As thousands of migrants fleeing misery and violence continue to head for the US-Mexico border seeking asylum and a better life, Republicans are looking to score political points.
(To be fair, some Democrats are also trying to do their own share of point-scoring.)
President Biden desperately wants the Party of Trump to lose its ability to use the border as a cudgel in the presidential campaign.
The best way to do that is to pass a bipartisan border bill, which includes some concessions that are much tougher than Democrats were previously willing to offer.
Trumpists don’t want to do anything that has the slightest possibility of making Joe Biden look good . . .
. . . which led to the situation where Republicans wanted to punt any deal on immigration as Biden was pledging to shut down the border.
Meanwhile, federal Border Patrol agents and the Texas National Guard have been engaged in a standoff over who has control of the border after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered razor wire strung along the Rio Grande river.
Enter the U.S. Supreme Court, Abbott defiance, Trump incitement, right-wing Christian nationalists and Republican talk of civil war . . . and you have a very volatile mixture.
The right-wing stew includes a gigantic caravan of thousands of semi-trucks out to save America led by brave Christian nationalists proclaiming themselves “God’s Army,” er, scratch that — it sounds like there were only 20 or so vehicles (no semi-trucks) driven by a bunch of grumpy nutballs.
(But don’t worry, God’s Army made a few bucks and got some more followers on social media for their troubles.)
Give me your tired, your poor . . . and we’ll be at each other’s throats fighting about what to do with them.
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