No End to the Schoolhouse Brawl

            Speaker Pelosi disinvites the President to give his State of the Union address to Congress, and the President retaliates by cancelling her junket to Europe and the Middle East.  That, folks, is nothing more than a schoolyard brawl by two over-grown children who are making a mockery of the constitutional balance of power. With neither party willing to say uncle, there can be no end to this brawl.

            Pelosi holds the purse strings. As long as she keeps insisting “Not a cent for the wall,” the House will not give the President the money he wants.  If Trump doesn’t get his $5.7 billion, he will veto any bill to reopen closed agencies. So, how do we get these children to stop fighting? We can’t: their egos won’t permit it. Is there another way?

            Republicans appear to be willing to compromise. Some are even naïve enough to think that if Trump takes the first step by reopening the government, Pelosi will come to the table and negotiate. Not going to happen: she has already said she wouldn’t, no matter what the president offers.

            This fight isn’t about immigration or money for the wall. It’s about only one thing: Trump. Pelosi has never accepted the legitimacy of his election and will never be satisfied until he is forced out of office. That’s why her backers in Congress and the media get so hysterical when they hear yet another report of Trump’s collusion with Russia. They want him impeached in the worst way.

            President Trump has one weapon Pelosi doesn’t have: the Bully Pulpit. He can give his State of the Union message from the Oval Office if he chooses to. He can appeal directly to the people to put pressure on the Democrats. He can try to get congressional Democrats to withdraw support for the Speaker and force her to compromise. As much as I would like to see that work, I think it would be an exercise in futility.

            What else? If Republican senators begin to abandon ship, that would signal that impeachment is not only possible, but conviction is as well. Could it possibly come to that? Would the republic survive?