I can’t believe that I once again find myself feeling the need to tackle this red herring and deal with the hysteria of a government shutdown as something catastrophic.  First, the government cannot shut down completely because at least 75% of it is already funded.  So, please stop drinking the Kool-Aid and breathing the toxic air of the Media and those following extreme liberalism.  If we would all take a deep breath and do even a cursory amount of research we’d know this is simply a political tool used by both sides to hype the public.  It is being used today by those on the Left to cause needless alarm.

Unless the government was to remain shut down beyond the fiscal year 2019 it will not shut down.  Yes, parts of it will have a break in function and some federal employees will have their paychecks delayed but not necessarily deleted.  If you check you will find that on September 21, 2018, the President signed a “minibus” appropriations law that funded the Department of Energy; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and the Legislative Branch for the entire 2019 fiscal year.  That will not expire until September 30, 2019.  One week later he signed another “minibus” law funding the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education through the same fiscal year.  That is most of the government. 

In fact, House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) said regarding those signings that “Congress will have enacted the majority of all discretionary spending for the year, 75%, prior to the end of the fiscal year, an accomplishment that hasn’t occurred in over two decades.”  The federal discretionary budget for the fiscal year 2019 is a whopping $1.26 Trillion and with those two signings, $931 Billion of it has been appropriated.  That only leaves $314 Billion.  Yet, the Democrats and Media are acting as if, Trump’s threat would destroy the entire nation and the government would screech to a halt on all levels.  That was and is a blatant lie and they know it.  Well, maybe they don’t but they should know it.

Only non-essential government personnel won’t be able to come to work.  Border Patrol Agents are considered essential personnel will still work even though the Department of Homeland Security will not be funded. The only reason DHS is not funded is because of the impasse in Congress because of the Democrats refusal to fund the Border Wall.  They were willing to hold up and jeopardize DHS for $5 Billion requested for the Border Wall.  How’s that for endangering Americans?  Some of the other departments not funded are Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; Interior and Environment; Commerce, Justice, and Science; State; Financial Services and Agriculture.

Nobody likes to be told that they are non-essential or important enough to be kept at their post during a shutdown.  That is a possibly a personal ego thing, but it also affects their bottom line in the sense that they don’t get their pay when expected but will get it once the shutdown is over.  There are 12 appropriations bills that determine the funding for each of the government subcommittees.  A partial government shutdown occurs if Congress does not pass appropriations bills for the fiscal year or the president refuses to sign them once passed.  One of the agencies that would be affected is the Internal Revenue Service.  Do we really mind?  Yes, because the part of the IRS that verifies social security numbers would not function and that could affect people on many levels. 

It affects us, but it is not catastrophic as the Democrats and some Republicans would have us believe.  One factor in all this threatened ‘shutdown’ that the media and the Left refuse to discuss is the fact that Border Security which includes a Border Wall and beefed up Border Security is part of the Presidents package.  The Democrats are willing to see the non-essential elements of a government shutdown in their resistance to a Border Wall.  Why?  I can’t answer that question except by saying some of them, if not most of them do not seem to mind having a porous border.  Some, including Bernie Sanders, do not seem to think that Illegal Immigration is Illegal.  Most of the Democratic Establishment views the Illegals as Future or even Current Democrat votes.  With the voter fraud by illegals in 2018 and 2016 that assertion is not difficult to defend as being a valid charge.

The government is far too bloated now and this would be a wonderful opportunity to revisit how we budget.  We use a baseline budgetary process where every department gets an automatic increase each year of approximately 10%.  The Democrats and Republicans have from time to time agreed to make the increase only 5% and claimed they cut the budget.  The reality is the budget grew by whatever percentage they increased from the previous year.

We, in my view, need to move to a zero-based budgetary process where every department and foreign aid entity begins at $0.00 (ZERO) and has to offer a valid reason for whatever they receive.  If we did that, we could reduce the size of government, the deficit, and thereby the national debt.  Will politicians on either side of the aisle agree to that?  Not in this lifetime and not so long as they can use our money to solidify their position and power and/or the bottom lines.  I am less concerned about a so-called government shutdown than I am about the deficit and debt. 

God bless you and God bless America!

By “Government Shutdown” most people think that the government shuts down, but that is a far cry from reality.  A “government shutdown” is when non-essential discretionary federal programs close or cease to receive funding.  The President is mandated to enact this action when Congress fails to appropriate funds to continue those programs.  The normal budget process requires Congress to appropriate those funds by September 30^th for the following fiscal year.  If that does not happen, Congress can and often do pass a continuing resolution that extends the date weeks or months.  If after that time, Congress cannot agree there is a “government shutdown.” 

HOWEVER, IT IS NOT A COMPLETE SHUTDOWN and frankly, some of those programs are completely unnecessary whereas the essentials operations of the government continue.  The war in Congress is over what funds are allocated for what purposes and departments.  The Democrats want a blank check for discretionary spending in the form of entitlements and the Republicans want to increase defense spending, raising it to $700 BILLION but sequestration limits it to $549 BILLION.  That is largely the result of the Obama administration’s mishandling of virtually everything within our government.  The Democrats are demanding a dollar for dollar increase in non-defense discretionary programs, now limited to $516 BILLION.  They demand a plan that allows the illegals eligible for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) to remain in the United States and make them legal.  Some of the so-called Dreamers are MS-13 GANG MEMBERS who came as unaccompanied children. The Trump immigration plan would end the program in the spring if Congress doesn’t develop a permanent fix.  Congress has failed to do their work and the Democrats want to blame the President, the Republicans, and all Conservatives and are threatening a “government shutdown.”

A limited list of the major departments impacted by a shutdown include some departments that cause some people to buy the rhetoric of the left and believe that it would be catastrophic.  However, we have endured “government shutdowns” before and survived quiet nicely.  In fact, some of the fat needs to be trimmed from many of those affected departments and this would be a wonderful time for the President and Congress to address the bloat and transition from a “baseline budgeting process” to a “zero-based budgeting process.”  That won’t happen, but it is a nice thought.  The Democrats oppose the border fence or wall and support keeping the Obamacare subsidies and virtually every other domestic spending and entitlement program.

The Democrats warned the Republicans when the Republicans threatened and actually brought about a “government shutdown” that it would catastrophic and mean the doom of the GOP forever.  That did not happen and now guess who is threatening a shutdown and threatening to hold the government hostage to get what they want in ransom payment.  Yep, you guessed, it is none other than the loving, caring liberal Democrats.  The loving and caring is sarcasm not a belief they are either of those things.

The question is, “How are the voters responding to the Democrat threat?”  Several polls that I have read indicate that the voters are rejecting the Democrat argument by a 2 to 1 margin.  Rasmussen Reports, “Just 27% agree with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin’s call for a “government shutdown” in order to force a congressional decision on the Dreamers as a separate issue from border security.”  The report indicates that 55% oppose a “government shutdown” as proposed by the Democrats and only 17% are undecided.”  Even with 100% of the 17% the Democrats still come up on the short end of the stick, but they don’t believe the voters are important enough or intelligent enough to make their own decisions.  After all, they are our moral conscience, right?  (My cheek is hurting with my tongue so firmly pressed against it.) The poll indicated some interesting numbers including the fact that 58% of blacks, 49% of Democrats, 42% of liberals, and 63% of people who earn from $30,000 to $60,000 per year.  

That same poll asked, “How important is it to secure the border before dealing with the Dreamers question?”  Hang on to your hat liberals, you will hate this.  43% said it was VERY IMPORTANT and only 13% said it was UNIMPORTANT.  That is a 3.5 to 1 ratio in favor of border security BEFORE any amnesty strategy.  But, if you listen to the MSM, the activist, and the Democrats, AMNESTY is a burning issue for voters and garners a vast majority of support.  Not according to these polls and not according to all I can discover.

In my view, the Democrats are painting themselves into a corner and the GOP has a golden opportunity to nail their hides to the wall.  Will they?  Not likely, if past history is any indication of present reality.  They will sidestep the issue, swing and miss at the softballs being tossed their way by the Left, and fumble and bumble their way to allow the Democrats to walk away unscathed and it could prove costly to all who love the Constitutional Republic our Framers and Founders established for us.  WAKE UP GOP, the coffee is brewing, and you are sniffing around the manure bin.  I urge each of you to call your elected officials and let them know how you feel and demand they take definitive steps to fulfill the campaign promises, cut spending and taxes, and take another step toward draining the Swamp and dismantling the Deep State.

We can do this, but it will require much effort on our part and ousting some of the Establishment types in the primaries.  God bless you and God bless America is my desire and prayer.  Join me in the fight for Faith, Family, and Freedom!