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For a month now, we’ve listened to Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer place the blame for the partial federal shutdown squarely at the feet of President Trump. The Frick and Frack of Capitol Hill dug their heels in and refused to budge, despite all their pontificating about how worried they are about our furloughed federal employees. But there is trouble in Democratic paradise. Schumer has agreed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold “competing votes Thursday on President Trump’s proposal to spend $5.7 billion on a border wall and on a Democratic bill that would fund the government through Feb. 8 without a wall.” Not only is this the first time the Senate has acted since the shutdown began but it shows a break of sorts between Pelosi and Schumer. Maybe there is reason to hope after all.
To say pressure is increasing for Congress to act is putting it mildly. Every day we see more and ore stories about the impact the shutdown is having on federal employees and their families. We’re beginning to hear about how IRS employees are failing to show up for work.The ripple effect of that one action could mean a delay in the processing and receipt of our tax refunds. The same thing is happening with TSA agents. As a result, airport security wait times are increasing and the TSA is having to call in backup security screeners. These are just two examples of what being forced to work without being paid is doing to our country.
It can’t go on.
Yet the media, like Pelosi, continues to place all the blame on the President. It accuses Trump and Republicans in Congress of trying to “corner Democrats by forcing a vote on the White House proposal to reopen the government and provide Trump with $5.7 billion in wall funding.” At the same time, it tries to present an image of a unified Democratic Party in DC, fighting the good fight and damn the consequences.
There are a couple of problems with that. First, if the Republicans were that entrenched, Mitch McConnell never would have agreed to the procedural move that will allow the two bills to go before the Senate tomorrow. He and Chuck Schumer compromised. Isn’t it strange how so many in the media are either ignoring the votes Thursday or ignoring the fact it required two men from opposite sides of the aisle to work together to get that much at least done. It isn’t much but it is a hell of a lot more than Pelosi has been willing to do.
And that is the second problem with the media’s portrait of a united Democratic Party. The fact Schumer was willing to work with McConnell to put the two bill forward for a vote shows a crack in the so-called unity. But there is another crack, a much larger one that has been ignored by much of the media.
Politico obtained a draft of a letter sent to Pelosi by members of her own party. The letter urges Pelosi “to counter Trump’s immigration proposal with her own potential compromise.” According to Politico, these centrist Dems are “sick of political posturing” and have asked Pelosi “to offer Trump a vote on his border wall or some sort of negotiated security package in February if he first signs a bill reopening the federal government.” That has to stick in the Speaker’s craw because she so loves her posturing, as we saw when she refused to consider anything President Trump offered during his address to the nation over the weekend–before she knew what the offer might be.
If the draft of the letter is accurate, we may have finally found the adults in the House. Their demands are simple and reasonable, all the more reason why Pelosi will do her best to ignore them.
Once the government is reopened, the Democratic Majority will immediately begin debate in committee on the supplemental discretionary funding request by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for border security. This will allow DHS leadership to explain in detail how the funds will be used and whether this expenditure will have the reported results presented by the President.
Guarantee a vote for the supplemental funding request on the House floor by the end of February.
As part of the supplemental funding request, members will be able to offer amendments to address the current gaps in protections for Dreamers and those enrolled in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and those currently in Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED)”
Hmm, compromise and setting goals with time limits. I’m sure that had the Speaker’s crown tilting just a little in frustration as she realized the peasants might be starting to think for themselves.
Thursday the Senate will vote on “the president’s proposal, which would provide $5.7 billion for his walland temporary protections for some undocumented immigrants, as well as a stopgap bill pushed by Democrats to fund the governmentuntil mid-February.” It is doubtful either proposal will garner enough votes to pass. However, it is a step in the right direction. As the NYT notes, t here is “hope that the votes could usher in a more cooperative phase in a crisis that has so far been marked almost entirely by partisan posturing; if both measures fall short, the votes could add new energy to efforts to negotiate a bipartisan compromise.–hopefully. It is the first compromise we’ve seen in the continuing saga of the government shutdown.”
But all that depends on what Pelosi and Trump are willing to do. POTUS has to be willing to consider alternatives and he has indicated he will give the Dems at least some of what they want if they return the favor. We have yet to see anything like that from Pelosi. Unless and until we do, we’d best buckle up and prepare for a long shutdown. The saying that it takes two to tango applies here. It takes the two of them, Pelosi and Trump, sitting down and compromising, even if it is only on a bill that will allow the government to open while they continue to discuss the other issues.
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Mark D Jaeger says: Seems to me Nancy Pelosi has artfully boxed herself into a lose-lose corner:
1. Pelosi caves? She’s dead meat with the nut job Democrat base–could very well lose her Speakership.
2. Pelosi continues to hold out? She takes full ownership for the shutdown, many of her desperate fellow Donks abandon her, Trump beats on her like a political drum, and DJT eventually gets his wall funding anyway. And, oh yeah, Pelosi still faces a palace coup to remove her as Speaker.
GWB says: He and Chuck Schumer compromised.
I’m going to bet that Schumer did it knowing he has all his people under the whip, and the vote will be party line – unless some Republicans defect, which he and his media cronies will point to as “See! It’s just Trump and his folks that are so [insert bad word here]!”
It is doubtful either proposal will garner enough votes to pass.
Which tells me there will be defections.
a draft of a letter sent
Hmmmm, that sounds suspicious. “Draft” means “not sent” or “version not sent”, which means it is NOT necessarily the one sent to Pelosi. You are right to say “If the draft of the letter is accurate.”
Note, however, this isn’t really a compromise: they already said “Hey, Trump, let’s re-open the gov’t, THEN we’ll vote on a wall.” This is more of the same. And guarantee something by the end of February? You think the media won’t find a way to make everyone forget about the wall by then?
I’m going to continue to stand on the idea that “compromise” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Compromise, when one side wants to chop off your hand is NOT a good result. Continual compromise is what has helped move the Overton Window so far left that Trump looks like a conservative.
(BTW, compromise that only moves in one direction is part of the reason for the demonization the left practices. It ensures that any thought of moving the other direction is rejected outright.)
Michael D. Dirmeier says: Dem Congressmen “have asked Pelosi ‘to offer Trump a vote on his border wall or some sort of negotiated security package in February if he first signs a bill reopening the federal government.'”
That’s a sucker’s deal and hopefully Trump will respond, “I’ll sign a bill to reopen government when we have funding for the Wall. Not a vote for the Wall and certainly not a vote for the Wall, a vote which could go negatively.”
How many times have the Republicans fallen for that Lucy pulling back the ball stunt? Oh, you sign this bill and then we’ll vote on another bill. Forget that. That dog don’t hunt.
SDN says: Yeah, we saw how that worked out in 1986. No, we don’t and won’t trust the Democrats OR Vichy Mitchy and his Chamber of Commerce Open Border Republicans.
Rick says: EXACTLY. “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today” is a sucker’s deal, especially when you already know you’re dealing with a dishonest person who wants to do as much damage to you as possible.
GWB says: Evidently what she’ll do is follow through on disinviting Trump from giving the SOTU in the House chambers.
Buck Wheaton says: The (D) party is built upon a base of voters and organizations that are far more dependent upon government to live and breathe than the base of the (R) party is. This weighs towards forcing the (D) party to acquiesce to Trump. But the leadership is extremely prideful and pride is brittle. It sustains the facade of firmness and unity until the last moment, and then at that instant all energy will be focused on saving face, to make the best of the defeat.
mac says: I hope Trump doesn’t give one damned millimeter. NOTHING for the Baltimore Bitch and her criminal minions until AFTER the funding for the wall is provided. If the government stays shut for the rest of the year, or until 2021, so be it. No one has missed them anyway, and we as a nation would be better off if the government had to shed that many salaries permanently. FIRE ‘EM ALL AND BUILD THE WALL!
GWB says: No one has missed them anyway
Not entirely true. The problem is that some important jobs are mixed in with the ones that should disappear. And those people are working without pay at the moment. If a company did that to its workers we’d be all over them with civil rights charges.
Just because we need a significantly smaller gov’t does NOT mean we should throw the baby out with the bathwater.
gbear says: I was hoping for a big reduction in force and a yard sale on the WH lawn of excess vehicles and aircraft.
Bevo says: The democrats, now all of whom are leftist socialist, have not changed since Reagan gave them amnesty and citizenship to millions in exchange for border security which has not happened and will not happen under the Pelosi rule. The truth is that Congress committed to protect our borders and they have all failed to deliver on their oath of office. Congress is the problem.
This does not mean democrats are the only ones to blame as many conservatives didn’t help either.
Having said that, it is very clear that no democrat will responsibly discuss and/or debate anything proposed by anyone but themselves. We have reached complete gridlock in America thanks to the leftist, socialist movement intent on the destruction of America. Here are their goals that they have been working on:
21 Areas Reveal Democratic Party Positions
1. Radical redistribution of wealth.
2. Aggressive climate-change initiatives.
3. Complete takeover of health care by federal government plus inclusion of all illegal immigrants.
4. Open immigration policy with full acceptance of all children and relatives; no border “walls”, entrance requirements, e-verify or penalties for those refusing deportation; disregarding the rule of law and full support for “sanctuary cities”; neglecting national security and allowing George Soros-funded anarchy to “crash” our immigration system.
5. Government control over corporate profits.
6. Progressive taxes on the upper middle class and above.
7. Legalization of recreational marijuana.
8. Implementation of comprehensive LGBTQ agenda—including indoctrination of children in schools, transgender initiatives, gender reassignment surgery and removal of any “sexual discrimination” in the workplace and schools, disregarding conscience objections.
9. Taxpayer abortion on demand until birth, with full funding of Planned Parenthood.
10. Major defense spending cuts with money redistributed to entitlements.
11. Comprehensive gun control.
12. Liberal, not originalist, judges on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
13. Alignment and support for radical feminist agenda and marches.
14. Increased censorship of “hateful” conservative thought on social media.
15. Liberalized voting standards to include fraudulent practices and everyone the Party deems as “disenfranchised”.
16. Partnership with Palestinians.
17. Alignment with United Nations and European Union transnationalism initiatives promoting “One World” globalism rather than nationalism with international cooperation.
18. Euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide.
19. Taxpayer-funded childcare and college tuition.
20. Elimination of the Electoral College.
21. Reestablishing of Iranian “nuclear deal” alongside increased protection for Islamic “rights” in America and abroad at the expense of Israel’s safety.
Sadly, the leftist socialists are making progress in their effort to destroy America. Buy your guns and ammo while you still can.
william francis says: Here are the goals of the democratic party. None point to responsible cooperation and/or debate on any issue. Pelosi and the other leftist socialists have made good progress and continue to work hard on the destruction of America.
21 Areas Reveal Democratic Party Positions
1. Radical redistribution of wealth.
2. Aggressive climate-change initiatives.
3. Complete takeover of health care by federal government plus inclusion of all illegal immigrants.
4. Open immigration policy with full acceptance of all children and relatives; no border “walls”, entrance requirements, e-verify or penalties for those refusing deportation; disregarding the rule of law and full support for “sanctuary cities”; neglecting national security and allowing George Soros-funded anarchy to “crash” our immigration system.
5. Government control over corporate profits.
6. Progressive taxes on the upper middle class and above.
7. Legalization of recreational marijuana.
8. Implementation of comprehensive LGBTQ agenda—including indoctrination of children in schools, transgender initiatives, gender reassignment surgery and removal of any “sexual discrimination” in the workplace and schools, disregarding conscience objections.
9. Taxpayer abortion on demand until birth, with full funding of Planned Parenthood.
10. Major defense spending cuts with money redistributed to entitlements.
11. Comprehensive gun control.
12. Liberal, not originalist, judges on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
13. Alignment and support for radical feminist agenda and marches.
14. Increased censorship of “hateful” conservative thought on social media.
15. Liberalized voting standards to include fraudulent practices and everyone the Party deems as “disenfranchised”.
16. Partnership with Palestinians.
17. Alignment with United Nations and European Union transnationalism initiatives promoting “One World” globalism rather than nationalism with international cooperation.
18. Euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide.
19. Taxpayer-funded childcare and college tuition.
20. Elimination of the Electoral College.
21. Reestablishing of Iranian “nuclear deal” alongside increased protection for Islamic “rights” in America and abroad at the expense of Israel’s safety.
I would recommend these people visit Havana, Cuba to see their future.
Stephen says: Give you what you want now, and you promise to hold a vote (which has 0% chance of passing if we give up our leverage) later? Tempting offer, but we’ll pass.
Dibs says: Can’t agree with proposal in this post. It requires Trump and supporters to trust Democrats. It sounds like J. Willington Wimpy’s proposal: “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Or Lucy’s promise to really, really, for true not pull the football at the last minute. Why would anyone trust this Dem Congress led by Pelosi who has vowed to block Trump at every turn? How could a resonable person trust such a person leading a faction that intends to impeach the President, evidence or not?
Not a good proposal for conservatives although I’m sure there are plenty of RINOs that would support it.
As for McConnell and Schumer compromising…..probably good for them and their acolytes, but not too good for America.
The Egyptian says: remember Regan took the dems word on spending cuts and on immigration, as soon as he gave in they refused to do what they promised. Never trust a demorat, hold them down till they quit squirming
Mark says: This also drains life from the Democrats’ eternal push for their ever-growing vampire-like social programs. Trump is now fighting about what is good for the country rather than what is good for Democrat-party totalitarianism.
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