The Trump Shutdown

Trump shut down the government at the goading of Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh.

Now Sean Hannity wants him to keep it closed until the end of January.

In a normal White House the President would have advisors who swear to uphold the Constitution and serve the public and stuff.

At least Coulter is right on one point.

Pelosi has "uninvited" Trump from giving the SOTU in the House on January 29 unless the government is reopened.  Good on her.  If he's gonna act like a child he should be treated like one.

And in response, the petulant twat denied Pelosi the use of a government jet for a scheduled overseas trip. Why is Pelosi visiting Afghanistan anyway?

The only way the Trump Shutdown is going to get resolved quickly is if essential services for the public begin to get disrupted. I hope the TSA does pull the trigger.

Maybe this should be called the McConnell Shutdown.  

The Senate actually passed a continuing resolution bill to keep the government open on December 19 on a unanimous voice vote.  The Republican-controlled House passed a similar measure the next day on the 20th, but the House version included $5b for Trump's vanity wall ("TRUMP" in big gold letters).  It needed 60 votes to pass in the Senate and be sent along to the president for his signature.

They didn't have 60 votes, so Mitch refused to schedule a vote.

And of course on January 3 the House changed to Democratic control, so the House bill was now DOA.  The Democratic House has sent six bills to Mitch for a vote -- identical to the one he passed December 19 -- and he refuses to put them on the calendar.  Trump has said he would not sign a bill that didn't include his new hotel wall, and Mitch is unwilling to call his bluff and/or override his veto.

Ella Nilsen/Vox wrote:

McConnell is saying he won’t bring anything to the floor until he knows Trump will sign it. Senate Democrats are increasingly criticizing this, essentially asking McConnell to call Trump’s bluff.

The funding bills they want to vote on are nearly identical to the ones the Senate passed near unanimously before the holidays. In theory, Congress could override the president’s veto on a spending bill. That’s exactly what Cardin was asking for on Thursday.

“That’s been passed near unanimously by this body,” Cardin said, referring to the spending bills. “The last time I checked the Constitution, that’s enough for a veto override.”

But it’s clear McConnell doesn’t plan to take the drastic step of clashing so publicly with the president. Even though there are some cracks within his party, with moderate Republicans urging him to take action, McConnell is ultimately the one who decides.

Impeachment works for Senators too.

No stunt in the world is gonna make this a Democratic shutdown.

Democrats should not take this bait.  They should demand DACA and TPS without wasting $6b in taxpayer funds on a useless vanity wall.

If Trump wants his wall so bad, let him figure out how to get Mexico to pay for it.  He said it would be "so easy."

Edit: looks like Pelosi's got it right
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-daca-border-wall-shutdown_us_5c434eebe4b0a8dbe171dc57

Even Trump TV gets the message. Trump will have to cave. He has no support.

DOA

Quote :

That proposal is likely to anger Trump’s far-right base, however. Conservative author Ann Coulter ― whom Trump has taken policy cues from in the past ― tweeted that Trump’s offer was “100 miles of border wall in exchange for amnestying millions of illegals.”

“So if we grant citizenship to a BILLION foreigners, maybe we can finally get a full border wall,” she said.

Keep it up, Annie. Your irrelevance is important now, and needs to be recognized by this president and his 3 advisors.

Pelosi should be negotiating with Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, not the president.

Quote :

The very next day, with the apparent understanding Trump was on board, the GOP controlled Senate voted for a funding bill without including billions for the wall. At the time, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, John Cornyn, assured the media that Trump was on board with this bill, stating that the President would sign it. It appeared that a compromise had been reached and the government would remain open.

That was until Coulter and Limbaugh showed America who was really boss.  The next day, on December 20, Limbaugh declared on his show that Trump had personally contacted him to signal he was backing off that position: "The President has gotten word to me that he is either getting funding for the border, or he's shutting the whole thing down."  And just last week, Coulter appeared to be patting herself on the back for causing Trump to flip on the issue, noting that Trump had been seemingly losing his way but "we've reeled him back."

Profile In Courage

NoCoPilot wrote:

Maybe this should be called the McConnell Shutdown.  

Poor ol' Mitch is starting to regret throwing his hat in with Trump.

Quote :

The essence of McConnell’s position in Trump’s Washington: a man of institutions and establishments whose own legacy was now tied to that of a president who seems hellbent on burning both to the ground.

As is Rudy Giuliani.

Quote :

Rudy Giuliani, the always colorful and outspoken lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump, says he is afraid his tombstone some day will say, "Rudy Giuliani: He Lied for Trump".

NoCoPilot wrote:

Trump shut down the government at the goading of Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh.

Now Sean Hannity wants him to keep it closed until the end of January.

In a normal White House the President would have advisors who swear to uphold the Constitution and serve the public and stuff.

Hopefully the Lunatic Fringe will blast Trump for being "wimpy" and he will see, once and for all, that they are not suitable sources for his presidential decisions.

Quote :

Trump either blocked or unfollowed Coulter on Twitter in December 2018 after she called him “gutless.”

Quote :

George Takei
   @GeorgeTakei

   Between now and 2/15, Congress should pass a law that puts an end to the power of any branch to shut down the government.
   9,886
   2 PM - Jan 25, 2019

Quote :

Jennifer Rubin
@JRubinBlogger

Maybe this is part of an insanity defense for the Russia probe
2,025
11:30 AM - Jan 25, 2019 · Reston, VA

Quote :

George Conway
@gtconway3d

This used to be his signature move after colossally screwing up. But there’s no Chapter 11 for presidencies.

NoCoPilot wrote:

Hopefully the Lunatic Fringe will blast Trump for being "wimpy" and he will see, once and for all, that they are not suitable sources for his presidential decisions.

Yay, this is finally starting to happen. Can't see this as anything but a good thing.