December 21, 2018

Trump is pushing for the "nuclear option" to get his border wall.

This morning's tweet storm (click to enlarge and clarify). The top one says: "Thank you @SteveDaines for being willing to go with the so-called nuclear option in order to win on DESPERATELY NEEDED Border Security! Have my total support."

35 comments:

Matt Sablan said...

Is it really a nuclear option any more? That worked when we thought there might be some deterrence value in keeping it around. We all know Democrats will kill all protections by invoking it as they did before if and when they have the power but not a large enough majority. The question is whether congressional Republicans will leave a weapon on the table they know will be picked up as early as 2021 against them.

iowan2 said...

I thought budget bills needed a simple majority

Original Mike said...

Can he even get 50?

Matt Sablan said...

If he goes nuclear it will be because he has 50. They won't so it without that.

Sebastian said...

The downside of Trump is Trump. At this point, Dems and LLRs will oppose things just because.

wild chicken said...

Daines, that's my senator! Not a cuck after all?

rhhardin said...

Putin says use the nuclear option.

mccullough said...

Nice play by Trump.

You don’t neeed 60 votes in the Senate. That’s just cover for the GOP not to pass legislation. Ball is in GOP court. Go ahead. Tell your voters that Senate tradition is more important than honoring your promises to them.

Harry Reid and the Dems can scotch tradition to get a few federal judges on the DC Circuit. But Mitch and the GOP can’t scotch it to fund the building of a wall that has been approved a long time ago.

The GOP loves cheap Mexican labor just like the love Chinese government money in the wallets and bank accounts of their lobbyist spouses and children.

Trump just clarified it. Good move.

Koot Katmandu said...

I think he may be counting 51 R votes that he does not have. The border has not been fixed because congress critters do not want it fixed.

Jersey Fled said...

Heck, does anyone even care if the government shuts down for awhile. Trump isn't likely to shut down state parks like Obama did in Minnesota. And as I understand it, those 15% of government employees who were furloughed last time didn't really lose a paycheck. They all had weeks and weeks of PTO.

My daughter works for a government contractor that needs daily interaction with the government. She basically had nothing to do for two weeks last time, but she caught up on some other work and she still got paid. She's actually hoping they shut down for a couple of weeks.

Kevin said...

At this point, Dems and LLRs will oppose things just because.

Sounds like a tantrum.

etbass said...

It was about 11M and still has a long way to go but in about a minute I saw an additional 50 people contribute to the GoFundMe set up by Brian Kolfage for the Wall.

mockturtle said...

While I do favor the wall I am also aware of the fact that most illegals--and illegal drugs--come in through the checkpoints.

Kevin said...

Send the House bill to the Senate without any details.

Tell them Pelosi says they have to pass it to find out what’s in it.

mccullough said...

I like Bold Color differences. Ditch the filibuster and shut down the government for a border wall.

Let us watch Marco Rubio and Mitch squirm. We know the Dems are for open borders. Mexicans are more votes and cheap labor.

The guys who pay for the lifestyles of the Rubios are also for it. They want cheap labor as well and would rather have Mecicans mowing their lawns than poor blacks or whites.

Hagar said...

If it is going to be just us vs. them for the foreseeable future and neither party is going to have 60 seats in the Senate, it makes sense to get rid of the make believe filibuster just so that the country can be governed - one way or the other.
And Trump is not a Republican other than for the purpose of getting elected and he probably does not have much sympathy for the Republicans to act like the Democrats now do if the next election changes the Senate majority.

Not Sure said...

A president has got to figure out what his top priority is, find out what he's got to offer to whom in the Congress to get it, and sell the deal to the voters. A twitter storm saying "Just do it!" is kind of pathetic. Can't Trump rouse himself to give one actual, presidential speech to the public from the Oval office laying out a carefully reasoned case for his allegedly signature policy item?

I know the answer the anti-Trump folks have for this: he's a lazy, unfocused blowhard. What do the pro-Trumpers here think?

Jersey Fled said...

Answer to Not Sure

Don't underestimate this guy.

Yancey Ward said...

The politics will be the same in the Senate as it was in the House last night. Sure, there are Republican Senators who don't like the idea of building the wall, but it isn't a hill they are willing to die on- it is far easier to send the House bill to the floor and make the Democrats filibuster it instead. Really, which Republicans do you expect to vote "no" on the bill if it reaches a floor vote?

Drago said...

Why would Trump be talking to Senators about funding the border wall.

Everyone knows that wall funding will never pass the house. Pelosi said so. Schumer said so. Every dem and leftist said so and, then, naturally, as sure as night follows day, our very own LLR Chuck piped up and said it could never pass the House because Nancy had sure showed Trump that the votes weren't there.

And LLR Chuck knows what reality looks like because he's no Trump cultist, that's for sure. Hence he's always right. Particularly when posting racist things about African-American cabinet members.

I'll just chalk this whole thread up as a mistaken one by Althouse who apparently didn't get the real scoop on things from our intrepid MI lawyer and self-identified MI electoral politics expert who failed to call MI correctly.

Chuck said...

So “the Mexican option” is off the table?

Chuck said...

If I were in the Senate, I’d move to amend the bill, to fund the wall with $5.1 billion pesos.

Kevin said...

Can't Trump rouse himself to give one actual, presidential speech to the public from the Oval office laying out a carefully reasoned case for his allegedly signature policy item?

He talks about it at every rally. It was the centerpiece of his election campaign.

To say he needs to talk to the voters or get their validation is to ignore the last two years.

What he needs is the Republican-controlled Legislature to send him a bill to sign.

mockturtle said...

What he needs is the Republican-controlled Legislature to send him a bill to sign.

The Republicans are as much his enemy as are the Democrats. They have played obstructionist since day one.

mockturtle said...

I was under the impression that a private citizen used crowdfund to raise more than sufficient donations for the wall. So let's build it, already!

Original Mike said...

"Really, which Republicans do you expect to vote "no" on the bill if it reaches a floor vote?"

IDK, counting on 50 Republican Senators is not a bet I'd be willing to take.

Drago said...
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Drago said...

It seems like only yesterday LLR Chucks Mighty Dem/Lefty Heroine Nancy Pelosi had schooled, schooled SCHOOLED Trump on the impossibility of passing wall funding in the House.

Seriously, like it was only yesterday....

Jim at said...

Pass it the same way those assholes passed Obamacare; budget reconciliation.

Chuck said...

Original Mike; there were 8 Republicans in the House who voted against Trump's $5b requested funding. I think that 11 did not vote.

From Michigan, Fred Upton and Justin Amash, who won their 2018 re-elections, both voted no. Mike Bishop, who got slaughtered in a moderately pro-Republican district, voted for the Trump funding. Dave Trott, who decided almost a year ago that he would not run in 2018, didn't vote.

There might not be 50 votes in the Senate for the House bill.

Bishop, by the way, is something of a political lifer. There's not much waiting for him back in Michigan, employment-wise. He might be hoping for a job in the Trump Administration. Patronage is a wonderful thing in Washington.

Birkel said...

So Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire, was wrong AF yesterday and the day before.
But today his analysis is money.
Just ask his dumb ass.

Chuck said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chuck said...


Yes I was wrong about the House vote. You should’ve bet me on it. It would have been the first time that I lost a bet on this forum. And not just the bets that were accepted, but of all that he bets I’ve offered.

Birkel said...

Michigan voted for Hillary, too.
Let's not forget.

Drago said...

George Soros-funded Webzine fan Chuck: "There might not be 50 votes in the Senate for the House bill."

Not surprising when the first thing you see is one of several big time dem collaborators Bobby Corker high-tail it out of town.

Bob Corker you will recall was a massive, huge, backer of the moronic obama Iran Deal.

And "coincidently", Corker is one of LLR Chuck's favs!

Let's see, supports many obama policies, undermines decades old republican promises...yep. I can see the attraction now!!

The only thing Corker could do to make himself more attractive to LLR Chuck is become a dem and lie about his service record!! That's catnip for Chuck!