SPEAKER IS AWARE: SHUTDOWN WILL NOT BE BLAMED ON HER OR THE DEMOCRATS

…Nancy Pelosi, Fact-Checking Trump in the Oval Office

Reality: 58% of Americans are against expanding the border wall, 40% are in favor.

OK, here’s the history on the president giving what the US Constitution requires: an annual, State of the Union Address. 

This is also what the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has notified the US President as to why she is not offering, the normal joint session of Congress in the House, for President, Trump to give his annual State of the Union Address.

Pelosi writes, “During the 19th Century and up until the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, the annual State of the Union messages were delivered to Congress in writing. And since the start of modern budgeting in Fiscal Year 1977, a State of the Union address has never been delivered during a government shutdown.” She then explains that both the US Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security, which are charged with security during the event, “have not been funded for 26 days now – with critical departments hamstrung by furloughs.” Given all that, we couldn’t possibly have the speech,” she says.

She concludes: “I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after the government has re-opened for this address, or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29th.”

To say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has mastered the art of dealing with President Trump would be more than appropriate. She has fact-checked him in the Oval Office on live TV and she passed spending bills for reopening the government, thereby reinforcing that it’s not hers, but it is Trump’s responsibility for the shutdown.

Her letter about not offering to invite Trump to deliver the State of the Union address during a government shutdown is taking away what the president wants more than anything.  His “Bully Pulpit” of a national TV audience.  More precisely, in response to Trump’s month-long temper tantrum, she has told him he won’t get his prime-time State of the Union address on his chosen date of Jan. 29.

In an additional tantrum, and acting like the angry man-child that he is, he removed Pelosi’s and her personnel’s access to a previously unannounced military transportation for visiting the US troops in Afghanistan, and for her team to stop and meet with the NATO leaders in Brussels.  Trump said that she instead should stay in Washington and negotiate with him on border security, or she and her team could travel on commercial air transportation.

Those who thought perhaps someone besides Pelosi should have been made the House Speaker, they now realize that she was the exact person for resuming that role.  She knows she has the power and how to use it.  As she has said, as a mother of 5 children, she knows how to handle a toddler’s, or a man-child’s, meltdown. She also knows exactly what Trump craves most.  The attention and the TV cameras of a national audience.

It was so obvious how Trump couldn’t stand it when Nancy had all the limelight on Jan. 3, in returning to her House Speakership.  He was so upset with her receiving all the attention, he went for the first time to the White House Briefing Room, where he then refused to take any questions.

Pelosi’s power rests totally on the unity of her members and the Democratic base.  It is also due to the president’s dwindling power, fading popularity and poor job approval.

According to the latest Pew Research Center poll, which is usually one of the most accurate polls, here are the latest results:

• 58% of Americans are against expanding the border wall.
• 40% favor expansion
• 97% of liberal Democrats oppose expansion of the wall
• 89% of moderate Democrats oppose the wall expansion
• 36% of the American public (all parties) approve of Trump’s shutdown, 23% strongly approve
• 61% of the American public (all parties) disapprove of Trump’s shutdown, 53% strongly disapprove
• Trump’s first Oval Office speech totally failed to move public opinion

Public views of Democratic leaders’ handling of the shutdown talks are somewhat more positive (53%) than views of Trump or GOP leader's talks (43%).

In other Pew Research Center poll numbers:

• Trump’s job approval rating is only 37%
• Trump’s support from Republicans in general is still strong at 80%
• 96% of Democrats disapprove of Trump’s job performance

(The partisan-party gap in Trump’s job approval is the widest than any US president in 6 decades.)

To summarize the situation, Pelosi has the full support of her party with a sizable majority of the country behind her.

Unlike Trump, many Americans don’t view the wall as a dire issue, but 58% do see the government shutdown as a “very serious matter”.

The reality is,  we don’t know how this will end.  It is appearing that a continued shutdown will take a big chunk out of the US economy.

So far, the shutdown has cost the nation ~$4.0 billion.

In addition, there is little doubt who’s going to get the blame, and Nancy Pelosi knows it won’t be her or the Democrats.

Copyright G.Ater 2019