Folks, let’s be honest. This shutdown fiasco was because of illegal immigration. There was no deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. There wasn’t even one to consider during the three-day shutdown that ended with the government reopening without Democrats getting anything for DACA recipients. After three days, the news media, and pretty much everyone else, were quite adamant that the Democrats lost this fight. Protections for DACA was already agreed to by both parties, Children’s Health Insurance Program is funded for six years, and FISA is going to be renewed. There was no changing of the agenda, only that Democrats just wanted to shut down the government to show that they’re willing to do anything for illegal aliens. If you were to guess that doesn’t poll well, you’d be correct. Hence, why Democrats sprinted for the exit on this shutdown fight as soon as the opportunity presented itself thanks for Senate Republicans. Literally nothing changed—and progressives were not happy, torching Shutdown Chuck and the rest of the Democratic Party for caving (via Politico):
Millions of people flooded the streets of every major American city to stand up to Trump this weekend,” tweeted Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of the influential activist network Indivisible. “Your constituents want you to fight. How can you possibly not understand that?”
[…]
“We have a way to address the fate of the Dreamers, starting right now instead of waiting until March,” Schumer said on the floor.
But activist groups that have provided his caucus crucial firepower during fights against GOP health care and tax bills were not buying that explanation.
Murshed Zaheed, political director of the liberal group CREDO Action, said Democrats’ decision shows Schumer’s willingness to betray progressives.
“Call it the #SchumerSellout,” he said in an interview. “Hashtagged.”
Ben Wikler, Washington director of MoveOn.org, slammed McConnell’s offer to Democrats and lamented the minority’s splintering over protecting Dreamers.
“What’s clear from today’s joke deal is that the grass-roots movement demanding unity and courage has a lot of work to do to ensure that the whole Democratic Caucus is ready to fight when the time comes,” he said in an interview.
United We Dream Executive Director Cristina Jiménez, whose group has mobilized its grass roots to push for Dreamer protection, tweeted that “Dems failed to fight & use their leverage to protect immigrant youth. A false promise to vote on immigration from Rs is not a strategy to win. We won’t be fooled. This vote means deportation.”
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The deal that was hashed out was a three-week continuing resolution set to expire on February 8. In the interim, the Senate will hash out an agreement on DACA. If there is no agreement by February 8, the Senate will make this a primary action item, with votes to be held on DACA proper. The enforcement deadline for DACA’s wind down is in March, which makes this even more puzzling since this wasn’t exactly an emergency. In September of 2017, the Trump White House announced DACA’s gradual wind down, with a six-month enforcement delay to afford the legislature time to pass a DACA fix. Yet, while the far left of the Democratic Party is shooting inside the ship, Shutdown Chuck isn’t too bothered. He’s “pleased” with how things ended, though with his withdrawing of border wall funding from the table—a DACA deal is still very much a dubious proposition (via Washington Examiner):
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argued Tuesday that the three-week spending deal agreed Monday "advances the ball" toward a legislative fix for Dreamers, pushing back on criticism from progressives over their view that he caved by accepting the deal.
"We're very pleased with how things came out. We're a lot better off today when it comes to the cause of Dreamers than we were four or five days ago," Schumer said, pointing to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and his promise to bring legislation to the floor for Dreamers by Feb. 8.
Schumer was heartened that McConnell not only made the agreement with Democrats, but with members of his own caucus who want a legislative fix for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
"We have renewed momentum. The Dreamer issue ... is much more highlighted, so we're very pleased with how it worked out," Schumer said during his weekly press conference. "When there's a Republican president, a Republican Senate, a Republican House that are quite recalcitrant against Dreamers, you aren't going to get it all at once. But we're going to keep fighting and we believe we will have a good victory."
"I think we advanced the ball for the Dreamers. We're proud of the role we played," Schumer said.
Former DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) also argued that the shutdown created a “potential for momentum” on immigration reform. So, again, we’re going to hold the country hostage over illegal aliens. That’s what the Democrats want. The lack of strategy and messaging was evident with this shutdown as the news media skewered talking points; even fact-checking Democrats on air that made the party look even more ridiculous. Without a message, you have to wonder what the hell these folks were thinking. No one who isn’t a raging liberal, or a die-hard libertarian, likes illegal immigration.
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