The Texas Republican Convention opened today, and Polimom’s unsurprised to learn that illegal immigration and border security are sizzling-hot topics (Houston Chronicle).
SAN ANTONIO – Irked by what he called federal “inaction” on border security, Gov. Rick Perry unveiled state plans to install hundreds of video surveillance cameras along the Rio Grande to allow anyone with Internet access to witness and report suspicious activity as it occurs.
[snip]
The video will be available on the Web in real time and cameras will have night vision capability. People who witness suspicious actions, including crossings, will be able to call a toll-free number to report it to the authorities.
Polimom thinks this is actually a pretty good idea. Not only does it potentially put more eyes on that border, it lets millions of folks get involved in an issue that’s tearing the country apart.
I do worry a bit about potential overload on the web-servers, but it’s a good trade-off if it’ll keep the militia-vigilante wannabes at home and out of the way.
Is it pandering? I don’t really see it that way… and what difference would it make, anyway? There’s so much of that going on these days, it’s really not worth commenting overmuch about. It’s certainly not a Republican-only tendency.
It’s the larger goal by the Texas GOP that is interesting (KSAT):
SAN ANTONIO — With a powerful denunciation of illegal immigration, Texas Republicans opened their state convention Friday and set their sights on maintaining political dominance this election year.
A tentative new platform for the Republican Party of Texas calls for building a “physical barrier” along the entire U.S.-Mexico border and urges the federal government to deploy agents to round up illegal immigrants and expedite their return to their original country.
“No amnesty! No how. No way,” states one platform plank. The full convention votes on the document Saturday.
Texas Republicans, via Perry’s re-election campaign, are drawing their lines in the sand, hoping their unhappy party members will forgive the school funding legislation and draw their wagons around that now-deeply-polarizing wedge issue, illegal immigration.
Polimom can’t see any reason they shouldn’t go ahead and do just that. Everybody else is.
And for those folks who are still “on the fence” (so to speak) about whether illegal immigrants are actually dangerous or not, Texas Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw has apparently started pushing the big red fear button as hard as he can, according to the Texas Politics blog:
Gov. Rick Perry’s homeland security director told reporters this morning that there is a “tsunami” of illegal immigration coming across the Texas border and many have to be suspected of al-Qaida ties.
“If you think of it as an army of jihadists coming into the country to do corporate style al-Qaida attacks, simultaneous attacks, everyone counts,” said Texas Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw
[snip]
“Not al-Qaida ties. Al-Qaida countries. I’m not going to take the links or associations of individuals back to terrorist groups or organizations in terms of those individuals were terrorist,” he said.
A tsunami!!! Armies of jihadists from al-Qaida countries!!!
Err…. wait… al-Qaida countries? WOW! That’s totally great news! That means we no longer have to fight some vague target like “terrorism”. We have real live countries now! Being able to just target whole countries will make things so much easier.
Of course, there’s always the possibility that the Director of Texas Homeland Security has missed a dose (or three) of his scheduled medication…
Glad this was only supposed to have been a wedge issue. Aren’t you?
Tearing the country apart? Like Terri Schiavo? I gott say I disagree with you on that, and on the plan. This is another manufactured issue to distract people from what should be front burnere issues like this illegal war, health insurance, and energy, among others.
I disagree also thats it’s a good plan. I think it’s a horrible plan. The issue should be dealsy with by professionals, not Superhero vigilante wannabes with computers and cheetos. That’s awful. And it’s an awful waste of taxpayer money. It should go to funding the Border Patrol.
Thom,
I don’t think anybody’s getting distracted from the war (although I have noticed a bit less chatter about the energy). Health care? I’d expect to see a lot about that coming up on 2008, not the off year. (and btw – I like the MA plan)
Remember, we’re talking about Texas…. and this is a border state. It’s not a back- burner issue here, nor is it in, say, Iowa (of all places), where apparently they’re really concerned. (hunh?) They’re talking about TX taxpayer money (hello, TX readers!!!). The Border Patrol is federal.
Yes indeed, there are more global issues, but the illegal immigration issue is as polarizing as any I’ve seen. Not only that, but I’m hugely concerned by the increasing sounds of xenophobia, all over the country. I see that as an enormous issue (though it wasn’t the pont of this post – I’ve written about it before).
And really, I’m serious (although I had my tongue in my cheek in other places in the post) — I’d much rather have those cheetoes-eatin’ vigilante wannabes at home, rather than walking around trying to “patrol the border”.
That is a good point, but I think such sites would lure them to “patrol the border.”
And I simply disagree on whether or not people are being distracted. They clearly are, and they are months before congressional elections. Purposely, I believe. It is an attempt to have a polarizing issue for Republicans to attempt to sway people into voting for them on this issue, hoping they forget they supported a war gone so wrong that most Americans think it is a mistake. It is a massive distraction. No matter where one is. it also serves as a distraction for a host of constitutional issues that have flourished under the Republican rule. It is nothing but a distraction, being used the same way abortion was and is used.
And the fact that it’s Texas taxpayer dollars should have every Texan pissed as hell. It’s a waste. It would be like putting Web cams in all the 7-11s across the country. What good would seeing a robbery in Illinois do me in Oregon? Or more importantly, what good would it do the store? Are we supposed to imagine some vigilante watching at home calling up the Border Patrol to go get someone they saw on their Web cam? It seems cartoonishly ridiculous to me.
And energy and health care issues are not important during congressional elections? You can’t mean that. Of course they are. Hugely.
Yes, actually, that’s precisely what I understand they think the web-cam watching folks will do: call the BP to go get them. (funny, yes? I would expect chaos, actually)
It’s not a legislative action. It’s the state gop convention. It’s the platform they’re developing.
I’m already on record (long since, and many times over) for seeing the parties — both of them — as playing to the wings. This is just more of the same.
But as long as you’ve brought up healthcare, and we are actually discussing issues… what did you think of the MA healthcare plan?
actually, scratch that last question. I’ll do a post about it soon, and everybody can sound off. Too off-thread for this one. (apologies…)
I’ll try to learn more while you do. I know nothing about it. Oregon usually leads the way on issues like this.