Government shutdown: Trump is playing Schumer and Pelosi like violins

Donny doesn't play. He fights. In so many cases, during this battered administration, Trump has prevailed. Before reading this essay, keep in mind: the temptation to conflate political policy with political skill is hard to overcome. How many times has anyone mentioned Trump to a relative or acquaintance only to receive an instant recoil? When discussing Trump with the general public, most often you will receive a reflexive expression of disdain--but not relating to policy--but only referring to personality. This is the true Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). Judge Trump's policies on merits or demerits but for dog's sake, leave the TDS at home.

Trump is a political genius. Recoil! Shock! Horror!

24/7 he is battered by the MSM. Demonrats of all parts of the spectrum vociferously denounce him. Obama disseminated heretofore isolated information, especially Trump's-related, with a last-day-in-offic executive order allowing departments and agencies which previously not been able to access such information without special request. Obama, in his last month, installed hundeds of Senior Executive Service employees, very hard to eliminate. They can't be fired without cause. There are a couple of exceptions to that statement, which will be discussed below.

So, is it any surprise that the government shutdown looms large once again, likely to resume on Feb. 15, 2019. Unlike Obama's hard shutdown, Trump is doing a soft shutdown. More facilities and agencies will be either fully or at least partially staffed during Shutdown II. Obama made his shutdown hard because he wanted Repugnants to take the blame, which to some degree they did. Trump did Shutdown I for several reasons. One of which, indeed the main reason, is to demonstrate to the public that the Dems don't give a crap about immigrants, border safety, drug transport and human trafficking.

The SOLE reason for Dim opposition to the border wall, a wall for which many Dims previously voted for and endorsed (before DJT), is to prevent Trump from fulfilling his chief campaign pledge, giving him a significant victory.

The Dim-witted action is unnecessary. Even an Executive Order proclaiming a national emergency is not necessary to complete most of the wall ($5.7B more). There are sufficient funds, unspecified in the "defense" budget to apply even that minimalist amount--and much more left over. The Wall is a done deal by the master dealer.

The Dims know this so why are they so recalcitrant? S & P make feeble pleas to abandon wall construction, with Pelosi vowing not to authorize even one dollar to build the wall. So why?

The point is obvious: it exposes the mendacious Demonratic party to be massively hypocritical (which, unfortunately is a vice not confined solely to the Dims.) Pelosi and Schumer have already missed several ostensibly planned negotiations with Trump. Surely, despite inhabiting the large DC bubble, they must realize how poorly this will make them look. Or do they?

There will be no compromise. Trump laid out his last offer. There will be no retreat. Abolishing ICE and allowing unrestricted infiltration by undocumented, and therefore illegal, aliens is a kiss of death to Dims. Many are already hedging from the S & P party line, indicating support for some "barrier".

But, there is an ingenious secondary benefit of Shutdown II, which apparently the Dims do not realize. If they do realize this, then they are more incredibly stupid than they already seem.

When the government, for any reason, shuts down for 30 consecutive days, or for 22 days in a work month, reductions in force can occur.

Federal workforce restructuring.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management develops policy and provides guidance to Federal agencies regarding Reduction in Force (RIF). This page serves as a portal to assist you in locating pertinent information and content related to RIF in the Federal Government.
When an agency must abolish positions, the RIF regulations determine whether an employee keeps his or her present position, or whether the employee has a right to a different position. The regulatory requirements governing reduction in force are contained in Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 351. Federal agencies must follow the procedures contained in the Code of Federal Regulations when conducting a RIF. The law provides that OPM's RIF regulations must give effect to four factors in releasing employees:
1. tenure of employment (e.g., type of appointment);
2. veterans' preference;
3. length of service; and
4. performance ratings.

An agency is required to use the RIF procedures when an employee is faced with separation or downgrading for a reason such as reorganization, lack of work, shortage of funds, insufficient personnel ceiling, or the exercise of certain reemployment or restoration rights. A furlough of more than 30 calendar days, or of more than 22 discontinuous work days, is also a RIF action. (A furlough of 30 or fewer calendar days, or of 22 or fewer discontinuous work days, is an adverse action.)

Most federal employees live in or near DC. Most are Dims. Many will find themselves permanently out of federal employment. These employees include many never Trumpers and hardcore Dems. Each agency, by virtue of Shutdown I, has already completed estimates of how much workforce can be safely discharged. There is no statutory limit on the numbers which can be dismissed. In fact, WHOLE Departments can be eliminated--all within existing law.

In one executive order, after 30 more days of shutdown, Trump can get rid of scores of obstructionists to his own plan.

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snoopydawg's picture

last time the budget was under review. Trump turned them down. Trump also had republicans in charge of both houses for two years before he decided to declare that building a wall was a national emergency. Illegal immigration is at an all time low from what I've read, but we still need a wall to keep drugs out of the country. Except that most drugs come through border checkpoints and what doesn't is flown in by the CIA and other agencies.

Read today about a woman who wasn't paid for 35 days. Her car was repossessed, she lost her apartment and is dealing with numerous late fees after maxing out her credit card.

Then there's that butterfly center that will be destroyed which is beyond idiotic during a time that they are dying out. The wall will destroy other areas and some rivers too.

Is there proof that human trafficking will be stopped if the wall is built? Anyone know what percentage of it is related to the areas where there isn't a wall? I'd think that the bigger problem with it is people who have lots of money and power.

In one executive order, after 30 more days of shutdown, Trump can get rid of scores of obstructionists to his own plan.

Trump didn't do that last time and I'm doubting that federal workers will allow another shutdown to last longer than a week. They can not afford to. The people who work with the airports are already making plans to make another one as painful as possible. If Trump eliminates lots of jobs while the car companies are doing it too and teachers are striking he's going to invite a yellow vest movement here faster than he can say, "Mexico will pay for the wall."

Just my $.02

ETA. Just to be clear. I am not for open borders or for allowing anyone into the country at will. I just don't think that more wall is the answer. Hiring more agents to patrol the border might be more effective and less environmental damaging.

ETAA. Most immigrants in the country have flown in and over stayed the reasons why they were here.

Interesting article on the history of the border wall.

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Amanda Matthews's picture

@snoopydawg

Chimps use branches to build ladder in daring zoo escape

LONDON — Zookeepers say a group of chimpanzees used branches weakened by a storm to make a ladder and escape from their enclosure at the Belfast Zoo.

Video filmed Saturday by visitors to the Northern Ireland zoo showed several primates scaling a wall and perching atop it, with one walking down a path outside the enclosure.

Zookeeper Alyn Cairns said trees in the chimps’ enclosure had been weakened by recent storms, allowing the animals to break them and fashion a ladder to escape. He told the BBC “they’re intelligent primates and know they’re not supposed to be out of their enclosure, so got back in themselves.”

https://nypost.com/2019/02/10/chimps-use-branches-to-build-ladder-in-dar...

Film at link

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

Alligator Ed's picture

@Amanda Matthews

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snoopydawg's picture

@Amanda Matthews

Don't know if they got anything in return for 55 miles of fence. Be nice if they had said to leave the butterfly center alone. Anything for DACA or TDP? Anything? The only thing I'm glad about is that the government won't shut down again.

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Alligator Ed's picture

@snoopydawg but were tired of being violins. Trump probably gave them a little extra to hurry this thing along. So, no shutdown and no reduction in force.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Alligator Ed

Someone posted links to 5 articles that say that Trump has gotten his wall and the echo chamber piped up to say that he didn't get a wall, he got slats. You know..when you put a bunch of slats together and they make a wall? A barrier. The person who insisted that it's a wall got hr'd.
SMDH!

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snoopydawg's picture

This heinous wire is on the US side of the wall. How's that going to keep people from climbing the fence on the other side? Or was it deliberately put on this side to keep people from fleeing the country? It's bad for any critters that gets caught on it. Take it down!

IMG_3203.JPG

Which brings up another point. Let's stop meddling in foreign countries and making them so that people will risk everything just to be able to live. This would certainly save us lots of money.

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Alligator Ed's picture

@snoopydawg to be friendly or humane. It is precisely for the reason, pictured from your linked article, to have border walls with US-placed deterrents on the US side. The reason is not nice, nor is it supposed to be. The purpose is to impale or enmesh wall climbers when they attempt to jump off the top of a wall section.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Alligator Ed

The wall once had a fence that amputated body parts. Info is in above link.

But don't you think it'd be more humane to keep people from climbing the wall in the first place than to slice and dice them on the way down?

The wire in the picture looks like barbed wire which is much different than the stuff in the photo I used. Animals are going to be hurt and probably die. I see no reason why barbed wire isn't efficient.

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Alligator Ed's picture

@snoopydawg You must be hoping that these politicians have souls. Any nation that sends missiles into wedding parties and day care centers already tells you about humane treatment. An effective wall does not have to be a maiming wall--but that isn't my choice.

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k9disc's picture

Easy peasy. Nature abhors a vacuum and even with a functional government we have the Law of the Jungle and a Nation of Men. They will land on their feet in the corporate sector.

There really is no downside for these people. Perhaps it's time we realize that Democrats are just as interested in seeing government fail as Republicans. The more government fails the more misery there will be. The more misery the more demographic intensity they can bring to the polls.

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“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu