Following President Donald Trump’s address to the nation on the subject of the migrant crisis at the southern border, the Democratic response was unremarkable and entirely predictable. The party’s congressional leaders, Chuck and Nancy, each delivered brief and monotonous repetitions of the usual talking points, took swipes at the president, and brought nothing new or substantive to the current debate.
...the plan put forward by Chuck and Nancy is simple
The two Democrats made a curious, almost amusing sight, standing uncomfortably close together, almost as if they were propping each other up. Schumer scowled while Pelosi – unusually composed but still sporting that deer-in-the-headlights look – bemoaned the continuing government shutdown or, more correctly, partial shutdown.
Government Is All That Matters
It was obvious that, to Pelosi, the government not being fully open for business was the most important issue. This exactly reflects the leftist mindset, of course. Government is always the most important thing, and the needs of the government come before anything else.
Unsurprisingly, the new House majority leader repeated the worn-out myth that Democrats care about border security. “The fact is,” Pelosi said, “we all agree we need to secure our borders while honoring our values.” In reality, of course, the Democrats resist any attempt to make the southern border harder to breach. No amount of drones or increased security checks at official crossing points will stop migrants from being able to walk, swim, paddle, tunnel, or climb into the United States. Democrats have no intention of stemming the flow of humanity into this country from Mexico. The measures Democrats agree with may decrease some trafficking of drugs and human beings into America through crossing points, but the rest of the border remains as porous as ever.
Schumer took aim at Trump, accusing the president of governing “by temper tantrum.” The senator was not finished with his attack, though. “This president just used the backdrop of the Oval Office to manufacture a crisis,“ he said.
The Manufactured Crisis
Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer
A manufactured crisis. Both Pelosi and Schumer stuck to that narrative. The entire political left, including its media stooges, has repeated this conspiracy theory ad nauseam; the migrant caravan never existed, and there simply is no migrant crisis. Democrats always try to paint Republicans as heartless and dispassionate, yet the Dems now refuse to admit the very existence of what is, without a doubt, the greatest humanitarian catastrophe that has taken place at the U.S.-Mexico border.
To be fair, the two Democratic leaders did put forward their own plan, which follows a strategy the Democrats have used successfully during policy clashes with Republican counterparts. Dems promise that they will discuss Republican demands after Republicans give in to Democrat demands. It has worked before, and the Republicans come off looking like fools. The Democrats get what they want, then refuse later to concede anything.
Thus, the plan put forward by Chuck and Nancy is simple: The president and congressional Republicans must give in and allow the passage of a bill that will reopen the government. Only then will Democrats discuss further border security measures. But once the government is back to work, the Democrats will refuse to agree to any measure that hardens the southern border.
Trump Is Winning the Blame Game
How long the brinkmanship will continue may well shape not only the political landscape for the next two years but also the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Each side of this impasse has an ace in the hole; the Democrats know that, at some point, the government will have to be reopened, but the Republicans still command a majority vote in the Senate and, of course, the president’s pen – which is useful for both vetoes and executive orders.
The Democratic leaders failed to effectively answer Trump’s address, choosing instead to recycle their party soundbites and continue to vilify and resist the president. Their refusal to agree to provide the $5.6 billion for border wall construction – a paltry amount, compared to how much money the federal government spends every year – looks increasingly like sheer petulance. The government remains shut down – as the president pointed out – because Democrats will not approve this barely significant expenditure. After publicly offering to take the blame for the government shutdown, Trump has successfully handed that blame to his political opponents.
