Hubris (Trump, Pelosi, etc.)

Last updated on: January 28, 2019 at 3:26 pm by Jane the Actuary

Hubris (Trump, Pelosi, etc.) 2019-01-28T15:26:04-06:00 Jane the Actuary

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

from pixabay.com; https://pixabay.com/en/border-mexico-usa-united-states-62866/

Readers, sometimes I write because I think I have something that’s worth sharing. This isn’t really one of those times. I know I have blind spots and I’m not really in the mood to write that perfect, and perfectly persuasive article. But humor me, please.

It is clear why Trump is continuing to pursue the shutdown as a means to achieve his border security goals: he needs something for his base. Yes, there’s a whole litany of ways in which he’s been incompetent up to this point. Maybe he thought he’d deliver the wall in 2019 so that it’d be fresh in the minds of voters. Maybe — well, maybe he’s just a screw-up and nothing more. Maybe he procrastinated every bit as much as I’m doing now, with respect to a spreadsheet that looks wrong though I can’t find the error. But here we are. The cost to him of shrugging off his demand is now unacceptably high.

What’s more, however much we might be reading stories of the harm the shutdown is causing, or polling showing that a majority of Americans blame Trump and don’t care about a wall, I’m not seeing any reports that he has lost the support of his base – and even if polling indicated that, I doubt he’d believe it. Besides which, in that case, it would be a no-win situation — lose some of his base for continuing the shutdown, or lose others for caving.

The Democrats, on the other hand? They won’t lose if they concede the wall funding. Much as they might say, “you can’t negotiate with hostage-takers” it’s a flawed analogy. The stakes are not particularly high for them. The notion that if they concede to the least bit of (additional) fencing they’ve set a precedent which will cause incalculable harm is — well, it’s foolish. They created an analogy – “hostage-taking” – and have forgotten that it’s just an analogy, not a literal truth. But what’s more, they aren’t going to lose if they concede, if they grant some border spending as a “trust-building measure.” They just won’t win as spectacularly as they hope to if they succeed in reaching their objective of destroying Trump politically.

They’re also very convinced that the more they tell “Shutdown Stories” the greater the pressure they’ll apply to Trump. Government workers who can’t feed their families, security lines that stretch on so long it disrupts travel, government money that is essentially wasted spending, when it provides for back pay for workers who did nothing productive to earn it — all at the service of winning a battle against Trump.

And they’re very public with their non-negotiation — first Puerto Rico, now a (cancelled) foreign policy trip, while at the same time, Trump is using words like “negotiate” and “compromise.”

Hubris.

So maybe they win, and maybe they don’t. I’m not going to predict what Trump will do. If this were Greek mythology, Pelosi and the Democrats would be struck down for their pride. But it’s not. So what next?

Previous Post

January 14, 2019

What does it mean to be pro-open borders, and why does it matter?

Next Post

January 19, 2019 Once more from the top: walls, negotiations, and trust

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Actuarial/Retirement Issues Politics Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 December 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What island was John on when he wrote Revelation?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Cyprus Patmos Crete Malta