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Monday, February 11, 2019

The 5% Solution

Reports this evening say that Democrats and Republicans in Congress have negotiated a deal to fund the government for the rest of the year.  There will be something like 1.5 to 2 billion dollars in funding for further construction of the border wall.  After months of refusing any money for the wall, after six weeks of keeping the government partially shut down rather than negotiating any money for the wall, after telling America that the wall is immoral, the Democrats have finally agreed to fund more of that very wall.  What caused that change of heart?  The answer is what I call "the 5% solution".

Here's the details of the 5% solution.  According to the Rasmussen poll released today tracking public approval of President Trump's job performance, the public approves by a margin of 5%.  52% approve and 47% disapprove.  Those are the President's best poll numbers since very early in his term.  The Democrats thought that the government shutdown would lead to a collapse in support for President Trump, but that did not happen.  Instead, with the State of the Union address, the President won over a majority of Americans to support his vision for the country.  Instead of Trump losing support, it was the Democrats who were seen as playing political games rather than doing what is best for America.  The poll numbers were moving in Trump's favor and the movement was gaining momentum.  With Trump having a +5% net approval, the Dems threw in the towel.

The amazing thing to keep in mind is that nothing about the basic argument regarding the wall has changed.  This agreement by the Democrats is nothing but a political calculation to try to stop the bleeding that their own position inflicted on their party.

 

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