The Republican Moral Eunuchs and the Magnificent 13

Yesterday the House approved a resolution of disapproval on President Trump's "national emergency" to fund his border wall by a vote of 245-182. Simply put Trump usurped the power of Congress by declaring his intention to spend $5.6 billion that was previously rejected by the Congress. 182 Republicans voted against the resolution that had President Obama done a similar thing not only would they have voted for the resolution they would have immediately started impeachment proceedings. To my mind these Republicans are moral eunuchs and deserve to be defeated in the 2020 election. They failed to uphold their oaths office to support and defend the Constitution, especially Article I which gives Congress the power of the purse.

However, standing up intense pressure from the White House and Leader  Kevin McCarthy 13 Republican Representatives voted for the resolution. I call them the magnificent 13.  They are libertarian Justin Amash (MI), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Mike Gallagher (WI), Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA), former CIA agent Will Hurd (TX), Dusty Johnson (SD), Thomas Massie (KY),former leadership member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA), Francis Rooney (FL),
veteran member Jim Sensenbrenner (WI), rising star Elise Stefanik NY), veteran member Fred Upton (MI) and former leadership member Greg Walden (OR). These magnificent 13 members ought to be complimented and financially supported in future elections.

Let's hope the Republican members of the Senate have more backbone than their House counterparts and vote to support the resolution of disapproval when they vote in a few weeks.

A Simple Solution to End the Partial Government Shutdown

The federal government has been in a partial shutdown mode for over a week as President Trump fights with congressional Democrats over funding for a border wall. Trump wants to fulfill is campaign promise to build a wall and the Democrats believe that the wall would be a waste of money and signal a strong bias against immigration. Meantime hundreds of thousands of government workers and the services they provide are being held hostage to this dispute.

There is however a simple solution. The Democrats should agree to appropriate $2-$5 billion for a wall, but that appropriation would be contingent on Mexico cutting a check to pay for it. After all this is exactly what President Trump campaigned on. Of course Mexico isn't going to pay for the wall. As a result Trump would win in form and the Democrats would win on the the substance. A win-win that would reopen  the government.