Wait, I just got it! Try 2B actually thinks that, by preventing the wall from being authorized, Pelosi is doing Mexico’s bidding!
Ha! As if. Mexico would be glad to see the US spend untold billions on a completely useless, ineffective, moronic boondoggle. (Heck, the remittances from Mexican-American construction workers — some documented, others not — would even be icing on the cake).
I’m glad I’m not the only one who looked at that and thought “WTF?!”
Not to mention, it would give an increasingly (justifiably) self-confident Mexico yet another reason to point and laugh at its pathetic, weak, incompetent, morally impoverished northern neighbor.
We were promised that one of these things was going to pay for the wall and it wasn’t Nancy Pelosi.
It also funds everything that was shut down except homeland security until September. So that if even there is no deal in February only about 9% of the government would be shut down instead of the current 25%.
Too late to correct: The current shutdown affects about 800,000 workers so 40% of the government not 25%.
The shutdown cut off 25% of the discretionary budget, but this supports 40% of federal workers. I would guess the ratio is skewed because Department of Defense is one of the agencies that are not shut down.
And the 800,000 number is just federal workers (civil servants). I don’t think anyone knows how many contractors are affected. The number will grow every day as contracts run out of money, and each contracting company makes a decision on whether to keep their employees funded, or furlough them, or lay them off.
There you go. I thought it was obvious and was surprised it bombed. Even my gf didn’t get it! :smack:
Okay! Apologies for my misinterpretation.
Well, I hope todays WH Homeland Security briefing goes well.
Don’t know if it will budge the Democrats position. But they need to know what’s at stake. Border security shouldn’t be a pawn in either sides political strategy.
I hope this time they’ll meet Trump in private without cameras. That last meeting was very awkward and unproductive for both sides.
What’s at stake? What’s wrong with the current security at the boarder? Do you think Trump’s position should budge at all?
5,000 people marching towards the border? A 100 stormed the border yesterday throwing rocks. I don’t think these people are giving up and going back home anytime soon
We need to reenforce the border. At least provide more fencing and electronic surveillance. Increase the border patrol’s budget and hire more people.
I don’t support Trump’s plan for a impregnable wall.
The money can be better spent on the other security measures.
Well, the drove them off. It’s pretty clear that available measures worked.
Uh, it was awkward and unproductive for the Republican side. Don’t you understand politics? 
Guy: This isn’t the Democrats shut-down, no matter how much you try to both-sides this thing.
And to be honest, I could give fuck-all about “Border Security” being “a pawn in either sides political strategy.” It’s not like there’s a camp of 40,000,000 people huddled at the border waiting to rush in once some departmental funding limit is hit. :rolleyes: Your idiot President made it part and parcel part of his political strategy… well, he’s seeing how much that gets him.
Anyway: It’s Trump’s shutdown. He owns it. He can end it. He needs to blink.
It takes two sides for any debate.
Somehow a compromise has to be found.
I don’t know how far Trump will shift his position. He will eventually be forced to meet the Democrats half way. Pressure will grow as the shutdown drags on.
Your solution to 5000 people marching openly towards the border - and didn’t get in to the US - is an additional $5 billion for a partial wall? That’s $1 million per migrant.
Anyway, if this is such a big problem, why hasn’t the Trump administration even spent the billions of dollars Congress already approved for border security in 2017 and 2018?
I posted the DHS report a couple days ago. They are using the budgeted money. Construction and repairs are behind schedule but it is continuing.
Whatever is appropriated in this budget will keep the upgrades on track.
AFAIK no one is building a stupid concrete wall. It’s reinforced fencing.
Trump’s grand wall as he envisions it, will never happen.
You’re still treating this like a good-faith debate. Stop treating it like a good-faith debate.
Donald Trump shut down the government because people in the right-wing news called him a cuck. He claimed “he owned the shutdown”, then said he didn’t. This is not a negotiation; this is a hostage situation. He is holding the functionality of the government hostage to get what he wants. And what he wants is just insanely fucking stupid.
… and since we don’t negotiate with terrorists, fuck him.
Bingo. We’re in Day 12 of the shutdown (“on the 12th day of shutdown, Paul Ryan gave to me…”) and the Republicans have been in charge of both houses of Congress and the Presidency during the entire time.
And how hard have the Republicans been working on it? On the first day of shutdown (12/22) Congress was in session for a few hours, then adjourned until 12/27.
On 12/27, the Senate was in session for literally four minutes, then adjourned. The House was even faster - it was in session for 2 minutes, 56 seconds. And then they both adjourned until 4pm today.
So while having complete and undivided control of the Executive and Legislative branches of government during the shutdown, the Republican Party has done absolutely jack shit to try to resolve it. This afternoon, they’ll be in session for another few minutes, then punt.
You know the old saying, “lead, follow, or get out of the way”? The GOP is 0-for-3.
At least tomorrow the House Republicans will finally get out of the way. Unfortunately, Trump and Mitch will still be in the way.