I am not convinced he could have gotten the wall funded in 2017-2018 because he could not martial sixty votes in the Senate.
What really strikes me about that period was it was an opportunity to actually try to move the wall through the legislative process properly. rather than making it a bargaining chip in a hostage negotiation.
Yes Trump wants to the wall but do we know what it is actually be, where it will be built, actual cost, schedule to complete and the number of Eminent Domain claims the federal government intends to make to get the land?
What should have happened was the introduction of a bill in Congress, followed by hearing and debate that would have given shape to what the wall actually is, what it will cost and how it will be financed. Compromises to gain support could have been made.
Only this is a fantasy because as soon as any compromise is disgusts, the representatives of Trump’s base start to shout AMNESTY and all negotiation stops.
There probably was no way to get the wall through a normal democratic process and so we are in this current mess.
Not a supporter and never have been, any pollster who called me asking me if I approved of him would get a consistent answer of no. He can’t lose approval he never had.
He hasn’t had much failure. He has fulfilled nearly all of his campaign promises which is why the economy exploded. The wall is a big issue. I think he should have not given the republicans their omnibus either. But these are not the only issues. He’s probably going to face someone such as Kasich in the primary. Trump will destroy him. Kasich’s ideas are simply more republican big government crap. That’s the last thing we need. Now if Kasich decides to run as a third party then The President is finished. Kasich will syphon off enough votes to put Liz in the Whitehouse. And he knows it. So he might do it.
I’m always confused by GDP below 3 percent for each ofhis first two years being called the economy exploding. And 2018 being the worst year for stocks since Bush.
Sure, Which is exactly why MSNBC, CNN, and the others don’t like reporting on economic issues. The economy is bad and they don’t want the president to be blamed. Sure. Believe what ever fantasy makes your little heart happy. In fact, the dems should probably give up their identity politics and use the weak economy as their number one issue. Have at it!
He probably would have had to do extraordinary things to get the wall funding he wanted. He turned down a deal for 25 billion and is now scrambling for 5 billion.
The fact that he did NOT do extraordinary things for two years tells us that his current characterization of the situation as a national emergency is pure ■■■■■■■■■
His sycophants refuse to see that. As they refuse to see him saying he’ll take responsibility for the shutdown. As they refuse to see him welshing on his signal that he would sign the Senate funding bill that passed 100% (until the TeeVee Box told him not to).
There will continue to be a minimum of 35% or so that think this thing is worth it because they do not believe in governance and because they are blind to the things that caused it.
They will never abandon him. The price for him may be a complete loss of the Pequod, or it may be a pyrhhic victory, but the price will be very high for both him and us regardless.
He’ll continue to have at least 32% or so support even after the unfortunate events on Fifth Avenue, certainly as long as Foxnews and the others run interference for him.
The record 43% support represents a five-point jump from its August 15, 2018 level of 38% and is up seven points from its year-ago level of 36% (Dec. 13, 2017). Back on April 20, 2017, only 33% of voters nationwide supported building a border wall.
So over the course of a year and a half the increase went up 10 percent. Of course the disapproval would approximately go down close to 10 percent, which is almost a 20 point difference.
Now a Politico/Morning consult poll that was referred to at the top by the Hill specifically says the following in reference to support of the wall, no doubt Trumps numbers have gone down but in reference to the wall, it does show increased support:
“As the government shutdown enters its second month, President Trump continues to carry the bulk of the blame among voters for the stalemate,” said Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult’s vice president. “In this week’s poll nearly half of voters (49 percent) say the president is responsible — up 6 points since the shutdown began. At the same time, 35 percent of voters blame blame congressional Democrats, up 4 points, while 4 percent of voters blame congressional Republicans, down 3 points.”
While 43 percent support the construction of a border wall — compared to 49 percent who oppose construction —
I try. But I can’t watch for long. It’s typically a nonstop Trump bash-fest. Complete with name calling and hate. They do so much of this, that they ignore current events… After about ten minutes of non stop Trump Thump, I get bored and must move on to see if there is any actual news going on.
Of course the National Emergency talk is nonsense. But the wall is essential to Trump’s presidency, as a symbol of his ability to dominate his opponents, and to his followers, as demonstration that he is stronger than the “libs” they elected him to vanquish.
I great appreciate your reference to “Moby Dick.” I remember struggling through “Moby Dick” in High School and then re-reading it with great appreciation ten years later. In that post-Vietnam period, I was especially engaged by the character of Starbuck, who seemed to me to anticipate Hubert Humphrey’s role as Vice President. It is amazing how much of Melville resonates in contemporary times. Truth to tell, shortly after Trump won the election I reread “The Confidence Man,” which seemed to fit the tenor of the times.
Fox is the most important news network. Without them we only have DNC approved TV news. It is absolutely critical to have an alternative opinion. Am I right?
