With the longest ever shutdown of the federal government, some people are amused, some are enraged, and many are completely unaware. A few may be wondering how did we get here and what is really going on? Sadly, the press is no help; modern media is so biased and tainted, they don’t even know what objective reporting is anymore – journalism is dead. So Americans are left to fend for themselves to try and make sense of all the vitriolic intrigue spewing out of Washington like a broken sewer.
The boisterous bickering to assign blame for the government shutdown is but a cynical diversion to distract from the real problems and threats America has faced on our southern border for decades. Democrats want to cast President Trump as a dictator throwing a tantrum to get his pet wall. Wrong. Trump is trying to fulfill a campaign promise for border security that more than half the country including some Democrats want. And Trump wants to blame Senator Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for obstructing his efforts to protect the border. While Democrats want nothing more than to resist and hopefully hurt Trump, they are not really to blame for the government shutdown.
The blame game is generally pointless, but if we must, the blame for this government shutdown lays solely with Congressional Republicans, particularly Senator Mitch McConnell and former Speaker Paul Ryan. Republicans had control of all branches of government for almost two years and they FAILED again to resolve an age old problem. Had they wielded their legislative powers like Democrats to support their Party’s president, this would have been a footnote from last year and they might have retained the House.
It’s difficult to assess and understand why Republicans just punted this issue away. Some may be under the influence of Chamber of Commerce money to preserve cheap labor, too many are progressive and quietly acquiesce to open borders, but mostly, it’s establishment Republicans simply unwilling to support Trump. Some fear he will at some point collapse in a fiery crash, but mostly, Republicans are simply timidly incompetent at Congressional governance.
Trump had to beat Republicans as hard as Democrats to get tax cuts they supposedly supported. If Obama had McConnell and Ryan, Obamacare would have never passed.
Democrats and their propagandists in the media are howling that Trump is holding the government hostage to his silly notion of a wall for border security. Never mind almost every Democrat has at some point previously voted for a border wall or fence. Now we have endless debate about the effectiveness and even morality of a wall, but the hard truth is this standoff is NOT about the wall or border security or even illegal immigration.
This standoff resulting in a government shutdown is pure raw politics. While Democrats crave illegal immigration for new voters, they have and do support some level of border security. And it’s not about the money. The requested $5 billion is less than one tenth of one percent of the federal budget. If we had a nickel for every time Congress wasted $5 billion, we would have $5 billion for a wall.
Democrat intransigence is for one reason: deny Trump any success and if possible damage him with his supporters. Like Lucy pulling the football every time Charlie Brown tries to kick, border security and illegal immigration has been a political football since the Democrats tricked President Reagan with the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have ever tried to really solve this festering problem.
Trump is earnestly trying to solve this clear present danger to our economy, security, and sovereignty; he has repeatedly offered to compromise on DACA and other Democrat goodies. But Democrats cannot afford another feather in his cap for 2020. So the will of the people and the welfare of both American citizens and illegal immigrants be damned.
This is America’s best chance in decades to secure the border and start on meaningful immigration reform. Tell President Trump you support him, Democrats to get to a compromise, and Republicans to find a spine.
“So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” Ephesians 4:25
