Opinion| Seven Democratic House members have emerged as the to first challenge to radical leftist Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s control over her caucus.
The seven include five freshman, several of whom refused to back Madame Pelosi for Speaker.
They’ve named themselves the Problem Solvers Caucus and took a step towards earning that label by meeting with President Trump at the White House this afternoon.
Until today, Democrats had summarily rejected invitations to discuss areas for compromise on the border wall over lunch at the White House. President Trump is demanding $5.7 Billion for the Wall, something both sides were aware of when they put together the current spending bill.
Legislators instead ignored the president’s request, amounting to less than a half of one percent of their spending proposal, simply because it might be viewed as a political win for the president.
Democrat leadership had refused to attend a working lunch with President Donald Trump as late as yesterday.
With both sides looking for an edge in optics, the show of intransigence by Democrat leaders, while 800,000 workers remain furloughed, and having already missed a paycheck, was a public relations fail that promises to get worse for them if they don’t make a deal.
Because of Chuck and Nancy’s refusal to work with @realDonaldTrump on our border crisis, we’re in the midst of the longest government shutdown in history.
What are Congressional Democrats doing instead?
Partying on the beach with over a hundred lobbyists.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) January 13, 2019
Democrats failed their 1st test at governing: by refusing to meet with @POTUS to reopen govt & secure our border, they’re turning over their voting cards to Pelosi & denying their constituents a voice in these negotiations. You can’t serve the American people if you don’t show up
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) January 15, 2019
Finally, today seven Democratic House members broke rank and engaged with President Trump. The seven Democrats represent congressional districts where Trump remains popular.
It’s likely they’re looking at Pelosi’s age and are refusing to surrender their budding careers at the altar of a leader who is not likely to be around much longer.
This staredown is coming to an end. It will come with Trump getting the wall because, otherwise, President Trump can remove the furloughed workers permanently under Reduction in Force rules.
Report are emerging that the president is learning that there’s been no loss in operating efficiencies – likely because many of these federal employees have been blocking the president’s agenda all along.
If that is indeed the case, these employees have truly earned the label “non-essential” and the president, if he deems appropriate, can pink-slip them.
The propaganda media will paint this a massive political blunder but Reagan fired the air-traffic controllers and won 49 states when he ran for re-election.
What the Democrats get in return – or what they’re constituents lose for their leaders’ intransigence – is now up to them.