Protests against the Trump Shutdown
As the Trump Shutdown of the federal government drags on, and the polls continue to blame Trump and the Republicans, the pressure will eventually become too great on the GOP. They will have to cave to the Democrats (who now have majority control in the House of Representatives), both on Trump’s desired border wall, and the untenable idea that Trump could shut down the federal government because he hasn’t gotten his way on the wall. So now the question is, how will Trump and the Republicans cave without appearing to capitulate to the Democrats, which would cause great anger among the Republican base? The answer is likely to turn on interpretations of the terms “wall,” “fence” and “border security.”
The key is that Democrats have voted and appropriated funds for border security before, just not Trump’s wall. For example, back in 2013, Democratic U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer put forth an Immigration Reform bill. It contained billions for border security, including 700 miles of “fencing,” additional technology (a/k/a “virtual fence”), and more border agents. It passed the Senate 68-32. All Senate Democrats voted for the Immigration Reform bill. Republicans who controlled the House of Representatives then blocked the bill from consideration, making them, not the Democrats, the obstacle to full border security. More recently, last month, Democrats offered $1.3 billion for border security, but no wall, in order to avoid the Trump Shutdown. Trump and then the GOP rejected the offer.
Someone (or a gang of someones) in Congress will eventually come up with an agreement that will let both sides declare victory and end the Trump Shutdown by talking about “border security,” a “fence” and a “wall.” There must be two steps, however. The first is that Trump and the Republicans must reopen the government. The Democrats must not give anything in return, other than a commitment to sit down and discuss border security once the Trump Shutdown ends. That’s something the Democrats have always been willing to do anyway. Otherwise, offering concessions to end Trump’s hostage taking would only reward the hostage takers, normalize the hostage taking and invite more such hostage taking. Only after the Republicans reopen the government can each side then focus on the substance of border security, and come to an agreement on something that does not include Trump’s wall.
Such an agreement may not be that difficult to achieve. Note that Republicans have already shifted their language, dropping mentions of the “wall” in favor of the straw man “border security.” Trump himself has backpedaled, lately talking about “steel slats” instead of a solid concrete wall. In response, the Democrats have accurately stated that they are for smart border security, just not Trump’s dumb wall. The solution, then, will probably consist of the Democrats reiterating their offer of funds for border security including “fencing,” which is essentially giving away ice in the winter time since they agreed to this long ago, and Trump and the Republicans falsely stating that the Democrats gave up and agreed to funding for Trump’s “wall.” No one will be especially happy with the outcome, but those who follow facts and truth will know that Trump and the Republicans caved, and the Democrats (and thus the country) won. It will then be all of our jobs to communicate this truth to the media and the voters.
Photo by AFGE, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/Cx88y7
