government shutdown

Deal, no deal on federal government shutdown

by

In December, the Senate approved unanimously by voice vote a spending bill that had been approved by party leadership to which President Trump had agreed.

But then racist polemicists Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter told the president that he was done with his white nationalist racist base if he did not build the “big beautiful wall” on the Mexico border that Mexico was going to pay for, as he had promised his gullible MAGA supporters. Trump then reneged on the deal he had agreed to with his party leadership.

House Speaker Paul Ryan dutifully substituted a bill which contained $5 billion dollars for a border wall, a round number which Trump simply pulled out of his ass, which the lame-duck losers of the Republican caucus who had just been tossed out of office by the largest Democratic landslide since the post-Watergate 1974 election voted for the bill on their way out the door. Good riddance.

The new Democratic majority Congress that took office in January passed the Senate bill to which President Trump had previously agreed (before reneging on his deal), and sent it back to the Senate where it should have been a no-brainer to pass (it already passed the Senate unanimously).

Read more

Negotiating with yourself does not constitute a ‘compromise’ (updated)

by

The White House alerted the media that Trump plans to make ‘major announcement’ on shutdown, and the border on Saturday afternoon.

Trump is given to hyperbole and superlatives, and this speech was no exception. This was an over-hyped PR stunt.

The speech began with Stephen Miller’s highlights of the xenophobic, racist, anti-immigrant talking points of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, et. al., heard almost daily on conservative hate talk radio to gin up white anxiety and white grievances among Trump’s white nationalist base.

It then veered into a rehash of previous proposals (which were rejected by the prior Republican Congress) on DACA and TPS beneficiaries: a temporary stay of Trump’s policies for 3 years in exchange for $5.7 billion for Trump’s “big beautiful wall” on the Mexico border.

This was something Trump negotiated with his white nationalist racist adviser Stephen Miller, and his son-in-law Secretary of Everything, Jared Kushner. There was no effort to negotiate with the Democratic leadership in good faith. Trump’s attempt to call this a “compromise” rings hollow. Negotiating with yourself does not constitute a “compromise.”

This was another lame attempt to reframe the issue solely as a PR stunt. It was an epic failure.

Read more

Trump manufactures a ‘national emergency’ to abuse the power of his office

by

“Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man.” – General George S. Patton

Donald Trump has shut down the federal government over his demand for $5 billion (now $5.6 billion) for his “big beautiful wall” on the Mexico border, a monument to the stupidity of this man. The amount of money being fought over is a rounding error in what it would actually cost to build his wall. See the Brookings Institute, The Wall: The real costs of a barrier between the United States and Mexico.

Screen Shot 2019-01-08 at 1.13.34 PM

This is a “crisis” manufactured by the Trump administration in an effort to extort money from Congress, which has routinely rejected his request in appropriations bills. Trump himself has agreed to these appropriations bills until he reneged on the latest deal in December after right-wing propagandists in the conservative media entertainment complex attacked him for agreeing to the appropriations bills. Do we really want right-wing propagandists like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity dictating public policy?

Oh, and Mexico is not paying for this monument to the stupidity of this man, you will.

Read more

Season 3 of The Apprentice – White House, episode one: ‘The Wall Brawl’

by

Season 3 of the alt-reality TV series The Apprentice – White House premiered Tuesday with Donald Trump trying to cash in on the trendy revival of old TV series this season by adding elements of his World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) fake wrestling days. Trump invited Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer over to the White House for some pre-match bluster and braggadocio in an overly contrived episode one: “The Wall Brawl.”

Dana Milbank has the play-by-play. “Let’s get ready to rumble!” Emergency! It’s time for Trump to fabricate another crisis!

Robert Mueller is circling, recessionary clouds are building, and Democrats are rising to power. For President Trump, this can mean only one thing: It’s time to fabricate a new crisis.

And that’s exactly what he’s doing.

Trump summoned Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to the Oval Office on Tuesday for what was supposed to be a negotiating session about border security. Instead, he used them as props in an impromptu, 17-minute reality-TV show.

ChuckAndNancy

“Look, we have to have the wall,” Trump bellowed at the Democratic Senate and House leaders — seated awkwardly on couches — while the TV cameras rolled. “This is a national emergency. Drugs are pouring into our country. People with tremendous medical difficulty and medical problems are pouring in, and in many cases it’s contagious.”

Emergency! Drugs and contagion!  And then, a threat: “If we don’t get what we want one way or the other. . . . I will shut down the government, absolutely.” The president added: “I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it. . . . I will take the mantle of shutting down, and I’m going to shut it down for border security.”

The Trump Shutdown. Own it.

Read more

Just in time for Christmas, a government shutdown over Trump’s ‘big beautiful wall’

by

Oh for the love of God, are we really going to do this again?

Just in time for Christmas, our white nationalist racist-in-chief is threatening a government shutdown over his “big beautiful wall” on the Mexico border.

Someone just give him a MAGA building blocks set for Christmas to occupy his infantile mind (yes, this is a real thing) and let’s get on with the serious adult business of running the federal government.

POLITICO reports Stalemate on Trump’s wall amid threat of shutdown:

Congress just can’t help itself: With a partial government shutdown potentially two weeks away, Democrats and Republicans are dug in, each side upping its demands and vowing not to buckle to the other.

President Donald Trump is pressuring Republicans to obtain at least $5 billion for his border wall, far more than what Senate Democrats are prepared to give. Democrats in turn are considering pushes for legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller and the elimination of a citizenship question from the next census, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

Read more