Resistance to a southern border wall went unhinged this month as opponents attempted to dragoon an imaginary ally, claiming supporters where they don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n
Dredging up a decade-old quote from the Texas Farm Bureau, the activist group Defend Texas<\/a> insinuated that the TFB opposed the wall on grounds that it violates personal property rights. The site featured a photo of former Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke and his criticism of government efforts to seize private land.<\/p>\n Just one problem: Dierschke wasn\u2019t talking about the wall at all.<\/p>\n In fact, Dierschke was objecting to former Gov.\u00a0Rick Perry\u2019s proposed trans-Texas corridor. That ill-fated project aimed to build 4,000 miles of toll roads, rail lines and utility corridors across the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n Bureau spokesman Gene Hall said Dierschke\u2019s comments and likeness were used \u201cwith reckless disregard\u201d of the facts. \u201cIt\u2019s an 11-year-old quote and it has no meaning to the [wall]discussion,\u201d Hall stated in a letter demanding that the post be taken down. TFB has taken no official stand for or against the wall.<\/p>\n Caught in their fabrication, Defend Texas quickly retreated, then lamely asserted<\/a> that the Farm Bureau\u2019s threat of legal action signaled that the anti-wall crusade is gaining traction.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no evidence of that either. While polling in Texas\u2019s big cities shows mixed reactions to a wall,<\/a> President Donald Trump\u2019s proposed border barrier remains widely popular among the state\u2019s rural residents, many of whom are members of the Texas Farm Bureau.<\/p>\n