Former Florida Governor turned Senator Rick Scott wrote a piece for the Washington Post today on the stalemate between Democrats and Republicans over the issue of immigration. Scott says a compromise position that would please people on both sides is obvious but is being stalled by Democratic hate for President Trump: “I’ve been a U.S. senator for three weeks now, and I can tell you that reports of hate and incompetence in Washington are severely understated. Things are actually much worse than they appear.”

Scott writes that Republicans are right to demand a physical border barrier and Democrats are right to expect DACA recipients to get some sort of legal status. So why can’t the two sides compromise?

The truth is, the vast majority of Republicans are ready to make this deal, and are ready to provide a route for the dreamers. But Democratic leaders are not ready to make this or any deal. Sure, the Democrats have voiced support and cast votes for border security in the form of physical barriers in the past, but they won’t do so now because of their hatred of the president of the United States. Hate is bad that way; it clouds your judgment. As former senator Alan Simpson said at the funeral for former president George H.W. Bush, “Hatred corrodes the container it’s carried in.” That’s the predicament that Democratic leaders find themselves in now. They hate President Trump so much that they cannot behave in a rational manner… Securing our borders with a physical barrier is not a partisan issue, it’s a common-sense issue. Likewise, once we agree to secure our borders, it is only common sense to deal fairly and justly with the dreamers. There is only one thing standing in the way of this common-sense solution for America: irrational and clouded thinking motivated by hate from Democratic leaders in Washington.

Sen. Scott makes a compelling point. It’s one that people on the left and right have made for at least a year. The compromise is so obvious and would benefit both sides so why is it being ruled out? It’s worth noting that the left’s take on this is that Trump was offered that deal and refused it, making the stalemate his fault. But even if you think that was true then, the offer was made the other way just over a week ago. According to Nancy Pelosi, it’s a non-starter.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that the president’s suggestion of border security legislation that would trade any temporary protection for DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals) recipients for a permanent border wall is a “non-starter.” Her comments come as Democrats begin to work with Republicans in an effort to formulate a deal on border security while averting yet another government shutdown. “Those protections were there until you decided to take them away so now you’re going to come back and say ‘I’ll give them to you for three years’ that is not a protection, a protection is something that has certainty to it,” said Pelosi.

That does sound a bit like spite but maybe she’s just holding out for a better deal? I tend to think Sen. Scott is on to something here. The compromise is there to be made. At this point, with the 2020 election just gearing up, you have to wonder if Democrats haven’t decided the issue is worth more to them than the solution.