Posted on 01/21/2019 10:01:39 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Now that the halfway point of Donald Trump’s first term in office has officially come and gone, the Washington media crew has been scrambling to find some way to commemorate the occasion, define the results of the first two years and make projections as to the next two. In nearly all cases, this means identifying some catchphrase to cast the administration in the worst light possible. That’s the theme we’re seeing from Philip Rucker at the Washington Post (among others) in what apparently passes for clever commentary these days.
Trump ran for office on the premise that he would be able to get things done because of his extensive history in cutting deals, primarily in the real estate game. Heck, the guy even wrote a book titled The Art of the Deal, so it’s certainly fair game for criticism. But Rucker has decided to take the lack of any sort of dealing on the part of Nancy Pelosi as a sign that the Great Dealmaker isn’t so great at making deals.
Trump’s management of the partial government shutdown — his first foray in divided government — has exposed as never before his shortcomings as a dealmaker. The president has been adamant about securing $5.7 billion in public money to construct his long-promised border wall, but he has not won over congressional Democrats, who call the wall immoral and have refused to negotiate over border security until the government reopens.
The 30-day shutdown — the impacts of which have begun rippling beyond the federal workforce into the everyday lives of millions of Americans — is defining the second half of Trump’s term and has set a foundation for the nascent 2020 presidential campaign.
It’s absolutely true that President Trump has not had the amount of success in coming to agreements across the aisle that he seemed to anticipate. Whether that was a case of naiveté on his part or simply too much optimism we’ll likely never know. But pushing this theme without context is a seriously dishonest way to approach political analysis. Allow me to explain.
The first thing to remember is that there is a vast chasm between how businesses operate in the private sector and how the government works. (Please notify me in advance if I’m awarded the Understatement of the Year Prize for that last sentence so I can get my tux to the dry cleaner in time for the ceremony.) The fact is that Donald Trump comes from a business world where deals are arranged between parties who share a mutual objective. They wouldn’t be at the table unless they thought there was a profit to be had and that their opponent was a likely vehicle to achieve that goal.
Dealing in the private sector generally doesn’t involve people who hate each other or are seeking the destruction of their opponent. The parties involved certainly want to get the “better deal” so they come away as a winner, but there’s no final deal without both of them getting something they want unless one of them is a garden variety moron. Everyone approaches the table hoping that a deal will, in fact, be made and that they maximize their profit from it.
That’s not the case in Washington. Nancy Pelosi has no personal skin in the game as to whether a wall is constructed, the dreamers get a reprieve or anything else currently under discussion. Her “profit” doesn’t come from getting something accomplished. What matters is the political “victory” of denying something to her opponent (in this case, Trump) and revving up her base with her bravado. She can declare every offer from President Trump to be “a non-starter” as she did with this one and head straight for the MSNBC cameras looking like a winner.
The Art of the Deal only works when people are actually interested in a deal and have something to lose or gain from the negotiations. When all your opponent has to offer are poison pills, the outcome will always be sickening.
The GOPee STILL doesn’t want a Wall, much less border control, Visa overstay enforcement, an end to Chain Migration, nor an end to the low IQ immigration lottery.
“Know when to hold em and know when to fold em” ... Our President just folded em!!!
Pressure is going to build up on Nanzi’s side . It’s RATs who are hurt most by the shutdown. Cher may not be the brightest of bulbs but she understands what is at stake if Nanzi chooses this hill to die on .
I’m going to visit a Chevy dealership this afternoon and I’m going to demand that they hand over the keys of a new Corvette.
When they ask me to pay, I’m going to tell them that I negotiate like a democrat, and I will be reaching out to them within the next month to work out some ideas, but we can’t negotiate until I get my car first.
I Nancy has lost Cher it’s all over.
Do these people really think we are so stupid as to not understand that if the government reopens, there will be nothing to negotiate !
Yup. Same scenario I see democrats spouting on tv all day.
Open the government and THEN we will negotiate.
Ask Reagan how that worked out.
A horse head in the bed proves that isn't true.
McConnell can now make the fight very public and criticize Democrats not willing to vote to end debate on the motion to proceed as he takes the plan to the floor this week.
“Open the government and THEN we will negotiate.”
~~~
You don’t have to be a game theorist or political strategist to recognize that this isn’t negotiating. It’s common sense to anyone that it’s just stonewalling.
Expecting concessions while offering nothing in return is not a negotiation.
If the parties were reversed, the media would be slaughtering the republicans for acting like petulant babies.
If Democrats don’t cooperate to end debate on motion to proceed to bill to re-open gov’t,:
McConnell will need to file cloture Tuesday to cut off debate on the motion to proceed which would not ripen for a vote until Thursday.
Democrats are out there blasting President Trump for "using the government as hostages" for his own negotiating.
The truth is that it's the Democrats who strapped the bomb onto the government last December when they stalled on voting on the Ryan funding bill, knowing that the shutdown would hit in January when Pelosi takes over.
It's the Democrats who took the government hostage since December, and are trying to blame Trump now for not agreeing to their terms to free the hostage.
-PJ
The GOPee [and Ditch] had two years to get the job done.
They did not, on purpose.
Ditch is putting on a scene from one of his favorite Kabuki shows.
True, but Trump is still slapping them down at every turn so it’s a win.
And that will be the day the EBT cards are not replentished.
Where do you get that?
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