THE CHICKEN DANCE

Donald Trump gave a terrific speech. He made a strong case for the border wall. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer embarrassed themselves on national TV. It was beyond pathetic. But none of it may matter, because there are already some Republicans warming up for the “Chicken Dance.” The usual suspects, like Murkowski from Alaska, have already abandoned ship. Odds are more Republicans will start heading toward the exits.  We have seen this all before. If Republican flake on this, Democrats will double down next time. It would be incredibly naïve to think that they will ever vote for a border wall, regardless of how necessary, if they win this one. Once again it sure looks like Republicans are on a path to rewarding bad behavior.

But, it doesn’t have to end this way. I did a little research that put things in perspective. In June 1863, Abraham Lincoln looked like a failed president. Republicans were increasingly pressuring him to negotiate with the South to end the Civil War. Robert E. Lee was leading an invasion of Pennsylvania. Union victories were scare and Lincoln was running out of Generals. None of the political pundits of the day predicted a good result. That all changed in just a few days. General Grant announced the surrender of Vicksburg, giving the Union full control of the Mississippi River and General Meade defeated Robert E. Lee at the battle of Gettysburg. By the fall of 1864, Lincoln cruised to re-election and the Union Army was wrapping up the civil war.

Lincoln had a lot of advisers, including General McClellan telling him he couldn’t win and to negotiate a settlement. All of the “peace” makers thought they were smarter and stronger than Lincoln. They were all wrong. Lincoln knew that if he didn’t back down, the South could not win that war. He just needed to find the right general who would make that happen. He found that general in Vicksburg, Mississippi. His advisers and other generals warned Lincoln not to trust General Grant. They described Grant as a drunk. Lincoln responded with the following:

Find out what whiskey he drinks and send all of my generals a case, if it will get the same results.”

If Trump holds firm, he will discover that he holds all the cards. He has the truth on his side. He also has public opinion. The latest poll shows that 52% of Democrats do not think a wall is necessary. That means that 48% of Democrats do think it is necessary and a very high percentage of Republicans and Independents think it is necessary.

Democrats and the main stream media will raise a lot of stink and steam. They will do everything possible to intimidate Trump into surrendering. That may even work; it has certain worked in the past. But what if Trump does not surrender?

According to the MSM, Trump is losing the shut-down argument. He is, if they are the only judge and jury. But they aren’t the only judge and jury and these people are wrong about nearly everything. The following article is typical:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-trump-democrats-government-shutdown_us_5c3624f4e4b00c33ab5f0899

This is what they believe. This is what they want you to believe. If they succeed, Trump is in big trouble and the country is headed for disaster. Democrats are now threatening to shut down the Senate from passing anything until Trump yields. They are so blinded by their hatred of Donald Trump that they simply cannot see reality.

They would be wise to pay attention to what Mitch McConnell had to say yesterday:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mcconnell-accuses-democrats-of-throwing-partisan-tantrum-over-shutdown

“Maybe the Democratic Party was for secure borders before they were against them,” McConnell said. “Or maybe they’re just making it up as they go along. Or maybe they are dead set on opposing this particular president on any issue, for any reason, just for the sake of opposing him.”

“Today, my friend the Democratic leader [Schumer] is proposing to add a Senate shutdown to the partial federal government shutdown and block even more of the people’s business, all to avoid more of what he already voted for. The only things that have changed between then and now are the political winds and of course the occupant of the White House.”

“So, this is no newfound principled objection, it’s just political spite. A partisan tantrum being prioritized over the public interest.”

It really boils down to this. If President Trump and Mitch McConnell mean what they are saying, this will not end up well for democrats. If you watched both Trump and the Democratic response last night, ask yourself a simple question. “Who was focused on fixing a problem and who was focused on fixing the blame?Who was throwing a temper tantrum, Trump or Schumer? Don’t assume that Democrats with the help of the hopelessly biased MSM are winning the public debate here.

TDM