January 23, 2018
Jan 23 01:21 The latest pro-Democrat spin Jan 23 09:38 DC Republicans don't get it Jan 23 11:37 DFL writing off southern MN? Jan 23 13:21 Dems committing political suicide Jan 23 17:54 LFR Exclusive: Moose returning to Voyageurs' National Park after gov't shutdown Jan 23 19:07 Immigration fight is finished Jan 23 21:23 The natives are getting restless
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The latest pro-Democrat spin
Last night on Special Report, Jonathan Swan and Jonah Goldberg said something that caught my attention. First, Swan said that Sen. Schumer's capitulation (my words, not his) was a short-term victory for Democrats. Then he opined that it was a long-term victory for Democrats. Shortly after that, Goldberg said that he agreed with Swan. Frankly, I think they're both wrong. In fact, I think they're missing something huge that's playing in the Republicans' favor in terms of winning the budget fight.
Both men said that Republicans had given away a major bargaining chip by giving in on CHIP. It's indisputable that Republicans sweetened the pot for Democrats with CHIP so it's foolish arguing that point. The point that they're both missing is that the next deadline will require lifting the caps on the military budget. Only a tiny fraction of military units have the spare parts required to be fully ready. Training of National Guard troops is lacking, too.
If Democrats think Republicans won't beat them over the head with that during the next round of budget talks, they're kidding themselves. Lindsey Graham is a dove on border security but he's a hawk on defense spending. If Democrats think that they can shut down the government again without increasing defense spending, they aren't in touch with reality. That's a budget fight Democrats will lose if they choose to engage. After Sen. Schumer's Monday capitulation, there's little reason to think he'd want to drag the Democrats into another unwinnable fight.
As for building the wall and ending chain migration and the visa lottery, Democrats have already signaled that they're caving on the wall. Luis Gutierrez, the most passionate open borders advocate on Capitol Hill, told CNN that he'd help build the wall if it meant protecting DACA recipients:
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Add onto that the fact that Sen. Schumer told President Trump that he'd be willing to fund the wall during their negotiating session this weekend. Once something is offered in negotiations, it's impossible to be taken off the table later.
It's worth noting that the American people are overwhelmingly with President Trump on ending chain migration. Mark Krikorian made an insightful statement when he said "The result is chain migration, in which yesterday's immigrants decide who tomorrow's immigrants will be." Democrats will have a difficult time fighting that image.
Finally, Republicans have an edge in negotiations because President Trump is a skilled negotiator, the American people are with him and he's got the biggest megaphone on the planet. The Democrats' losing is just beginning.
Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2018 1:21 AM
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DC Republicans don't get it
After reading Rich Lowry's column , especially the closing, it's apparent that DC Republicans don't understand what just happened.
When Lowry says "There's still a good chance that Democrats can force a bad DACA deal, given that the GOP is divided on immigration and Trump might be tempted to sign up for anything as long as there's notional funding for a Wall." With all due respect, the chances of Trump settling for token funding for a wall ignores what Sen. Schumer already offered in negotiations this weekend. Once something's offered, it's virtually impossible to retract that offer.
Further, we've seen proof that President Trump is perfectly willing to criticize Republicans. (Think Lindsey Graham.) Lowry should think of President Trump as a hockey goalie. Lowry should think of President Trump as the Republicans' last line of defense.
With all due respect to Lowry, nothing Trump's done indicates he's anything but an immigration hardliner. I can't deny the fact that, at times, he's impulsive. Still, he's got enough people around him (think John Kelly, Stephen Miller and Tom Cotton) who won't let him sign a bad deal.
Ben Shapiro made a compelling argument that Trump and Republicans would win the next round, too:
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The shutdown was pretty lopsided. Sen. Schumer got crushed. President Trump won handily. When it comes to border security, the American people agree with President Trump. The average American wants DACA recipients protected but they also want to be protected from MS-13. They don't want drug cartels and human traffickers leisurely waltzing across the border. They want cartel-related crimes stopped. Those dynamics favor Republicans overwhelmingly.
Finally, does anyone think Democrats have a fighting chance of prevailing on not increasing military spending? Democrats will have to cave quickly on that.
It's time for Republicans to learn how to be victorious. People thought President Trump shouldn't be taken seriously when he predicted that Americans would get tired of winning. After winning bigtime on the Trump/GOP tax cuts, then winning bigtime on the shutdown, it's time for Republicans to realize the people aren't with the Democrats.
Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2018 9:38 AM
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DFL writing off southern MN?
After reading this article , I'm questioning whether the DFL has written off southern Minnesota. According to the article, "Three of the six DFL gubernatorial hopefuls shared similar opinions on state topics on Saturday during a forum at Southwest Middle School in Albert Lea. Announced candidates Tina Liebling, Paul Thissen and Erin Murphy participated in the debate. Not attending were the other three announced DFL gubernatorial candidates are Minnesota Auditor Rebecca Otto, former St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman and 1st District Congressman Tim Walz."
The DFL will argue that Walz had to be in DC to vote against reopening the government. That's a fair point. Still, I'd argue that southern Minnesota isn't nearly as hospitable towards Rep. Walz as it once was. As for Rebecca Otto and Mayor Coleman, their decisions are justifiable in that their name ID is virtually nonexistent and the chances of stirring up support is minimal. Here's the group that actually participated:
This paragraph sounds familiar:
Thissen suggested Minnesota adopt a similar approach to California, where, according to National Public Radio, state Senate leader Kevin de Leon proposed taxpayers give to a new state-run charitable fund in exchange for a refund on state income taxes. Thissen said he supports the state being stable fiscally and balancing the budget without disproportionately affecting the poor.
President Trump has a better idea. It's called growing the economy. The DFL hasn't thought of that since Perpich was governor.
California's difficulties are like Minnesota's in that Democrats think spending on every news item is a core government function. The truth is that the DFL can't properly identify government's essential responsibilities. Until the DFL figure that out, they'll continue losing elections in rural Minnesota.
This is typical DFL giveaway stuff:
To address college debt, Liebling advocated the state waive tuition costs for two years at its colleges to trim student debt, correlating the rise in student debt to decreases in education funding. "This is a public good," she said. "It builds our state."
Thissen said the state should adopt a system where students pay a certain amount of their income toward college debt for 10 years, with the public picking up the rest of the cost. Murphy said "it is a sin from my perspective that the federal government is making money off of loans."
Here's a revolutionary thought. How about letting parents save for their kids' education, thereby reducing the amount of money students have to borrow?
Think of it as a 401(k) for college, not retirement. Here's another revolutionary thought. Minnesota could give tax breaks to corporations that contribute to their employees' college savings accounts. This isn't a giveaway. It's smart tax policy.
Truer words were never spoken:
The three candidates discussed their support for Dreamers, a group of nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children, and they disagreed with President Donald Trump's decision to rescind the program. Dreamers, granted legal protection by the administration of former President Barack Obama by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is now in limbo as a government shutdown started over the weekend. "It is our job to protect Minnesotans," Murphy said. "That is how we will continue to grow the state."
That's especially true for Minnesota. Native-born Minnesotans are leaving. The only way to grow the population is by accepting illegal immigrants and refugees. The bad news to that is that those demographic groups do poorly economically for more than a generation.
That isn't opinion. It's official statistically according to the Minnesota State Demographer.
What planet are these candidates from?
The three candidates said there is a need for transit systems to operate in rural areas. Liebling said substantial funding is needed to ensure rural transportation needs are met. "This is about all of us," she said. "This is about the economy."
Support for transit systems in rural Minnesota is virtually nonexistent. The DFL is delusional if they think otherwise.
Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2018 11:37 AM
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Dems committing political suicide
Anyone reading this article has to wonder if Democrats are intent on committing political suicide or whether Democrats learned anything while losing the shutdown battle. Apparently, Democrats haven't figured anything out yet.
The heart of the article starts with "Chuck Schumer is taking his big spending boost for Donald Trump's border wall off the table. The Senate minority leader, through an aide, informed the White House on Monday that he was retracting the offer he made last week to give Trump well north of the $1.6 billion in wall funding Trump had asked for this year, according to two Democrats. And now they say Trump will simply not get a better deal than that on his signature campaign promise."
This isn't that complicated if you aren't driven by the special interests. The Democrats are right that the vast majority of Americans want a DACA fix. The thing that Democrats haven't figured out or admitted is that Americans also want the wall built and chain migration ended. In fact, it isn't so much that the American people want a DACA fix, a border wall and chain migration ended. It's pretty much that they're demanding those things.
If Democrats want to play hardball with President Trump, they'll find themselves right back where they were this weekend -- fighting with the American people. Good luck with that.
But providing border wall money could also push away more liberal Democrats, who prefer to completely restart negotiations rather than start from any existing bill, even a bipartisan one like the proposal written by Durbin and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
"Discussions were had coming up to Friday night are interesting for context," said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). But now, he said, "we start from a blank sheet of paper."
The American people will have a major say in this fight/negotiation. Just because the left wing of the Democratic Party opposes something doesn't mean that Americans agree with them.
Democrats are trying their best to frame the shutdown as a victory or, at worst, as a tie:
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That's nonsense. It has nothing to do with Democrats acting responsibly. This has everything to do with the American people putting their foot down and demanding immigration getting fixed.
Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2018 1:21 PM
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LFR Exclusive: Moose returning to Voyageurs' National Park after gov't shutdown
This is a breaking news report, an exclusive to LFR:
Furloughed Moose Stream Back Into National Park After Government Re-opens
International Falls, MN
January 23, 2018
All 46 moose have returned safely to Voyageurs National Park after being evacuated at midnight Friday, January 19 when congressional negotiations broke down, closing the federal government.
Since partisan politics began triggering government shutdowns in 1976, the moose in Voyageurs have been asked to vacate 19 times. The standard protocol is for the moose to make their way to Duluth where cargo aircraft fly them to China for care and feeding until the government re-opens.
In an agreement facilitated by the Congressman Hon. James Oberstar, China won a competitive bid for the occasional hosting of the park ruminates during shut-downs. China cares for the moose in Sichuan province at the giant panda reserve. According to China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying, "the moose eat neither bamboo nor pandas so the two unlikely occupants of the reserve get along well." She added that, "the lack of wolves in the panda preserve seem to give the moose a relaxing environment - sort of a vacation." Even though the shutdown ended before the moose actually arrived in China this time, many environmentalists feel assured by the arrangement to care for the moose.
Each step of the moose herd's progress was monitored by satellite using the radio collar that fashions each unit of flora and fauna in the park. No moose were harmed in the evacuation exercise.
Since receiving this breaking news story, LFR has confirmed that this is the shortest stay in China for the moose. LFR hasn't confirmed whether the moose suffer jet lag from their trip.
Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2018 5:54 PM
Comment 1 by John Palmer at 23-Jan-18 09:51 PM
How does the Chinese government enforce it's one child policy when the moose are on vacation. If a moose gives birth in China does the newborn become an anchor baby? Do the Chinese sterilize moose that give birth while in the confines of the preserve? What is PETA have to say about this treatment of moose? So many unanswered questions and I bet Sen. Shutdown did not know about the poor moose from MN.
Immigration fight is finished
There are times when I get tired of Republicans worrying about legislative victories. That's what Paul Mirengoff's post is about. It's time for defeatist Republicans to sit down and shut up. In case nobody noticed, President Trump isn't cut from the same cloth as spineless Republicans like John McCain, Lindsey Graham and John Boehner. Mirengoff said "If he wanted to, McConnell could wiggle out of any promise he made in order to avoid the passage of such legislation. But there's no reason to believe he would want to. McConnell certainly is not a government shutdown fan. He is a fan of regular order and debate in the Senate - letting the Senate do its thing. Moreover, he'd probably be fine with a deal that trades DACA amnesty for wall funding. A squishy Senate bill could also command majority support in the House. The question is whether Paul Ryan would block the bill, given that it would lack majority Republican support. He might. But Ryan is a fan of amnesty (though he bristles when this word is used). Conservatives probably should not pin their hopes on Paul Ryan. They probably shouldn't pin them on President Trump, either. During the televised immigration love fest with congressional leaders earlier this month, he said he would sign whatever DACA legislation Congress sends him, as long as it funds his wall. He also indicated that amnesty for the DACA population in exchange for the wall is the compromise he has in mind."
Watch this interview, then convince me that President Trump is likely to go squishy:
The White House isn't sitting still. They're firing back :
The White House is firing back at Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for offering, then rescinding, a "phony" and "bogus" deal to support border wall funding in return for an immigration package that protects illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children. "He comes over here with a phony plan and a fake promise," White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Tuesday on Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime."
President Trump won the election because Americans agree with him on immigration. Let's suppose that the Senate passed a bill like the 2013 Gang of Eight Bill. Why shouldn't Republicans think that President Trump wouldn't work the phones with the House while encouraging them to pass the Goodlatte-McSally legislation? After all, he's already endorsed that plan.
President Trump already got Sen. Schumer to back down once Sen. Schumer saw Democrats were losing the fight. Why shouldn't President Trump think he can force a similar outcome this time? It isn't like Sen. Schumer's hand is better this time than last time.
Let's be clear about this. Sen. Graham will whine if House Republicans pass a legitimate immigration bill that President Trump likes. That's his right. That won't change President Trump's mind on this. Trump's animosity for Sen. Graham and Sen. Flake is well-documented. That won't get the bill signed by President Trump. It might not even get the House to take up a Senate bill. The House has the option of voting on the Goodlatte-McSally legislation. Then there's this :
Republicans no longer have children's health care as a political cudgel against Democrats, since the bill that passed on Monday includes a six-year authorization for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). And McConnell is on the spot to follow through on his pledge to resolve the standoff over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
In caucus meetings, Senate Democrats made the case that they need to show Republicans that they are willing to go to extreme lengths - even forcing another shutdown next month - in order to salvage DACA protections. Liberal activists are expected to mobilize a campaign to pressure Democrats to keep their word.
It's true that Republicans don't have CHIP to use as leverage. They don't need it. That's because they have military spending increase in their back pocket. If Democrats want to shut down the government again without funding the military, then I'll pull up an easy chair and watch the implosion of the Democratic Party. Fighting for illegal immigrants while our troops and our border patrol agents and first responders don't get paid is political stupidity.
Mr. Mirengoff is a smart man. He's just wrong about this.
Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2018 7:07 PM
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The natives are getting restless
After reading this interview and this article , it's obvious that Democratic immigration activists are getting restless.
During the interview, CNN's Gregory Krieg asked Erika Andiola, an immigration activist and DACA recipient, "Do you think there's a lack of urgency of Democrats or a lack of understanding that it doesn't all happen at once?" Andiola replied, saying " There's always been a lack of urgency . The urgency has (only) been with a handful of Democrats. It's unfortunate, like I said, because when it comes to campaigning, they don't hesitate. But when it comes down to really using all of their leverage to really get something like this passed, they just won't come through."
It's finally sinking in that Democrats want the issue, not the solution. That isn't sitting well with immigration activists. According to the article, "Immigration advocates are gearing up for a three week blitz to pass protections for undocumented immigrant children after the Senate voted on a short-term funding bill without them Monday. But while advocates universally see this as a critical juncture for the future of the DREAM Act, there's already some disagreement over where to focus the fire. Republicans may be withholding their votes. But many groups are planning to target Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) instead."
That's just part of it:
A trio of progressive organizations, including CREDO, is hosting an event on Tuesday night that will bring activists to the front lawn of Schumer's home in Brooklyn. They are also in the process of printing signs for the event which read 'Worst negotiator in Washington. And Brooklyn. #SchumerSellout,' superimposed on an image of the Minority Leader's face.
Ouch. And that's just the start:
"We're targeting Dems who voted for this CR (continuing resolution)," Angel Padilla, policy director for Indivisible, a resistance organization formed in response to Trump's presidency, told The Daily Beast. "They sold out Dreamers. They failed to stand up to Trump's white supremacy. They had the support of the grassroots and they caved. It also demonstrates that Democrats remain terrified of immigration. And they will continue to run from it."
It sounds like this intensity just leads to primaries to those insufficiently pure.
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While some progressive groups are gearing up to target Democratic leaders and others look to be prioritizing Republican moderates, virtually all say that they're prepping a massive show of political force.
Just this upcoming week alone, Matos said they have 28 activities planned in 16 states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York, (all states where Senators voted in favor of the spending bill) ranging from press conferences to vigils and rallies.
Thank God for circular firing squads:
Indivisible, meanwhile, sponsored what they called the Dreamer Pledge with over two dozen other organizations, including United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the country, months ago. It was intended to hold members of Congress accountable and get them to promise to protect DREAMers. The website was updated on Monday after votes were tallied, branding Democrats and Republicans alike who supported the short-term spending bill "Dream Killers," and the members who voted against it "Dream Heroes."
Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2018 9:23 PM
Comment 1 by John Palmer at 23-Jan-18 09:54 PM
I wonder how many of these activists can vote?
