show a stomach for shutting down govt. He had both houses of Congress and did not get what he wanted, including the wall, repeal and replace, etc, and he did not shutter govt. Trump cares about Trump, and as he was quoted saying himself, he is getting slaughtered here. He will not get slaughtered by his base any less by meeting the dems on counter-proposals - I think the reactions to his Dreamers offer make that clear. And I think the dems should demand more. Permanent relief from the prospect of deportation. And let Coulter scream about it.

How in god's name does any of this amount to encouraging the bully? It's the opposite of that, and it is impossible for me to imagine Trump wanting to repeat any part of this process, which has arguably done more damage to him inside and outside of his base than anything else he's ever done. Politically that is.

Given all that, if I am willing to fight this bully with such inflexibility that I am compromising the lives and livelihoods of 100s of 1000s if not millions of people, how am I any less a bully?