Democrats seem to be united in their absolute refusal to consider any propositions including funding for Trump’s promised border wall, but the truth is, many of them voted for similar proposals in the past.
In June 2013, the entire Senate Democratic caucus voted in favor of a bill that called for the construction of an additional 700 miles of fencing along the US-Mexico border, allocated $40 billion to border enforcement, and doubled the number of border agents. Supporters included Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and even Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The bill, which failed to pass in the House, also included visa reforms and opportunities for illegals to gain legal status.
Eleven years ago, 26 Senate Democrats voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 – a bill promising to “help protect the American people” by making “our borders more secure.”
Supporters of the Fence Act included then-Senator Barack Obama, who praised the bill in saying, “Those who enter our country illegally, and those who employ them, disrespect the rule of law. And because we live in an age where terrorists are challenging our borders, we simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, and unchecked. Americans are right to demand better border security and better enforcement of the immigration laws.”
Fast-forward to present day, and Democrats are calling Trump’s border wall “unreasonable,” “ineffective,” “divisive,” and “polarizing.”
National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd calls this behavior “the height of hypocrisy.”
“The only thing that’s changed is we now have Trump sitting in the White House instead of Obama in the White House and all of a sudden they’re against it.”
As The Hill’s Joseph Borelli points out, more illegal immigrants were deported during Obama’s term than any president before him. But you didn’t see liberals protesting or calling him racist.
The key difference between THEN and NOW is that this time, the border wall proposal is coming from a president who has ended DACA protections, enacted a travel ban Democrats view as racist, and launched a massive crackdown on sanctuary cities.
In advance of immigration talks, which began Tuesday, the RNC sent a letter to Democrats reminding them of their voting history. “Don’t let Democrats forget their long history of supporting many of the same measures President Trump is championing today,” said an RNC spokesman.
The border wall is not the only issue on which Democrats seem to have abruptly changed their minds. In the past, several Democrats have also supported moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. When Trump actually announced the move, however, Democrats were quick to blast him for ruining future peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Author’s Note: What these facts show is that (and Republicans have been guilty of this too) the Democratic Party is blinded by partisanship. This widespread hatred against Trump and anything he supports shows no sign of stopping, and we can expect at least three more years of protests and pandemonium.
Editor’s Note: The Democrat leadership certainly knows this history, but the funny part is how adamant the rank and file are against the wall now that the leadership is telling them to oppose it.