Strong Growth, Arrest Made, October Surprises

Gary Bauer

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Strong Growth - Third quarter economic growth came in at a very strong 3.5% rate, beating economists' expectations.

It wasn't that long ago when the "experts" were telling us to lower our expectations, that 2% or less was the "new normal."

After all, President Obama went eight years without ever cracking 3% and he was the most brilliant man ever to serve in the Oval Office. Or so we were told. President Trump was mocked for suggesting we could do better than 3% growth.

Well, the results are in, and Trump's economic policies are working, and so too are millions of Americans who struggled during the Obama malaise.

The last thing we should do now is slam on the brakes by electing a bunch of socialists to Congress this November.

Arrest Made - Federal officials this morning arrested Cesar Sayoc in Florida for sending 13 suspected mail bombs to left-wing politicians and celebrities. Reports indicate that Sayoc has a history of past arrests for making "terroristic threats," among other issues.

During a press conference today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions denounced the threatening packages as "utterly unacceptable" and a denial of our democratic process. Sessions said Sayoc was charged with five federal offenses and faces up to 58 years in prison.

While the media are blaming Trump, I think it is worth revisiting how he handled this situation.

When news broke about the packages, the president strongly condemned them, and ordered law enforcement agencies to spare no expense in tracking down the culprit.

The FBI did what it does best, which is not interfering in a presidential election, but using its tremendous resources to bring bad guys to justice.

Speaking at the White House this afternoon, President Trump once again condemned the mail bombs as "despicable acts," and congratulated law enforcement officials for their work.

In short, the administration efficiently and effectively stopped Sayoc before anyone was harmed. That is particularly noteworthy because we are told day after day that this president is incompetent and incapable of focusing on important issues.

He has said repeatedly that his most important job is to keep the American people safe and he did that.

If more of the individuals in the headlines as a result of the packages would cooperate with President Trump, the administration could do much more to secure our borders and everyone would be a lot better off.

By the way, why is no one talking about the Trump assassination porn that ran in the New York Times Tuesday? The same New York Times that condemns Trump for poisoning our political discourse.

October Surprises - Let's briefly review some recent events.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh was well within the mainstream of judicial thinking. But his confirmation hearings turned into political theater of the worst kind. And there is evidence that people lied in order to rally millions of young women to the Democrat Party.

Yesterday, Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, referred Michael Avenatti and Julie Swetnick to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation to determine whether they deliberately attempted to deceive the Judiciary Committee.

While no one knows for sure, it looks like the Kavanaugh Surprise was a colossal failure that fired up conservative voters.

The second October surprise is the migrant caravan. Alex Mensing, an organizer for the open borders group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, told reporters that the migrant army is "a mass exodus." But are we obligated to accept them all?

Pueblo Sin Fronteras seems to think so. It previously issued a list of demands calling for the Trump Administration to "recognize our right to dignified work," and to "open the borders . . . because we are as much citizens as the people of the countries where we are and/or travel."

In other words, they claim to be "citizens of the world" who can walk across any border they choose and take any job they want.

Ohio Governor John Kasich appears to agree with them. He told CNN that we were lucky to be born in America, that the Lord doesn't want us putting up walls and we should welcome those less fortunate than us.

When it comes to legitimate refugees, America is a welcoming nation, and no country in the world does more to help those in need than we do. But Kasich's argument could justify allowing virtually every Third World individual into the U.S.

Again, this isn't about legal immigration, but illegal immigration, and whether we are a sovereign nation with the will to secure our borders.

Unfortunately, there are few options to stop the caravan once it reaches our border because left-wing politicians and judges have resisted every effort to secure the border.

I think this October surprise was intended to show that Trump can't keep his promises or use the migrants as cannon fodder, hoping there would be an incident at the border that could swing many close races.

The Caravan Surprise seems to be backfiring because President Trump is using the migrant march to aggressively point out the urgent need to secure the border, and to highlight the reality of the left's unpopular open borders agenda.

Other Headlines

• The White House is reportedly considering an executive order [subscription required] modeled after the president's 2017 travel ban to prohibit Central American migrants from entering the U.S.
• The Pentagon may deploy an additional 1,000 troops to the border.
• George Papadopoulos testified before House investigators this week regarding Russian collusion in the 2016 elections. Conservative lawmakers say his testimony further undermines the FBI's explanations for why it spied on the Trump campaign.
• Papadopoulos believes he was "framed" and is considering withdrawing his plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Make Your Voice Heard - Early voting is now underway in most the states. In many areas of the country, there are reports of record turnout.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of this election. Please make your voice heard. Vote your values.

If you voted for Donald Trump in 2016, you must vote for Republican candidates in 2018. If you voted against Hillary Clinton in 2016, you must vote against the radical left-wing Democrats in 2018.

If you have already voted, you're not done. Make sure at least five friends or family members vote between now and November 6th.

Everything is at stake. Please vote!
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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