9 January 2019 — 1503 mst

Trump negotiates like a protection racket thug

Last night, President Trump could have used his national address as a bully pulpit for compromise and fully opening the government. Instead, he used his prime time pulpit to bully his adversaries with threats, falsehoods, and distortions.

Today, he slammed his fist on a table and roared out of the room when Nancy Pelosi refused to accede to his demands.

Federal workers, and certain classes of citizens, especially the poor, and farmers, are being held hostage to his demand for almost $6 billion to build approximately 230 miles of a vaguely defined wall or fence along our border with Mexico.

This is how thugs in organized crime negotiate a fee for “neighborhood protection services.” Pay up, or your windows will be smashed, your leg broken with a sledge hammer, and your daughter raped.

In private business, the only activity in which Trump has meaningful experience, variations on the theme occur frequently. Cable television companies refuse to carry a popular channel because it costs too much, popular channels refuse to feed their signal to cable companies unless the cable guy pays more.

Trump doesn’t care about governing. He doesn’t know what governing is. He cares about getting his way, using whatever means he can muster to impose his will on his adversaries. He doesn’t want a win-win solution. He wants an “I win, you lose — and not only do you lose, but you are humiliated in everyone’s eyes,” solution.

There’s a way out of this mess. Congress holds the power of the purse, and has the Constitutional power to override a veto. As I noted on 29 December 2018, Republican members of Congress can rescue Trump from himself by passing reopen the government bills, overriding Trump’s veto if necessary.

The existence of that solution puts Rep. Gianforte and Sen. Daines on the spot. Their highest loyalty must be to the nation, not to the man in the Oval Office. Will they choose to do their duty to the nation — or will they continue to lick Trump’s boots?