Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to end the short-lived government shutdown yesterday by accepting the word of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The problem is the sleazy McConnell could be the second biggest liar in Washington, after President Donald Trump. And that’s saying something.
The shutdown started Friday night after most Senate Democrats and a few Republicans would not vote in favor of another in a series of short-term spending plans to keep the government open, in this case for one month.
Democrats want to address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows immigrants who entered the United States illegally as minors to avoid deportation through work permits.
Trump previously set a March 5 deadline for the protections to expire. The Democrats want to protect its approximately 800,000 participants – The Dreamers – from deportation now.
Apparently unfazed by the shutdown, the Republicans refused to go along with the Democrats’ demands, leading Schumer to agree to a shorter budget extension to end Feb. 8 and a promise from McConnell that he would address the issue. A total of 33 Democrats and 48 Republicans approved this deal.
McConnell has proved himself to be a hypocrite who can’t be trusted, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll follow through on the agreement. It should be noted he was very careful in addressing the Senate on this matter, saying it was his “intention” to address the issue, whether in the next spending bill or thereafter, the Washington Post reported.
He didn’t offer a specific promise to protect the Dreamers and suggested he would offer nothing if the government shut down again, but he said he would follow an evenhanded process, The Post said.
If this sounds to you as possibly being a lot of nothing then your hearing is pretty good.
The theory is there’re enough votes in the Senate to pass a bipartisan immigration bill, which has been done before. We’ll see if McConnell lets that happen.
But even if that does occur, it has to be approved by the House and signed by President Donald Trump, whose racist anti-immigrant tendencies are well-documented.
Not surprisingly, Progressives are furious that the Democrats gave in.
From the safety of my computer keyboard and with no chance of being struck by political fallout, I supported the shutdown. My thinking being that sometimes you have to do what’s right no matter what the consequences.
Enough Democrats politically calculated otherwise, so we’re where we are today.
The chance of a deal remains slim in my mind. For one thing the Republican Party is a racist group that loves to demonize immigrants to gin up its base’s fears and wet dreams of an all-white America.
Remember, the process would have to include House Speaker Paul Ryan allowing a bill to pass with votes from Democrats and moderate Republicans, effectively shutting out the hardliners in the process. What’s the chance of that?
While the Senate tends to produce more reasonable legislators because they have to answer to voters from across their states, a number of House members come from gerrymandered fiefdoms predominately populated by like-thinkers, and not necessarily the brightest like-thinkers, at that.
Then there’s Trump. Apparently when his racist gene peters out hardliners like Chief of Staff John Kelly, Senior Adviser Stephen “The Little Nazi” Miller and the appropriately named southern Senator from Arkansas Tom Cotton step in to lead him along.
The reality could be that the only way to protect the Dreamers is with a Democratic-controlled House and Senate with either a veto-proof majority or a Democrat in the White House.
This is another example why the 2018 and 2020 elections are as important as they get, and why hopefully for the good of our country that Progressive outrage doesn’t lead to the sabotage of more moderate candidates who win out in the primaries.
As for Schumer, a good argument can be made that it’s time for him and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to move on. Not from government --they’ll still be important members of the party -- but from their leadership posts.
For Schumer, if his bargain with McConnell doesn’t lead to legislation that protects the Dreamers he could be too much damaged goods to retain his position. Even if it was the common sense thing to do, it would be seen by many as an excessive capitulation, the fancy term for caving.
But even if it does work, if a Blue Wave does sweep the country and Democrats get back control of government, it’s time for a new day with new voices.
When you’re in the public eye for too long you can lose your effectiveness. Pelosi is a constant target for Republican attacks and efforts to link candidates with her in an attempt to discredit them. It’s not fair, but it’s politics.
The DACA kids are a big issue and what happens to them will tell us what kind of country we have at this point in history – compassionate, fair and adhering to our founding principles, or hateful and racist, spurred on by Trump and other Republican lowlifes.
If our party is going to get back on track we need new drivers, a clear vision and a better message. That means Schumer and Pelosi will have to move from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s seat to make way for the next generation of leaders.
Sooner or later it becomes the next guy’s or gal’s turn.
This is the time.
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