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May 13, 2005
In Case You Thought the Bureaucracy Had Any Interest in Defending Us...
The Washington Times reports the profoundly outrageous news that for slimy political reasons, US Border Patrol agents have been ordered to keep arrests to an "absolute minimum" in the area that was patrolled by the Minutemen last month. More than a dozen agents confirmed that Border Patrol supervisors have decreed that arrests are "not to go up" along this stretch of the border, because that would confirm the effectiveness of the Minutemen.
A veteran agent who could not give his name because of fear of retribution spelled it out plainly:
It was clear to everyone here what was being said and why. The apprehensions were not to increase after the Minuteman volunteers left. It was as simple as that.
Bureaucratic bigwigs naturally denied everything, but not Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), who pointed out that "we could spend the equivalent of the national debt and never have secure borders" due to the government's complete lack of sincerity on this issue.
Sad to say, Tancredo is correct to lay the blame at the feet of the otherwise admirable President Bush:
We need to get the President to come to grips with the seriousness of the problem. I know he doesn't like to utter the words, "I was wrong," but if we have another incident like September 11 by people who came through our borders without permission, I hope he doesn't have to say "I'm sorry."
Not if but when terrorists take advantage of our undefended border to launch a major attack, the Republican party will be toast for a generation. Democrats may be even less inclined to perform the most fundamental function of government by defending our country from invasion, but they are not in power, so they will not get the blame.
Despite Bush's determination to ignore it, the undefended border could very well become the key issue of the 2008 campaign, even without a terrorist attack. A third-party candidate who credibly promises to defend us could hand the election to the Democrats on a platter, just like Perot did in 1992.
President Bush, please wake up!
Posted by Van Helsing at May 13, 2005 1:06 PM
Comments
This is a classic case of a politician doing two things: A) Trying to shore up minority (though not for much longer) votes for his Party; and B) Caving in to businesses so they have cheap labor, despite the problems millions of illegal immigrants present the nation. This one issue along is enough to prove why Bush should never have been elected. So much for being a defender of the U.S, its people and its Constitution. He makes it harder for Americans to go to Mexico than for Mexicans to come to the U.S, go figure.
Posted by: Joseph (OK Democrat) at May 13, 2005 5:16 PM
Bush's refusal to get serious about the border is enraging, as his irresponsible failure to fire the PC pinhead Norman Mineta. But on balance, I'll take W over anyone else since Reagan. What's the likelihood that John Kerry would be defending the border? This is a guy who has endorsed Antonio Villaraigosa for Mayor of Los Angeles! And Mineta is a leftover from the Clinton Administration. Bush is fighting a war against Islamic terror; the only Dem who would dream of doing the same is Lieberman. And he actually understands that democracy in the Middle East is not only possible, but essential to our security. This issue alone proves we are lucky to have him.
Posted by: Van Helsing at May 13, 2005 6:57 PM
Interesting post. It's cool to see what a group of people can do and the politics that responds. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: The Complimenting Commenter at May 14, 2005 2:44 AM
Outstanding article. This is in the best tradition of involved citizenry. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Harry at May 14, 2005 10:19 AM
I agree with you,VH. This could be one of those issues that could come back to bite the Republicans. If something bad happens that can be traced to inadequate border security, the current administration will be seen as as responsible. I do wish Bush would do more in this area. I also realize that Congress must get on board also to accomplish any meaningful change. With the dims in thier current temper tantrum, they would love to see something happen and then lay it on Bush. If the Border Patrol management is playing games with this issue, they should be fired liked the air traffic controllers. Seems people have very low expectations of the Border Patrol, and they are not living up to it.
Posted by: Eneils Bailey at May 14, 2005 4:51 PM
Really tackling the issue seems to be political poison for Bush, as the NYT et al. are sure to do their best to claim Republican racism. Still something has to be done, or disaster is inevitable.
Posted by: Abe of Lincoln at May 14, 2005 10:56 PM
