It's an article of faith among many 'news' media journalists that the Republican Party has moved dramatically to the right in recent years. It isn't true. For better or worse, the GOP has shifted more toward the center on a host of issues. They've become more beholden to a single personality, yes, which has contributed to different sorts of extremism problems -- but increased and widespread ideological radicalism generally isn't among them. Democrats, by contrast, have moved drastically leftward. President Joe Biden personally embodies the shift. Look at his old positions on crime, abortion, immigration, and other issues. He's become somewhat unrecognizable, compared to his former self. As a Senator, he was the proud author of what modern critics call a draconian crime bill. By 2020, he was indulging the 'defund the police' madness, and selected a running mate who went even further.
To have any shot at winning the Democratic nomination that same cycle, he cynically abandoned his long-held supposed convictions on federal funding of abortion, and has only sprinted further into inhumane territory since getting elected because that's what the party's activist base and leftist donor class demand. We'll get to a flashback clip of Biden on immigration below, but first, here are more soundbytes that fortify my point about the profound lurch of national Democrats since the 1990's. Here's Bill Clinton addressing Congress in 1996 and pledging to crack down on illegal immigration:
"There are some areas that the federal government should not leave and should address and address strongly. One of these areas is the problem of illegal immigration. After years of neglect, this administration has taken a strong stand to stiffen the protection of our borders. We are increasing border controls by 50 percent. We are increasing inspections to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants. And tonight, I announce I will sign an executive order to deny federal contracts to businesses that hire illegal immigrants. Let me be very clear about this: We are still a nation of immigrants; we should be proud of it. We should honor every legal immigrant here, working hard to become a new citizen. But we are also a nation of laws."
By today's standards, he sounds like Ted Cruz. Fast forward roughly a decade, and here's Barack Obama opposing illegal immigration and condemning its unfairness to people going through the lawful process:
“We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked & circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently & lawfully to become immigrants in this country.” Glad we can agree on this, Barack Obama. #SecureTheBorder pic.twitter.com/osJ1dZ8WLE
— Independent Women's Voice (@IWV) June 18, 2019
Which brings us to Joe. With Donald Trump, they say, 'there's always a tweet.' With Biden, there's always a video clip. How's this one?
MUST SEE CLIP. In 2007 Biden was asked if he would allow sanctuary cities to exist. His answer was NO. He said that sanctuary cities turn into dumps and the only reason they exist is because the Federal government doesn't enforce the law.
— MAZE (@mazemoore) January 25, 2024
2020 Biden - Illegals make cities safer… pic.twitter.com/5GiS7WtS8I
He was running for president when he said that, and boy, does he sound different -- both in terms of his rhetoric on illegal immigration, and in terms of his verbal sharpness. Here we are today, and his administration is firmly on the side of 'sanctuary' jurisdictions, scolding the state of Texas for forcing Democratic leaders in those places to live with the consequences of their preferred policies. He has allowed eight to ten million illegal crossings on his watch, including nearly two million known got-aways. In the last election cycle, multiple Democrats running for the Oval Office even embraced the stance of effectively legalizing illegal border crossings. Biden didn't go that far with his words, but his actual policies have implemented that extreme and disastrous experiment. In addition to tens of thousands of confirmed got-aways entering the country with impunity every single month for years on end, Biden's own administration admits that more than 85 percent of 'encountered' illegal immigrants are released into America. The border is open.
I'll leave you with 'sanctuary' governors begging Biden for more taxpayer money to address the relatively small influx of migrants being sent their way by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (not a single extra cent should be given) -- as well as a growing list of governors joining the US Border Patrol Union in siding with Abbott over the Biden administration in the dramatic legal and jurisdictional standoff playing out in Eagle Pass:
7 out of the 9 states on this letter asking the federal government for more taxpayer money are sanctuary states. https://t.co/9VPmyja54G
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 23, 2024
Updated list of states announcing they stand w/ Texas in border dispute w/ federal government.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 25, 2024
Florida
Virginia
Georgia
North Dakota
South Dakota
Tennessee
Alabama
Montana
Idaho
Utah
West Virginia
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Louisiana
Several of these states have also previously…
That roster has only grown since Melugin first posted it (Arkansas, Iowa, Ohio, Wyoming and others have joined). States are joining the battle over authority and sovereignty. Also, Republicans in Congress should not toss a political life preserver to Biden and his party with 'bipartisan' border tinkering. Biden has caused this mess by himself, using executive action. He could largely fix it with the stroke of a pen, but he refuses. It's not the opposition party's job to bail him out with a deeply flawed 'compromise' that will not solve the problem:
It wouldn’t have solved the problem. It would let Biden off the hook for refusing to reimpose successful executive policies, which could dramatically curtail this crisis literally overnight. And it would give Dems bogus cover of “bipartisan efforts” as a talking point. No. https://t.co/3BtHfoltsi
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 25, 2024
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