Speaker Mike Johnson took no fewer than 60 of his House GOP colleagues on a trip to the southern border this week, enacting a ritual that is both familiar and pointless. The playbook is rife with cliches: Don outdoor-rated clothing (tactical pockets are a bonus); nod gravely while speaking to Border Patrol agents; gaze determinedly into Mexico; and hold a press conference to repeat words such as “crisis” and “open borders” dozens of times. That’s what you call leadership.
Republicans treat these jaunts to the border as accomplishments in themselves, far more meaningful than any legislative response. The same holds true for their main immigration “solution” in Washington: moving to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Not because Mayorkas has committed any malfeasance but because … well … they haven’t quite been able to say why they want to impeach him, other than the fact that it’s a good excuse to shout about the border some more.
Republicans’ disinterest in a legislative fix reflects the leader of their party.
Given this toxic stew of silliness and bad faith with which Republicans approach a complicated policy issue that they claim to care about above all others, you’d think the White House and congressional Democrats would be roasting them mercilessly. They’d be telling the public that only one party is serious about immigration, and it isn’t the one that shouts the loudest about it.
If only that were true. Instead, the White House and Democrats seem helpless as Republicans insist on blocking President Joe Biden’s request for more Ukraine funding — or even funding for the government as a whole — unless it is joined to radical immigration policy changes that they know Democrats won’t tolerate. The result may be no more help for Ukraine, and it certainly won’t be anything to address the problems at the border. Which is just fine with Republicans.
Consider the incentives at work for your average…
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