Twenty-Seven Wrongs Don't Make a Right

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

In a move almost guaranteed to piss-off his progressive base without garnering any additional support from conservatives, President Joe Biden yesterday announced that he would "bypass" twenty-six federal "restrictions" and begin construction of twenty more miles of Trump's border wall in South Texas.   

(Some left-of-center news sources are saying that the President chose to "waive" twenty-six federal laws in order to resume work on the Trump fence.  "Waive" and "bypass" both sound much more pleasing to the ear - and more legal - than the more crass term of "breaking" federal laws.)

Biden's capitulation is a big win for politicians like Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, and all of the other right-wing hate-mongers who have built their careers on demonizing immigrants by portraying them as something less than human.  Donald Trump, who said just yesterday that immigrants "have been poisoning the blood of our country," can now bloviate that even Joe Biden agrees with him on the need for a southern wall.   Trump has to be loving Biden's abandonment of his principles.

And it IS a betrayal of principles.  When he was campaigning for President in 2020, candidate Joe Biden promised the American people that "There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration."  He made that statement on National Public Radio to commentator Lulu Garcia-Navarro.

Kevin McCarthy is now the FORMER Speaker of the House because he went back on his word to the members of the Republican caucus in the House.  Sometimes when you give your word on something, people actually do expect you to keep it!

Yes, Biden is obviously trying to do a political-favors swap with moderate Republicans in order to get them to support aid to Ukraine, but not only is he victimizing one group of helpless people in order to benefit another group of people in need, he is also relying on honor among a group of politicians, all of whom will attend to their own needs before they worry about meeting anyone else's.  

Biden had justified his move to begin work on Trump's wall based on the fact that Congress allocated the money to do it back in 2019, and that the law authorizing the funding also mandated that the project be completed in 2023.   He said that to not spend that money for what it was intended would be a violation of law.  I'm not sure I follow the logic of that move, if indeed there is any logic to it.  You "obey" one law by "bypassing" twenty-six others and breaking a vow to the American people?

Are we really that dumb?

To Biden's credit, when recently asked if he believed that border walls work, he replied, "No."

But . . . 

Twenty-seven wrongs (26 federal laws and one solemn vow broken) do not make a right, Joe - at least not in my book!