Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Not one single advocate for immigrants made an appearance at these fear-mongering events.  Instead, Republicans propped up a series of the those willing to mouth the talking points: the Mexican border represents a wide-open invitation to terrorists, and that the person mowing your lawn, or plucking chickens at the nearest Tyson Foods plant just might be one of Bin Laden's boys.

Royce said U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials reported that "al-Qaida has considered crossing our southwest border" and "it may have already happened."

 Of course, Democrats participating in the event point out that there is no evidence of such an incursion from Mexico, but Republicans stuck to their standard procedure -- they didn't let facts get in the way.

Most striking of all, they returned several times to the theme that immigrant workers and terrorists are impossible to tell apart.  

Sheriff Flores told the subcommittee that terrorists might choose to cross illegally into the United States through Mexico rather than Canada because they would be harder to identify.

"Over here in the border, in Mexico, they pretty much blend in," he said.

Testimony was also given that "it would be easy" for terrorists to pick up the "language and culture" in Mexico.

But wait a second, isn't it much more likely that someone from the Middle East would know English than Spanish?  And what would make the "culture" of Mexico easy for Islamic terrorists to adopt.  Why would it be so easy for them to fit in?  It's almost as if they're saying that... Oh wait a sec... sorry, I get it.  Farm workers from Querétaro state and a Talibani just in from the north of Pakistan are indistinguishable.  

In fact, the Mexicans themselves are suspect.  

The House-run hearing in Imperial Beach, Calif., featured border agents and local sheriffs warning about Mexican terrorists who were eager to sneak into our country to blow up things.

With Bush already sending in the National Guard to patrol border areas, are they concerned that there might be problems with violations of rights along the border?  Far from it.  They're ready to declare open season.

"Some border areas can be accurately described as war zones,"  subcommittee chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., said, referring to Nuevo Laredo, where a drug cartel turf war has claimed more than 130 lives in the first half of this year. "These border vulnerabilities are opportunities for terrorists."

Hmmm, war zone.  Opportunity for terrorists.  They're using the same language to describe our southern border, as they use for Iraq.  It's a treatment that pleases the head of the "Minute Men," who cheered the Republicans on.

in deploying federal troops along America's borders, there is no conflict with the Posse Comitatus Act, as the war zone that is America's southern frontier and the wide-open northern border do not represent a law enforcement matter

 And if you think the Minute Men are content to build a wall and point their guns into Mexico, think again.  They want to bring this battle to every American city.  

According to the Department of Homeland Security's own Inspector General, 45,008 illegal aliens from countries on the U.S. list of state-sponsors of terror (SST) and from countries that protect terrorists (SIC) were released onto the streets of America and it is still not known how many of these illegals, if any, were actually deported.

As the U.S. Senate continues to obstruct real border security, playing politics with America's security and sovereignty, tens of thousands of potential terrorists are roaming U.S. territory free to plan, plot and carry out violent, hostile, potentially devastating attacks on American soil.

Turning our southern border into an attrocity that combines all the worst aspects of the Berlin and Israeli walls is only the first step.  Once the borders are "secure," then it's time to make sure the population is "pure."