It would not be an exaggeration to say that Democrats have gotten carried away with their opposition to a border wall. Building a barrier along the southwest border to stem the tide of aliens crossing illegally into the U.S. made enough sense to the Dems that in 2006 they authorized the construction of 600 miles of fencing. But now the notion has become so odious — so “immoral,” if you will — that last week 2020 presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke said that given his druthers he would actually tear down the existing wall.
So now that the preposterousness of O’Rourke’s proposal has had a chance to sink in, have cooler minds prevailed in the party of “no”? On the contrary, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), another Dem with her eye on the Oval Office, has signed on to O’Rourke’s plan:
Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on removing existing border barriers: “I could support it” pic.twitter.com/t0mm6reOfm
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) February 15, 2019
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
“I’d have to ask folks in that part of the country to see whether the fencing that exists today is helpful or unhelpful,” she told Fox News. “I could look at it and see which part he means and why, and if it makes sense, I could support it.”
The comment received a predictable reaction from right-leaning commentators:
Nothing says we’re not for open borders quite like tearing down existing borders
— Kevin Andrew (@thiskevinandrew) February 15, 2019
Senior editor of The Federalist David Harsanyi made a mock inventory of Democratic agenda items: “removing border barriers, banning private health insurance, getting rid of affordable energy, supporting infanticide.”
While speaking in New Hampshire, Gillibrand also gave utterance to another popular Democratic talking point: that the border crisis is “manufactured.”
“I think the only national emergency is the humanitarian crisis that President Trump has created at our border by separating families from children and treating people who need our help inhumanely. I think this is manufactured, I think this [is] inappropriate,” she said.
Interesting but we can’t find any opposition from her to Obama’s separation of families at the border.
Gillibrand also favors abolishing ICE, which she identified last July as the “first thing we should do” if the Democrats gain control of the Senate and House.
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