If Trump will just stop demanding money to "build a wall" and talk about "border security" instead, they'll get the job done.

Deb Reichmann, writing for the Associated Press, says that President Trump "is prepared to shut down the government again or declare a national emergency if Congress won't give him the border wall money he wants."   Her article continues:

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"White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told CBS's "Face the Nation" that Trump's goal is to work with Congress.

"'What he wants to do is fix this the way that things are supposed to get fixed with our government which is through legislation,' Mulvaney said. . . . [He also said] the president doesn't want another shutdown, but he would do it if necessary.   Keep in mind he's willing to do whatever it takes to secure the border. . . .

"On Fox News Sunday, Mulvaney wouldn't directly answer whether Trump would take less than the $5.7 billion, but said the president was willing to negotiate.   The president has already gone to the Democrats and said, look, it's not a 2,000 mile sea-to-shining-sea wall.

"Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, a member of the Democratic leadership in the House, said that a long wall would be ineffective and a waste of taxpayers' dollars.   'That's a 5th century solution to a 21st century problem. . . .  What we want to support over the next few weeks is a 21st century border security.'

"Jeffries said Democrats are willing to invest in additional infrastructure, especially at legal ports of entry where the majority of drugs come into the country.  'We're willing to invest in personnel.   We're willing to invest in additional technology. . .  in the past, we have supported enhanced fencing and I think that's something that's reasonable that should be on the table,' he said.

"Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo, said he thinks a compromise is possible.   'I think the American people are tired of watching the government where people get locked down for no reason except maybe political reasons,' Blunt said, adding that Trump has changed his demands on border security as he's learned more about the problem."

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I detect some subtle changes that suggest both sides are signalling room for some give and take.   Mulvaney, closest to Trump as his chief of staff, takes the harder line, summing it up by saying that "At the end of the day, the president is going to secure the border one way or another."    But note, also, that he says "secure the border," not "build the wall."

Veteran Republican senator Roy Blount talks about compromise and about the people's wishes to take this out of politics.   And Democratic rising star in Pelosi's leadership team, Hakeem Jeffries, lists the "21st century security measures" that Democrats are willing to support.

The stumbling block seems to call for a wordsmith more than anything.   If Trump would stop saying "wall," maybe they could get this done.   The foolish truth, according to rumor, is that "a wall" was simply a word-device that Roger Stone suggested.  As the story goes, the early campaign plan was to make immigration a big issue;   but Trump could never remember to talk about it at rallies.   So Stone came up with the slogan "build a wall," which appealed to Trump.   He would shout it to the crowds, they would respond with shouts of "Build the Wall!"    That was something he would remember to bring up next time -- and it caught on.

So now we just need to reverse-engineer and eliminate that slogan.   Have Trump talk about "border security," and Democrats will negotiate with him on that.

Ralph