Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
President Ronald Reagan is supposed to be some kind of iconic hero for having said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." That was then, this is now.
Today, Republicans are falling all over themselves to put up a wall on the U.S. border — just with Mexico, mind you. Canada, not so much. (Those sneaky devils look and sound just like us).
Sen. John McCain, in a death spiral of abandoning whatever principles the simps in the McMedia told us he had (this is the real McCain I have always known), continues his descent to crash and burn in conservative crazy land with this cheesy new ad now running on the air: "Complete the danged fence."
The ad features Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, aka "Joe, Jr.," who is suddenly McCain's best new friend, like (not named) Joe the Plumber( not a plumber) in 2008. Always with the gimmicks.
Well garsh darn, Grampy cankypants, what have you been doing in the U.S. Senate for the past 24 years? What accomplishments can you point to in securing the border and creating an orderly immigration process with a pathway to citizenship, Mr. "I know how to fix the immigration problem"? What's the matter, Johnny, cat got your tongue?
Oh that's right, you failed to pass your immigration bill, and then said you would vote against your own danged bill in 2008 when you ran for president as you pandered to the "Know Nothing" nativist/racist wing of the Republican Party.
What good is a fence when the border has dozens (hundreds?) of tunnels under it? Any man-made obstacle is doomed to failure due to human ingenuity. For example, Hadrian's wall (Scotland), the Great Wall (China), the Maginot Line (France), the Atlantic Wall (Vichy France), and of course, the Berlin Wall (Germany), for which Ronald Reagan was sainted by the right for asking Mr. Gorbachev to tear it down.
McCain does have Reagan's "simple solutions to complex problems" down pat. Let's not discuss U.S. trade agreements, or economic development policies, or monetary policies, or the exploitation of immigrant labor in the U.S., or the unquenchable demand from U.S. citizens for illegal drugs supplied by drug cartels, etc. No, "let's build a wall." What a simpleton.
Actually, David, the fence has a fascinating purpose – it is a great spur to ingenuity – should we go over it? Under it? through it?????? In fact, I seem to remember reading a while back about an elaborate tunnel that was constructed under the fence.
If you want to catch people coming illegally, the only way is to devise a system of random check points – in the desert, on the roads – the key is to randomize. If people have no clue where they will be stopped or when, they will be much less likely to try.