He's absolutely correct when he says the left is moving too far to the left or that we can't afford Medicare for all, free education, etc. I agree with you, however, that his positions probably aren't all as centrist as that. He is a lifelong Democrat so unless he's an old "Bluedog" Democrat (of which I don't think there are any left) I think he's just going to be "less left" than the others. He thinks a 70% tax on the super wealthy isn't "what Americans want" (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/29/howard-schultz-america-does-not-want-ocasio-cortezs-70percent-wealth-tax.html). Like you, I am waiting on his actual policy positions. If 70% is too high, then what is acceptable?

Because of his business background, I think he may be less fiscally liberal but likely still socially liberal. Note I said "less fiscally liberal", not fiscally conservative. Democrats don't want him to enter the race because he's going to split the vote even further. If he comes out as less fiscally liberal than Harris, Warren, or Sanders, but still socially liberal, he may well have a chance at the nomination.

Well they do if McConnell continues to allow this ridiculous “blue slip” rule to continue.  That rule worked when there was some level of fairness among senators. That is now gone forever. Get rid of the blue slip rule, and there is nothing Dems can do to stop it, at least without pulling 4 republicans to their side.

It appears with these two nominations the president indicated that he isn't interested in following the blue slip rule. McConnell has a good record on getting Trump's judicial nominees confirmed, so I see no reason, as of now anyway, why he wouldn't push these forward. It's laughable that Feinstein and Harris thought they were actually going to get their two nominees on the 9th Circuit.

No Congressional override needed if the President never signs it nor vetoes it.

The last time a bill was passed by the 10 day rule was in 2016. Since 1975 there have been a total of 8 bills passed utilizing the 10 day rule. That's out of the over 17,000 bills signed into law by a president. What's your point?

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/browse#current_status[]=32&congress=__ALL__

The President is not required to sign a bill for it to become law.

Thanks for the civics lesson. I seem to have missed where there was a Congressional override.

No, they are prominent to the neocons and in the same field of George Will and Bill Kristol. 

And I'm not surprised you see them in such a prominent position.

We’ll just have to agree to disagree then.

In case you missed it, there was a bill before the senate with the president's proposal.  Thanks to the RINO's, it didn't get passed.  Add also that the RINO's voted for the dem bill.

There was also a bill that would've passed before the shutdown even happened and then Trump decided at the last minute he wouldn't sign it, forcing the shut down.

He is left with the National Emergencies Act.  Not the preferred way to handle this, but since we have a congress incapable of acting and unwilling to protect our country, the Act does under law give him that option.  The President has made it clear he would prefer congress do their job and fix this.

So the SCOTUS will not uphold a law put in place by congress and executed by the President?   Have you even read any of the National Emergencies Act?   Better yet, show us in the Act where the President would be wrong using it.

 The President is being very careful with this and is having his attorneys working on it because they know it will get hit with yet another frivolous injunction. Jay Seculow laid out the Act and all of the legal ramifications, and their planned defense of it.  Also, most legal experts agree it's well within the law.  The only ones I've seen that question it are, as usual, the democrats and the neocons, based on the idea they just don't like it.

I don't know if the Supreme Court would uphold it or not. I said I wouldn't be so sure that they would. There is a robust legal debate to be had about using the NEA for building a border wall. David French and Ben Shapiro both aren't so sure that he can. Andrew C. McCarthy thinks that he shouldn't but also thinks that he probably could. Those are three prominent conservatives, and lawyers, who have differing opinions.

Ben Shapiro also had a good point, from a political standpoint:

Now, here’s the real issue: arrogation of new authority to the executive branch violates the checks and balances of the Constitution; President Obama’s arrogant attempts to govern by pen and phone violated the Constitution, and Trump’s attempts to do the same would, too. To suggest, as Trump has, that if he doesn’t get his way, he’ll simply do what Obama did is to legitimize Obama’s activity.

Your question IS the problem. “does he shut the government down again”. Seriously?  IT IS NOT THE PRESIDENT’S CALL. The government shutdown is automatic when there is no spending authority. Trump has no option to keep the government open.

He has no say one way or another, so to invoke him in ordering a shutdown is to put the onus on him for doing it. That is what Democrats think...that the president choose to do it because he ordered it.

So, yes.  You sound like a Democrat. Stop using their language.

He can choose to sign the bill or not sign the bill. His decision will determine whether or not the government remains open or not (absent a Congressional override). It's ridiculous to say that he has no say one way or another.

Listen to yourself.  You sound like a Democrat.

What if there isn't a bill? Then it is on Congress for not financing the government.  The president doesn't decree that the government be shut down, it's required because there is no authority to spend money.

Now, if he were to shut down parts of the government that do have authority, just to keep things even, that would enrage the Democrats, but until they gave him a spending bill that he liked, they'd be SOL.

How, exactly, do I sound like a Democrat? Because I asked what happens if there isn't a bill with his border wall funding? Or is it because I asked, "Does he shut the government down again?"

If it'll help you, I'll rephrase: If there's not a bill on his desk by February 15 with the $5.7 billion in border wall funding, will Trump refuse to sign any bill that doesn't have that funding, and allow appropriations to lapse, shutting down those corresponding parts of the federal government?