I have lived in Texas over sixty years, and the border has been a mess the entire time. John McCain helped clarify the problem in his last book, "The Restless Wave". In 2012 McCain, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and five other senators (4 Dems and 4 R's total) came together on an immigration bill. The bill provided for more security and enforcement, more fencing, more customs and border control agents. It provided a more elaborate employment verification system and addressed visas among other things. As McCain wrote, "the bill was a balanced, conservative, scrupulously thorough and fair attempt to settle the immigration problem...". It passed the Senate but was ultimately buried in the House by the Republican Freedom Caucus. Or as McCain called them "the say no to everything crowd". Republicans use the border as a political hammer. They don't give a damn about solving anything especially the border. And it's profoundly aggravating they aren't called on it. Graham is particularly galling because he's conveniently forgotten what he and McCain fought for and that it was House Republicans who shut it down.
The GOP game plan, refusing to take "yes" for an answer, is also holding up new, much needed aid for Israel. Surely the Democrat Comms folks can come up with some way to lay this at the GOP's feet. At this point, I don't care whether this true or not. The GOP is now nothing but a front organization for the Russian secret service. I'm prepared at this point to use any measure, no matter whether ethical or not, to defeat this agent of a hostile foreign power. How about some deep fake photos of what he was really doing, hanging with his "friend" Roy Cohn at the notorious gay Disco and center of the drug distribution system for New York's cafe society, Studio 54? Wasn't he seen hanging out at the orgy rooms in the basement?
I bet Putin had this all planned when he and Donnie held their unprecedented private meeting when Trump was President. Only translators and no notes. Or maybe they were just having sex.
In 2022 the Collier County Democratic Election Committee made a significant effort to contact every registered Democrat.. After the election we checked and found that 92% of registered Dems voted. Of course we didn't know how they voted but Collier County far exceeded every other Florida County. So I believe a dedicated effort by County units can really make a difference.
About the border. This is something that the rethugs like to jump up and down and yell about and do nothing about. Whenever a proposal is made that looks like it just might pass, they move the goal posts. Simple fact is, they don't want a border solution. They want to keep this red hot to use as a cudgel against the Dems. The've been doing it for years, why stop now? So they can get up on the floor of the house or senate and rail and scream about a problem they don't want to solve and point fingers at the Dems.
this is all a game because they don't want to fund Ukraine and this is the way they're trying to stop it. And frankly, this would give the biggest Christmas present to Putin you could possibly imagine.
There is no question this is precisely what is going on. Basically democrats offered the republicans effectively whatever they wanted. Putin with his rhetoric has apparently convinced republicans that the biggest loss they can hand to Biden is the loss of a democratic Ukraine. Democrats need to get that out over Christmas because people need to think about what this means. Republicans are negotiating in bad faith and they need to be called out on it.
The first answer to the bind the Republicans have Biden in is to do everything possible to defeat every Republican in the house by working for their Democratic challenger. Even a strong effort in "solid" red districts and states a concerted effort will drain the Republican campaign chests. Let's work to get 100% of registered Dems to vote and Dem leaning Independents. Tell the truth about the great success of Biden in bringing the country into a solid economy and rallying the world to Ukraine's needs.
I don’t think this will help as much as people think (don’t get me wrong it will help in the long term a lot). In the short term you can place orders with this cash for new deliveries but you can’t ship anything we have in stock (not sure what it means for the European governments). It will take years for deliveries to be shipped to Ukraine if we don’t use our stocks
Here's my fantasy solution. Biden should announce something like this: "I'm tired of the GOP foot dragging and not caring about US security at the border. Today I've sent the 101st airborne to 'monitor' the border. No state or local enforcement may interfere with these activities or they risk military or federal detention." And well, drop the mic and walk way from the camera. Oh what fun that'd be...
Shoot I don’t even know if that would help. You could have 0 immigration and I still think we would hear about terrorists/drugs/caravans “streaking” into the country
From the perspective of a recently retired FBI agent whose jurisdiction involved 700+ miles of border, the drugs are brought in almost exclusively through commercial freight. Hundreds of rail cars per day pass through the border without inspection. Add the fact that a one year supply of fentanyl to the USA could fit into a semi trailer and there’s no practical means of stopping it.
None of this is to say that we do not have a border crisis. We absolutely do. But it’s an important fact that almost never comes to light when we are trying to scare people into giving their vote and their dollar.
And no, the GOP absolutely does not want this to be solved. They would, naturally find many other things to bitch about, as the party of grievance, but why would they give up on #1?
Texas just passed a law making it a state crime to cross into TX from Mexico undocumented, no doubt setting up another legal showdown with the federal government.
^^I didn't see it mentioned in this article (and can't find the one that did), but no one seems to have figured out how the local jails are going to pay to feed and house the masses of inmates this would produce. They can't ship /them/ to Chicago!
Maybe they're assuming that this will be sufficient blackmail to pressure people to quickly agree to be deported (also assuming Mexico will take them in). That looks real pretty on paper, but I'm guessing it won't be that simple in real life. Thus, whatever pressure on local communities they relieved with the busing program, they'll re-create themselves. (Cuz yeah, right, Texas lawmakers really give a damn about those border towns.)
Also can't imagine what it will do to relations between federal and state officials. Are the staties going to rip people away from the feds while they're trying to turn themselves in? Are the feds gonna let them?
Abbott's whole excuse for this is that the federal government won't act. He blames Biden, but it's only Congress that can fix this.
I've lived in Texas almost all my long life. We have a large percentage of Hispanics. Abbott has given license to any cop to pull over a brown face and question them. It is going to be bad.
The real problem with the border crisis is that the GOP does not want to actually solve the border crisis. Ever. They want there to always be a border crisis so they can moan about a border crisis and blame the opposition for the border crisis and scare their voters about the border crisis.
The GOP needs the border "crisis/catastrophe/9-11" hysteria as a distraction from the real source of the attack on the US: The Republican drive to install an authoritarian white "Christian" nationalist regime aligned with Putin and Orban, headed by Putin's long-time asset donald trump. "Pay no attention to that fifth column marching down your street. Look--squirrel!!"
Sen. Debbie Stabenow is correct. The Republicans won't fund Ukraine because. . . Putin. But they are afraid to say a final "no" to Ukraine out loud because the consequences for US national security are so obvious and so dire. Instead, they play a blame-shifting game: the Rs abandon Ukraine to Putin but point the finger at the Democrats for "failing" to meet their terms on the border. The border is the R's trump card, and they intend to keep it that way.
The Republicans don't give a rat's behind about the US or its security. They have loyalty only to themselves and their cult, along with morbidly rich donors.
"“I've never been more worried about a 9/11 than I am today,” Sen. Lindsey [Karen] Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters[.]"
-----
Yes, Senator, I agree. Where I disagree is that while you are doomcasting based on the New GOP's opposition to immigration because of the "terrorists" (mostly Muslim or Chinese in your scenario) flooding over our southern border, I see a new 9/11 coming at the hands of *domestic* terrorists who will stop at nothing to rework our country into an image of MAGA wet dreams, replete with a Red Caesar (the Amber Australopithecus) and a single party in control in perpetuity.
I'm much more worried about armed Trump supporters shooting up polling places in swing states. I just read about a well funded organization whose purpose is to make sure no illegal votes are passed in swing states. What they plan to do is harass voters and poll workers. I was a poll worker for a number of elections and my fellow workers, both Republican and Democrat, took our job very seriously. What polling places don't need is a bunch of creepy Trump boys from other states intimidating voters and poll workers.
I'm hearin' ya. Some, maybe many, of the MAGA knuckle draggers probably will congregate in some swing states and try to sway or intimidate the voters and poll workers (thanks for your time) but, while this may be wishcasting, I don't think they can appear anywhere in enough strength to pull it off -- scale it to the number of polling locations there are in your district, then to the county level (if your district does not encompass an entire one), then the state. I'm far from convinced that there are enough Brownshirts to get that kind of coverage. They also need to be in situ for at least a few weeks to cover the early polling locations and ballot drop boxes that Team Blue utilizes so well. The travelers will not get as much local support as they want and need.
Plus, I'd have to imagine that mayors and county administrators would notice an influx of people who don't try to hide what they are; although when it comes action time the will hide *who* they are behind ball caps pulled low over their faces, balaclavas pulled up over their faces and tinted sunglasses. The LEOs will be on heightened alert; or at least those that aren't members of the CSPOA. And, while not a fan of armed militias from either side, I'd bet that if word got out that they are needed -- unofficially -- the members of the John Brown Gun Club and similar groups would be there standing toe to toe, face to face with the MAGA army, matching assault-type long guns and handguns with their own.
As much as I try to understand the cultists of the Tangerine Troglodyte*, without success, I doubt that there are a majority of MAGAdroids that would resort to violence to reinstate him. I have family and friends who think the Apricot Arthropod was a successful POTUS, who lost in a fair election in 2020 and have every intention of backing him in 2024 but not one who has a violent or insurrectionist bone in them. To paraphrase a yard sign my neighbor has: they are Republicans, but they are not morons.
(* I'm taking this opportunity to respond to your other reply, earlier today. I purposely refrained from referring to Homo Australopithecus in this reply as an homage to our early ancestors or dawn-of-humankind sisters/brothers/cousins, but will be returning it back into the rotation. My reference is to the genus' small brain in relation to the orange pip of a brain TFG has, both of which are undeniable. Besides, I like it too much to let it go.)
BTW, sorry for the length of my comment. I had an English professor back in the dark ages who regularly pointed out what I already knew: I suffer from acute diarrhea of the fingers and have a difficult time self-editing.
I have lived in Texas over sixty years, and the border has been a mess the entire time. John McCain helped clarify the problem in his last book, "The Restless Wave". In 2012 McCain, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and five other senators (4 Dems and 4 R's total) came together on an immigration bill. The bill provided for more security and enforcement, more fencing, more customs and border control agents. It provided a more elaborate employment verification system and addressed visas among other things. As McCain wrote, "the bill was a balanced, conservative, scrupulously thorough and fair attempt to settle the immigration problem...". It passed the Senate but was ultimately buried in the House by the Republican Freedom Caucus. Or as McCain called them "the say no to everything crowd". Republicans use the border as a political hammer. They don't give a damn about solving anything especially the border. And it's profoundly aggravating they aren't called on it. Graham is particularly galling because he's conveniently forgotten what he and McCain fought for and that it was House Republicans who shut it down.
Personally, I'm more interested in the Gaetz ethics investigation.
The GOP game plan, refusing to take "yes" for an answer, is also holding up new, much needed aid for Israel. Surely the Democrat Comms folks can come up with some way to lay this at the GOP's feet. At this point, I don't care whether this true or not. The GOP is now nothing but a front organization for the Russian secret service. I'm prepared at this point to use any measure, no matter whether ethical or not, to defeat this agent of a hostile foreign power. How about some deep fake photos of what he was really doing, hanging with his "friend" Roy Cohn at the notorious gay Disco and center of the drug distribution system for New York's cafe society, Studio 54? Wasn't he seen hanging out at the orgy rooms in the basement?
I bet Putin had this all planned when he and Donnie held their unprecedented private meeting when Trump was President. Only translators and no notes. Or maybe they were just having sex.
I don’t disagree but this assumes the voters care more about Israel/ukraine than the border. My bet is on the border unfortunately
In 2022 the Collier County Democratic Election Committee made a significant effort to contact every registered Democrat.. After the election we checked and found that 92% of registered Dems voted. Of course we didn't know how they voted but Collier County far exceeded every other Florida County. So I believe a dedicated effort by County units can really make a difference.
Not one step back!
The republican party is no
longer the party many of us
ever knew. They can be likened to terrorists and are
holding Ukraine hostage as
ransom on border reform they
have no intention of doing.
When you have Orban's toads
in closed door meetings with
republicans and the Heritage
Foundation wines and dines
these Putin messengers, you
better damn well stand up
for this democracy of freedom or you'll give it
away to Trump and his ilk.
About the border. This is something that the rethugs like to jump up and down and yell about and do nothing about. Whenever a proposal is made that looks like it just might pass, they move the goal posts. Simple fact is, they don't want a border solution. They want to keep this red hot to use as a cudgel against the Dems. The've been doing it for years, why stop now? So they can get up on the floor of the house or senate and rail and scream about a problem they don't want to solve and point fingers at the Dems.
this is all a game because they don't want to fund Ukraine and this is the way they're trying to stop it. And frankly, this would give the biggest Christmas present to Putin you could possibly imagine.
There is no question this is precisely what is going on. Basically democrats offered the republicans effectively whatever they wanted. Putin with his rhetoric has apparently convinced republicans that the biggest loss they can hand to Biden is the loss of a democratic Ukraine. Democrats need to get that out over Christmas because people need to think about what this means. Republicans are negotiating in bad faith and they need to be called out on it.
In Moscow,"Santa Claus is coming to town.
The first answer to the bind the Republicans have Biden in is to do everything possible to defeat every Republican in the house by working for their Democratic challenger. Even a strong effort in "solid" red districts and states a concerted effort will drain the Republican campaign chests. Let's work to get 100% of registered Dems to vote and Dem leaning Independents. Tell the truth about the great success of Biden in bringing the country into a solid economy and rallying the world to Ukraine's needs.
Truth and facts seem to matter little to the American people. I am not sure what would get through.
That's the question, all right -- what would get through.
In the long run, continuing improving economy.In the short term almost nothing.
Why not release Russian frozen assets to Ukraine? Just do it. The R's will find some other way to kiss Putin's @&$.
I don’t think this will help as much as people think (don’t get me wrong it will help in the long term a lot). In the short term you can place orders with this cash for new deliveries but you can’t ship anything we have in stock (not sure what it means for the European governments). It will take years for deliveries to be shipped to Ukraine if we don’t use our stocks
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/12/ukraine-russia-frozen-assets/676390/?
So is the Democrats' response on the border just going to be to complain to the media about Republican bad faith?
Or will they (gasp) actually take it bigly to the voters?
Getting good grades from The Bulwark etc. is not a strategy.
At least if the voters are genuinely out of f*cks to give, democracy can be laid to rest with a clear conscience.
This assumes that the Republican conference wants to get to a solution. Sure doesn’t seem like it if the republicans already left on vacation
Here's my fantasy solution. Biden should announce something like this: "I'm tired of the GOP foot dragging and not caring about US security at the border. Today I've sent the 101st airborne to 'monitor' the border. No state or local enforcement may interfere with these activities or they risk military or federal detention." And well, drop the mic and walk way from the camera. Oh what fun that'd be...
Shoot I don’t even know if that would help. You could have 0 immigration and I still think we would hear about terrorists/drugs/caravans “streaking” into the country
From the perspective of a recently retired FBI agent whose jurisdiction involved 700+ miles of border, the drugs are brought in almost exclusively through commercial freight. Hundreds of rail cars per day pass through the border without inspection. Add the fact that a one year supply of fentanyl to the USA could fit into a semi trailer and there’s no practical means of stopping it.
None of this is to say that we do not have a border crisis. We absolutely do. But it’s an important fact that almost never comes to light when we are trying to scare people into giving their vote and their dollar.
And no, the GOP absolutely does not want this to be solved. They would, naturally find many other things to bitch about, as the party of grievance, but why would they give up on #1?
Facts and data vs.emotion Guess who wins?
So very well said
The Republicans don't want to legislate and govern democratically. The border issue is like abortion for them: it's all about control.
Texas just passed a law making it a state crime to cross into TX from Mexico undocumented, no doubt setting up another legal showdown with the federal government.
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/18/texas-governor-abbott-bills-border-wall-illegal-entry-crime-sb3-sb4/
^^I didn't see it mentioned in this article (and can't find the one that did), but no one seems to have figured out how the local jails are going to pay to feed and house the masses of inmates this would produce. They can't ship /them/ to Chicago!
Maybe they're assuming that this will be sufficient blackmail to pressure people to quickly agree to be deported (also assuming Mexico will take them in). That looks real pretty on paper, but I'm guessing it won't be that simple in real life. Thus, whatever pressure on local communities they relieved with the busing program, they'll re-create themselves. (Cuz yeah, right, Texas lawmakers really give a damn about those border towns.)
Also can't imagine what it will do to relations between federal and state officials. Are the staties going to rip people away from the feds while they're trying to turn themselves in? Are the feds gonna let them?
Abbott's whole excuse for this is that the federal government won't act. He blames Biden, but it's only Congress that can fix this.
It's naked malfeasance.
These are human beings.
The border is 1400 miles. How are they going to monitor every mile of it?
I've lived in Texas almost all my long life. We have a large percentage of Hispanics. Abbott has given license to any cop to pull over a brown face and question them. It is going to be bad.
The real problem with the border crisis is that the GOP does not want to actually solve the border crisis. Ever. They want there to always be a border crisis so they can moan about a border crisis and blame the opposition for the border crisis and scare their voters about the border crisis.
They also don't want to lose all the cheap labor their ranching and farming constituents enjoy in the red states in the west.
Remember those "caravans" during the last election?
The GOP needs the border "crisis/catastrophe/9-11" hysteria as a distraction from the real source of the attack on the US: The Republican drive to install an authoritarian white "Christian" nationalist regime aligned with Putin and Orban, headed by Putin's long-time asset donald trump. "Pay no attention to that fifth column marching down your street. Look--squirrel!!"
Sen. Debbie Stabenow is correct. The Republicans won't fund Ukraine because. . . Putin. But they are afraid to say a final "no" to Ukraine out loud because the consequences for US national security are so obvious and so dire. Instead, they play a blame-shifting game: the Rs abandon Ukraine to Putin but point the finger at the Democrats for "failing" to meet their terms on the border. The border is the R's trump card, and they intend to keep it that way.
The Republicans don't give a rat's behind about the US or its security. They have loyalty only to themselves and their cult, along with morbidly rich donors.
While simultaneously providing a cheap non union workforce to their corporate donors.
And Trump s Mara Lago
"“I've never been more worried about a 9/11 than I am today,” Sen. Lindsey [Karen] Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters[.]"
-----
Yes, Senator, I agree. Where I disagree is that while you are doomcasting based on the New GOP's opposition to immigration because of the "terrorists" (mostly Muslim or Chinese in your scenario) flooding over our southern border, I see a new 9/11 coming at the hands of *domestic* terrorists who will stop at nothing to rework our country into an image of MAGA wet dreams, replete with a Red Caesar (the Amber Australopithecus) and a single party in control in perpetuity.
fnord
I'm much more worried about armed Trump supporters shooting up polling places in swing states. I just read about a well funded organization whose purpose is to make sure no illegal votes are passed in swing states. What they plan to do is harass voters and poll workers. I was a poll worker for a number of elections and my fellow workers, both Republican and Democrat, took our job very seriously. What polling places don't need is a bunch of creepy Trump boys from other states intimidating voters and poll workers.
I'm hearin' ya. Some, maybe many, of the MAGA knuckle draggers probably will congregate in some swing states and try to sway or intimidate the voters and poll workers (thanks for your time) but, while this may be wishcasting, I don't think they can appear anywhere in enough strength to pull it off -- scale it to the number of polling locations there are in your district, then to the county level (if your district does not encompass an entire one), then the state. I'm far from convinced that there are enough Brownshirts to get that kind of coverage. They also need to be in situ for at least a few weeks to cover the early polling locations and ballot drop boxes that Team Blue utilizes so well. The travelers will not get as much local support as they want and need.
Plus, I'd have to imagine that mayors and county administrators would notice an influx of people who don't try to hide what they are; although when it comes action time the will hide *who* they are behind ball caps pulled low over their faces, balaclavas pulled up over their faces and tinted sunglasses. The LEOs will be on heightened alert; or at least those that aren't members of the CSPOA. And, while not a fan of armed militias from either side, I'd bet that if word got out that they are needed -- unofficially -- the members of the John Brown Gun Club and similar groups would be there standing toe to toe, face to face with the MAGA army, matching assault-type long guns and handguns with their own.
As much as I try to understand the cultists of the Tangerine Troglodyte*, without success, I doubt that there are a majority of MAGAdroids that would resort to violence to reinstate him. I have family and friends who think the Apricot Arthropod was a successful POTUS, who lost in a fair election in 2020 and have every intention of backing him in 2024 but not one who has a violent or insurrectionist bone in them. To paraphrase a yard sign my neighbor has: they are Republicans, but they are not morons.
(* I'm taking this opportunity to respond to your other reply, earlier today. I purposely refrained from referring to Homo Australopithecus in this reply as an homage to our early ancestors or dawn-of-humankind sisters/brothers/cousins, but will be returning it back into the rotation. My reference is to the genus' small brain in relation to the orange pip of a brain TFG has, both of which are undeniable. Besides, I like it too much to let it go.)
BTW, sorry for the length of my comment. I had an English professor back in the dark ages who regularly pointed out what I already knew: I suffer from acute diarrhea of the fingers and have a difficult time self-editing.
fnord
What you say makes sense. I was worried that they would cause mayhem in polling places. This would reinforce the idea that our elections are not fair.
Bravo!