Trump wants all the Federal Workers to stop showing up/quit, then they'll be replaced by Blackwater

[mr_lebowski]

and their ilk, or their jobs simply eliminated altogether.

He basically wants all the government workers who are now NOT being paid ... to have to quit, in order to find other jobs to feed their families. All their agencies will then be hollowed out, and their rank-and-file workers ... replaced by corporations, mostly contract work. And many of them FOREIGN, I'm sure.

IOW, the REAL goal is for Federal prisons, and the Air Traffic Controllers, and the TSA, and the Nat'l Park Service, and so on ... to be staffed by Corporations. Friendly to the GOP corporations, of course.

Regardless of whether it's true, eventually Democrats will reach the conclusion that this may well BE the real goal ... and decide they HAVE to cough up the $5B because it's not worth the kind of destruction involved.

We're not winning this one folks, not as long McConnell is going to act like a FUCKING TRAITOR, and the MSM is gonna play 'both sides' bullshit.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Won't work because there still has to be money

to pay private contractors, and all spending has to originate in the House no matter what it’s for.

[mr_lebowski]

2. Well, those jobs have to be done, and if 3-4 months drags on, most of those 800K workers ...

Who've not gotten checks ... will have stopped showing up.

So then what?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. They or new employees will have to be hired back.

Contractors have to be paid and Congress has to appropriate the funds. Which it won’t.

[mr_lebowski]

11. It won't? What if it HAS TO because the damage being done is too severe to ignore?

I just don't see House Dems deciding that 'not funding a wall' is the proverbial "Hill They Wanna Die On".

Most American's 'passion' for 'not having a wall' is NOWHERE NEAR their 'passion' for having Airports work, for getting their tax returns, for getting their food stamps, for making sure there's prison guards to keep the bad guys locked up, ETC. Most people don't care THAT MUCH ... if a wall is built. They just don't.

SUCKS, but with Turtle in his back pocket, fact is ... Trump has the cards here, and he's going to get his $5B.

[marylandblue]

7. People will be calling their Republican Senators daily.

The federal government does all sorts of things that most people are unaware of, but eventually affect someone. When the government workers don't show up, people start to become aware of these things and get upset that it isn't happening.

[lunatica]

3. Well we know Putin's goal is to destroy this country

How better than to starve it of proper governance and security?

Trump is doing a bang up job of destroying the very fabric of a free society. The glue that keeps us running.

He screams about the wall while creating gaping holes in the economy with his tariffs and our national security by not filling leadership positions or firing leaders in government departments and our defenses such as Federal agents such as the TSA.

[marylandblue]

4. It isn't going to happen

Generally speaking, you can't switch salary money to contractors without Congressional approval. Of course the House will never agree. So in a worse case scenario, lots of federal workers leave, then as soon the government reopens, they are hired back or replaced.

[mr_lebowski]

9. A 'worst case scenario' ... is airports start shutting down ...

Because there's nobody to do security there. Maybe not even anyone to do ATC work.

As long as the f***ing media keeps up their both-sides bullshit, making this all seem like a 'political squabble' ... the House Dems are going to end up forced into the proverbial corner.

They're going to end up calculating that $5B is a small price to pay in order to avoid the freaking economic disaster, and hollowing out of our Federal Work Force... one which SHOULD BE 100% laid at the feet of Trump, but WON'T ... because of our Corporate freakin' Media.

There's also the simple fact that 80% of people don't pay that much attention to detail, but almost everyone knows ... there's a new Congress, and Democrats now have more control than they did. And now, all of a sudden, everything's going to shit, airports are closing down, etc. A great many are just going to blame Dems, cause they're friggin' dumb.

[Thekaspervote]

12. Sir... if you are calling Dems dumb, please go else where to do so!

[mr_lebowski]

14. Don't be fatuous ... I'm calling 'average US people' dumb, not our Congressional Dems ...(nt)

[marylandblue]

13. I am speaking in context of the privatization concerns in the OP

Even if Democrats eventually cave on the wall, they aren't going to allow privatization, even if thousands of feds quit.

[mr_lebowski]

15. Trump's ability to declare a national emergency and demand control of purse-strings ...

Because our airports are shutting down ... and nobody actually having the authority to stop him (short of NRA KOMRADE TURTLEMAN doing his fucking job and upholding the Constitution) is the wild card here. He declares an emergency and puts Blackwater in charge of TSA ... and DEMANDS they be paid under his authority in a Nat'l Emergency ... who's going to stop it?

I believe House Dems are doing the longer-term analysis here, and will end up determining ... that the possible negative ramifications are just not 'worth it' ... over $5B, and the 200 miles of wall or whatever that actually buys.

[marylandblue]

17. Well, the last lines of resistance are the civil service and the courts

Civil service because they actually allocate the appropriations and write the contracts. If they misappropriate funds, it is THEY who risk their careers and their freedom, not the President. Courts because whatever he does, someone will sue. SCOTUS has been willing to push back against him some. If they aren't going to hold the line, the Republic is already dead. If this issue doesn't reach them, something else will, then we will know.

[marybourg]

5. The ole "starve the beast" meme.

[rufus dog]

8. True or not, this should be the message

Although I believe your assumption is correct, the Dems should hammer the point daily. They are trying to privatize all the jobs, costs will increase, services will be diminished and the tax payers will foot the bill. They can point out his use of H1Bs at his resorts. Fuck the media, fuck tRump. Hammer the message. When the media asks for proof, fucking redirect it to his shady hiring practices, his and Ivanka's clothing deals in China. And for added emphasis, call them Mother Fuckers!

[mr_lebowski]

10. AGREED! (nt)

[calimary]

16. Hey, this is a once-in-a-lifetime wet dream of the "I hate government" crowd.

Why wouldn’t they love this? Until the ramifications of this extreme start making themselves felt. Maybe we need this kind of disaster to fall upon some of these red-meat’ers so they too can taste the results, up close ‘n’ personal.

They’re assuming that all the bad results will befall “those other people” or “somebody else over there somewhere.” Until it hits THEM, inevitably, full on, in the face and also the family bank account. Then they’ll yowl “UNFAIR!!!!”

Consequences. Results. What actually HAPPENS - in REAL time, in REAL life - when you do, or approve, such-&-such.