Trump & Sessions Have Painted Themselves Into A Corner

 (These caricatures of Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions are by DonkeyHotey.)

One of Donald Trump's biggest promises to his xenophobic base was to build a war between the United States and Mexico. But he has been unable to get Congress to fund the unneeded $25 billion dollar wall.

So Trump decided to change U.S. policy. He told Attorney General Sessions to start separating children from their parents at the border -- for both economic immigrants and asylum-seeking refugees. And Sessions happily complied. In effect, he is now holding these children as hostages to force Congress to give him his wall. And many of those children he is abusing are now being kept in a tent camp in the Texas desert under 100 degree temperatures (making his actions even more inhumane than it already was).

But Trump and Sessions miscalculated. They vastly underestimated the anger that ripping children away from their parents would create among the American public.

Trump has tried to mollify the public anger by claiming he is just following the law -- a law passed by Democrats. But that lie has been exposed by the media across the country (except for Fox News). There is no such law -- passed by Democrats or anyone else. If there was, past presidents would have had to separate children from parents, but none of them did. The barbaric action is not by law, but is a policy initiated by the Trump administration.

Sessions also lied about just following the law, and tried to hide behind religion by quoting the Bible. That outraged many religious leaders (including evangelicals). They made it clear that the Bible could not be used to justify the Trump administrations abuse of children.

By trying to blame Democrats for a nonexistent law and claiming to have god's support for their action, Trump and Sessions have waited themselves into a corner. They have put themselves between a rock and a hard place.

If they continue the horrific policy of separating children from their parents, they run the real risk of turning a November blue wave into a blue tsunami.

If they stop the policy, it would be an admission that they have been lying to the American people.

Trump (and his racist lackey) have done many horrible things since being sworn into office, but this abuse of children may be the worst -- the stupidest and most immoral.

Instead Of Compromising, GOP Resorts To "Hostage" Politics

(Cartoon image is by Clay Jones at claytoonz.com.)

Months ago, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ended. Also months ago, Donald Trump issued an executive order that would end DACA (which protected immigrants brought to this country as children -- and have graduated from American schools and going on to higher education or served in our military, while committing no crimes).

Republicans know that the American people overwhelmingly support both CHIP and DACA, and they have repeatedly said they want to pass both programs (especially since the continuing resolution failed and the government was shut down). That is obviously a lie.

If they really wanted to re-instate both CHIP and DACA, they could have brought them both the the floor of the House and Senate for a vote -- and both would have passed. But they have not done that. Instead, they have, in effect, taken both these programs hostage. They want to use them to force Democrats to agree with other things they want -- attaching CHIP to the continuing resolution to fund the government, and attaching DACA to comprehensive immigration reform.

Why have they done this? Because they cannot control the members of their own party, and need Democratic votes. But instead of compromising, which the Democrats are willing to do, the Republicans prefer the heavy-handed and unethical tactic of holding CHIP and DACA hostage -- which is nothing more than extortion.

Now they have added a third group of hostages in an attempt to force Democrats to agree to their continuing resolution -- the members of our military. Republicans have whined about our soldiers, sailors, and airmen not getting paid during the government shutdown. But whining is all they want to do. Democrats have tried to bring up a bill that would continue military pay during the shutdown -- but Mitch McConnell and his Republican cohorts refuse to allow that to come to the Senate floor for a vote. They prefer to use the military as hostages to gain their own political ends.

The Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House, but have shown themselves incapable of governing. That's why they are resorting to hostage politics -- and it is deplorable! They must be voted out of power in November.