Three cheers for Chuck Schumer.
In a brazen act of political self-harm, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer convinced his Democrat colleagues to shut down the government just long enough to get publicly blamed before agreeing to reopen the government for absolutely nothing in exchange, thereby demoralizing his base and emboldening Republicans. Bravo, Sen. Schumer. Bravo.
Let’s recap.
Democrats have an easy argument to make. Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House; they can pass anything they want. If the government is not funded, it is obviously the fault of Republicans.
In other words, Democrats are betting that a majority of Americans do not know how the government actually works.
Following through on his campaign promise, President Trump is setting about to build a wall on our southern border with Mexico. This has been met with considerable opposition from some people, mostly on the left. But why?
Because this is such an emotional debate, let’s start with some basic facts. The United States has a right to determine who we allow into our country and who we do not. No one who is not an American citizen has a right to enter America. That should not have to be said, but far too many arguments against a border wall imply that the U.S. is somehow wrong for wanting to have a say in who can come in. That’s not immoral; it is necessary for a country to maintain it’s sovereignty.
For the last few days, much of the country has been consumed with talk about Trump’s executive order on refugees. Aside from arguing we should keep our promises to the brave Iraqis who fought with us, I have withheld judgement. There was a lot of confusion surrounding the new policy, and I did not want to make a snap judgement based on incomplete or inaccurate data. After thinking about this long and hard, I have come to a conclusion and would like to share my thoughts, but first I think it is important I clear up some misconceptions, exaggerations, and outright falsehoods.
I have mentioned that I occasionally enjoy attending liberal protests. Partly this is for the circus like atmosphere they often acquire, and partly because I want to routinely remind myself what the most passionate members of the other side believe so I do not get trapped in a conservative bubble.
Last night I went to a protest outside the White House that opposes Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending refugee programs from certain countries. This is an issue that I had not made up my mind about, mostly because there is so much conflicting information it is not clear what the real policy is.
The plan last night was to go to the rally, hear what people firmly opposed to the new policy had to say, and then maybe write a blog post about their views. That plan was completely upended when I made the decision to open my mouth and ask a question.
On my second tour in Iraq, one of our Iraqi interpreters (we’ll call him Jim) told me an astounding story. Jim had recently gone home for a week of vacation only to discover his job was not as secret as he thought. A group of men had approached his little brother outside of school and said they knew Jim was working for the Americans, and if he did not quit they would kill Jim.
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