Posted on 01/22/2019 1:28:30 PM PST by jazusamo
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) called on his Democratic colleagues to give President Trump the funding for his long-desired border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, saying its construction is inevitable.
“Give Trump the money,” Peterson told KFGO’s “News & Views” on Tuesday. “I’d give him the whole thing … and put strings on it so you make sure he puts the wall where it needs to be. Why are we fighting over this? We’re going to build that wall anyway, at some time.”
The 15-term congressman said top Democrats look at him “cross-eyed” when he makes this suggestion.
The funding could come with stipulations requiring some money go toward Border Patrol and improving security measures at ports of entry, Peterson said.
“I don’t know if I want to give (Trump) a blank check, but I don’t want to preclude him from getting the money either, if he’s going to use the money correctly,” Peterson told the the outlet.
Peterson said Democratic leadership handing over the requested $5.7 billion for the wall would end the “unnecessary” partial government shutdown which began on Dec. 22.
He is one of Congress’s most conservative Democrats and represents Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, an area Trump won by 30 points during the 2016 presidential election.
The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee said he hasn’t been in contact with the Trump White House about shutdown negotiations, adding “I don’t now how we get (to a deal.)”
The partial government shutdown, currently in its 32nd day, has forced roughly a quarter of the government to shutter. Approximately 800,000 federal employees have been furloughed or are working without pay.
Trump offered a proposal on Saturday that would fully reopen the government, provide money for the wall and give a three-year extension of legal protections to immigrants who are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders.
Top Democrats, however, dismissed his proposal as a non-starter.
“Democrats were hopeful that the President was finally willing to re-open government and proceed with a much-need discussion to protect the border. Unfortunately, initial reports make clear that his proposal is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in statement.
I agree. $5 billion is a spit in the ocean. PDJT should have asked for $50 billion just to piss of Nazi Pelousy..
This guy has, by far, the highest “conservative” rating of any elected Democratic House member (source: ACU). Now, it’s only 26%, but nearly every single Democrat has only single digit ratings. He’s also 74, so this may be his last term anyway and he feels free to speak the truth.
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.)... 15-term congressman...
Fifteen terms and 74? Heck, compared to some reps, he’s finally hitting his stride!
Why not find Dems like this one, invite them to the White House, and have Trump offer them all sorts of perks they’d want for their districts. Get ‘em to flip. Do it now.
Yep. Stenty Hoyer is on board too. They know the partial shutdown will soon have their constituencies pleading to give PDJT his d@mn wall.
Yes, I think the Dems will eventually cave. Their constituents are letting them know that the tantrum is not winning. We just need a few dozen more like this guy. And, he’s right that they are better off to set some limits rather than force Trump to do it by Exec. Order.
“...Sorry, I know that is politically not correct”
NEVER apologize for being politically incorrect.
Instead, STRIVE for it.
Start a discharge petition. 218 signatures forces a vote whether Pelosi wants it or not.
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