Trump to veto omnibus bill?

It seems like a real possibility.

I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018

UPDATE:  Perhaps not. But next time... (assuming he gets another chance from his supporters).

Omnibus ouch!

Bad then, bad now.

Well, I'm forced to be consistent on this.  When Democrats introduced an omnibus bill when Obama was president I was infuriated by the debt implications of the spending.  Now that it's happening under president Trump's watch, I again have to say, ouch.

Via Hot Air, this observation:

Like most omnibus bills, this will get shoved through Congress quickly enough to keep people from noticing its worst aspects. Its 2200-page length would require several days to read in detail — well, several days and plenty of No-Doz.

I haven't had time to review it but it seems like both military and domestic spending are up. The deficit and debt will go up as a result (discounting potential tax revenue increases a la Art Laffer resulting from the tax cuts).  An increase in military spending is an unfortunate necessity given a near decade of Obama-era neglect desecration of military readiness.

But no border wall funding of which to speak.  No DACA resolution, which was the issue of the day last time around.   And increased domestic spending?  How can you drain the swamp when you keep pumping money into it?

The interesting piece will be how president Trump reacts to the bill.  Does he veto it?  He has reasons to do so but then again he's outsourced the budget discussions to congress and my suspicion is that he won't veto it. That would be a big disappointment.  Then again if he does, it will be a big win with his supporters.

Sham Schumer Shutdown Shuttered

Last Friday I pointed out that the government shutdown was a front, or window dressing if you will, for the left Democrat base.  Today Rush Limbaugh was arguing that nothing had changed, and either Chuck Schumer blinked and the GOP have grown a spine, or else there was something in the deal that he was not yet aware of, to get the government back open today.

The Senate Democrats caved - not just enough to get to 60 votes; they got 80+ votes to extend a continuing resolution.  Apparently they will get a  DACA floor vote before February 8th. It won't pass in any Democrat-friendly form.

So what did the Democrats get?  A nod to their base perhaps?  Maybe not.  There seems more and more to be a looming Democrat intra-party fight over how to challenge Republicans in the midterms.  Chuck Schumer doesn't want Democrats being held responsible for the shutdown and the far left wants this to (a) destroy president Trump and (b) not be a Democrat cave in to their minority status.

Grab some popcorn and enjoy, conservatives; either this becomes a brawl or else just enough disarray to mess up any hope for Democrats in the midterms.  Either way, it seems the Democrats blinked.

Government Shutdown, Trump, Durbin and "The heat"

Last week the president met with members of both parties to discuss DACA, immigration, and everyone's wishlist. It was well received. It was a master stroke of refutation of the mainstream media's Fake News meme that's he's senile and dangerous (especially when followed in short order by a doctor's analysis that Trump himself requested, indicating he was in excellent mental health).  But that's not the real push here for president Trump.  He even said he'd take the heat for any bi-partisan bill put to him on immigration. Similarly, Democrats had an ulterior agenda as well.

Dick Durbin immediately tried to quiet any praise being received by the president's well managed meeting by asserting, without any real substantiation, that the president made racist remarks towards Haiti and African countries. He did that for either one (or both) of two reasons. 

1. He wanted to cut off any potential change in the narrative that president Trump is unfit for the presidency, and
2. Democrats are angling for a government shutdown (which they can count on the mainstream media to pin the blame on Republicans)

But president Trump clearly had an agenda as well.  He wants a wall because it was a campaign promise.  He wants a budget deal.  Knowing the Democrats would tie the DACA issue to a government shutdown thinking they have all the leverage, there's no doubt he had a Plan B.

In fact, that may have been a covert signal to Republicans that if the deal fell through, they would not have to worry about the fallout.  The heat he said he'd take may have been not so much about DACA as it was about the potential government shutdown and the 2018 midterm elections.  So on to Plan B - Durbin's outrageous claims are what killed the DACA deal and have led to a possible government shutdown. 

President Trump is no stranger to taking the heat.  It's what he's been doing since he announced his candidacy.  The reason he is so persistent at firing back is because he is persistently being fired at by the media.  He has the bully pulpit of the presidency to have his voice heard.  He uses Twitter to go around the media and directly to his supporters.  He's counting on his ability to stand firm in the face of a shutdown and not have the Republicans shellacked in the 2018 midterms.  He's counting on a robust economy to put the wind to his back in the argument on the budget and on immigration.  He's counting on his supporters to continue to back him, and therefore Republican candidates in the 2018 midterms regardless of what polls are saying (and the pollsters did not tell the correct story in 2016, despite being within the margin of error - he may be counting on that scenario too).  And he's counting on support for him personally to not only exceed what pollsters are seeing but also to extend to the Republicans in congress.

That's a lot of things to count on but they are not meant to be counted on individually.  He's hoping for some strength in each of those areas, to varying degrees, to

matter come November.  He's right - to some extent each of those things will help him.  What's not clear is the extent to which each will help and whether cumulatively they will turn the Blue Tide of November Red. The economy alone should make a huge difference - I believe it will - but it remains to be seen.

Lined up against those things are the mainstream media, a "Republican-caused" government shutdown, apparently low job approval for the president and potential Republican disunity and the perception on the left that the president is mentally incompetent.

The shutdown is a gamble for Republicans and the president.  Caving to Democrat demands on DACA and immigration or anything else is also a risk.  What it comes down to is whether this truly is a divided country. Are voters entrenched in their ideologies regardless of any of the factors above?  If that's the case, don't expect a blue wave or a red wave in the midterms.  Expect gains by both parties exactly where you'd expect to see them - in their home field advantage areas.  Recent one-off special cases like Roy Moore's loss in Alabama are just that - one-offs. The district by district and state by state elections, with few exceptions, will perform as historically expected. That for Republicans is not only not bad news, it's good news for 2018.

Why ending DACA makes sense

Once again I'm bogged down at work and despite some good topics I have in mind, I just haven't had the time.  I'm hoping to catch up on by the weekend.  In the meantime,  here's an interesting take on the Trump administration ending DACA, by the Heritage Foundation.

DACA - Deal or No Deal

This is the perfect video for today:

Why? Because:

After a meeting with Trump at the White House, Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi said they had come to terms with Trump on a plan that would provide protection for Dreamers in exchange for beefed-up border security — but, notably, no additional funding for a border wall.

The news triggered an outcry from the right, which accused Trump of abandoning his tough-on-immigration campaign stance. And by Thursday morning, Trump denied that an agreement had been struck.

“No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote,” Trump tweeted.

Confusion? Just a little.

Who gives a damn what Senator McCain has to say anymore?

 Up front - yes, I feel bad for John McCain because of his health issues.  Yes I appreciate his service for his country, both in the military and in the senate.  That said, he's not a maverick - he's not a real Republican.  He's a liberal squish with hawkish military views on international geopolitics.  That may have flown in the GOP in 1985 when the Soviet Union was an existential threat.  But today the world has changed and John McCain has not.  He was the self-appointed thumbs down on the Obamacare skinny repeal after a potentially sidelining emergency surgery.

And now, this piece of foolishness from McCain's own website:

“President Trump’s decision to eliminate DACA is the wrong approach to immigration policy at a time when both sides of the aisle need to come together to reform our broken immigration system and secure the border.

“I strongly believe that children who were illegally brought into this country through no fault of their own should not be forced to return to a country they do not know. The 800,000 innocent young people granted deferred action under DACA over the last several years are pursuing degrees, starting careers, and contributing to our communities in important ways. While I disagreed with President Obama’s unilateral action on this issue, I believe that rescinding DACA at this time is an unacceptable reversal of the promises and opportunities that have been conferred to these individuals.

“The federal government has a responsibility to defend and secure our borders, but we must do so in a way that upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation. I will be working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to devise and pass comprehensive immigration reform, which will include the DREAM Act.”

This is as much about presidential overreach by Trump's predecessor as it is about a truly broken immigration system and rampant illegal immigration. Senator McCain can offer all the bluster he wants but his ideas have not been successful in stopping illegal immigration. McCain must have some powerful backers in Arizona because his position is out of touch with his state. Arizona Republicans need to do some serious house cleaning on their elected representatives. Just re-electing the guy with the tenure is a waste of representation.

DACA done like dinner.

Well, this is Huuuuuugggggeeeeeee.

President Trump, as early as Friday, is expected to announce plans to end the Obama administration program that gave a deportation reprieve to hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants, a senior administration official told Fox News.

Trump promised to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, during the presidential campaign -- but since taking office had left the door open to preserving parts of it.

That's another campaign promise delivered.  But it begs the question - is this because congress has been dragging their heels on tax cuts/reform and totally blew it on Obamacare?  If so the president will have to deliver on the wall and anything else outside of the two biggest ticket items that he possibly can to be able to distance himself from the failed Republican congress on non-delivery.

Still, it's a positive step.