Cracks are appearing in the Democratic wall of opposition to President Donald Trump’s proposed border barrier.
While party leaders attempt to maintain the hard line that precipitated the partial government shutdown, restive rank-and-file House members are chafing at top-down control.
Virginia Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, along with 30 other members, urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi to make a deal with Trump.
“He’s not talking about a wall from sea to shining sea,” Luria wrote in a letter to Pelosi. “We are talking about physical barriers as recommended by experts.”
Other Democrats are speaking out, too. California Rep. Katie Hill, Washington Rep. Adam Smith and Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos have all conceded that fencing in certain areas is something they are not reflexively opposed to.
By one Republican count, 60 House Democrats have indicated that they support some type of barrier, wall or fence at the U.S.-Mexico border.
In the Senate, New Hampshire Democrat Maggie Hassan said, “We all pledged to work in good faith to find common ground on border security. I think that really starts with making sure we’re listening to the experts on the front lines on this, and that may include strategic fencing in certain places.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., seconded that motion, saying, “Where folks say we need additional barrier protections, I’m all for it.”
These comments leave wiggle room for toxic tradeoffs like legalization of illegal aliens and various “paths to citizenship.” And, as always, there are some wobbly Republicans, too.
But outright opposition to the wall is crumbling as Border Patrol officers point to an ongoing “crisis” along the southern border and new polling in swing districts indicates steady support for a barrier. A Monmouth University survey this week showed nearly 90 percent of respondents oppose any type of amnesty-for-wall deal.
Pelosi, of San Francisco, and other Democratic leaders ensconced in safely blue enclaves may think they can blow off border security without political consequence. Democrats from competitive districts and swing states don’t have that luxury. Neither do the American people.
As Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., put it: “I think the one problem with my party is that we skip over border security, and you can’t.”
With less than a three-week window for negotiations before another shutdown deadline, it’s encouraging that some Democrats are coming off the fence to support a wall. May many more make the leap, and mean it.
5 Comments
Only sane Dems are, the Rest are NOT IE Leadership.
Unless sane Dems rally to face Pelosi & Schumer & back GOP on Wall.
The Wildest Excuse Not to Build Some Strong Physical Barrier
Is we need high tech surveillance like the 2006 Bush failure Wall? I believe Bush’s wall cost $56B and Boeing Co helped with the program….but it doesn’t work and/or was never finished anyway, HUGE unbuilt wall gaps exist in CA.
Why didn’t Bush finish it? Is Bush part of the Open Border Party (OBP) too?
There should one and only one amnesty that could be part of a deal. DACA recipients and only them, which is supposed to be less than a million. It would make Trump look reasonable But no parents and no crying about how cruel it is to deport their parents. There are lots of American born adult children who live thousands of miles away from their parents. If you want to make the argument that the children did nothing, you cannot make that same argument about the parents. Like all other amnesties it would be a reward for illegal entry and only encourage more of the same.
The last thing we need is “comprehensive reform”. As vital as a wall, barrier, fence would be, it is no answer for the half of the population here who overstayed their visas. If the left wants to claim a wall is useless because of that reason, then they are obligated to explain what they have in mind to solve that problem. Amnesty for 20 million people is not an answer.
It is becoming clear that Trump is going to do something, whether it’s send the military to the border or start constructing a barrier, or both. As much as CNN and the rest of the media insist that you don’t see these caravans that you actually see, and as long as Trump keeps the pressure on then the issue is not going away.
The visa overstay problem is solvable by using technology. Make every person coming with a NON immigrant visa get a card, much like a credit card that needs to be scanned at the nearest PO once per month. If there is no scan, the visa holder goes on a list that if stopped by any police becomes a requirement that they be held for INS and not released.
These idiots who think you can achieve something called “border security” probably think they can stop the neighbor’s dog from crapping in their yard without putting up a fence!