Continuing Disgrace

It's day 25 of the Trump Shutdown, soon to be 26 as this is written. This past Saturday it became the longest Government shutdown in our nation's history. That is nothing to be proud of. It should be considered disgraceful by all Americans. Truth and facts are worth repeating, there should never be such a thing as a Government shutdown. A Continuing Resolution can always keep the lights on when political impasse occurs. That's exactly what happened under Republican Congressional control in December of 2018 and President Donald Trump agreed to sign it. He withdrew his support and allowed the shutdown because he was publicly attacked by Rush Limbaugh and other figures in the conservatainment industry. They bullied the Bully In Chief into believing he would look weak in the eyes of his supporters. He is so insecure that he does not seem to realize that those voices have no power compared to the bully pulpit of the Presidency. He acts like a man running for President instead of being the President.

Trump would have lost no supporters by signing the C.R. and then continue making his political case for "the wall." He was given a second chance to get out of this mess at the beginning of January when Speaker Pelosi passed the same Republican C.R. again and sent it back to the Senate, where they had already voted on it in December with overwhelming support. Unfortunately Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will not call the vote to send it to Trump because Trump is still saying no.

One of the more disturbing elements of all our media outlets is the endless stream of panelists, most of whom aren't well known and work for various pollsters and alleged think tanks, casually diminish human suffering with giggles and lies. We've all heard complaints about government workers and bureaucracy, but I heard said by some over the weekend that Americans don't care that a bunch of bureaucrats aren't getting paid. Really? Well this American does. It is not members of Congress or the Cabinet that are facing catastrophic hardship, it is average people struggling to survive, most at low to middle class wages who are not being paid, 800,000 workers plus thousands more that work as subcontractors. T.S.A. Agents, F.A.A. workers (air traffic controllers) and some I.R.S. employees are being forced to work without pay. This is reprehensible.

If you think the shutdown doesn't impact you, think again. The food we eat isn't being properly inspected, loans to farmers halted, do you enjoy eating? Elderly citizens facing eviction without Section 8 subsidies, is that okay with you? Those are just a few, the list is long. If those don't get your attention then consider this, you still owe taxes but if the shutdown continues your refunds will be dramatically delayed because there aren't enough I.R.S. staff members available to process the claims. You can't even reach the Whitehouse switchboard.

Our President has flippantly said the shutdown could last for years. It's clear he has abdicated his duty to the country. This can end tomorrow. Mitch McConnell and his leadership team need to carry out their Constitutional duty as a co-equal branch of our government and pass the C.R. Tell the President privately it's coming to his desk and if he vetoes it, it will be overridden and the government reopened.

This great experiment of ours is this, the government exists to serve us, it's about time citizens of all political beliefs remember this and demand accountability. Being held hostage to one man's petulance and callous ignorance is not what our Founding Fathers intended and is in fact what they warned us to be on guard against.

Wake up America, the Republic is faltering.