You can waste a lot of time in speculation and argument on how we have come to such a ridiculous — and dangerous — moment, but one hopes that Congress finds a solution this week which makes sense of what has become a needlessly tangled situation.
The simple solution, as I have written previously, is for Republicans and Democrats to revive their December agreement, pass it, and send it to the president. If he vetoes it, override the veto. Of course, that overlooks political reality.
Our president would not react graciously to a defeat. His whole persona centers on a conviction that he must always “win.” If not in reality, at least in his own imagination. His fragile nature cannot handle such a public rejection.
The Republicans are stuck. If they oppose Trump, they run a very real risk of losing to primary opponents. If the government shuts down again, they may survive primaries, but are likely to lose the general election. They know the argument for a border wall is specious and wasteful, but Trump is fixated on his base-pleasing fantasy. What to do?
It’s up to the wily Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to decide. One scenario is for him to get agreement from his fellow senators to make a quiet “deal” with the president: sign a funding bill that muffles the wall…
