The Patriot Post® · All In

President Trump is all in when it comes to passing the legislation that begins the process of repealing Obamacare. The president went to Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to speak directly with House Republicans in advance of Thursday’s vote. The bill, which continues to undergo last-minute changes, still faces resistance from members of the House Freedom Caucus.

Following the meeting, Speaker Paul Ryan said the president “knocked it out of the park” and made it clear that after years of promising action on Obamacare, this is the time to deliver.

Monday night, President Trump held a huge rally in Kentucky. An estimated crowd of 18,000 people packed Freedom Hall in Louisville. The president hammered his major themes — putting America first, keeping the country safe and he took credit for Colin Kaepernick’s current employment status. (The 49ers dropped the controversial quarterback and no NFL team wants him because they are afraid of Trump tweets!)

I am glad that the health care bill is moving closer to what we were all hoping for. But I think Republicans who have abandoned the bill for whatever reason — either that it goes too far or doesn’t go far enough — are risking political disaster in November 2018 if the party fails to do anything. In this case, something, even if an imperfect something, beats nothing.

Come On, Mr. Comey!

FBI Director James Comey made headlines at Monday’s congressional hearing for confirming an active, ongoing investigation into Russian interference in our elections and possible collusion by members of the Trump campaign.

But so far, the only confirmed crime is the leaking of classified information, which obviously wasn’t done by Trump associates. Incredibly, however, Mr. Comey would not confirm whether that crime was being investigated.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was furious with Comey’s testimony, calling his responses to many key questions “pathetic,” “very disappointing” and “frankly a little alarming.”

Reacting to Comey’s confirmation of an investigation that could be damaging to the president but not into a known crime, Gingrich said, “Now, how come he could tell us the one, but not tell us the other? I mean, it makes no sense.” The speaker added that Comey “has too much power to be as politically clever as he is.”

Newt wasn’t the only one disturbed by Comey’s testimony. Reporter Mark Halperin blasted Comey’s comments on the Russia investigation as “completely improper” and warned that the FBI director was setting a “dangerous precedent.”

What About Iran?

The entire media establishment is in meltdown about alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians. It is notable to me that in the eight years of Barack Obama’s presidency, virtually no Republican and certainly no “mainstream” journalist thought it was appropriate to question Obama’s unusual relationship with Iran.

Let’s review some facts:

The Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the deaths and grievous wounding of thousands of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iran sponsors massive rallies in which radical Islamists chant “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

We know that Obama was conducting secret negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. Obama’s outreach started in 2008, well before he was elected president.

Obama desperately wanted a deal with Iran and he ordered Secretary of State John Kerry to keep negotiating at all costs.

During the negotiations Iran was harassing U.S. ships and sponsoring terrorist groups operating against our allies all over the Middle East.

Ben Rhodes, a top Obama official, bragged about the shell game the administration created in order to lie to the public about the nuclear deal.

Obama deployed all of his political power to prevent the United States Congress from ever voting on the Iranian nuclear deal. At the same time, he sought the UN’s approval for his deal.

We learned there were secret side deals that were kept from Congress.

After the deal, Iran continued its aggressive behavior, seizing an American patrol boat, taking U.S. sailors hostage and humiliating them — all in violation of international agreements. Incredibly, John Kerry thanked Iran!

If the nuclear deal were not bad enough, the Obama White House paid a ransom to the radical regime to secure the release of other American hostages. The president ordered officials to load a plane full of cash and to deliver the money to Iran. This was followed by another billion-dollar ransom payment. Iran promptly transferred the money to its defense budget.

And while Obama was frantically appeasing the ayatollah, he damaged America’s relationship with Israel. He interfered in Israeli elections hoping to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he stabbed Israel in the back at the United Nations.

In the face of all this, I am not aware of a single mainstream reporter who thought this was odd collusion with an enemy that warranted investigation. I don’t recall any politician — Democrat or Republican — asking for a FBI investigation of collusion between Obama and the ayatollah. I don’t recall leaks from the intelligence community worried about repeated concessions to an enemy that had not changed one iota of its behavior.

But when Donald Trump says he hopes he can work with Putin, the media freak out. When Russia hacks some embarrassing emails from the DNC, the Left is ready to wage World War III.

As I wrote yesterday, the one thing that will not be investigated is the motivation behind this controversy — the Left’s obsession with destroying Donald Trump and making it impossible for him to pass his agenda. If he succeeds, the Left may be permanently stopped from transforming America, so it feels it must destroy Trump at all costs.

Grilling Gorsuch

The confirmation hearings for Judge Neil Gorsuch, so far, have been a home run. The judge is incredibly affable and disarming. If the classic film “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” is ever remade, Gorsuch would be a slam dunk to reprise Jimmy Stewart’s lead role.

Yesterday, Judge Gorsuch faced intense grilling by liberal senators who are demanding commitments on issues likely to come before the Supreme Court. But Gorsuch has successfully deflected their attacks and has fiercely defended his independence as a judge committed to the Constitution and rule of law.

The hearings have also revealed the stranglehold of the radical Left over the Democrat Party. Not one Democrat opposed Gorsuch’s confirmation to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006. But, as of now, not one Democrat senator is on the record in favor of Gorsuch’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.