The Patriot Post® · Border Bills
President Trump’s executive order ending family separations at the border will not solve all the problems caused by massive illegal immigration. So the president has been pushing Congress to act.
And I’m sure you’ve heard the old joke: What is the opposite of progress? Congress!
The deep divisions over immigration policy were on full display Thursday in the House of Representatives. A so-called “hardline” bill, sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was defeated 193-to-231. No Democrats supported the bill and 41 Republicans opposed it.
Most of the Republicans against the bill were moderates who have been pushing for a huge amnesty. But at least 10 good conservatives opposed the Goodlatte bill because there were things in it that they felt amounted to amnesty.
That said, it seems hard to imagine that a majority of House Republicans would back anything that was significantly weaker. And, not surprisingly, Speaker Paul Ryan was forced to delay a vote on a compromise bill until next week.
It could all be an exercise in futility.
Chuck Schumer is already on the record saying, “There’s no need for legislation.” So even if all Senate Republicans stick together, we’re still nine votes short of overcoming a Democrat filibuster, which means nothing will pass the Senate.
But worse than that, Schumer also warned House moderates against making any compromises. Once again, Democrats have dug in on their open-borders agenda.
If Democrats won’t budge on border security and commonsense reforms, why would any Republican risk voting for another amnesty?
If 200,000 people with their kids in tow start marching north to our border this summer, it won’t be Donald Trump’s fault.
It will be the Left’s fault. Progressive Democrats have refused time and again to do anything to secure the border.
Voters Side With Trump
In spite of the media’s hysterical coverage, the Left is overplaying its hand. Two recent polls show that the public sides with President Trump when it comes to illegal immigration.
For example, an Economist poll found that:
58% of voters say illegal immigration is a serious problem. But 55% of Democrats disagree.
When asked how illegal immigrant families should be managed at the border, only 19% of voters supported the left’s “catch and release” policy, while 64% supported some form of detention.
A Rasmussen poll finds that 54% of voters say the illegal immigrant parents are responsible for creating this crisis at the border, while only 35% of voters blame the federal government for enforcing the law. But among self-identified Democrats, 60% blame the government for enforcing the law.
The poll also found that 54% of voters liked President Trump’s pledge to prevent the United States from becoming “a migrant camp” or “a refugee-holding facility.” Only 30% opposed his statement.
By the way, did you see that viral image of the little crying girl who became the face of the #Resistance this week? Well, it’s fake news. She was never separated from her mother.
Something to Think About
We’ve just endured several days of the Left screaming about the immorality of separating families. But liberal politicians are doing everything they can to prevent religious groups from providing adoption and foster care services.
The Left’s hypocrisy and religious bigotry are disgusting!
Left-wing Hate
Earlier this week, I wrote about how unhinged the Left had become and warned that its rhetoric would lead to violence. Well, that wasn’t hyperbole.
A Democrat activist and Planned Parenthood volunteer is under arrest for threatening to kill the children of Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL).
A manhunt is underway for Shawn Cristy of Pennsylvania, who threatened to put a bullet in Trump’s head. He threatened Sarah Palin in 2010.
Occupy Wall Street tweeted out a post this week encouraging illegal immigrants to murder ICE agents by cutting their hearts out. (I’m not joking.)
It’s going to be hard for Kathy Griffin or Peter Fonda to top that, but I suspect they will try.
Goodbye, Charles
During dinner Thursday, we got news that we were dreading. Conservative icon Charles Krauthammer had passed away after battling cancer.
Charles had a remarkable life. In the 1970s, he was a student at Harvard Medical School with a promising career ahead. But in one split second everything changed.
He dove into a pool and suffered a terrible spinal injury. He was paralyzed from the neck down, with limited use of one arm. Yet those closest to him say they never saw in him any bitterness or sense of self-pity. In fact, he graduated on time with the rest of his Harvard class.
While Krauthammer was a hero to many conservatives, he did not start out that way. He once said that he used to be a “Great Society liberal.” In 1980, he was a speechwriter for Walter Mondale. He once served as the editor of the left-wing New Republic, way back in the day when it was still a strong voice on defeating Soviet communism.
But the issue that drove his political transformation was foreign policy. Charles felt that the political Left had abandoned everything presidents like Truman and Kennedy once stood for when it came to America’s leadership in the world.
In fact, it was Charles Krauthammer who coined the term “the Reagan Doctrine” when it came to fighting communism overseas. And like Ronald Reagan, Charles Krauthammer was a strong believer in American exceptionalism. Here’s what he said about it:
“America is the only country ever founded on an idea … and the idea is liberty. That is probably the rarest phenomena in the political history of the world; this has never happened before. And not only has it happened, but it’s worked. We are the most flourishing, the most powerful, most influential country on Earth with this system, invented by the greatest political geniuses probably in human history.”
In 2016, Krauthammer was not a huge fan of Donald Trump. But during the Trump presidency, Charles was supportive of many things Trump did, particularly his strengthening of our alliance with Israel.
Over the years, Carol and I had the opportunity to be at many social events with Charles and his wife, Robyn. It was always striking what a gentleman he was.
Please join me in praying for the Krauthammer family, in appreciation for all Charles contributed to the conservative movement. If there was a Mount Rushmore of conservative commentators and intellectuals, he would be on it.