April 25, 2017

Establishment Republicans missing no-lose opportunity

With Democrats threatening to shut down the government over funding for a border wall with Mexico, many establishment Republicans have also pushed back against the idea of a border wall.  There's a pretty big political miscalculation they have made in not leveraging Democrats.

Every time in the past that Republicans shut down government, it has been a political albatross for them, even when they were right in doing so.  While the media may not paint the Democrats' government shutdown the same way they would when the GOP did it (i.e. negatively), there is a fundamental difference.  Democrat supporters love government, big government, and they don't want it shut down, ever.  Democratic actions to force a shutdown is political hemlock for themselves.

Establishment GOP congressmen and senators don't seem to realize that.  Enabling Democrats to have a shutdown means they don't have to get their own hands dirty in the border wall fight (or mere disagreement with the president).  They look neither duplicitous, soft on illegal immigration nor actively insubordinate to their Commander in Chief.  Neither do they appear complicit to their globalist supporters in having a wall built, should the sentiment turn on Democrats and president Trump succeed in passing a budget with a wall component included.

The GOP cannot be blamed for a shutdown even if CNN calls it a showdown with "neither side budging".  Sure the media can try to paint it any other way, but Democrat supporters who love government will know the truth.  If your welfare check becomes late/delayed and the penalty for getting it to come is to let Trump have his wall, guess what you'll be thinking.

Establishment Republicans, typically a do nothing lot, are missing an opportunity to do nothing and allowing Democrats to take the blame for the situation.  But then, no one has ever accused Republican establishment leadership of tactical brilliance.

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