Posted on 12/14/2018 12:06:58 PM PST by MountainWalker
It seems to me that Trump has enormous leverage over these negotiations if he so chooses to use it.
There is one decision that is completely within his control that Democrats are desperate but powerless to stop: the continued employment status of one Robert S. Mueller III. IMHO, late next week he should offer Democrats a promise that he will terminate Mueller effective midnight Friday night if a budget without $5B in border wall funding is not on his desk. He should also stipulate that if the government closes, the cost of re-opening it will increase $1B per day for a maximum of $70B of the total expected cost of a border wall. He should also say he is perfectly willing to keep the government closed for as long as he's still president if this border crisis remains unaddressed, be that 6 days or 6 years. The Democrats must choose between preserving this witch hunt or keeping the border open, and if they choose the latter, the government will not reopen for as long as he's still president.
I realize that Trump wants to clear his name of the Russian Collusion hoax/smear, but it's clear that Mueller is going to write a report that alleges some kind of unprovable crime like paying off some strumpet as a campaign violation. So, he's not going to get a clean victory either way. The media/Democrats have already moved on from the original point of this "investigation" like it never existed. Democrats will try to impeach him either way, so Mueller might as well be fired and Trump might as well be able to say that Democrats were given the option to keep him on but decided that border security wasn't worth it.
Thoughts?
I don’t think he can link the two. Firing Mueller is the red line. It’s stupid, ultimately. There’s nothing there, but there is plenty on others, including Mueller.
He’s the CINC. He can just order the wall build. Full stop. He can also continue to tout all the other items that WERE funded instead of this vital piece of national security. How much money did Iran get again?
POTUS has this. Not worried about him. I’m worried about my GF and her family travelling to Europe on vacation tomorrow.
I’m sure the liberal media has ALREADY FILMED the poor, single moms, laid off by some Federal agency.
A shutdown doesn't effect the House or the Senate.
The only leverage is the Senate and the veto.
Yeah, I know that, but it’d be a convenient excuse to tell the rubes. If shutdowns affected Congress the government could never reopen.
Start releasing the 60,000 ++ sealed indictments.
That would be about 120,000 people. There are plenty of job openings in this robust economy Trump has built-—let them all go to work in the PRIVATE sector & learn what REAL work & responsibility is.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.