America's forever standoff

There will never be a border compromise

President Trump and Nancy Pelosi.
(Image credit: Illustrated | SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images, Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images)

On the 17th day of the government shutdown, the leaders of both parties took to the airwaves to make their case to the American public. The big takeaway from all three brief speeches is that neither side has budged an inch since day one. That does not bode well for day 18, day 19, and maybe even day 100.

Let's stipulate to the small areas of common ground. President Trump professed his love of country; so did Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. All three expressed concern for federal workers at agencies impacted by the shutdown, who will miss their first paycheck this week. All three also agreed on the need to secure national borders.

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Edward Morrissey

Edward Morrissey has been writing about politics since 2003 in his blog, Captain's Quarters, and now writes for HotAir.com. His columns have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Post, The New York Sun, the Washington Times, and other newspapers. Morrissey has a daily Internet talk show on politics and culture at Hot Air. Since 2004, Morrissey has had a weekend talk radio show in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and often fills in as a guest on Salem Radio Network's nationally-syndicated shows. He lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters. Morrissey's new book, GOING RED, will be published by Crown Forum on April 5, 2016.