Mike Ford for "RedState"
Opinion: President Trump Springs His Trap
Yesterday, President Trump announced and then publicly signed a series of executive orders that would extend certain parts of the CARES Act. The CARES Act was legislation meant to provide temporary relief to those who have suffered job loss or other financial issues due to the Wuhan China Virus. A large portion of this legislative relief expired a few days ago.
During his press conference announcing the Executive orders, President Trump took the opportunity to take the Democrats, especially Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority leader Chuck Schumer, to task. Pelosi and crew obviously embrace Obama Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel’s philosophy of “never let a good crisis go to waste.” The latest proof positive of that is their efforts to lard up this “must pass” legislation with typical Democrat corruption, especially when it comes to elections.
Among the most egregious and having nothing to do with the Wuhan China Virus:
-An attempt to make mail in voting ubiquitous throughout the entire United States
-Nearly $1 trillion in relief for state and local governments that have mismanaged their finances for decades and now expect the rest of us to bail them out.
For once the Republican opposition appeared to grow a spine and hold the line during negotiations. Yesterday, President Trump took decisive action to break the deadlock. As I said in Friday’s OpEd, I am generally opposed to Executive orders designed to sidestep Congressional legislation. I am also reluctant to support an Executive Order (or Congressional Legislation for that matter) that is an unconstitutional usurpation of property rights as the moratorium on evictions clearly is.
Having said that, here is what President Trump signed and what I believe the political effects will be:
-Suspends Payroll Tax through remainder of 2020, for those making less than $100,000.00, retroactive to August 1st. If reelected, his intent is to make these payroll tax cuts permanent.?-Continues the moratorium on evictions, while providing financial assistance to renters.
-Extends unemployment benefits at a rate of $400.00/week, $200.00 less than previous plan. This gets rid of the “stay home” incentive by making work more attractive.
-Defers Student Loan Payments.
This has put the Democrats in a no-win position politically. President Trump has on National TV, taken decisive action clearly to the benefit of those who Democrats believe are their permanent constituency. He has targeted his help towards working people, while incentivizing those who are on the sidelines, to make a stronger effort to go back to work. He has also made it easier on employers to retain employees through this uncertain economic climate. His student loan deferment targets younger Americans.
As I indicated in an earlier piece , the Democrats don’t have a lot of options here. Any which way they turn, President Trump looks like the good guy, while they look like the strident, shrieking harridans they are—and yes, that includes Chuck Schumer. From Yahoo News
“There is no leadership from the president,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) said at a press conference on Thursday. “He says one thing one day, another thing another day, and another thing another day. He’s not focused on this, no leadership.”
Schumer added that Republicans “don’t seem to see the gravity of the situation” while the president “just dithers.”
Further down in the article
“They’d like to get away with passing the skinniest, most minimal bill possible and go home and wash their hands of it,” Schumer said. “We can’t do that because it will leave Americans hurting and not get us out of the crisis.”
By signing these Executive Orders, President Trump has taken some of the urgency for Republicans, off the table. The Democrats can no longer hold working Americans hostage to their wish list of corrupt practices. Now the Democrats face some tough decisions:
-Do nothing, while continuing negotiations: Advantage, Trump
-Sue POTUS directly or through intermediaries. Great optics. Democrats sue to take benefits away from their (allegedly) prime constituents, working people and students (or student loan recipients). President Trump however, can respond by announcing far and wide that the Democrats are attempting to use the court system to harm “the most vulnerable among us.” Advantage, Trump.
Majority Leader Mcconnell needs to make sure he keeps his caucus under control. He needs to take full advantage of the opportunity the President has given him and take it to the leftists at the negotiating table. The resulting “compromise” should be a lot closer to the 1T mark than it is to the 3 Trillion porkulous bill the Democrats want. It goes without saying that there should be absolutely no compromise on mail in voting or any other corrupt election proposals by the left. President Trump has given you an advantage. Senator McConnell, see that you take it.
