America cannot be run by one person... if that was okay with all of us, we would have stayed British subjects under a monarch. One party rule will not work - President Obama made that mistake with the Affordable Care Act, and it cost him dearly. And just now, when we see the government actually trying to work together in some small way, President Trump has to throw a land mine into the process with a "tweet" - which is basically a statement to his millions of followers making sure that NO ONE on the other side gets any credit.Politico's Playbook wrote:OK, NOW THIS IS GETTING REALLY INTERESTING.
FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS, TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN has been playing shuttle diplomacy between warring factions, hashing out a deal with Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER, while keeping skeptical -- and, at times, angry -- Republicans apprised of the progress.
NOW, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is sharply criticizing the emerging accord, throwing its prospects into question. Why? Because, as we've seen time and time again, anything short of a full embrace from the president is not enough for Republicans. Unless you have that, negotiating with a Cabinet secretary can be like dealing with an independent contractor with the best intentions, but limited authority. Some Republicans have been quietly downplaying the Mnuchin-Schumer talks, and perhaps this is why.
AT 11:33 P.M., TRUMP tweeted, "Republicans had a deal until Nancy Pelosi rode into town from her extended vacation. The Democrats want the Virus to win? They are asking for things that have nothing to do with our great workers or companies. They want Open Borders & Green New Deal. Republicans shouldn't agree!" He also retweeted criticism of the deal, and said "this will never be approved by me, or any other Republican!"
SHORTLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT, SCHUMER told reporters that he and MNUCHIN were close to a deal. MNUCHIN had called TRUMP, SCHUMER said, and the president "seemed very happy with that."
OK, WE KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING: that we're making too much of TRUMP'S tweets, and he might not know what's in the bill. And maybe so. Fine. Of course, Speaker NANCY PELOSI was not on an extended vacation. And this bill doesn't call for open borders or institute the Green New Deal. Maybe he needs to show that he's agreeing to the bill reluctantly, for some reason.
You cannot run this country playing a zero sum game - that is, it needs to be at least a partial win for all sides. We are on a path toward the destruction of democracy. Is that okay with you? I'm not happy about it.
