The Patriot Post® · Tuesday Short Cuts

For the record: “In spite of the maliciously propagated myth to the contrary, the NRA has never been a particularly big political spender: In the hotly contested 2016 election cycle, it was not even among the top 500 political contributors, and its total contributions amounted to barely $1 million. The American Federation of Teachers makes $16 in contributions for every $1 contributed by the NRA, and its twin, the National Education Association, makes another $11 in contributions for every $1 contributed by the NRA. The NRA’s power comes — and always has come — from its membership.” —Kevin Williamson

Observations: “The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop. … President Obama did not have the power to unilaterally rewrite immigration law with DACA, and President Trump does not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law. Under the Constitution, that power belongs to the American people acting through their members of Congress.” —Senator Ben Sasse

The BIG Lie: “[Trump] is laying out his roadmap to cutting Social Security. Our seniors and millions of Americans with disabilities are under enough stress without Trump putting their hard-earned Social Security benefits in doubt.” —Joe Biden on Saturday

A blast from the past, Part I: “Critics have been spreading misinformation that the payroll tax cut will threaten the solvency of Social Security. That’s just plain wrong.” —Joe Biden in 2011

A blast from the past, Part II: “It would be inexcusable for Congress not to further extend this middle-class tax cut for the rest of the year. This is a way to boost the economy that has been supported by these very same Democrats and Republicans in the past.” —Barack Obama in 2011

A blast from the past, Part III: “House GOP trying to play catch-up on jobs but their stalling of payroll tax cut shows they are still putting politics before recovery.” —Senator Chuck Schumer in 2011

Demo-gogues: “I promise you if I’m elected, I won’t waste any time getting this virus under control. I’ll call Dr. Fauci and ask him to stay on. I’ll bring together top experts and leaders from both parties to chart a path forward. We’ll get it done, together.” —Joe Biden (“Sounds like an amazing plan that Donald Trump already did.” —Ben Shapiro)

Cat’s out of the bag: “China would prefer Joe Biden.” —Nancy Pelosi on Red China’s presidential preference

Non compos mentis: “Giving people money doesn’t foster dependence — it fosters independence.” —Andrew Yang

And last… “If Black Lives Mattered to BLM Inc. then why would they support cutting the salary of the black, female police chief of Seattle?” —Charlie Kirk