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Pam’s Points: Shutdown panel needs our ‘thoughts and prayers’

Joshua trees stand near the road at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert, in early January. With too few rangers to police the park during the shutdown, many of these rare trees were damaged and even hacked down. Joshua trees stand near the road at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert, in early January. With too few rangers to police the park during the shutdown, many of these rare trees were damaged and even hacked down.

By Pam Sohn February 4, 2019 4 min read

Who’s really wasting time?

The wall and shutdown-pause negotiations are “a waste of time,” according to our president.

It’s enough to make us feel sorry for Republican Chuck Fleischmann, our 3rd District congressman who is the only Tennessean on the 17-member House and Senate conference committee charged with hammering out a deal that the House and Senate will pass and Trump will sign.

Fleischmann, ever upbeat, told the Times Free Press on both Thursday and Friday that he remains optimistic though he understands it’s going to take “a three-way agreement to get there.” And that means there has to be flexibility all around.

We’re afraid that will be nearly impossible for a president who’s already made up his mind that the negotiations are “a waste of time.”