I will shut down the government. I will take that mantle

Thanks trump!

 

I'd bet big money that he'll be shutting the government down again in 3 weeks. Its obvious his plan isn't really to solve anything with Immigration or the border.

Donald sees this as a war with the Democrats for political power in America. This is all about how he can wage a war that destroys the favorability of the Dems, and gives him the power he wants going into re-election.

That's it.... plain and simple.

The Dems would be wise to realize this, and make sure they do NOT deal with the white house on the shutdown, and insist on working through this committee and McConnell. You cannot negotiate with someone who does not want an actual deal, but only cares about you losing.

 

Well, I agree with this. But I don't see how another shutdown gets him there. He took the blame for the last one and is on a path to take the blame for the next one. One possibility is that he finds a way to change the parameters of the game so that the Democrats are forced into being the ones to shut down the government, but I don't see how he does that. The status quo has a big advantage in this dynamic.

He's used the declaration of emergency as a threatened BATNA; he'll use another shutdown as another BATNA threat. But, we know these are not credible alternatives to go to. Pelosi has already said reopening the government doesn't change her anti-wall stance. She's not going to give him a win, so he'll have to go to either the shutdown or the emergency. I expect he'll go the Constitutional Crisis route and declare a spurious emergency. He saw in the travel ban how problematic stretching his presidential authority is, but he at least didn't get completely b****-slapped on that one. So I think he goes that route, fight it out in the court system through most of the remainder of his term, and hope it spins off enough red meat for him to campaign on.

 

Let me guess.. he threatens a third shutdown if things after a second shutdown don't go his way.

DumpWorld is jumping the shark. Need moar lols and dumpster fire surprises.

Pretty soon I'll have to tune into Mueller watch, which makes cspan look half as boring!

 

Some of us are cheering on the donkey's second kick. Trump appears to be stupid enough to get kicked one more time, at least.

 

I would bet that the 12-year-old-in-charge's next play is to sign whatever lands on his desk by the next deadline AND then declare a state of emergency. It is such a bad idea that Trump will not be able help himself and will run with it hard.

 

...and, for all of our "Christian" colleagues...something from the bible that, curiously, makes as good a reading instrument when opened, as it does a blunt instrument when hurled:

Acts: 26:14: And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.

...just in case the Donald has trouble finding this anywhere in Two Corinthians...he's a new Christian to this, after all...

 

I don't think he does this shutdown 2.0 without a narrative that he thinks the Dems could step in that gives him that ability to theoretically "Beat" the Dems in this stupid game he's trying to play for political power. I guarantee you now that this next week him, Stephen Miller, Shine, Hannity, and all the other goons are sitting around talking about what they can do to get the Dems to step into a pothole in the next two weeks. They'd love shutdown 2.0, but on their terms this time with FoxNews running a video on a loop of Pelosi saying something as damning as Trump said before Shutdown 1.0 (I'll take that mantle).

I just think Pelosi and Schumer need to watch everything they do, and plan for this. I do stand by my thoughts here that Trump wants a shutdown again, but wants it in a way that HE THINKS he can spin to the blame of the Democrats.

My guess is there is more than one Trump loyalist on that bi-partisan Committee that will be coached to make sure there is a poison pill in the final proposal that blows up the deal at the last minute, and forces the Dems to walk away at the last minute. That's my first guess, but I'm sure that's just the start.

 

Heh...

 

The number of people who think this is all Trump playing 4D chess is staggering. Spoke with a Trump supporter today who is convinced he did all of this because his plan is to invoke the emergency powers and by forcing the shutdown he has cover from any complaints about being a Dictator. She said he's a brilliant negotiator and he did this to make sure he would still get re-elected after he goes the emergency route.

 

It's true I will only get to vote against him that one time. So if I vote against him for the idiotic shut down, I won't be able to vote against him again for his abuse of emergency powers. Nor, for that matter, for all the other myriad ways he's a total jackass.

I have been reflecting on Trump the negotiator, though, because he's employing some tactics we don't ordinarily see from Presidents. Like the "agree all along the way and then submarine a final accord at the last minute" trick. Or the "take away something your counterparty likes and then sell it back to them later" trick. Or the "threaten to shoot all the hostages unless I get what I want" trick. I can see how some of these tactics might be helpful when you're negotiating a real estate deal to maximize your own benefit. It might also be applicable sometimes when negotiating with another country. But when you're president and trying to get a policy outcome you prefer -- but you're still ultimately responsible for the welfare of all stakeholders in the negotiation -- I'm not so sure they're appropriate. Feel like before we address the question of whether he's a good negotiator or a bad one, we have to think a little bit about what success would even look like in the federal policy arena. If you get everything you want on policy but at the expense of the interests of too many of your constituents, you haven't really won.

 

apparently Trump's numbers are exactly where they were before the shutdown, contrary to the dominant narrative.

"President Trump’s standing among Americans remained effectively unchanged even as he presided over the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history, the latest example of how his unusual brand of politics has resonated with a strong core of supporters.

"Mr. Trump’s approval rating was at 43% in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, with 54% disapproving of his job performance. That was the same mark as in a December survey taken 10 days before the start of the shutdown. The latest survey was conducted over a four-day period that ended Jan. 23, two days before Mr. Trump backed off his demand for border wall funding in what was widely viewed as a victory for congressional Democrats."​

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps...e-shutdown-wsj-nbc-news-poll-says-11548597643

 

It's a declining average of polls.

 

He has a huge spike in just the last three days...

 

graham is such a putz...

 

Someone tell nielsen the shutdown is over... and that she is accountable to the American people.

 

Remember when the National Champion Clemson Tigers visited the White House and trump cheaped out the menu with fast food hamberders? Well, now for the rest of the story (in my best Paul Harvey voice)...

Report: Majority of Clemson’s black players skipped White House visit

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brie...msons-black-players-skipped-white-house-visit

 

And still doesn't...