The dems suggested border security under Obama, with a massive increase in: budget; 30k more agents; increased technology, proven better than a dumbass wall, including aircraft, drones, and ground sensors. What happened? Shot down by republicans. I suspect thus wall boondoggle if built will be done in part by tRump industries.

Republicans control all three branches of government yet it's primarily the dems fault the government shut down? I'm gonna guess you watch fox news

You can not give into a bully unless you expect to always be giving into a bully.

Others have already laid out the true cost of the wall so I will add my voice to theirs

I think one cent for racism and xenophobia and for furtherance of the concentration camps for children, is morally repugnant. It isn't a question of what fraction of the budget it represents. Symbols matter, and someone should have long ago taken a principled stand and quit rationalizing Trump's perfidy and his supporter's hateful ideology. So I'm not in the "it's stupid, awful, and terribly racist, but unavoidable" camp.

I don't make the irritating argument that "we're better than this" because we're clearly not anymore, if we ever were. However, I make the "we CAN be better than this if we grow a pair" argument.

That is just stupid, and that is the nicest thing I can say about that.

You do realize that this 5 billion will only start the process. It’s estimated to cost up to 70 billion and 150 million per year to maintain for a useless, xenophobic wall that nobody but this racist, brainless twit wants to appease his base. How in the world could you possibly reconcile that? 75 percent of the government is already funded, we are at a partial shutdown. Don’t even look to the Democrats, the Senate had already passed a CR when trumpski decided to listen to mommy Coulter and daddy Limbaugh. Gimme a fucking break.

And you accept the 1.5 trillion dollars give away to the top one percent which added to the debt? And how about this, few cons will give any response, so have it: how can you support the administration trying to cut disability and unemployed veterans benefits? Answer please, or do I hear continued crickets.

Oh, HELL no!

Give in to this asshat on this issue and what's next? It's the whole principle of the thing. It may be a small piece of the federal budget, but let Trump win on this issue and he and his cult start to think that if they just push hard enough and long enough they'll get what ever they want.

And they'll be right.

I disagree with your impuging the Ds: You can never give in to a bully. Once you do that they'll keep taking and taking. And $5billion is not negligible.

you blame the democrats more? you blame the democrats, in the minority in both house and senate in 2016, for 2016's federal spending? seriously? in addition, the wall is not just a frivolous expenditure. it is would be environmentally disastrous, it would displace homeowners and other species as well, and it's a horrible message to the world. and do you know where that wall money will be found? it won't be taken out of military spending. it won't come out of the tax break for gazillionnaires. no, it will come from the social safety net, and that is not an insignificant cut. how about open your damned eyes instead of crying to open the damned government at ANY cost. this cost is too high, and not just in dollars.

g

No. Democrats do not want a stupid wall for the sake of Twump's vanity. $5B may be 0.0013 of whatever, but that is still an awfully lot of what could be better spent on you name it. This is a simple case of blackmailing. I would be ashamed if Democats did NOT stand up to Twump's BS. Do NOT enable this idiot.