Not much is more repulsive to this Texan than that border fence. I went to a meeting about it four years ago almost to the day down in Laredo, along the border. The meeting was sponsored by the south Texas district’s member of Congress. It became blazingly clear that corporate interests (along with a batch of racists) were The Wall’s chief supporters. Local sheriffs, not so much. People with ranches along the border, hardly at all. As the video conference with Washington evolved, many at the Rio Grande Valley side of the issue politely dissented. A huge amount of money (destined for corporate pockets) was involved; ranches’ access to water for their cattle would be cut; the project has never been completed.
Many Republicans still yearn for Bush’s boondoggle. I bet some of them, at least, want it as justification for Bush and as a thumb in the eye of libruls. But then there’s also that seductive possibility of huge profits. Keeping Mexicans out is just a big ha-ha. If you look closely at what was planned, you’d see that a lively 2-year-old could probably figure in a couple of minutes how to get through.
Still, the issue may mark the end of Jon Huntsman’s candidacy. Think Progress reports:
Huntsman said he “hates the thought” of a border fence because “it’s not consistent with” American ideals:
HUNTSMAN: I hate the thought of a fence on the border. I mean, for me, as an American, the thought of a fence, it to some extent repulses me, because it’s not consistent with our overall — the image that we projected from the very beginning to the rest of the world. But the situation is such that I don’t think we have a choice.
Centrist liberals who might have liked the looks of Jon Huntsman will drop away after hearing that wobbly, weak statement. Fence fanciers won’t like his tone. Think Progress concludes:
Ultimately, Huntsman concluded in the town hall, a fence may be necessary as he said it’s important to secure the border. But Huntsman’s tone on the fence — which has become somewhat fetishized on the right, most explicitly in Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) infamous “complete the danged fence” ad — may be a problem for Huntsman among GOP primary voters. Already, a message board hosted by the anti-immigrant ALIPAC is brimming with fury over Huntsman’s comments, such as warning of “Idiot Alert” and “do not trust this person.” Another poster adds: “Well then, Huntsman repulses me.”