The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Insight: “There have existed, in every age and every country, two distinct orders of men — the lovers of freedom and the devoted advocates of power.” —Robert Y. Hayne (1791-1839)

For the record: “Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.‘s airplane is not living in reality. This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.” —Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell regarding Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Upright: “The worst of [Marjorie Taylor] Greene’s statements suggest that she may be anti-Semitic. If true, that is a terrible thing. But if we are going to expel anti-Semites from the House, Greene is hardly first on the list. Democrats like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, and no doubt others if we assiduously study their Facebook pages, are way ahead of her in line. Again, the question of when anti-Semitic statements have been made is relevant. Greene has been spotless since taking her seat in the House, while Omar and Tlaib have used their pulpit as representatives to spew hate. So, if the House is willing to expel Omar and Tlaib or bar them from committees, next we can take up the question of Marjorie Greene. Not before.” —John Hinderaker

Case in point: “Given the serious and ongoing security threats facing Members and the Congress, it is clear that there is a need for an emergency supplemental funding bill to meet institutional security needs. It is also clear that we will need to establish a 9/11-type Commission to examine and report upon the facts, causes and security relating to the terrorist mob attack on January 6.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Braying jackass: “The Republicans have been calling Democrats the radical left. Time to call Republicans the terrorist right?” —Rep. Jackie Speier

Demo-gogue: “We’ve never fully lived up to the founding principles of this nation, but our Administration is committed to finishing the work left undone. It’s long past time to confront deep racial inequities and systemic racism and fulfill the promise of America for all.” —Joe Biden

Non sequitur: “By and large, the vast, vast majority of these [law enforcement] men and women are decent, honorable people who put themselves on the line.” —Joe Biden’s perplexing response to the death of FBI agents in Florida on Tuesday

The BIG Lie: “The bitter divide [between] Democrats & Republicans keeps getting worse. … A key cause of the animosity: the Republicans turn politics into war. Who started that? Newt Gingrich — the original mastermind, so to speak, behind today’s mayhem. Another mastermind: Roger Ailes. He created Fox as a vehicle that blurred news and opinion, facts and falsehoods.” —CNN’s Fareed Zakaria

Non compos mentis: “Awful news to wake up to of Myanmar’s coup. A friend who lives in Yangon texted me saying that the generals were likely emboldened by Trump’s playbook, as they used false claims of widespread election fraud as a pretext to seize power.” —Washington Post columnist Brian Klaas (And the Benghazi debacle was because of a YouTube video…)

Grand delusions: “[Climate change] goes after the very same communities that pollution has held back and racism has held back. Climate justice is about equal rights.” —National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy

And last… “[Democrats are] trying to … take away our Second Amendment rights. Make no doubt — they’re gonna be coming sometime this year with a bill to take away our Second Amendment rights. So they’re building this predicate that, 'Oh, my God, everybody better be afraid of somebody with a gun,’ and that’s gonna be their attempt to then go take away your guns.” —Rep. Steve Scalise