All of the signals are there that the unicorn of American politics — bipartisan compromise — could appear in the halls of the Capitol any moment and give us reason to hope that we can set aside, for once, the childish theater that has become our government.
Last week, we called on President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders to strike a deal that would address major concerns on both sides, that would be fair and reasoned and good for the country, and that would show the world we can work together for the greater good.
The deal we propose would see Democrats accept what they already accepted before it became a pet issue for the president — the construction of additional physical barriers along the southern border, as well as more sophisticated technology and resources for security.
In exchange, the president would accept something most Americans already agree is the right thing to do: give extended protection, permanent legal status and a path to citizenship to the Dreamers, the 800,000 young people protected under DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, as well as another 1 million people who are DACA eligible. These young people did not come here under their own agency and deserve protection from our country.
Trump offered an opening bid over the weekend. But he did not go far enough in protecting Dreamers and other DACA-eligible people.
Heretofore the president hasn’t shown interest in reaching out. He didn’t advance a legislative solution over the past two years, when his party controlled both houses of Congress, and he has spent years inflaming the issue. This fight is over building more miles of barriers, not stretching a wall across the entire southern border. That forces us to ask whether the president will episodically provoke this fight as long as he has to deal with an opposing party.
But if he would go the extra mile, and Democrats would meet him, we believe the deal would gain broad support from a nation that despite the endless drumbeat of social media extremists is still a place with a core sense of fairness, decency and common sense.
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine suggested on NPR this week that such a deal would be palatable to Democrats. He insisted, however, that the government be reopened prior to the beginning of any negotiation.
That is a mistake, and one that raises the question of whether Democrats are more interested in politics than solutions on this issue. The time for negotiation in legislation is always now. We believe that if both sides set aside the need to be a winner, all sides would be winners.
And to be clear, our view is that a Berlin-style wall isn’t a win for this country. We can build additional barriers and make better use of technology to enhance our border security, but we also need to permanently resolve the legal status of millions of DACA people and DACA-eligible people. Symbolism is playing a big role in this fight, but failing to resolve differences, closing down the government and tossing aside the lives of millions of people who are in legal jeopardy through no fault of their own is not who we are or should be as a people.
What we need most is proof that our elected officials can govern this land in a way that is in keeping with our values. This deal could happen today. Whether it will is up to the men and women we elected to serve us as a people and not the narrow interests of their parties.
— The Dallas Morning News
