Posted by
Patrick Henry on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 1:53:01 PM
Barack Obama has made his world tour apologizing for America's sins and promisng
to do better. But like so many buffoons who "protesteth too much," he has turned a
cynical blind eye to the real bones in the nation's closet.
What is going on along our southernmost borders--in California, New Mexico, Arizona
and Colorado--is so shameful as to defy verbal description. Thousands of illegal immigrants
stream across the border between Mexico and the U.S. daily, bringing with them their
dreams of full employment and a better life, but also their guns, their drugs, their human
chattel and a Pandora's Box of social problems for these border states to solve.
All the while the federal government, whose constitutional responsibility is to protect these
borders and enforce existing immigration laws, whistles a happy tune, turns a blind
eye and plays politics around the euphemism "immigration reform." If it's possible, the
response of this administration (and the last) to what has become a crisis situation, is even
more impotent than its promises to prevent Iran from obtaining nukes. George W. Bush
had a "southern blind spot" and fiddled while Mexican criminals stockpiled bigger and
better matches. Now, Barack Obama has pulled out an even bigger fiddle while the border
burns with violence and even more illegal entries.
Made desperate by the abdication of federal resposibility, states are starting to take
matters into their own hands. On the Arizona governor's desk at this writing is tough new
legislation making it a state crime for illegal aliens to be in the state and empowering
local law enforcement having "probable cause" to believe any detainee may be such a
person to demand proof to the contrary. While many contest the constitutionality of the
law (because it smacks of racial profiling), fully 70% of Arizonans support it.
Saddest of all is the fact that Barack Obama could stop this madness if he really wanted
to. But two diametrically opposed solutions are being advocated, each with potentially
severe political consequences for him. Latino advocates are demanding that he shelve
other legislative priorities and immediately tackle "immigration reform" (which is liberal
code for granting blanket amnesty to those who are in the country illegally). The problem
with that solution is that an overwhelming majority of Americans--even bigger than the
one that opposed his healthcare reform--reject that out-of-hand. They are smitten with
odd notion that America is still a nation of laws, that the law is not trumped by these
illegals' economic motivation, and that under the constitution it is the government's
responsibility to enforce them. The downside for Obama is that an elected official from
his own party (predictably hispanic) has threatened to urge hispanics to stay home
during the next election if he doesn't act on their behalf now. The threat, by the way,
rings incredibly hollow, since there is no way they would think they're going to get a
bettr deal from the Republicans.
Another alternative, favored by a majority of Americans, is to close the borders, by
military force if necessary, crack down (with fines and even jail time) on employers
who knowingly hire illegal aliens and arrest and deport all criminal aliens. This is
precisely what Arizona is setting out to do on its own. In a slightly more moderate vein,
some congressional Republicans suggest they may be open to some limited form of
amnesty when, and only when, the borders have been sealed and provisions put in
place to prevent continuing illegal entry. The downside of this is that there are between
twelve and thirty million illegals already here. They and their sympathizers are already
rioting in the streets in protest. And closing the borders (which we should have done
instead of invading Iraq) will be VERY expensive and will roil relations with the Mexican
government.
So what will Obama do? Nothing for as long as he can, which may not be too long.
He will undoubtedly attempt to further politicize the issue by trying to ram through a
general amnesty before addressing border security in order to play Latino voters off
against Republicans who represent the majority sentiment on the matter.
What should he do? He should dispatch large numbers of national guardsman to the
border states locked and loaded, and not confined to cleaning out Port-A-Potties for
the beleaguered Border Patrol, but ordered to attack and, if neccessary kill anyone
who attacks them. The Mexican drug cartels, now armed with grenades, automatic
rifles and heavy machine guns are a foreign invader and a clear and present danger to
America's national security. When are this president and his national security advisor
going to get off their dead ends and do their jobs? The message from the border states
is clear: we cannot stand another three years of this, and if you won't do anything,
then WE will!