We're in the 16th day of the latest government shutdown and a quick end doesn't look likely. Both sides are entrenched in their positions with new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) saying that "a wall is an immorality," and the president threatening to enact emergency powers, diverting pentagon funds, to get it built.
If the president were to deploy the military to build a wall, wouldn't it be a needless misappropriation of funds and resources? Not to mention that the border is not a military emergency, despite what the president says. Also, Newly appointed Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney called the situation at our southern border a 'crisis.' It's not a crisis of people coming in, but what is really the crisis is the inhuman way the administration has been caging and housing new arrivals.
For a self-proclaimed 'great negotiator' President Trump has certainly backed himself into the proverbial corner. Mr. Mulvaney stated that the $2.5 billion dollar deal that the vice president had discussed with Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-TN) wasn't what the president wanted. This, in turn, lead to Mr. McConnell's bringing a vote to the floor of the senate that the president wouldn't sign, in essence embarrassing the Tennessee senator. Now, feeling that burn, Mr. McConnell will not bring any vote to the senate floor that the president won't sign. What this really says is that Mr. McConnell doesn't think that the president can be held to his word via his second in command Mike Pence.
As New York Times columnist David Brooks explained the obvious deal is border security money in exchange for a DACA deal (path to citizenship for the dreamers), which Senator Susan Collin (R-ME) also mentioned was voted on last March. However, because of the outcry from right-wing radio and television pundits, Mr. Trump backed away from such a deal and now insists on $5.6 billion for a wall or the government will not reopen.
[Aside: whether concrete or steel, it's still a wall.]
As House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) pointed out, the Democrats this week voted on a Republican to keep the government open, but again Senator McConnell will not take up the bill because the president won't sign it, which only serves to alienate senate Republicans further. And when Chuck Todd asked Mr. Mulvaney what concession the president was willing to give the Democrats to make a deal happen, he said that the president agreed to take a concrete structure off the table. Really? Who would even take that concession seriously? Mr. Mulvaney also said that the president is interested in something more comprehensive, but as Kasie Hunt outlined, a bigger fix is simply not in play in such a short time.
So far three Republican senators have come out publicly to urge the president to reopen government and then continue negotiating on border security - Cory Gardner (R-CO), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Susan Collins, who said that shutting down the government as a means to a policy end is never a good idea. All three of these senators will face difficult reelection challenges in 2020. Also, keep in mind what for Congresswoman Donna Edwards said that 80 percent of the government workers affected by the shutdown are outside Washington DC, approximately 640,000 people who are most likely already going to miss one pay check. If the shutdown goes until the 25th of January, that will be two. In other words a month of working without getting paid, a situation that will quickly become untenable.
Washington Free Beacon's Matthew Continetti said that the president is fixated on his base, which will be soon impacted greatly by this shutdown. However, for someone so focused on 35 percent of the population (his base), he sure seems to NOT be doing them a solid. Even in rural America, a large part of the president's base, he's hurting them as the trade war with China continues to do damage to their bottom line and soybean crops sit in silos unsold - U.S. farmers losing billions of dollars. Mr. Trump hasn't made the best deal for them, that much is clear. Not to mention companies like Harley Davidson and Jack Daniel's being hurt by retaliatory tariffs in Europe.
These are real estate deals where it's two-sided and if you don't like the terms, you can walk away. When you walk away from deals as the President of the United States, hundreds of thousands of people get hurt, the people you took an oath to serve.
Panel: Kasie Hunt, NBC; fmr. Congresswoman Donna Edwards; David Brooks, the New York Times; Matthew Continetti, the Washington Free Beacon
One more thing...
For now, cooler heads in the Democratic party are prevailing on impeachment talk, as they should. Once the Mueller report comes out, then the pieces will all start falling into place so while Democrats are conducting rigid oversight of this administration (sorely needed), it's politically best to wait until then.
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