According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 51% of voters agree with this statement: “Right now we have people in Congress who hate our country.” Only 34% disagree, and 15% aren’t sure. But that a majority of voters, and perhaps as many as two-thirds of voters, feel that way should be cause for alarm.

You don’t have to look far to find politicians who are hostile to America. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC as she is often referred to) went on quite a tirade this weekend at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas.

Borrowing from Hillary, AOC blasted capitalism as “irredeemable.” If she likes socialism and taxes so much, she should start by paying her own!

She attacked Ronald Reagan as a racist for wanting to reform welfare. And she trashed America as “garbage,” saying that her ideas shouldn’t be seen as radical because America needs to be fundamentally transformed. She said:

“I think all of these things sound radical compared to where we are. But where we are is not a good thing. And this idea of like, ten percent better than garbage, it shouldn’t be what we settle for.”

Yes, her remarks are outrageous. But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s just her. AOC is reflecting the kind of American history that has been taught in our schools for the last 30 years, which is all too often anti-American history. 

Ocasio-Cortez is just the first of many leaders now rising out of that generation with the same worldview. I have commented many times on the fact that the Millennial generation is the least patriotic in history. That didn’t happen by accident.

Given her views about capitalism and America, I’m not surprised Ocasio-Cortez attacked Reagan; he loved this country and he cherished freedom. 

Sadly, Reagan is often just a footnote in our textbooks. Or he is portrayed as presiding over an “era of greed” and criticized for employing racist tactics. 

In reality, he presided over an era of tremendous growth, defeated the Soviet Union and was reelected in one of the greatest landslides in American history. He left office with a 63% approval rating — all before AOC was even born!

I could just imagine what Reagan’s reaction would be to Ocasio-Cortez’s criticism. As he once said, “The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant, it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”

“Taxpayers First”

The White House yesterday released President Trump’s 2020 budget. It puts taxpayers first by cutting nondefense domestic spending by five percent and puts the budget on a path to balance in 15 years.

In addition, President Trump is calling for $8.6 billion for border wall construction. Democrat leaders are already signaling their resistance. But the president is clearly intent on forcing Democrats to fall on their sword for open borders just as the political cycle is heating up.

I still hear from some people who insist that no one is arguing for open borders. Well, if that’s true, why are liberal governors withdrawing their National Guard troops from the border? 

The National Guard has the technology that everyone claims to support — helicopters, drones, etc. Yet these left-wing governors are taking it all away just as the mainstream media is now admitting that we are experiencing record levels of illegal immigration. This debate will remain front and center, as it should.

“Please Do Something”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is urging senators to get serious about border security. As the Senate prepares to take up a resolution disapproving of the president’s national emergency declaration, Paxton is standing with the president. Here’s what he told The Daily Caller:

“For those who would say this is a manufactured crisis, I would say one, come to the border and see for yourself… It is a significant issue for my state…

"My message to lawmakers who are pushing back is one, look at the law. Look at the statute. Look at how this has been used by other presidents. They’re Congress, they delegated this authority. If they want to take it back, take it back, but don’t complain about the authority you’ve delegated.

"And second, go to the border and see what the real issues are, and please do something.”

A Reckoning

We held our breath waiting for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report last week. By all indications, it could come any day now. But here’s something you may not have seen.

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” political reporter Terry Moran was asked about the significance of Mueller coming up empty handed on Russian collusion. Moran said it would be “huge,” adding:

“The central and most serious question in this investigation, the reason Robert Mueller started it: Did the current president of the United States assist the Kremlin in an attack on our democracy?

"And if Mueller, after two years, comes back and says, ‘I don’t have the evidence to support that charge,’ that’s a reckoning.

"That’s a reckoning for progressives and Democrats who hoped that Mueller would essentially erase the 2016 election.

"It’s a reckoning for the media. It’s a reckoning across the country if, in fact, after all this time there was no collusion.”