New Leader?

So far, there are no signs of division among Iran’s rulers. In fact, they may have chosen a new Supreme Leader—Mojtaba Khamenei, who apparently survived the strike that killed his father, the late Ayatollah Khamenei. 

Some experts say Mojtaba Khamenei is a controversial choice—nepotism is never a good look, especially for a regime that overthrew a monarchy. In addition, he lacks the clerical experience generally expected of the supreme leader. But he is reportedly very close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is the real power in the regime.

In fact, new reports suggest that Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment isn’t a “done deal,” and the news of his selection may have been an attempt by the Revolutionary Guards to force his appointment. 

As I noted yesterday, an actual change of government is the most difficult thing of all. But setting back Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missile program will buy precious time for the rest of President Trump’s term and for the next president, who, hopefully, will be a conservative, too. 

Some people are asking, “Why attack Iran now?” Well, look at what it is taking to deal with Iran now. 

We have deployed two aircraft carrier battle groups. That’s the aircraft carriers and all the destroyers and support ships needed to supply them. There are 50,000 U.S. troops in the region. The vast majority of Israel’s military assets are being deployed. Yet, Iran is still managing to fire missiles and engage in other ways. 

We were rapidly reaching a point where no American military leaders would have felt comfortable telling a president of the United States, “We have to strike now,” because the cost in men and material would have been too high. 

Moreover, if the unthinkable happens down the road and we’re in a conflict with China, North Korea, and Russia, a good bit of our military would be tied down battling the fourth member of that axis of evil—Iran. Such a war would be very hard to win.

Rooting For Failure

While our brave men and women in uniform are actively engaged in the fight to defeat Iran’s terrorist regime, House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) ran to the microphones to demoralize them. Jeffries said this mission “is going to end in failure” and “is not going to end well for American interests.” 

Jeffries wouldn’t know an American interest if it slapped him in the face!

Some insiders at the White House and elsewhere are suggesting that the administration should go to Congress for a supplemental appropriation for the conflict with Iran. But there are concerns that all Democrats will vote against it and perhaps even some Republicans, too. 

My advice: Get the supplemental request up there ASAP and fast track it for a vote ASAP!

For the last five years, virtually every Democrat and many Republicans have voted for tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine over and over and over again. If there are politicians in Congress inclined to vote against providing military supplies to the American military while giving supplies to the Ukrainian military, let’s find out who they are!

Democrats Funded Iran

Yes, Operation Epic Fury is going to cost a lot of money. It does cost a lot of money to defend the United States of America, something the Democrats over many decades have been reluctant to provide. 

But it is costing us even more because the same Democrat Party that may not fund this operation has made it more difficult by giving Iran billions of dollars. 

We had frozen Iran’s assets because of the regime’s support for terrorism against America and our allies. Barack Obama unfroze those assets as part of his terrible 2015 nuclear deal. 

He literally sent a plane loaded with pallets of cash to the Iranians—sort of a dry run for what Somalis did in Minnesota. The Obama administration also quashed FBI investigations into Iranian terrorist activities even though they knew the money they were giving Iran would go to terrorists.

Donald Trump reimposed tough sanctions on Iran, and we saw the regime’s terrorism funding drop dramatically. But then Joe Biden lifted sanctions on Iran, giving the regime access to billions of dollars. 

This should be a major point in any debate about Iran. Any time a Democrat questions President Trump’s actions, Republicans should immediately fire back with the Democrat Party’s pathetic record of the appeasement that enriched and emboldened Iran.

Poll Position

The latest Fox News poll finds that Americans are divided on Operation Epic Fury—50% approve and 50% disapprove. That mirrors the division in the country on so many issues. More importantly, that result is dramatically different from earlier polls showing only 27% approval, 43% disapproval, and 30% didn’t know what to think. 

Well, 72 hours later the “didn’t knows” now know. 

The Fox News poll also found that 51% believe Trump’s handling of Iran has made the U.S. less safe. That’s logical given that the Iranian regime is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, there’s a fear of Iranian sleep cells, and we just witnessed a terrorist attack in Austin, Texas. 

But just as a reminder, the Democrats who may defund our military when it is engaged in combat have already defunded the Department of Homeland Security, making the country less safe.

Stop Importing Hate

An imam in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, eulogized Iranian dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a “martyr” who was “killed by the most wretched hands on earth.” It sounds like the imam writes obituaries for the Washington Post. (See yesterday’s report.)

But this is a perfect example of the lie “diversity is our strength” and the idea that America will be a better place if we bring in more people from Third World Islamic countries. I think it is obvious from the antisemitic riots on our college campuses that we have been importing hate. That doesn’t make America a better place. 

When it comes to cultures and nations, diversity is rarely an asset. Unity is the asset—unity around a common culture, a common language, and a common faith. There is a reason we refer to the breakup of nations as “Balkanization.” 

Primary Results

The Democrat establishment got its preferred Senate candidate in Texas yesterday. State Rep. James Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine “Crazy” Crockett 52% to 46%.

Talarico talks a lot about his faith. He has become the Democrat Party’s poster boy to deceive some percentage of Christians into believing the Bible is Karl Marx’s manifesto and the platform of the LGBTQ crowd. 

But beyond style, even the left-wing New York Times admitted that “Crockett vs. Talarico is not an ideological fight. . . Mr. Talarico is not necessarily a moderate.” 

He believes God is “non-binary.” That’s one of the Left’s new, made-up genders. He believes the Bible supports abortion because Mary gave her “consent” to be the mother of Jesus. He supports sterilizing and mutilating transgender procedures for children. And he claims that “Radicalized White men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country.”

Meanwhile, the GOP primary is headed for a runoff as no candidate won a majority of the vote. Sen. John Cornyn received 42%, Attorney General Ken Paxton received 41%, and Wesley Hunt received 14%.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw lost his primary last night to state Rep. Steve Toth, and it wasn’t close—56% to 41%. God bless Crenshaw for his service to our country. He lost his right eye during his third deployment in Afghanistan. 

But Crenshaw got crosswise with the MAGA movement. He just didn’t seem to get that it was a new day in America and the GOP.

Another incumbent Texas Republican who didn’t fare so well is Rep. Tony Gonzales, who is facing a House Ethics Committee investigation. Second Amendment activist Brandon Herrera edged out Gonzales 43% to 42%. Gonzales and Herrera will face off again in the May runoff.

A Big Problem

Houston, Dallas, San Antonio—we have a problem. 

Texas Democrats set a record for primary voter turnout. In early voting, Democrats outvoted Republicans 3 to 1. In the hotly contested Senate primaries, 150,000 more Democrats voted than Republicans. 

Speaking of problems, Thom Tillis, the Republican senator from North Carolina, barely raised his voice during the Biden years. Now, you can’t shut him up. 

During an oversight hearing yesterday, Tillis screamed at and berated Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. He also demanded her resignation and threatened to bring the entire Senate to a screeching halt over federal immigration enforcement efforts in North Carolina. 

You can do better, North Carolina.

Good Jobs News

Payroll processor ADP reports that private sector employers created 63,000 new jobs in February. That was 15,000 more than what economists were expecting and a big improvement over January’s 11,000 new jobs. 

The Bank of America Institute, which tracks the number of deposited paychecks, reported a 1.3% year-over-year jump in new jobs.

And there’s more good news: annual pay is up 4.5% for workers who remained in their current jobs.