The dems were dealt a great hand a few weeks ago when Agent Orange lost any semblance of cool he may have temporarily had, and brayed in the Oval Office that he would “proudly” take responsibility for shutting down the government over his Border Wail, and not blame the opposition party (lifetime lie # 4,328,976.) Since then, Pelosi made a master play by denying Trumpollini the platform of posing presidentially in the House for his state of the union speech.
But following Trump’s lowball offer this past Saturday to trade the $5 billion plus he demands for his wall in exchange for some temporary concessions to dreamers, etc. that will never pass the House and Senate anyway, the dems had another chance to stay on message: No. More. Discussion. Till. The. Government. Re-Opens!
Instead, Pelosi and Schumer went weed-whacking. Pelosi called Trump's proposal "unacceptable" and said it was a "non-starter." She said the offer did not "represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives."
Schumer did a little better, dismissing Trump's offer as "not a compromise but more hostage taking. It’s clear the president realizes that by closing the government and hurting so many American workers and their families, he has put himself and the country in an untenable position. Unfortunately, he keeps putting forward one-sided and ineffective remedies. There’s only way out: open up the government, Mr. President, and then Democrats and Republicans can have a civil discussion and come up with bipartisan solutions."
Senator Dick Durbin came the closest to staying on point, stating,"First, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader McConnell must open the government today. Second, I cannot support the proposed offer as reported, and do not believe it can pass the Senate. Third, I am ready to sit down at any time after the government is opened and work to resolve all outstanding issues."
Crawling out from under the rock where he he has been hiding, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Trump’s offer “a bold solution” to reopen the government, secure the border, and take bipartisan steps toward addressing immigration issues. “Compromise in divided government means that everyone can’t get everything they want every time,” he said. “The president’s proposal reflects that. It strikes a fair compromise by incorporating priorities from both sides of the aisle.” Unlike previous bills, McConnell said, Trump’s proposal could break the impasse that led to the government shutdown, and said he plans to put the proposal on the floor for a vote this week.
In a logical, intelligent nation, there would have been nothing wrong with the democrats’ responses. But that’s not the one we’re living in. Unfortunately, the 40% or so of beyond-deplorable collaborators who are still with Drumpf, plus a proportion of independents in the middle, will agree with McConnell and see Drumpf’s latest snakeoil as reasonable and fair (as in “fair and balanced.”) Too many people can only grasp a clear, simple(minded) message. The dems had a perfect one: “ Open the government, now! Nothing, nada, zipola till then.” It’s the equivalent of standing up to a bully with the only thing a bully and his fans will understand.
Some commentators have already wondered if the democrats have misplayed their hand. One said, "Trump appears to some to be putting a legitimate offer on the table, and Democrats appear to have no interest in negotiating an end to the shutdown. Trump made a wise move today that gives everyone something—border security, Dreamer protections, humanitarian aid. Many reasonable people think stalemates end when negotiations lead to solutions in which everyone wins some and loses some, But what is the win for Pelosi? To solve a problem, or to please her base?"
Jacob Neiheisel, an associate professor of political science at the University of Buffalo, said what happens next will revolve around how the public perceives Trump's announcement and the Democratic response. "I think it does aim to put Democrats in a bad position that they're not budging at all," Neiheisel said. "This is all a blame game, so it all will depend on whose blame game is better."
Let’s hope it’s the dems’, and the best way for them to win is to stay on message: Open the government. Period. Then we can talk. Shutting government down is an admission of failure, and an attempt at extortion by holding hostages. The democrats should make that clear as their first, last, and only point, one that can easily be grasped. They should stay on it.
.