The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Upright: “Those who want to ban guns should make their case honestly, by seeking to repeal the Second Amendment, rather than leveraging their control of a few key banks. The free market works when consumers, not bankers or credit-card companies, decide what they purchase. Republicans should make it clear to the financial industry that they will protect that right.” —Jonathan Tobin

America First: “For an administration to engage in a war against fossil fuels is just simply wrongheaded to begin with. But this president from the very beginning said that the war on coal is over. We’re going to be energy dominant and energy independent. When you see that taking place, that’s the reason there’s tremendous optimism across the country, tremendous optimism for our economy and the future and the ability to be about stewardship, and jobs and growth.” —EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt

Everything about the Obamas is political: “This is not The Obama Network. There’s no political slant to the programming.” —Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos on the Obamas’ huge new platform

Race bait, part I: “He’s made it more popular, I think, to be openly racist. … Tens of millions of people voted for him after he showed his cards for years.” —CNN commentator Michaela Angela Davis saying “absolutely yes” Trump voters are all racist

Race bait, part II: “You can see the way people act, and maybe they feel a license to act that way because this president — I will quote Steve Schmidt — ‘is a stone-cold racist.’ I’m sorry; I quoted someone else, but I agree with it, and I’ll stand right by it.” —"Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski

And last… “White racism does exist, but its social power is weak and the social power arrayed against it is overwhelming.” —National Review’s John O'Sullivan