Rick Perry looks to me like he's on the way out as a presidential contender, and that's probably just as well. The man is a horrid debater. Even in a debate with the Teleprompter Messiah, you need to not come across as tongue-tied for the simple fact it makes you look unsure of your facts, your position, and yourself.
With that out of the way, its really too bad, because I think Perry is getting a bad rap. But its a rap that is resonating in GOP circles nationwide. Here's just one example recently posted in American Spectator from a Republican congressional candidate from North Carolina by the name of Vernon Robinson, remarking at a rally (in front of a Mexican restaurant that is alleged to hire illegal immigrants) regarding Rick Perry's supposed "Amnesty" ideals.
"If Governor Perry's amnesty policy is adopted, it will mark the first time a Texan has surrendered to Mexico in 175 years," continued Robinson. Robinson called for using troops to secure the border, implementing e-Verify, cutting off welfare to illegal immigrants, an end to ballot printed in Spanish and other foreign languages, rescinding birthright citizenship, and restricting the jurisdiction of federal judges who stand in the way.
I'm not sure how much of that Perry would agree or disagree with, but I'll take the governor at his word and assume he sincerely wants to control illegal immigration, meaning like most conservatives he wants to at least slow it to a crawl if not eliminate it all together.
As for me, I find myself agreeing with every single item stated by Robinson. I might be even more hard core than he is. For example, until such time that we can repeal Posse Comitatus and thus put troops on the border (which frankly we should be able to do anyway) we should mandate that our border control agents not only have the right to shoot to kill in self-defense when they are attacked by illegal immigrants at or near the border, but they should be able to shoot them when they are trying to elude capture. If that sounds harsh, bear in mind many of these people are drug smugglers, gang members, and that some even engage in human trafficking. A good rule of thumb is, if you don't want to get shot, don't resist or evade law-enforcement, even if you think you're in the right. Let your attorney sort that out. The Mexican Embassy will appoint you one free of charge and will scream to high heaven in your defense, even if you're a convicted child rapist.
I hope I've made my point. I've been accused of a lot, but being weak on immigration and border security, well that's not one of them. Of course things can change and that might be starting with this post.
My question is, what exactly did Perry say that was so horrible, other than the mangled, garbled, amateurish way he said it?
Let's take it one step at a time. Only instead of looking what he actually said, let's pretend we're Democrats and twist his words around to mean something different than what actually came out of his mouth.
"You Republicans who don't believe in the Texas Dream Act are a bunch of heartless sons-of-bitches"
And of course, as I hope everyone knows, this is not what he said at all. In fact, he wasn't even referring to American citizens, nor specifically Republican voters, in my opinion. What he actually said, to paraphrase him, was "if you don't support giving an education to children who are brought here through no fault of their own, frankly I don't think you have a heart."
This was actually an amateurish and really pretty lame attempt to attack not GOP voters, but GOP politicians and policy-makers who dissent from his views. Where Perry messed up profoundly was in making the mistake of assuming that most Republican voters would agree with him. But he wasn't intentionally attacking them. Perry is not that big a fool. He just hasn't caught on yet that the United States as a country is bigger and more complicated than most things. Including, yes, even Texas.
But conversely, we all screw up when we fail to recognize the unique texture of the Texas landscape. To most of us, illegal immigration is frightening. How many are here, what will be the long-term effects on our culture and society? Will they add an unstoppable horde of supporters to the leftist agenda? It's uncharted territory, to be sure. But Texas to an extent is that territory, and Texans have lived it daily. They have had to deal with the unique problems it poses directly, not as a mere abstract concept.
Seen in this light, I can see Perry's point. Say you have a bunch of kids who have been here since a very young age. Their parents work hard, hidden in the shadows, but in the meantime these kids attend school. Some of them work hard and learn, and make good grades. Some even graduate with honors, as they and for the most part their parents contribute to the culture and society, and don't break the law, other than through the fact that they are here illegally.
Some of these kids have gone on to enter the US military and have fought for their adopted country. Why then should they not be granted a scholarship to attend a Texas University, or allowed to pay in-state tuition, seeing as how Texas is the state in which they have resided, went to school, and worked? Provided they meet the qualifications for attendance, and scholarship, and are willing to work hard, who are we to say them nay? We are always hearing about how we need more doctors, scientists, engineers, mathematicians. Well?
And about this border fence business. Perry is right on that as well. The idea of constructing a fence along the entirety of the Mexican-American border is a non-starter to me. It's grandstanding and demagoguery at best, and anytime I hear someone talk that crap I tend to tune them out. For one thing, are you going to construct a damn fence in the middle of the Rio Grande? Because if you can't solve that challenge then you are faced with the prospect of separating Texas landowners from large portions of their own acreage.
And then, as surely as night follows day, as soon as the fence is built, they will reduce the numbers of border agents, probably by significant amounts. The problem is, you will still need x number of agents or the fence becomes nothing more than a temporary inconvenience. And if you have the number of agents, or national guard troops that you need to make the fence an efficient deterrent, then voila, guess what? Turns out you don't need the damn fence after all, because the same amount of border agents can do the job as good without the fence as with it. Strike that, they can probably do the job even better.
It's like the guy that puts up a high fence around his property. Sure it will keep some people out, all but those that are really determined, and once those determined ones get over, the fence no longer protects you, it protects them. Border agents by and large aren't gifted with x-ray vision. They can't see through the wall any better than the illegals, and if you don't have a hell of a lot of agents, then the illegals will get over. And those that do make it through will be the last ones you would want. And make it through they will, one way or another.
As for the lettuce pickers and the bed-changers, I don't care about them. I want limitations on how many come here, to be sure, and I want those to come here legally, but in the meantime I want to focus our energy and attention on the truly criminal element. If we really, really want to we can get rid of them by shooting them down like the invading army of insurgents that they are in a very real way, if necessary. And make no mistake, that's what they are.
The others we can deal with over time, by initiating a pathway to citizenship for those who have otherwise obeyed the rules and worked whenever possible.
But first we have to secure the borders, in a sensible, realistic way. And a border fence is not going to cut it for the reasons I mentioned. Plus, frankly, I think its intended more as a boondoggle than anything. Just who will build the thing, and how much will it cost. This thing could end up making the Big Dig look like a skateboard park.
So let's all take a deep breath. We have too many important things to worry about. And in fact, this nonsense about a border fence is one of the main things that is holding up progress on actually securing the border. Put the boots on the ground and do everything else sensible that is required to at least slow this problem down to a trickle, and then let's move on from there.
