President's Approval Rises To 50%

Above, Trump at the State of the Union at the Capitol. 

If the Democrats thought that President Trump was in trouble after he agreed to end the #PelosiShutdown, those thoughts were swept away by his boffo State of the Union address Tuesday night.

According to the Dan Bongino Show website:

According to the Rasmussen daily presidential tracking poll, 50 percent of voters approve of President Trump’s job performance, while 49 percent disapprove. 

Rasmussen writes, “The latest figures include 38% who Strongly Approve of the job Trump is doing and 41% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -3.” 

The State of the Union Address had 46.8 million viewers, which increased from President Trump’s 2018 SOTU ratings. The ratings also beat President Obama’s second SOTU address by 9 percent. 

Instant polls conducted by CBS and CNN directly after the State of the Union address found that the President’s speech was a major hit with viewers. 

CBS News found that a whopping 76 percent of respondents “approved” of what they heard in the president’s speech, and 72 percent approved of the president’s immigration comments.

To read more, go here. 

Trump Is Calling Their Bluff

If it were a president other then Donald Trump, I would see a good reason for people who want border security to be alarmed. Since it is an agreement between President Trump and the Democrats, I am not concerned.

The agreement re-opens the government for 15 days, pays the federal workers and begins the negotiating process on border security that includes barriers.

If the Democrats still won't negotiate in "good faith" (as President Trump put it yesterday), another shutdown can take place or Trump can use his emergency executive powers to get barriers along the border built.

Some fellow conservatives are complaining that Trump "caved" and, naturally, the left-wing media are also claiming the same. But I don't see it that way.

Pelosi and Schumer had said on a number of occasions that unless the government is re-opened, no negotiations will take place. Here's where we'll see if they are really willing to act in "good faith".

Trump is calling their bluff. That's the way I see it.

Pelosi: No State of the Union In House Chamber

CNBC reported today:

Democrats will block President Donald Trump from giving his State of the Union address in the House chamber until the partial government shutdown ends, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday. 

After Pelosi’s announcement, the president appeared to give up on his earlier promise to go on with his speech as planned. He quickly said he would hold an unspecified “alternative” event and contended that the California Democrat is “afraid of the truth.” He called Pelosi’s move “a great blotch on the incredible country that we all love.”  

In a letter to Trump Wednesday, Pelosi escalated a standoff over the annual address hours after the president said he would give the speech in the House chamber next week. Earlier this month, Pelosi urged him to reschedule the remarks or deliver them elsewhere during a partial government shutdown.

Frankly, I think the President should give his State of the Union speech in the senate chambers.

Pelosi, on the other hand, thinks she owns the House chambers. It belongs to the people, not her or her party.

To read more, go here. 

Democrats Refused To Pay Federal Workers During Shutdown

It has been obvious that the Democrats OWN this partial government shutdown by their refusal to come to the bargaining table with President Trump and rejecting Trump's proposal that was announced last Saturday.

They did something else that is additional proof of their #PelosiShutdown ownership. The Democrats refused to pay federals workers during the shutdown.

Here's what The Federalist Papers posted:

If you needed more proof that Democrats are responsible for the government shutdown this is it. 

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw reported on Twitter that Republicans had a plan to pay federal workers during the shutdown. 

But that proposal did not pass because all but 6 Democrats voted against it. 

“Big deal that never got reported: 

“Last week, House GOP voted to pay federal employees their 1st paycheck of 2019, despite shutdown. Only 6 Dems voted with us. It failed. 

“Dem priority is not paying workers or opening gov’t. It is opposing Trump,” he said.

To read more, go here. 

Stating The Obvious

Above, Senator Bob Menendez "working" in Puerto Rico last week.

Democrat "Fools"

MSNBC host Chris Matthews said that the Democrats were made to look like fools and appeared to be skipping town so no negotiations to end the #PelosiShutdown could take place.

The Washington Times reported:

MSNBC‘S Chris Matthews says Democrats were made to look like “fools” who were “sneaking out of town” to avoid negotiating an end to the government shutdown after President Trump prevented an Air Force jet from going to Brussels, Egypt and Afghanistan. 

The host of “Hardball” told guests on Thursday evening that the country “looks bad” as a result of Mr. Trump’s “cheap shot” at the California Democrat. 

The president’s letter informed Mrs. Pelosi that her “seven-day excursion” could be rescheduled after the partial government shutdown ends and 800,000 federal employees begin receiving back pay.

Actually, it was so obvious that it wasn't really necessary for Matthews to comment on it. But we're glad he did anyway.

To read more, go here.


30 Democrats In Puerto Rico

And, also, while the #PelosiShutdown was going on, 30 Democrats were "busy" partying in Puerto Rico last week. Apparently, 800,000 federal employees not getting paid wasn't important enough for them to stay in Washington to do their jobs.

The Washington Examiner reported:

Some 30 Democratic lawmakers left the government shutdown behind Friday on a chartered flight to Puerto Rico for a winter retreat with 109 lobbyists and corporate executives during which they planned to see the hit Broadway show “Hamilton” and attend three parties including one with the show’s cast. 

Those attending the Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC winter retreat in San Juan planned to meet with key officials to discuss the cleanup after Hurricane Maria at a roundtable Saturday. 

But the weekend is packed with free time for the members and their families on the trip.

Nothing like knowing what one's priorities are. Why try to resolve the #PelosiShutdown when you can party in Puerto Rico instead?

To read more, go here.

Demorats OWN The Shutdown Now!

It's now the #PelosiShutdown!

If there were any doubt before, the reaction by the Democrats to President Trump's compromise proposals to get them back to the bargaining table leaves no doubt on who owns this shutdown.

Bloomberg reported:

Top Democrats said they’ll reject an offer expected from President Donald Trump to extend protections for so-called Dreamers for three years in exchange for $5.7 billion in funds for border security as a way to reopen the federal government after almost a month. 

As well as giving protections for Dreamers, young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children, via the bipartisan Bridge Act, Trump is expected to propose extending the visas for Temporary Protection Status holders, though it’s unclear for how long, said a person familiar with Trump’s plan. 

The concessions, to be outlined in a speech at 4 p.m. on Saturday, are aimed at getting Democrats back to the negotiating table in a bid to end a partial government shutdown now into its fifth week.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the President's proposals "a non-starter" even before he spoke.

The Democrats OWN this shutdown.

To read more, go here.