fbpx
Connect with Point of View   to get exclusive commentary and updates

The Omnibus Fiasco

US Capitol at night
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
By: Kurt Schlichter – townhall.com – March 26, 2018

Remember the Kobayashi Maru scene in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan? Sometimes, you end up with no good options. Donald Trump just had that happen to him with the omnibus abomination, though don’t be fooled by the passive voice – he deserves some blame for letting it come to this. The absolutely essential military spending was wrapped in a fat suit of glistening, rancid pork, and the congressional rats had already abandoned ship and fled out of town when it was dumped on his desk. So he had a stark choice. Trump could sign it, and enrage his base but ensure our military could prepare for the wars looming on the horizon. Or he could veto it, and launch a government shutdown with about 0% of succeeding in getting a significantly better deal.

Trump chose the least worst of two bad options, and I, for one, refuse to lose my mind over it.

This was a last minute congressional jam-down of a swamp-generated monstrosity, and Trump deserves a slice of the blame for not seeing it coming. He evidently failed to ensure that his priorities and preferences were included as this sausage was being made, and suddenly the whole thing dropped on him (and us) seemingly out of nowhere and became a thing overnight. Except it wasn’t overnight. This train had been coming down the tracks for three months; the Congressional weasels succeeded in sneaking it in right before they ditched town. Trump is liable for letting himself be put in that position, but the GOP leadership is responsible for putting him there.

Now, the people who hate Trump anyway – many of whom would have squeed with squishy glee had Presidents Jeb! or Foamy Marco signed the bill – were delighted for a chance to scream “BETRAYAL! TURNCOAT!” about this choice. For many of them, this is just another chance to try to tear apart the Republican coalition that rejected them – many still dream of someday getting a slot in a Ben Sasse administration. But none of them offered a game plan for an alternative.

What was the alternative?

Step One: Veto the Bill

Step Two: ?

Step Three: Congress Passes Conservative Spending Bill We All Love

If anyone can explain Step Two to me, I’d sure appreciate it. After all, that’s kind of the key step, and no one seems to have a good answer for what it might have consisted of. The simple fact is that while the GOP has a majority, conservatives do not. Step Two can’t be “Wishing” or “Wanting” or “Waving the Magic Wand.” If you think a government shutdown caused by Trump’s veto would result in a better outcome, well, that requires some explanation. I’d be interested to see a citation to a governmental shutdown that the shutter downer won. There isn’t one; people like us love government shutdowns because we think the government stinks, but the rest of America doesn’t.

It just doesn’t. I don’t want that to be the truth, and I don’t like it, but that’s how it is. We are not yet an unassailable majority, and the United States is not yet the dictatorship the left desires, so we cannot just decree that our wishes become reality. We have to compromise and make deals. And it’s annoying as hell.

This is an over-compromise and a bad deal. This bill is not what Trump promised and not what we voted for. The base is mad. Furious. And it has a right to be.

To see the rest of this article, click read more.

Read More

Source: I Refuse to Lose My Mind Over the Omnibus Fiasco, and So Should You