Thread by @bansisharma

1. On Invoking National Emergency to Fund The Wall
I am sorry that's a bridge too far for me. A case has not yet been made by the President. Invoking national emergency to win a political argument is no way to govern. Democrats are also of course completely unreasonable on this.

2. That's why the political negotiations and explaining to the nation must continue until one side or the other has a clear majority support in the nation. Americans seem split pretty much in the middle.

3. It is tough. The issue for me is not about who is right. Personally, I am quite clear. On substance of the need for a robust border security barrier, President and GOP are right. Democrats are wrong to oppose what they all used to wholeheartedly support only a few years ago.

4. Be that as it may, when it comes to national politics, it is never enough just to be right. You also have to make every effort to make sure a clear majority of Americans also view your decision to be right. And we are not there yet, no matter how frustrating that may feel.

5. To declare a national emergency, it is not enough to demonstrate the need for "the wall." It is also necessary to demonstrate that it will be a national calamity if the building of "the wall" doesn't start the day after the emergency is declared.

6. I don't have qualms about any legal issues involved. Presidents declare local emergencies all the time, in case of fires, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. But it is always clear in all those cases that an action is required without delay.

7. I am as ardent a supporter of the need for robust border security as anyone, and still, even I don't see how a national calamity is imminent unless we start building "the wall" on Friday the 11th of January, 2019.

8. If that was the case, the President has been grossly negligent in not having precipitated this far sooner. In the absolute worst case, the national risk is limited to whatever the consequences are of not building the wall for two more years.

9. I think it will be hurtful, and shameful, but not calamitous. With all the effort being made to manage the border situation as it is today, and with some more reinforcements, I think we can muddle through another two years, if push comes to shove.

10. Let the 2020 election then be all about the wall if it comes to that. Let the American voters decide what they want. Let the presidential candidates go all over the nation and make their case on both sides. No short cuts.

11. If we can't resolve a freaking $5.7 billion political dispute without invoking a national emergency, we are doomed as a nation. Despite the toxic hyper-politicization of everything, I don't believe for a second we as a nation have become that hopeless.

12. Big boys and girls in DC, earn your keep. Don't let us down.

The End

Good. I am glad he is not playing right into the Democrats' hands. They want him to. I would hazard a guess the MSM will try to goad him into it by saying things like, "He chickened out; didn't have the guts; he doesn't have the legal authority, etc."
reuters.com/article/us-usa…