Nancy Pelosi Bought Herself a Shutdown [OPINION]

President Trump on Saturday offered a deal on DACA and TPS in exchange for the $5.7 billion he needs to complete the border wall. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the deal before it was even issued. This proves that Pelosi has no intention to negotiate in good faith.

The American people have had enough. It's time the Democrats explain why a barrier on the border is not a good idea today, when just a few years ago they thought it was just boffo! It has become abundantly clear that this is simply political and nothing more.

There are many things the Democrats legitimately want from Trump, including their infrastructure proposal, and this is the time for deal-making. The Democrats have clearly made the case for a border barrier in the recent past and are blowing a major opportunity to advance their agenda.

When it appeared likely there would be a partial shutdown, Trump took ownership. The two sides tried to blame each other for the closure but polls indicated that most people blamed Trump and the Republicans. Fair enough. He said it was on him and it was.

Pelosi has refused to negotiate and was even planning to leave town for seven days before Trump grounded her plane, which shows a true lack of seriousness on her part for resolving the crisis.

Pelosi had a real chance to end the government shutdown on Saturday by agreeing to use Trump's offer as a starting point for real negotiations that would have given both sides something they want. She chose to walk away instead.

Nancy Pelosi is now the proud owner of this government shutdown.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.