1.21.18: As For The Parents Of DACA Americans, Just Say 'Thank You'

Shutdown, Day 2...

The entire day leading up to the exact date of one-year anniversary clearly illustrated the impeccably clear leadership of the Trump Administration, and at exactly midnight eastern time in Washington, the United States government shutdown to honor the mark. Lovely.

Now that it's here, the question at the top of the program was whether this is a Schumer Shutdown or a Trump Shutdown. Obviously, it depends who you ask, and thanks to "Meet The Press's" producers, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) both appeared in separate interviews. This gets right to the center of the president's 'shit hole' comment, pardon the phrase.

In this instance not having been in the room, you have to take the word of the people who were. When asked, Senator Durbin said that he 'amplified' it, using Chuck Todd's term, because the president lied about ever having said it. Senator Lindsey Graham 'said his piece' to the president in the very meeting, to which Mr. Cotton said was part of Mr. Graham's overall conversation about policy. But apparently, Trump owned it by bragging about the comment to people close to the president, according to conservative journalist Erick Erickson.

So if the president even owned it and Tom Cotton can't summon the backbone, despite serving at a commander post in Iraq where he said he was used to vulgarity, and say the president said what he said and I don't agree with it, or "I agree with it" if you're Tom Cotton. Who's to say? In other words, be a stand up guy and don't be afraid of it, just own it. Plus, he didn't say it so what's he worried about it? Afraid of the president, and reason this matters is because Mr. Cotton has shown himself to not be a reliably honest check on the president. And that said with no malice toward the office of the presidency.

In terms of the shutdown and the deciding factor of what the to do with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in terms of making a deal to pass a budget, today's panel consensus was that this is a pretty easy deal to make. Chuck Schumer gave the president $18 billion for a border wall in exchange for DACA.

President said 'yes,' then president said 'no.'
Like negotiating with Jell-O...

Which gives a bad name to Jell-O by the way, but I'm sure the company is enjoying the product placement.

The president said on Tuesday that he would sign anything the bipartisan group of Senators put together. Mr. Durbin and Mr. Graham give him that compromise and the president says no. Schumer gives what he wants and the Mr. Trump says no. The Senate Majority leader said publicly that he was waiting to know what the president wanted. And on and on and on.

Mr. Trump, with various networks, is on video record  that a shutdown is on the president. Well he's the president. And there's the little fact that Republicans control the House, Senate and White House.


The president rescinded the executive order from the last administration on DACA and threw it to congress with a March 5th deadline, which is soon close in congress's time frame that it's like yesterday. There is no more road.

As stated in this column before, DACA recipients are Americans, productive ones at that so give them a passport.

Mr. Cotton would not agree with something so definitive but would concede a path to citizenship. He's concerned about the parents and giving them legal status, which they should not be granted because they're the ones who broke the law. So he's saying that you twenty-something DACA recipient can stay but we're going to break up your family and mom and dad have to go back.

How about this instead since the onus of border security is on us,we didn't like that you broke the law, but thank you for the great productive American you contributed to our country. Thank you. Here's your legal status. 

You can have understanding about the Republican position of limiting family migration, derogatorily referred to as 'chain migration' and not feel too bad about it, but it shouldn't be tied to the DACA recipients.  It's called compromise where everyone loses a little.  Senator Cotton is hard right on immigration so much so that he's the fringe in his own caucus who according to Senator Lindsey Graham should be blocked as a credible voice on the issue. He give him the 'sit-down-rook' verbal swat, but despite Mr. Cotton not copping to it in the interview, he did 'get' to the president on immigration and changed the president's mind... again.

Lastly, Stephanie Cutter was on the mark for calling out White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short on his duplicity when it comes to immigration at once sounding conciliatory and then endorsing a video that the says Democrats are complicit in the murders of Americans by illegal immigrants, which is something else that should be censured by the Republican-controlled congress but frankly, they're too complicit.

Here's that exchange from the transcript...

CHUCK TODD: Is that ad -- let me ask you this, is that ad helpful to you today?

MARC SHORT: I think it's helpful to continue to raise awareness of what the--

CT: The tone of that ad, you find the tone of that ad helpful?

MS: I think that the data in that ad continues to remind people that there are people coming across--

CT: The data, not tone.

MS: --our border--

CT: Is the tone wrong?

MS: I'm telling you, the data of the ad shows that there are people coming across our border that pose threats to our country. Yes.

Does Mr. Short sound like he works for the Trump Administration, or what?

And if there was any doubt, the president owns the 'shit hole' comment and he owns the shutdown.


Panel: Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal; Stephanie Cutter, fmr. Communications Director for President Obama; Al Cardenas, fmr. Republican Strategist; Peter Alexander, NBC News