Posted on 01/20/2018 5:13:33 AM PST by EyesOfTX
Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends)
Tired of all this Winning yet? – Yesterday’s Campaign Update told you that shutting down the government would be the best outcome for the Republicans. Lo and behold, we have our government shutdown, as the Republicans completely out-maneuvered the Democrats on one of these things for like the first time ever. They have President Trump and Chuck Schumer, who completely over-played a terribly weak hand to thank for that.
With polls showing that 70% or more of the public wanting to do “something” to “protect” the poor DACA “kids” – many of whom are in their 30s – Schumer and every other Democrat spent the entire week claiming they would not do a deal to extend government funding without including some sort of amnesty for these folks who are in our country illegally.
When President Trump called Schumer over to the White House early Friday afternoon, Chuckie boy rushed over with a list of demands in-hand, no doubt expecting Trump to cave, like any of his Republican predecessors would have done in this same situation. But Trump is not a Bush, and no caving was to be had, so poor Chuckie left the White House in a huff, so obviously angry that he actually passed up a chance to talk to the assembled reporters outside, the first time Mr. Schumer has passed up a chance to have his face on TV since he was in grade school. At that moment, he no doubt fully intended to get back over the Capitol and hold a presser announcing his caucus was going to shut down the government.
But a couple of funny things happened while he was on his way back to the office. First, he was no doubt told by his staff that the hashtag #SchumerShutdown had been trending on Twitter since Sarah Huckabee Sanders had used the term in her White House press briefing earlier in the day. Second, CNN released a poll while Schumer was in the Oval Office showing that, by a margin of 56 to 34, people thought it was more important to keep the government open and protect Americans than it is to shut it down over an issue related to 800,000 illegal immigrants.
Why was that CNN poll such a big deal? Well, you have to think like the Democrats think. While there are still good people in the Democrat Party – no, really, there truly still are a handful of well-intentioned Americans still willing to associate with this band of miscreants – the party itself has no soul. The party itself really believes in nothing, unless believing in something helps it to obtain and maintain political power. That’s it. They don’t really give a damn about these DACA “kids”, unless caring about them helps them in that over-arching goal. Thus, that CNN poll told them clearly that standing firm on a DACA fix at this time was a horrible political loser for them, bigly.
Thus, Schumer and his entire caucus then went into panic mode, and spent the next several hours trying to concoct talking points that would make giving in look like some sort of “victory”, and throwing out an array of alternative plans that would have allowed them to keep the government open while saving a little face.
But Mitch McConnell and his Senate Republicans for once held firm and rejected each and every one of them, even as little Lindsey Graham was conducting shuttle diplomacy between Schumer’s and McConnell’s offices, begging them all to give in one more time.
So, we wake up this morning, on the anniversary of Donald Trump’s being sworn into office, with 14% of the federal government technically shut down. As the Campaign Update said on Friday, this is literally the perfect coda to Trump’s first year in office. If you want to clean out the swamp, one of the things you simply must do is stop giving in to the Democrats in these idiotic games of political brinksmanship.
The real glory in all of this is that President Trump for once does not get all the credit for the GOP finally, at long last, doing the right thing. The happy fact is that every leader in the congressional GOP played his role perfectly. Speaker Paul Ryan had his congressional chamber pass the bill that set the tone – with bi-partisan support – on Thursday, and then promptly adjourned the House and sent everyone home so they would not be around to gum up the works any further. Perfect.
McConnell and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn then played their hand perfectly all day long on Friday, putting out a steady drumbeat of consistent messaging about how the Democrats were ignoring the interests of the millions of American citizens in the name of making a special deal for a relative handful of illegal immigrants, a message that Ryan stayed in town to help push as well.
It was all perfect. Everyone played their roles just right. They’ll still get blamed for the shutdown by the fake news media, but the panic on the Democrat side clearly demonstrated which party will gain strength from this shutdown come election day.
At long last, Donald Trump appears to be rubbing off on members of his own party. They’re slow learners, but it does seem that these old dogs are capable of learning new tricks. Tricks like #Winning in situations where they had always lost in the past. This is a day to celebrate if you really care about this country.
Just another day in President Trump just keeps on #Winning America.
That is all.
Follow me on Twitter at @GDBlackmon
Funny, I looked out the window at 7:30AM today and said to my wife, wow, looks like the sun actually rose this morning and on time to boot.
What PO’s me a ton is those DC dolts will get a paid vacation for as long as this goes on.
As far as a stop gap goes, I don’t want no stinkin stop gap. Pass the budget as is sans that stupid DACA crap and be done with it.
I hope with the non essential’s home, that our border goes on full military lock down....set up the M-60s backed up by mortars and claymores till this is settled. Fly a CAP along the borders too.
“I still think this would be a great opportunity to institute a Zero Based Budget.
Make every department prove that it’s needed.”
Your words are perfect and there can be no doubting what you say.
“It is time to arrest the criminals, murderer-accomplices,
traitors, and other felons in Congress........”
You left out the Senate.
Aren’t they the ones labeled as “non-essential” government workers? (By the way, why do have “non-essential” workers anyway? Permanent layoffs! Ah yes, it’s our government!)
Good article.
Must have taken the poll in the demonrat congressional restrooms. I don't know anyone who wants to keep DACA.
Where was McConnell last night? Voting started approximately at 10:15 and he was still a no show when midnight rolled around. I read with the TV muted and then turned the TV off...
He was most likely in his office, negotiating with Little Lindsey Graham and his fellow Democrats.
When they began logging the votes, I could see Graham in a seat on the far side of the floor - when the camera angle was past the people logging the votes.. I can’t say which direction except if you were looking at the well of the Senate from the front, to the left of that. All during those hours, there was a huddle of people right at the spot where Graham was but difficult to see him as the screen ticker was in the way. I could see some white hair on the person sitting and I believe he was sitting there the whole evening. I wish they would be made to sit in their assigned seats and record their votes from there. They behave like 2nd graders so let’s treat them as such.
Watch enough of these stupid votes and you can i.d. people on the floor easily. Amazed at how many women were dressed in pants - not a skirt in sight! Feinstein easy to spot - Warren - easy to spot, same with Sanders, Flake, Rubio - and on and on... Some pretty beefy women there! LOL
Come into my web said Trump to the Dems. :-)
Very good article. Spot-on.
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