President Trump Stands with Americans for a Border Wall and Challenges the Swamp to Fund It to Avoid a Shutdown

TODAY THE NEWS IS BAD BECAUSE WE ARE HEADING FOR AN AMERICAN "CAN-DO" SITUATION THAT COULD GET VERY "PERSONAL.". And, it isn't about building houses for homeless or finding homes for abandoned pets. It is about THE WALL. A Breitbart column by Anne Coulter excoriating the President really set me off. She is supposed to be a voice of conservative America, Instead, she has become the cheerleader for the #NeverTrumpers. Anne Coulter's Breitbart column is simply insanely wrong. Attacking Trump is like shooting the Cavalry when the alternative is Apaches with scalping knives. WILL PRESIDENT TRUMP SAVE AMERICA? • • • TRUMP AND THE FREEDOM CAUCUS vs THE SWAMP. TheHill reported on Wednesday that : "Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus said they would back President Trump if he opted to veto the continuing resolution needed to avert a government shutdown if it doesn't provide his requested $5 billion for a wall along the southern border." • During special order speeches on the floor Wednesday evening, conservatives argued it could be their last chance to obtain the levels of funding they say is necessary to secure the border before Democrats take back the majority in the lower chamber next month. Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, a North Carolina Republican, said : “Mr. President, we're going to back you up if you veto this -- back you up. If you veto this bill, we'll be there, more importantly, the American people will be there. They'll be there to support you. Let's build the wall and make sure we do our job in Congress....The President, many, many months ago said he would not sign another funding bill unless we gave him wall funding. What did this House do?. It passed the bill to fund the Department of Defense and passed a short-term Continuing Resolution. And said we are going to have that fight after the mid-terms." Addressing retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan, Meadows said Freedom Caucus members were "ready to fight" : "Mr. Speaker, it is after the mid-terms and we are here with a number of my colleagues to say we are ready to fight on behalf of all the freedom-loving Americans to make sure we have secure borders and that never again do we have to worry about terrorists and drug traffickers coming across our southern borders." Freedom Caucus co-founder Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio pointed out that the House has punted the border wall fight multiple times during the 115th Congress : "Everyone knows the old line. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. But we're going to have to change that line. We're to need a new one. The new line should be Fool the American people four times, shame on Congress.” • It seems that only two groups in Washington support the WALL and American border security -- the Freedom Caucus and Group-of-One President Trump. • • • THE SENATE GIVES PRESIDENT TRUMP A BIG FAT 'NO.' The Freedom Caucus has been a staunch advocate for the border wall and for closing asylum loopholes. The Senate isn't really interested in that. The Senate on Wednesday night approved an emergency short-term spending bill that averts a looming government shutdown, but excludes the $5 billion that President Trump sought for a US-Mexico border wall. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the measure will fund normal government operations at current levels through February 8 -- bringing Washington a step closer to avoiding a potential shutdown of some federal offices over the Christmas holiday. The bill cleared the Senate by voice vote and will need to pass the House of Representatives and be signed by Trump before midnight Friday, when funding is set to expire for key agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security. • BUT, the Freedom Caucus is pushing for the President to veto the CR and hold out for the border WALL funds. Some congressional conservatives complained about McConnell’s maneuver -- including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who lamented the bill’s passage : “This is a missed opportunity to deliver on the promises made to the American people.” Meadows said there was no excuse to back down on wall funding. Punting the issue to February 8 gives Democrats a “Christmas present,” tweeted Meadows, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus : “Democrats will win, the wall will not be built, and Congress will once again have punted when we should’ve been taking a stand.” • Republican and Democratic leaders gave strong signals that the stopgap continuing resolution would pass Congress and land on the President’s desk. Senate Democrat Minority leader Chuck Schumer said : It’s good that our Republican colleagues in the Senate finally realized that they should not shut down the government over a wall that does not have enough support to pass the House or Senate and is not supported by a majority of the country.” White House aides told US media that Trump is inclined to sign the measure. But, it will be a defeat for the President, who had argued strenuously for new funding for a WALL to stop illegal immigration. President Trump appears to have abandoned his position from last week, when he told Democrats he would be “proud” to shut down the government over border security. What is clear is that once Democrats take House control next month, they will not agree to more money for the WALL. • On Wednesday, President Trump tweeted : "In our Country, so much money has been poured down the drain, for so many years, but when it comes to Border Security and the Military, the Democrats fight to the death. "We won on the Military, which is being completely rebuilt. One way or the other, we will win on the Wall!” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s move to cut funding for the WALL from the stopgap CR counters his prior expressions of irritation over what he called “Democrats’ allergy to sensible immigration policies. "It seems like political spite for the President may be winning out over sensible policy,” he had said. McConnell said on Wednesday that the Senate stopgap measure to continue funding the government to avert a government shutdown won’t include Trump’s desired allocation for border wall funding because of the “reality of our political moment.” • • • AMERICANS ARE NOT TAKING "NO" AS AN ANSWER. Fox News First reported on Thursday that while it is not clear whether President Trump will sign the bill if the House approves it since the measure does not provide any new funding for his long-promised WALL along the US-Mexico border. However, the White House signaled Tuesday that Trump did not want to drive a government shutdown over the issue "though the President said he'd be 'proud' to do so just last week." • Frustration is growing over the WALL. Top conservative commentators and politicians are declaring that the President's "gutless" move has not only broken a campaign promise, but also undermined his credibility as a dealmaker. • The most outrageous of these Fake conservative comments came from Anne Coulter, who wrote : "Trump will just have been a joke presidency who scammed the American people, amused the populists for a while, but he’ll have no legacy whatsoever if he yields on the issue." And House Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows, after offering Freedom Caucus support to the President if he vetoes the Continuing Resolution, told FOX News late Wednesday that "the political fallout will start" soon and that Trump risks doing “major damage” to his re-election effort in 2020. When asked if the President should veto any stopgap funding bill that does not include money for the border wall, Meadows replied “yes.” He added that the "mistake" Republicans had made was that "we didn’t bring up the bill last week when we had the votes." • AND, that is the exact stupidity of the conservative and Republican attacks on President Trump now. The Republican House could have passed the funding for the WALL -- but Speaker Paul Ryan refused to do so. And, now the congressional Fake conservatives are blaming President Trump for their own failure -- a failure that seems now to have been deliberate and meant to back the President into a 'NO WALL OR SHUTDOWN' scenario that puts the blame on the only person in Swamp-Creature-infested Washington who is not responsible for the establishment refusal to build the WALL. • A TRIPLE-AMPUTEE AIR FORCE VET SHAMES CONGRESS. Brian Kolfage, a triple-amputee Air Force veteran who served in Iraq is on a new mission to raise $1 Billion for the US-Mexico border wall. Kolfage says he was inspired to raise money for President Trump’s US-Mexico border wall after reading a New York Post article that questioned why no one had taken up the mantle. AND, in just three days, Brian Kolfage’s GoFundMe campaign, “We The People Will Fund The Wall,” has collected almost $3 million from more than 34,000 people, with a goal of raising $1 Billion. The GoFundMe page reads : "If the 63 million people who voted for Trump each pledge $80, we can build the wall. That equates to roughly 5 Billion Dollars, even if we get half, that's half the wall. We can do this. If the 63 million people who voted for Trump each pledge $80, we can build the wall. That equates to roughly 5Billion Dollars, even if we get half, that's half the wall. We can do this." • SHAME on you, Congress. During his second deployment for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, Kolfage was injured in a rocket attack at Balad Air Base. According to Kolfage's website, a 107mm rocket shell exploded about three feet away from him. Kolfage lost both legs and his right hand and required 11 months of therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Kolfage continued to serve in the Air Force for several more years and was assigned to Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona as the base security manager. Kolfage is "the most severely wounded Airman to survive any war," his website states. He is now a motivational speaker and has appeared multiple times on FOX News. Kolfage graduated from the University of Arizona's School of Architecture in 2014 and is now married with children. Kolfage wrote that the campaign has been in touch with the Trump administration “to secure a point of contact where all funds will go upon completion.” • The triple amputee says on his GoFundMe page : “As a veteran who has given so much, 3 limbs, I feel deeply invested to this nation to ensure future generations have everything we have today. Too many Americans have been murdered by illegal aliens and too many illegals are taking advantage of the United States taxpayers with no means of ever contributing to our society. Democrats are going to stall this project by every means possible and play political games to ensure President Trump doesn’t get his victory. They'd rather see President Trump fail than see America succeed. However, if we can fund a large portion of this wall, it will jumpstart things and will be less money Trump has to secure from our politicians.” • The White House hasn't yet comment on Brian Kolfage's fundraising, but White House press secretary said : “We have other ways that we can get to that $5 billion that we’ll work with Congress.” • Brian Kolfage's campaign is not the first crowdfunding effort to raise money for the border wall. In September the National Sheriff's Association launched a website for donations < www.sheriffswall.org >. As of mid-December, the website has garnered nearly $160,000. With the effort to build a wall along the US-Mexico border seemingly stalled in Washington, the National Sheriffs' Association is trying to help break the logjam by raising funds for the project. The group launched a crowdfunding website. In a Wednesday news release, Sheriff Sam Page of North Carolina chastised Congress for its “(refusal) to act on the security aspects of immigration reform, as thus, have done nothing to stop the flow of drugs such as Heroin, into our neighborhoods.” Page said Congress’ inaction prompted the nation's sheriffs to “come together and act for the safety of the people we have sworn to protect. Without border security and immigration reform, more Americans will continue to be victims of crime,” the homepage reads. “Now is the time to act! Secure our borders!” Contributions to the project are tax deductible, and go to a special account specifically designated for the border security wall project, according to the website. • What is unclear is whether any of the money raised by Kolfage could actually be used for the wall. At the moment the answer appears to be no, though the Washington Post notes that several GOP lawmakers have introduced bills that would allow the Treasury Department to accept donations for the WALL. But the WP also warns that the bills have been “just sitting in committee,” and unless House and Senate Republicans take prompt action, the bill will forever remain committee, given that the anti-border-wall Democrats will reclaim full control of the House in January. But, Kolfage stands by his decision to take action : “There’s always a way to do something. People who say you can’t would never survive living in my life. I keep hearing, ‘you can’t,’ or ‘It’s not even legal,’ but those are the people who will never step up to try to make a difference. Anything is possible,” he told the Washington Post. • AGAIN SHAME on you, Congress. Kolfage is trying, which is a lot more than can be said of congressional Republicans, who show no courage or fidelity to GOP ideals, conservative issues, or President Trump. • • • LIMBAUGH REACTS. "We’ve known from the get-go they were never gonna support a wall. Everybody that’s in favor of a wall has known there wasn’t gonna be any support for it. I mentioned yesterday there’s not anybody in Washington outside of a couple members of Congress euphemistically. But I’m talking about the entire Washington establishment, the swamp, they don’t want the wall. They don’t want any part of it. They don’t want any limits on illegal immigration. That’s why Trump was elected to bulldoze through all of that. You want to add insult to injury? The United States has pledged $10.6 billion, twice as much as has been asked for for the wall. A $10.6 billion aid package (Are you ready for it?) to Central America and southern Mexico. And you know what the theory is? The theory is that if we provide aid money to these war-torn, poverty stricken areas we can build ’em up and their people won’t want to leave. We’ve been hearing that since 1992. That was the purpose of NAFTA. NAFTA was gonna build up all these Central American southern hemisphere hellholes. It was going to build ’em up, have roaring economies down there and their people wouldn’t want to leave. How did that work out? How many times have we given whatever amount of money to all of these hellholes in Central and South America for the express purpose we’re told of building up their economies so their people won’t want to leave, and they just continue to leave in even larger numbers and now joining caravans of thousands. Which, by the way, have not gotten in and the caravans are starting to disband, but the caravan crowd is now demanding reparations, $50,000 per participant to leave. The caravan has wrecked Tijuana, Mexico. They haven’t found a way to get in, but that’s just short of a miracle." • • • AND THEN CAME TRUMP -- PRESIDENT TRUMP. TheHill announced at 11:26 AM EST on Thursday that President Trump will meet with House Republicans at noon as his frustration builds over their refusal to include border-wall funding in a stopgap spending bill. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement : “At this moment, the President does not want to go further without border security, which includes steel slats or a wall. The President is continuing to weigh his options.” President Trump has refused to state publicly whether he will accept a funding bill without wall money, renewing the prospect of a partial government shutdown. Funding is set to lapse on Friday for seven government agencies, just days before the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. But, the President made it clear on Thursday that he is upset with Congress for declining to include $5 billion in wall funding in the spending bill : “When I begrudgingly signed the Omnibus Bill, I was promised the Wall and Border Security by leadership. Would be done by end of year (NOW). It didn't happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries - but not for our beloved USA. Not good!” he tweeted. President has sent conflicting signals all week about whether he would sign a stopgap spending bill to avert a shutdown. • The White House previously indicated it would accept a funding bill that does not include $5 billion for the wall because it could find the money in other government agencies. That option has not panned out apparently as the Senate simply eliminated all new funding for the WALL in its stopgap CR. • Fox News had said just a half hour earlier published an article with a headline reading " Trump throws government funding deal into doubt, presses anew for border wall money." Fox News wrote : "A potential deal on Capitol Hill to avert a government shutdown with a short-term spending measure hit a roadblock Thursday as the White House said President Trump 'does not want to go further' with anything that does not include sought-after funding for border security. 'The President is having a meeting with Republican House members at noon today,' White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. • Congress faces a Friday deadline to fund a portion of the government or risk a partial shutdown. Lawmakers had been at a standstill over the President’s demands for $5 billion to fund the border wall before the Senate GOP leadership simply tossed WALL funding in the trash. House conservatives lead by the Freedom caucus have expressed disdain for the stopgap measure -- and its lack of new WALL funding -- with some calling for putting a bill on the floor for a vote that includes President Trump’s desired $5 billion for the wall. Representative Mark Walker tweeted : “The House Republican Conference is ready to fight on the wall. Let’s get the $5B vote on the floor - today!” The conservative Republican Study Committee also called for Republicans to “stand united in calling for funding for the border WALL. One of our last acts of this Congress should be fulfilling this key mandate demanded by the American people.” When asked if the President should veto any stopgap funding bill that does not include money for the border wall, Freedom Caucus chairman Meadows replied “yes,” adding that the "mistake" Republicans had made was that "we didn’t bring up the bill last week when we had the votes." • REALLY?? Come on, RINOs and #NeverTrumpers, what have you done for border security, exactly??? • Another source in the House GOP conference told Fox News that members want assurances from Trump on what he will or won’t sign before they vote on anything. • House Republicans not allied with the President, meanwhile, are generally frustrated about the lack of clarity. One GOP member told Fox News there was a “lack of direction, lack of message” from the White House about what they are for and against.Republican members are worried about their political exposure if they relent after campaigning on building a wall. “We stuck our neck out for border security.” • Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will support the stopgap CR measure. Of course the ProgDems will support it. As House minority leader Pelosi told the media : "This is a missed opportunity to pass full-year funding bills now. However, Democrats will be ready to fully, responsibly fund our government in January, and we will support this continuing resolution.” • • • DEAR READERS, it appears the House is about to get that assurance. First, a House Republican press conference was abruptly canceled Thursday morning. A lawmaker who was in Thursday morning's Republican conference meeting said House Speaker Paul Ryan abruptly exited the meeting, telling members the President was on the phone. Moments later, he canceled what could have been his final press conference, before leaving for the White House meeting. • At 1:15 PM EST, Speaker Paul Ryan said President Trump will not sign a stopgap spending bill over concerns about border security. “The President informed us he will not sign the bill,” he told reporters at the White House after meeting with Trump. Ryan said lawmakers would work on adding border security measures to the funding bill. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, standing with Ryan after the meeting with President Trump for nearly an hour, said he was optimistic that some deal could be reached within Congress ahead of the Friday deadline. • And, will the RINOs like Anne Coulter be preparing their apologies to the only person in Washington who actually wants to secure the border and protect Americans from illegal criminals, drug cartels, human traffickers, and disease??? Don't count on it. Once a #NeverTrumper or RINO, always one.