize Women’s Rights In Iran Over Nuclear Deal After Mahsa Amini’s Murder <[link removed]>
– In October, however, opinions on the JCPOA as a national security priority had shifted dramatically, apparently due to the murder of Mahsa Amini and the subsequent popular protests in Iran.  The brutal beating death of a young Kurdish visitor to Tehran at the hands of the “Morality Police,” who disapproved of the fit of her hijab,
touched a nerve in the country but also captured the world’s attention. In a significant reversal, respondents prioritized “[s]upporting Iranians protesting for women’s rights” over “[r]e-entering the nuclear deal with Iran” by a margin of 44% to 24%, with 50% of Democrats, 40% of Republicans and 43% of Independents responding in the affirmative. The shift among Democrats <[link removed]> is particularly significant given their overwhelming support for re-entering the JCPOA just three months earlier. It may also explain why the Biden administration <[link removed]> has adopted more forward-leaning rhetoric supporting the protesters. Heritage Expert: Victoria Coates <[link removed]> 
 
Iran regime on borrowed time <[link removed]> – The U.S. government should never embrace regime change as an instrument of foreign policy. In the end, it is not our duty or responsibility to dictate to other people how to govern themselves. Americans can best defend American interests by safeguarding them against the malicious actions of others. At the same time, the U.S. can and should show its support for the Iranian protesters by offering words of solidarity and helping to provide access to the internet, popular social media channels and uncensored news. There are other prudent actions that Washington should take to prepare for a future where the Iranian Revolution is just another failed human experiment in oppression. For starters, Washington ought to do nothing to prop up a collapsing dictatorship that also sponsors terrorism worldwide. That means dropping all efforts to revive the Obama-era Iran deal, which has zero prospects of preventing Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon, yet promises to net the regime more than $1 trillion with which to continue its reign of terror. Instead, the U.S. should double down on isolating, sanctioning and punishing the regime for its many human rights abuses and atrocities. Iran has consistently shown that it cannot be trusted. The only language it understands and responds to is strength. Heritage Expert: James Carafano <[link removed]> 
 
Biden Should Ask a Mirror Whom to Blame for His Energy Policy Failure <[link removed]> – With an about-face on energy policy—one that focused on increasing rather than decreasing reliable domestic energy production—the Administration could change expectations about the direction of U.S. energy production, resulting in an immediate decline in the price of oil and natural gas. Prices are set on expectations of future production, not on present production. That’s why oil prices rise when hurricanes are forecast, before rigs have been damaged. Heritage Expert: Diana Furchtgott-Roth <[link removed]>

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