The impasse between Republicans and Democrats that has brought government operations to a standstill rests primarily on their different visions of the United States.
Stroke by stroke, Congressional Republicans are painting a picture where the poor and disenfranchised are relegated to the fringes, preferably out of focus.
With the power squarely in their hands — Republicans own the presidency and have majorities in the House and Senate — they have refused to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as well as pulled back on their pledge to put the Dreamers on a path to citizenship.
The Dreamers did not arrive in the United States on their own volition. Most were infants or young children when their parents stole across the U.S. border. They have known no other country than the United States. This is where they have attended school, landed jobs, pay their taxes, and now raise their families. To not grant them legal status is beyond punitive.
Americans as a whole recognize this. A CNN poll released Friday shows 84 percent of Americans would like DACA, the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, to continue, further proof that our elected officials do not represent their electorate.
As for CHIP, the program serves about 9 million low-income children, including 80,000 in Kansas. Suspended since last fall, the program is a critical lifeline to our country. That its renewal was recently used as a bargaining chip against DACA is shameful. Funding the budget does not depend on whether DACA or CHIP should be continued. For officials to make it appear as an either/or situation is insulting.
But that’s where the budget process is these days, a cover for legislation that can’t be passed within normal means.
So where is President Trump in all this?
As per his nature, he’s whittled the issue down to a divisive 140 characters, tweeting Republicans are “fighting for our Military and Safety at the Border,” while Democrats “just want illegal immigrants to pour into our nation unchecked.”
On Sunday, Mr. Trump urged Senate leaders to rewrite the rules so a simple majority of 51 votes, instead of 60, could pass major legislation. Such a change would work to eliminate any need for bipartisanship, an element sorely lacking in today’s politics.
THE LACK of leadership has helped muddle the issue.
Not knowing where President Trump stands on DACA, Republicans are hesitant to pass any legislation if it lacks his support. Democrats are in the same boat, fearful that if immigration is not included in the continuing resolution talks now, it will be dropped altogether in the future.
This shutdown is just the tip of the iceberg.
— Susan Lynn
