This shutdown is driven by Trump’s lies, delusion and erratic demands
President Donald Trump’s delusion and pathological lies are once again impairing his ability to lead this great country.
Funding the government should not be optional, and it should not be subject to the whims of an individual demanding $5 billion for a project that hasn’t been properly vetted and is exactly the kind of pork-barrel, pet-project funding we’d think someone trying to drain the swamp would oppose.
Trump’s attempts to blame Democrats for this shutdown are laughable and dishonest to the point of pathology. The Senate has passed a continuing resolution that earned enough support from Democrats to pass but Republicans in the House refused to take up the proposal to temporarily keep the government open.
Trump, also, must think the American people don’t remember what happened in January when a group of bipartisan lawmakers — led by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin — brought a plan to the table that included $2.5 billion for the construction of physical barriers on the border and a pathway to citizenship for about 2 million Dreamers.
But we remember. Trump rejected the compromise in a spectacularly vulgar and unbecoming fashion, attacking a provision that would have allowed people with temporary protected status from countries like Haiti and El Salvador to remain in this country legally.
Now, 11 months later, he wants to blame Democrats because in the Senate they didn’t tack on $5 billion to a funding bill for Trump’s wall. There is no one to blame for this shutdown but Trump and his erratic demands when it comes to immigration. He has been inconsistent, asking for one thing only to change his mind when Congress presents him with the offer.
His decision to demand the funding for his wall was wishy-washy at best until after the Senate had already passed a continuing resolution without the money tacked on. That is not good leadership, and the American people, particularly federal workers, are the ones paying the price.
It’d set an uncomfortable precedent if Congress gives into Trump’s demands. This is not how our country’s budget is supposed to work, and we would hope Republicans and Democrats could see the wisdom in that.
We vehemently opposed the shutdown in January that was driven by Democrats who were attempting to force a resolution for Dreamers facing deportation. In no uncertain terms we chided leadership for their decision. We did that despite badly wanting relief for Dreamers whose lives were thrown into limbo when the president revoked the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that had provided a temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants.
“We didn’t support the GOP when they pulled this stunt four years ago in their failed attempt to delay or defund Obamacare,” we wrote in January. “Why should we support the other party now? Congress ought to do the right thing and pass a clean bill resolving the Dreamer conundrum.”
That position stands now — if Trump wants his wall he must dig deep and find a statesman buried somewhere beneath a pile of divisive tweets issued in all capital letters as though the number of exclamation points will increase their effectiveness.
Americans have been waiting for a bipartisan immigration deal for decades. We’re not holding our breath, but with Democrats taking the House in a matter of days we hope calmer heads will prevail and something will finally be accomplished.
However, that something shouldn’t be tied to the continuing resolutions needed to keep our government open and functioning.
— The Denver Post, Digital First Media