Gorsuch Is Great!

Americans who care about the intent of our Founding Fathers were ecstatic last night when President Trump announced that Judge Neil Gorsuch was his choice to fill the Scalia vacancy on the Supreme Court. The rollout of the nomination was extraordinary.

In recent days, the media and the left have been pushing the narrative that Trump doesn't know what he is doing and that there is chaos in the administration. But last night's announcement was masterful.

President Trump made a statement from the White House East Room in prime time. Every network tuned in and President Trump defined his nominee before the left and its media allies did. Millions of Americans also got to see and hear from the nominee, and they did not see the monster that his critics are trying to create.

Justice Antonin Scalia's wife, Maureen, was there in the front row. President Trump honored the former justice by explaining how important it was to him that he nominate someone in the mold of Scalia. Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee were also at the White House announcement last night, and both praised the selection of Judge Gorsuch.

I imagine that the evangelical Christian owners of Hobby Lobby and the Catholic nuns of the Little Sisters of the Poor were thanking God for this nomination. As a member of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Gorsuch voted to defend religious liberty against Obama Administration efforts to force men and women of faith to violate their conscience.

The buzz in Washington right now is whether progressives will attempt to "bork" Judge Gorsuch. Clearly that is what Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer want to do. Pelosi labeled Gorsuch "a very hostile appointment" who is against "clean air, clean water, food safety, safety in medicine and the rest."

But there are rumors that some Democratic senators, particularly those up for reelection next year in states that Trump won, do not want to charge up that hill. They will be under intense pressure by the left-wing base of their party to toe-the-line.

Keep in mind that even if Gorsuch is confirmed, his appointment only maintains the status quo on the court prior to Scalia's death. We are simply replacing one conservative with another conservative. Once Gorsuch is confirmed, the high court will remain split between four liberals, four conservatives and center-left Justice Anthony Kennedy casting the deciding vote.

A final point. There is still an element of the right that is most comfortable berating Trump and arguing that he is no conservative. I hope this appointment neutralizes some of their bile.

As Trump said last night, his selection process was the most transparent in history. He produced a list of people he was interested in and he picked one of the best names on that list.

It pains me to say it, but both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush made mistakes in their judicial appointments. This is not a mistake. Gorsuch is a grand slam home run.

You Made It Happen!

Last year, American Values launched a major voter registration drive, reaching hundreds of thousands of people in battleground states. For many Americans, the importance of the Supreme Court was a deciding factor in their votes last November.

According to exit polls, 21% of voters said appointments to the Supreme Court were "the most important factor" in determining their votes. Those voters backed Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton by 17 points.

As various names were being floated as potential replacements for Justice Scalia, we quietly raised concerns behind the scenes. Not because any were terrible, but because there were individual cases in their backgrounds that required additional examination, and we wanted to be sure there were no mistakes this time.

And we will be one of the groups working to ensure that Judge Gorsuch is confirmed. American Values was at the White House today meeting with President Trump to advance Judge Gorsuch's confirmation.

This work doesn't make headlines, but it is the result of your generosity and it is making a big difference. Thank you!

In the days ahead, we will make it clear to our elected leaders in the Senate that the recovery of our courts and the preservation of our cherished liberties must come before any devotion to arcane Senate rules.

In other words, if there is an attempt to filibuster Gorsuch then the Senate majority must end the filibuster, as President Trump is suggesting.

And on that front, it seems that the Senate GOP discovered some spine today!

Battling The Bureaucrats

Yesterday I told you about the reality that numerous government agencies are effectively taking orders from Barack Obama, not Donald trump. Here's more evidence: Today's Washington Post reports that career bureaucrats are in regular contact with Obama political appointees getting guidance "about what they can do to push back against the new president's initiatives."

It is difficult to overstate just how dangerous this is. These bureaucrats are trying to overturn the election! These "public servants" are attempting to negate the votes of the American people, thwarting the will of the president who won 30 states.

Civil servants are supposed to be immune from political pressure, but they are not supposed to be partisan hacks. In the Reagan Administration, Bill Bennett and I ran into the same kind of opposition at the Department of Education. We removed people but it was not easy. If anyone has the courage to remove rogue bureaucrats it is President Trump.

By the way, President Trump is serious about reining in the size and scope of the federal government. He issued an executive order this week instructing the government to repeal two regulations for every new one issued. But you probably didn't hear about that because of the media's hysterical overreaction to his order pausing immigration from terrorist infested countries.

Battling Anti-Semitism

While the media is hyper-sensitive about anything that happens to Muslims, the sad reality is that hate crimes against Jews far exceed those against Muslims.

Here's one example: Thirteen Jewish community centers in 11 states were evacuated yesterday after receiving bomb threats. Did you know that? Imagine what the media reaction would be if 13 mosques in 11 states received bomb threats.

Now here's the kicker: This is the third time in the past month that Jewish community centers have been subjected to such threats of violence and harassment. Yet it barely registers in the media.