Trump is Nothing but Excuses (DeSantis is Nothing but Results)

I have been waiting for months for this advertisement to hit the airwaves.

excuses:pic.twitter.com/PADsqilrfe

— Thomas Massie for Congress (@MassieforKY) January 6, 2024

I am tired of Trump's excuses.

I am tired of all the major promises that he had made in 2016, but he didn't keep throughout his one term in office.

I am tired of politicians who say that they are not politicians, and then in the most political of fashions make excuses for not doing what they said they would do.

I am really confused and dismayed with so many current Trump supporters who are all in on Trump after these three to four years of Trump in the wilderness all while he continues to make excuses for not getting the job done, then attacking conservative groups and sentiments from voters across the country.

Donald Trump said that there would be so much winning, we would get tired of winning. After the poor election results in 2018, 2020, and 2022 (and let's throw in Virginia 2023 for bad measure), I am tired of losing.

And I am tired of losing with a retired incumbent who does not learn from his mistakes, who brought in all kinds of bad people into the Executive Branch during his tenure, who has shown no interested in surrounding himself with better people, who lies to the public about his bad decisions and bad personnel choices, only to demand more loyalty in the face of all-but certain doom on Election Day 2024.

Republicans, constitutionalists, conservatives of all backgrounds: we can do better than Trump.

We can do better than lame excuses and half-measures.

This time I mean it: Dump the Donald. 

About Loyalty (Trump Didn’t Build the Wall)

With former vice president Mike Pence dropping out of the race for the GOP Presidential nomination, along with other also-ran Republican nominees who never had a chance, there’s a growing restlessness among Republican voters that the 2024 presidential primary is over. From Congresswoman Lauren Boebert to former Presidential nominee and Secretary of Housing Ben Carson, the pundits, commentators, voters are saying: “Everyone else needs to drop out. Trump is the runaway favorite.”

We have a free country with open contested elections, and every voter should have choices. The Democratic Party is witnessing more candidates jumping into their primary because progressives and even some moderates fear that Biden cannot get re-elected. Why should Trump expect a coronation? Second, as I have written before, polling is not voting results. I don’t believe the polls that show Trump ahead by double-digits. National polling means nothing. State polls matter a little more. And Ann Coulter has wisely pointed out that name ID often governs who wins these different polls five months to a year before the Iowa caucuses. When it’s time to cast ballots, however, the results often go a different way.

If Republicans can be honest with themselves, this election is far from over, and it’s a fight between Trump and DeSantis. If I were on the Florida Governor’s campaign, I would tell him to rethink the third debate in Miami with the other candidates. He should throw down the gauntlet and declare: “I will only debate Trump. Let’s make this happen.”

Another main criticism and talking point from Current Trumpers who blast voters like me is the question of loyalty. “You are not loyal! President Trump fought for us. They stole the election from him. You should be supporting him, giving him another chance! How can you turn on him and support someone else? DeSantis should have waited his turn. He betrayed Trump, after all the work he did to support his bid for Governors!”

Here’s what I have to say about loyalty.

Regarding DeSantis’ decision to run in 2024, no politician owes another politician loyalty pledges not to run for higher office. Ronald Reagan ran against incumbent President Ford in 1976, which was his right to do, and conservatives didn’t complain. No one elected to public office is guaranteed their charge just because.

As for myself, I am a citizen of the United States, but most importantly, I am a Christian—a Christian who would have never voted for Mike Pence, by the way, no matter how many Scriptures he quoted or how many times he told me about his wife teaching Sunday School, blah. My first loyalty is to my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

When it comes to politics, no politician deserves a voter’s loyalty. Elected officials have to earn our support, and even then, if we find a better candidate for the next contest, we have every right to switch our support to someone else. Just as an employer is not duty bound to hold onto any or every employee, so too we as voters have every right and prerogative to vote for whomever we want. I do not owe any one candidate my vote. The United States is a constitutional republic, not a dictatorship.

Another thing about loyalty: President Trump made promises, and he didn’t keep them.

We all chanted “Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up!” about Hilary Clinton. She bleach-bit tens of thousands of official emails, a major federal crime, and during the second general election debate in 2016, he promised to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute her. A month after his election victory, he laughed off that promise. Right after his inauguration, he was actually celebrating her.

Now let’s focus on the biggest promise he didn’t keep, one that he is already backing away from.

He promised to “Build the Wall.” I remember during one 2016 primary debate, he talked about how he was going to “Build a big, beautiful wall, with a big beautiful door in the middle.” I could overlook the hyperbole in the second part of that sentence, but the point was clear: Build a permanent barrier to stop the invasion which is overwhelming our country.

Not only was he going to build the wall, he promised that Mexico was going to pay for it. Here’s his statement on the matter at his 2015 campaign announcement speech (Check at the 48 minute mark):

I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.

Former President of Mexico Vicente Fox in vile fashion condemned that promise: “We’re not paying for that f---king wall!” We all took him seriously. But Trump didn’t build the wall. He repaired some sections of the wall, and he put up some barriers with barbed-wire fencing. But he didn’t build the wall. Trump would only crow in January, 2021 (eight days before leaving office, six days after the uproar at the US Capitol) that he got 45 new miles of wall built. That’s it?!

In 2023, Trump is launching the latest set of lame excuses: “I couldn’t legally build the wall and make Mexico pay for it.” Yes, he said that TWICE: see it here and here. In the second case, he talked about building “a piece of the wall.” Talk about dumbing down expectations! In sharp contrast to this weak waffling, DeSantis called out Trump on “rationalizing his failure.” DeSantis then pointed out what a number of pundits had shared in 2016: tax the remittances! Yes, Trump could have built the wall, make Mexico pay for it, and not need an act of congress to get it done.

Loyalty means nothing if someone doesn’t keep his promises. Trump doesn’t deserve ours. He didn’t keep his promises, folks, and twice in the last month, Trump has made excuses. Where’s the loyalty to us, Mr. Trump?

CAGOP Chair Jessica Patterson: Corporate RINO Wrapped Up in Identity Politics

Robin Hvidston, the Director of We the People Rising, attended the San Bernardino County Republican Party Central Committee meeting a few days ago.

She recorded a brief video of Raul Rodriguez, the head of America First Latinos, who asked Chairwoman Patterson if she was a Republican or a RINO.

He took a few pictures with her, too. Her answer was quite soft-spoken, not with any gusto or strength attached to it.

Robin's full report is below:

We The People Rising http://wethepeoplerising.com EMAIL robinhvidston@wethepeoplerising.com Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

San Bernardino County Republican Party Central Committee Meeting 4/11/19 Keynote Speaker: NEW CHAIR OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY JESSICA PATTERSON Report by Robin Hvidston VIDEO The CA Chair of the Republican Party is asked if she is a RINO. https://youtu.be/enhyXJa8v7A At the GOP Convention, delegates selected Jessica Patterson, a "millennial Latina" with a lengthy resume as a behind-the-scenes party operator, as their new chair, according to the Sacramento Bee.  At the convention she said,  “There are too few of us to continue to push people out of the party. We are not going to shout people out. We are going to be inclusive.” Photo of Jessica Patterson - California Republican Party Chair The chair of the California Republican Party Jessica Patterson spoke at the monthly meeting for the San Bernardino County Republican Party Central Committee. She said at the beginning of her presentation that the CA GOP is "a big tent Republican Party." She said that the "California Republican Party is changing." QUESTION ABOUT THE BORDER WALL After her presentation, she took questions from the audience. Central Committee members asked questions first. After Central Committee members finished asking questions, I asked her since California is a border state, will the California Republican Party be supporting the building of the wall and the Republican President Donald Trump. Displaying the RINO sign. She said that President Trump has had much to deal with and overcome, such as when he offered the Democrats a chance for DACA legalization and they refused the deal. She said the CA GOP supports Trump and that the CA GOP has a platform for border security. She finished by saying that COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM is the answer.  She never answered whether or not she supports building the wall.  Comprehensive immigration reform would legalize illegal aliens who do not have a criminal background and is considered to be a massive amnesty program. She said that the CA GOP will focus on registering new voters. Ballot harvesting, she pointed out, is now legal in California and she claims ballot harvesting will be a part of the CA GOP plan in 2020 to win elections. Asking that Republicans hold "parties" and invite others to share how they will vote was included in the ballot harvesting issue. She said there will be paid or "bounty" actions in the GOP ballot harvesting The Republicans, she said, need to "touch how people feel and touch their hearts." She plans, in part, on doing this by telling "her story." She talked a lot about fundraising among major donors and small amount donors. She asked that everyone donate to the California Republican Party, even if it is only a small monthly donation. The CA GOP will work to make certain that every election has a Republican on the ballot because with the top 2 tier system in California there have been elections, such as the U.S. Senate seat, that do not have a Republican candidate on the ballot. She said the CA GOP is focusing on electing a Republican governor. After her presentation, she took questions from the audience for about a half an hour. San Bernardino County Republican Party  https://www.cagop.org CA GOP  https://www.cagop.org/

And here are my responses to all of this.

I could have saved the team a trip. I know that she is a RINO. She is a corporate-backed shill who got a big boost from Kevin McCarthy's machine to be the Establishment front-runner. She helped the abortive Meg Whitman in her campaign for governor in 2010. In spite of the millions upon millions spent by the political class in this state during that year, Republicans lost bigly across the board.

Illegal immigration, public sector cronyism, the cycle of poverty and eternal Democratic hegemony, all of this is dragging down the state. There are more people in California who vote for a living rather than work for a living. The retirees from public jobs and contracts are drawing in so much money post-retirement, it's just a matter of time before the state goes bust.

Now let's talk more about Jessica "Millan" Patterson.

She coasts into the graces of the mainstream media because she is a

1. Millenial -- actually she isn't, since she and I are the same age. Both of us were born in 1980. We are actually Generation X'ers. She is way off. Already, she has been dishonest about her background.

2. Hispanic. She is married to an Anglo and has two kids, I guess.

3. She is female. Republicans are trying to play identity politics as the one way to get ahead in California, and it will never work. Democrats go after Republicans based on Demographics, but none of it really matters for the Democratic voters, many of whom vote Dem because they get something for the vote.

Robin also points out that Chairwoman Patterson did not talk about building the wall along the Southern Border. She simply refused to speak to that question. She is in full support of "comprehensive immigration reform", which is about as perverse and misleading as "Comprehensive sex-ed", a disgusting push to normalize sexual perversion in the state of California. "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" means amnesty, amnesty, amnesty.

This is not a winning formula.

The press has given Patterson a great deal of cover, claiming that she is not against President Trump. However, she has refused to announce ongoing support for the President.

Going back to the beginning of the report, anyone who starts with "We are a Big Tent Party" has announced why more people are leaving the party. There is no longer any commitment, any interest in winning based on principle. Half the article reports on her focus to raise money. All the money in the world is not going to turn the hearts and minds of men to vote differently. Core values are essential to win elections. The California Republican Party needed to focus on shaping the culture, working to undo the corrupting influence of the marginalized media.

How about working with local and country GOP groups to make a difference for the better?

Let's not forget that Czarina Jessica was more interested in colluding with the corrupt leadership in Los Angeles County. Members of the different assembly central committees are now barred from entering the central committee meetings on a regular basis. Andy Gharakani is not even a member of the Central Committee, yet he decides who enters and who does not.

This kind of corruption is happening all over the state of California. Some central committees don't have enough members to hold meetings, while other chairs control meetings through their ownership of certain buildings. Others have resorted to stealing keys and changing the locks on doors, too.

It's crazy! There is no enforcement of the rules.

Even worse, the consultant class which now runs the California Republican Party has no interest in winning or losing. They just want to make money. They look for big donors and rake in big money, then fritter some of the funding to the candidates. It's all about the money, that's it.

And the rest of the state loses out. More than a viable two-party structure, the common-sense governance sought by many is all but gone because of corporatism.

And Jessica Patterson is the perfect figurehead for all of it. The two-party system as it stands has collapsed in the state of California. I choose to remain a registered Republican because I align and endorse the national platform unreservedly. I just wish that Republican operatives in California did, too.

VIDEO Calexico Border: Trump's Motorcade Met by The Remembrance Project & Trump Supporters

We The People Rising http://wethepeoplerising.com EMAIL robinhvidston@wethepeoplerising.com Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

PRESIDENT TRUMP GREETED BY SUPPORTERS AT THE BORDER Donald Trump Visits The Wall Calexico, CA Border Town 4/6/19 Report by Robin Hvidston VIDEO - At the border: The Remembrance Project &Trump Supporters Welcoming President Trump. https://youtu.be/KMd1KJF-Nbg   ABC NEWS video on Twitter: https://twitter.com/10NewsBrian/status/1114230449352482816 Members of The Remembrance Project joined with local Trump supporters to welcome President Trump as the motorcade passed by from the naval base to the the border patrol station. Waiting for the president's motorcade to arrive. After the president's motorcade passed, a convoy of trucks and cars followed in the same direction as the border patrol station where the president met with local law enforcement and representatives.   Donald Trump Visits The Wall https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/04/05/donald-trump-visits-the-wall/

Congress Shouldn’t End Shutdown Until They Shut Down the Border

One month before Election 2014, I was talking with a liberal couple. Working-class parents with a developmentally disabled son, they believed in government-run programs, but also prided themselves on working for a living. Our sharpest disagreements revolved around the proper role of domestic spending. They were committed Democrats, except on one issue, they told me: “We will vote for a Republican if he promises to secure the border.” In 2016, Democratic voters may have re-elected liberal US Senators and House Reps back to Washington, but they crossed party lines to put the businessman, celebrity mogul in the White House. “That Republican” they wanted was President Donald Trump.

Today, Trump’s pro-American nationalist agenda has transformed the country’s discourse for the better. Not its coarseness, which emerged during Obama’s relentless transformation of our country, but its sharpened focus on illegal immigration. Keenly aware of his campaign promises, Trump has drawn a big red line in the sand for the budget: a big beautiful wall. The outgoing Republican House majority voted to fund the wall. Senate Majority Leader McConnell signaled his readiness for the budget. Before (and after) the January 3^rd transfer, however, Democrats had enough Senators to filibuster the legislation. The resulting shutdown has lasted since the Christmas Holiday, and this impasse belongs to the Democrats, root and branch.

Some will argue that President Trump’s unrepentant demands are unrealistic. This criticism may have some merit. Presidents with predominantly private sector or military experience often find Congressional law-making in particular, and federal politics in general, daunting and frustrating. There is no clear chain of command for accomplishing goals. In private organization with goals and outcomes, the people in charge ensure that their directives are carried out. In Washington, vote-trading, log-rolling, compromise are essential.

However, our government exists to protect our rights and to secure our borders (consult Article Four, Section Four of the United States Constitution for details). Border security is not up for debate, nor should the government’s role by compromised away. Besides, the gridlock overwhelming Congress is not a fault or an askance detail of our constitutional framework. The rigorous clash of power between today’s Democrats and Republicans reflects a fundamental divide which has forever shaped the two parties. One believes in a secure sovereign America. The other does not. There is no room for compromise on this. Trump is right to take this fight, and die on this hill if necessary (although he won’t).

Democrats have pointed out that Trump’s originally promised that Mexico pay. Why tie up Congress? No one should spin Trump’s pledge as if he suggested that he would secure funding from our southern neighbor first, then construct the wall. Businesses don’t function like that.  Most firms will take out a loan to fund their enterprise, then pay back what they borrowed after turning a profit.

Congress, especially Democrats, should have provided the funding by now. After all, a majority of legislators, from both parties in both chambers, voted to fund the wall. In fact, a decade ago more Democrats than Republicans had voted against immigration reform (amnesty), since Democrats were willing to play both sides of this issue: appeal to working-class white voters, but also promote their multicultural compassion, stating that they want amnesty, but they want to make sure that their proposal works for everyone. Secure the border, then plot an amnesty pathway.

The Democratic Party turned sharply to the left under President Obama, but even then for the first two years of the Obama Administration, the Democratic majorities in Congress did nothing on immigration, as they were still intent on keeping some semblance of integrity with white working class voters, which had voted Democratic since the FDR Administration. After the 2012 election, Democrats decided that working class voters, particularly white one, are not coming back. They have invested in identity politics, amnesty at all costs, and open borders as their new power grab.

President Trump is exploiting this Democratic about-face. He is picking the right fight to reject any budget without his—our--wall. This is what he was elected to do as President. Our country cannot survive open borders and the Democrats’ dedication to the unipolar Big Business-Big Labor-Big La Raza Lobby. The people who elected Trump, or rather the electors who elected him, were sent by a wide swath of working Americans of all backgrounds, from both parties, who want the border secure and who want illegal aliens deported for safety as well as economic reasons.

Desperate detractors now cry out that this extended shutdown is hurting federal workers, i.e. “It’s slowing airport security, etc.” First of all, it’s a partial shutdown. The TSA is A-OK. National parks are open. Government essentials still have funding. Secondly, the non-essential federal employees have been furloughed. Once again, the government’s job is to protect our rights and secure the border. Why does Washington DC have so many bureaucrats? If those employees want work, they should find essential labor in the private sector. Too many people are living off the federal teat as so-called civil servants, and some of them are actively undermining out President’s federal mandates.

In a last ditch effort, some conservative US Senators have floated legislation to end future shutdowns. Ironically, one of its sponsors is US Senator Mike Lee, who has erstwhile served as one of the most consistently constitutional members of the upper chamber. Congress is required to budget our monies. They cannot put federal funding on autopilot during protracted budget negotiations. Besides, the 2013 sequester cuts did not affect me, and this shutdown has not affected me or millions of Americans across the country who are living their lives freely and abundantly as never before.

What does affect all of us, however, is an open border with law enforcement thinly spread across among hit-and-miss barriers. No one should discuss ending the shutdown until the southern border is shut down for good: legal loopholes closed, funding provided for the wall, and ample resources to hire, train, and direct more border patrol.

From the Daily Caller: Senior Trump Official Hopes For Long Shutdown

https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/14/smoke-out-resistance/

I’m A Senior Trump Official, And I Hope A Long Shutdown Smokes Out The Resistance

10:00 AM 01/14/2019 | Opinion

The Daily Caller is taking the rare step of publishing this anonymous op-ed at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose career would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers. We invite you to submit a question about the essay or our vetting process here.

As one of the senior officials working without a paycheck, a few words of advice for the president’s next move at shuttered government agencies: lock the doors, sell the furniture, and cut them down.

Federal employees are starting to feel the strain of the shutdown. I am one of them. But for the sake of our nation, I hope it lasts a very long time, till the government is changed, and can never return to its previous form.

The lapse in appropriations is more than a battle over a wall. It is an opportunity to strip wasteful government agencies for good.

On an average day roughly 15 percent of the employees around me are exceptional patriots serving their country. I wish I could give competitive salaries to them, and no one else. But 80 percent feel no pressure to produce results. If they don’t feel like doing what they are told, they don’t.

Why would they? We can’t fire them. They avoid attention, plan their weekend, schedule vacation, their second job, their next position, some do this in the same position for more than a decade. (RELATED: EPA Employees Who Watched Porn, Harassed Women And Got Promoted)

They do nothing that warrants punishment and nothing of external value. That is their workday: errands for the sake of errands; administering, refining, following and collaborating on process. “Process is your friend” is what delusional civil servants tell themselves. Even senior officials must gain approval from every rank across their department, other agencies and work units for basic administrative chores.

Process is what we serve, process keeps us safe, process is our core value. It takes a lot of people to maintain the process. Process provides jobs. In fact, there are process experts and certified process managers who protect the process. Then there are the 5 percent with moxy (career managers). At any given time they can change, clarify or add to the process — even to distort or block policy counsel for the president.

Saboteurs peddling opinion as research, tasking their staff on pet projects or pitching wasteful grants to their friends. Most of my career colleagues actively work against the president’s agenda. This means I typically spend about 15 percent of my time on the president’s agenda and 85 percent of my time trying to stop sabotage, and we have no power to get rid of them. Until the shutdown.

Due to the lack of funding, many federal agencies are now operating more effectively from the top down on a fraction of their workforce, with only select essential personnel serving national security tasks. One might think this is how government should function, but bureaucracies operate from the bottom up, a collective of self-generated ideas. Ideas become initiatives, formalize into offices, they seek funds from Congress and become bureaus or sub-agencies, and maybe one day grow to be their own independent agency, like ours. The nature of a big administrative bureaucracy is to grow to serve itself. I watch it and fight it daily. (RELATED: Remember When Obama And Clinton Shut Down Government For Their Own Pet Projects?)

When the agency is full, employees held liable for poor performance respond with threats, lawsuits, complaints, and process in at least a dozen offices, taking years of mounting paperwork with no fear of accountability, extending their careers, while no real work is done. Do we succumb to such extortion? Yes. We pay them settlements, we waive bad reviews, and we promote them.

Many government agencies have adopted the position that more complaints are good because it shows inclusion in, you guessed it, the process. When complaints come, it is cheaper to pay them off than to hold public servants accountable. The result: People accused of serious offenses are not charged, and self-proclaimed victims are paid by you, the American taxpayer.

The message to federal supervisors is clear. Maintain the status quo, or face allegations. Many federal employees truly believe that doing tasks more efficiently and cutting out waste, by closing troubled programs instead of expanding them, “is morally wrong,” as one cried to me.

I get it. These are their pets. It is tough to put them down and let go, and many resist. This phenomenon was best summed up by a colleague who said, “The goal in government is to do nothing. If you try to get things done, that’s when you will run into trouble.”

But President Trump can end this abuse. Senior officials can reprioritize during an extended shutdown, focus on valuable results and weed out the saboteurs. We do not want most employees to return, because we are working better without them. Sure, we empathize with families making tough financial decisions, like mine, and just like private citizens who have to find other work and bring competitive value every day, while paying more than a third of their salary in federal taxes.

President Trump has created more jobs in the private sector than the furloughed federal workforce. Now that we are shut down, not only are we identifying and eliminating much of the sabotage and waste, but we are finally working on the president’s agenda.

President Trump does not need Congress to address the border emergency, and yes, it is an emergency. Billions upon billions of hard-earned tax dollars are still being dumped into foreign aid programs every year that do nothing for America’s interest or national security. The president does not need congressional funding to deconstruct abusive agencies who work against his agenda. This is a chance to effect real change, and his leverage grows stronger every day the shutdown lasts.

The president should add to his demands, including a vote on all of his political nominees in the Senate. Send the career appointees back. Many are in the 5 percent of saboteurs and resistance leaders. (RELATED: New Facts Indicate Mueller Destroyed Evidence, Obstructed Justice)

A word of caution: To be a victory, this shutdown must be different than those of the past and should achieve lasting disruption with two major changes, or it will hurt the president.

The first thing we need out of this is better security, particularly at the southern border. Our founders envisioned a free market night watchman state, not the bungled bloated bureaucracy our government has become. But we have to keep the uniformed officers paid, which is an emergency. Ideally continue a resolution to pay the essential employees only, if they are truly working on national security. Furloughed employees should find other work, never return and not be paid.

Secondly, we need savings for taxpayers. If this fight is merely rhetorical bickering with Nancy Pelosi, we all lose, especially the president. But if it proves that government is better when smaller, focusing only on essential functions that serve Americans, then President Trump will achieve something great that Reagan was only bold enough to dream.

The president’s instincts are right. Most Americans will not miss non-essential government functions. A referendum to end government plunder must happen. Wasteful government agencies are fighting for relevance but they will lose. Now is the time to deliver historic change by cutting them down forever.

The author is a senior official in the Trump administration.

---

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.

Kamala Harris: Anti-Immigration US Senator

US Senator Kamala Harris compared ICE to the Ku Klux Klan.

She is more interested in helping illegal aliens than she is in helping United States citizens.

And this is the response she gave to one of our conservative naturalized citizens when he demand that she help fund the border wall and do the right thing for American citizens!

January 14, 2019
	Dear Mr. Todoroff, Thank you for contacting me with your views on our immigration system. In my career as a prosecutor in California, I saw the full spectrum of criminal offenses. I know what a crime looks like. And despite the Trump administration’s rhetoric vilifying immigrants as criminals, I can tell you that being an immigrant is not a crime. The Trump administration has pursued immigration policies based on fear rather than facts and threatened core American values in the process. It has cruelly separated thousands of children from their parents who are seeking asylum at the border, fostering long-term trauma for these children, and then attempted to use the resulting crisis to seek the indefinite detention of immigrant families. It has broken a promise to thousands of young Dreamers and callously held them hostage to its pursuit of an untenable, extreme, and costly immigration legislative agenda. It has indiscriminately  expanded immigration enforcement within American communities, failing to distinguish Dreamers and other hardworking individuals with no criminal backgrounds from actual public safety threats.  This has torn families apart, harmed our economy, and created a culture of fear that has reduced the willingness of community members to report crimes and serve as witnesses, endangering public safety for everyone. As a member of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, I have and will continue to work tirelessly to hold the Trump administration accountable for these and other immigration policies and practices that harm our communities and threaten our nation’s global humanitarian leadership. I have pressed administration officials to preserve the unity of families and to protect the rights of vulnerable populations. My first bill in the U.S. Senate was the  Access to Counsel Act,  which would ensure that anyone detained at our borders has access to voluntary legal counsel. I have also introduced the  DONE Act, which would promote cost-effective alternatives to immigration detention and ensure robust oversight of immigration detention facilities, which have been plagued by poor conditions. I introduced the  REUNITE Act , which would prohibit the inhumane practice of separating families at the border and prevent the indefinite detention of immigrant families. I believe that Congress needs to pass comprehensive immigration reform that genuinely enhances public safety, grows our economy, and provides a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are currently contributing to and enriching our state and nation. This is why I am a proud cosponsor of the DREAM Act , which would provide a path to citizenship for young people brought to this country as children who contribute $11 billion to California’s economy every year. This is also why I am a proud cosponsor of the  Agricultural Worker Program Act , which would help stabilize our nation’s agricultural workforce by providing a path to citizenship for workers harvesting California’s crops. Our immigration system is broken and outdated. I will continue to push Congress to reform the system. We need immigration policies that meet the needs of our economy, families, workers, and security. Thank you again for sharing your views. If you have additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3553.  Sincerely, Kamala D. Harris United States Senator

Updates and Thoughts on the #DemShutdown

As of today, the current Democratic Shutdown has lasted 15 days. A little over two weeks, and this shutdown has become the second longest in the nation's history.

It's totally worth it. The big government bloat has taken too much of our nation's money and taken taxpapyers for all they are worth and then some.

With record tax revenue collections flowing into the treasury, and with the utmost need to secure our borders with a wall, there is no reason for the federal government to be funding all these other non-essential liabilities.

Here are the talking points to consider going forward with the current shutdown:

1. This shutdown belongs to the Democratic Party--all of it. Border security, including a strong physical barrier along the Southern border, is essential. The Democrats in Congress, in both chambers, voted for the fence ten, fifteen years ago.

Now, suddenly they don't want to build the wall?

2. I hope that this shutdown lasts for months. If the government does not secure our borders, that is essentially a government shutdown. Case closed, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

3. All the federal workers furloughed at this time? They are non-essential employees! If they do not want to be furloughed, not get paid, etc., they need to get out of Washington and get a real job in the real world!

4. The less that the federal government does, the better that the economy does. The less money that they are spending, the fewer programs which are funded

5. The economy is roaring into a greater strength than ever before. I doubt that we will see a recession this year. President Trump still has a phone and a pen to do what is needed within constitutional parameters.

6. The wall, the security of our nation's borders, is too commonsense an expectation, and the President knows it. He has already compromised on the funding, going from $25 billion to $5 billion.

7. This is going to be quite interesting, to say the least!

Shutdown? What Shutdown?!

Everyone is winning!

The country is still moving along just fine without DC. And that's the way it should be.

This Christmas, Even in This Dark Time, Enjoy the Light

“It’s Christmas! You should rejoice!” The presence of family, presents under the Christmas tree, rocking around to different versions of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” should encourage everyone to celebrate!

Christmas, a time to rejoice with lights and perfections, can also be one of the darkest times of the year. A close family member—parent, spouse, sibling— may have passed away during this time, and that loss is particularly painful during the Christmas season. There are many alone, homeless, ill. They endure this festive time coupled with their intense, personal privations. For many, Christmas should be a time of great celebration. This pressure adds to their pain.

Christmas has been both a dark time and a bright time for me, too. Some years, there was nothing but joy and victory to ponder from the previous months. Sometimes, it seemed like there was nothing to celebrate.

In the world today, it seems that the shadow of death is not just overcast, but cannot be overcome. Despite victories here and there on the life and liberty front, the forces of evil march on:

1.       In Indonesia, a brutal tsunami wiped out hundreds of lives just three days before Christmas. This is not the first time in recent memory that a horrific tsunami wreaked such havoc during the Christmas season.

2.       Throughout the world, younger generations are determined to embrace socialism, the very corrosive cultural, economic, and political cult which the Greatest Generation had defeated during World War II. Millennials and even post-Millennials know nothing about the Freedom Trio of Reagan, Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II who defeated Communism, and thus ended the Cold War in 1989. Incidentally, he Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on Christmas Day, 1991. Sadly, the Specter of Communism has not be consigned to the ash heap of history after all.

3.       In the so-called Free World of the West, freedoms of speech, assembly, and religions face untold hardships. Tommy Robinson of Great Britain reported the truth about Islam, and he was shut away in a prison for months. Bill Whatcott of Canada endures untold criminal indictments just for preaching the Gospel, and his government is more committed to political correctness than moral uprightness to this day. Aaron and Melissa Klein of Oregon, Jack Philipps of Colorado, and others face civil penalties or unrelenting legal action because they refuse to endorse the LGBT Agenda in their private businesses.

4.       Americans have forgotten the sacrifices which helped bring down the Berlin Wall. At the same time, politicians in Washington DC refuse to build a wall along the United States’ Southern Border to secure our country and legacy.

5.       As of this writing, the stock market is facing an unprecedented downturn. Wealth creation is turning into wealth evaporation for those who bet big on a strong stock market.

6.       The very businessmen and corporations which benefited from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are using their unprecedented wealth to undermine the very country which made wealth creation possible and essential to its character of free enterprise.

7.       For three years in a row, the opioid crisis and addiction epidemic has cut the average lifespan of Americans. The reason? Many have lost the reason to live, and not just for a season.

It’s a dark time right time.

Despite these tragedies, all of us need to remember what—or rather Who—this season celebrates.

Christmas is about the Light of the World (John 8:12) who came into this darkness. It’s not about pretending there is no darkness, but about remembering that the world has a Savior to rescue and protect us in the midst of the darkness.

The prophet Isaiah declared:

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)

Why?

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

There are so many walking, stumbling in a dark world right now.

But notice that phrase “in the land of the shadow of death.” It reminds us of the beloved 23^rd Psalm: “Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.”

Jesus, the Savior of the World, is also called “Immanuel” which means “God with us”. From the beginning, he entered into darkness, relieving and comforting us in dark places. His birth came at a bleak time, more foreboding than our own. Ruthless Caesars in Rome could force a world-wide census upon numerous conquered peoples. There were no rights for all, but ultimately privileges for “citizens of Rome.” Entertainment was a fatuous bloodsport of slaves butchering each other before mindless crowds. 

And yet, in a tiny manger in a forlorn stable in an overlooked city, Christ the Savior was born. The Light of the World came into a world that had no hope, no peace.

This Light guides the souls of millions today, and they are not overcome by darkness:

1.       Chinese Christians are fighting back despite Communist regime crackdowns.

2.       From West Hollywood to Boston, Massachusetts, evangelical churches are sprouting up across the United States.

3.       Iranians are converting to Christianity in unprecedented numbers, in spite of persecution in their home country.

This Christmas, we may live in a dark world gone darker, but the darkness does not have to overcome us. This Christmas season, ignore the surrounding chaos and enjoy the Light, just as the Israelites in Exodus weathered the plagues, then enjoyed divine light in their homes (Exodus 10:23). Let us rest and receive the true reason for the season, the Light and Savior of the World, God who became a man, the baby born to die that man could be set free from sin and enjoy life eternally.