As often as Donald Trump has mocked or reduced the standing of the United States judiciary, where is the honorable Learned Hand when we need him. Judge Hand, although never ascending to the Supreme Court, was renowned for his legal acumen and ability to philosophize. A famous quote from the one-time Democrat turned Republican, turned civil libertarian would help Donald Trump if he were to read history or listen--- “A community is already in the process of dissolution where each man begins to eye his neighbor as a possible enemy…”- Judge Learned Hand. The distinguished Judge used that philosophy in his judicial rulings in what he termed as “the eventual supremacy of reason…”
The President of the United States has literally spun Hand into a buried pretzel. The‘reason,’ for the Republican party, has become a sharp stick to poke in the eye of common sense and a spit to roast the ideas of decency. The finger pointing in the current stalemate over how to fill the government coffers is easy to differentiate. The Republican party held out a carrot to the Democrats for at least eight months, to enlist their help in stepping on the dreams of 800,000 thousand virtual Americans. When the CHIP program’s solvency was threatened nearly a year ago the Republican Party refused to fund it with the plan of holding it out as a bribe to get the Democrats to deny nearly a million, tax paying, law abiding, would-be citizens legal status. Why? not because they [ Republicans] oppose Dreamers, they have repeatedly said so if you believe them, but because it feeds rancid meat to their base of racist, and xenophobes.
Desperation has led them to follow the leader and lie their way into a shuttered corner. The first lie, the Democrats do not want to pay the military. The second lie, Democrats want to allow immigrants to murder American citizens and the third lie, Democrats are choosing 800,000 DACA recipients over the health of 9 million children. First, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO.) introduced a bill to make sure military personnel gets paid during the shutdown and it was scuttled by Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. The obvious political calculation by McConnell is self-evident. Debunking lie number two, the biggest increases in border security, in the last 30 years, happened under a Democratic president and the biggest increases in deportation happened under that same former President, Barack Obama. The third and most egregious lie by the Republicans, saying Democrats are sacrificing CHIP for DACA. Democrats have been begging for CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) extended funding since it was first set to expire in September of 2015. Even Republican diehards do not dispute the Democrats adamant support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and CHIP.
Both programs have long been priorities for the Democrats. Using crisis and political ideology as a tool is not unique to Republicans, Democrats or Libertarians but by following the example of Mr. Trump Republicans are elevating it to an art form.
Vote in 18’ for Change