Let’s get on with U.S. business

Put broad interests of the country over narrow interests of the parties

Enough is enough. Our elected officials are so fixated over the word “Wall” that they have effectively paralyzed the government. They are acting like pouty juveniles instead of esteemed adults. They would rather sink the ship we are all riding on than seek common ground and compromise to reopen the government. We can solve this problem. Right now. Let’s look at our common interests. Everyone wants effective border security. Members of both parties have voted overwhelmingly for it. So why not include this funding in the budget bills and get on with more important matters? I was born on the border and know for a fact that there are some places where a physical barrier is effective and other places where it is not. Anybody who’s been to the border understands this. The simple compromise is to include funding for enhanced border security and give the president the discretion to implement a physical barrier where it makes sense. After all, he is the chief executive, like him or not. The Democrats can avoid using the word “wall” if they want. The president and the Republicans can use the term “wall” if they wish.

What word they use for enhanced border security really doesn’t matter. Does anyone think that those on furlough due to irresponsible elected official actions care what they call it? I hardly think so.

Everyone wants an improved immigration system, one that attracts the finest from all over the world and that provides a reasonable pathway for desperate souls suffering from economic deprivation or physical harm. Inherent in such a reformed system is dealing with the “Dreamers,” a group caught in limbo due to the ineptness of our current immigration system. So why not incorporate a provision in the budget bills that we will have a bipartisan solution on the president’s desk no later than July of this year, or no elected official gets paid after that date? We don’t have to start from scratch. There are several proposals that our congressional representatives can use to fashion a reasonable compromise that the President can sign. It’s what they are supposed to be about: Doing their jobs.

There is much more to be done, such as dealing with the national debt and rebuilding our critical infrastructure.

But these border security and immigration issues are enough to start with.

Let’s do these things and quit dancing on the head of a pin over a four-letter word.

Let’s put the broad interests of the country over the narrow interests of individual party interests.

Let’s get the government back open and get on with the important business of the nation.

Enough is enough.