The problem with this is - even though Ted might have called for building a wall prior to his run for president - he never ONCE made it a campaign issue until Trump did. Therein lies the rub and the fact that Ted did copy him. M2T and COPY CAT CRUZ at his finest. Even now, he just jokes about the wall, saying he’ll have Trump pay for it, or to see Jeff Sessions about building that wall. This is no luaghing matter and tells me he isn’t serious at all about putting up a wall. All political speak. He doesn’t even watn to go anywhere near what to do with all the illegals already here - says we’ll have that conversation after the border is secure. Oh yeah, let’s not forget his little trip to the border with Glenn Beck to pass out toddy bears and soccer balls. Stick your head in the sand if you want, but many of us are wise to his parsing of words and slick lawyer talk.
As far as I’m aware, Cruz never said anything about a wall. He supported an amendment to the Gang of 8 bill that supposedly forced the government to build the fence that was approved in 2006, signed by Bush, and is already law. Now people seem to be trying to credit Cruz with taking the lead on this issue because of his sponsering that amendment. The problem with that argument is threefold.
First, a fence is not a wall. That difference is no small point.
Second, if we’re supposed to credit Cruz as being the leader on the building of a border fence (not a wall), then the question is why not credit George Bush, and the members of congress who already passed the 2006 bill mandating the building of the fence, instead? The border fence is already law and became law before Cruz was ever on the scene. Trying to credit the border fence (not wall) to Cruz is absurd.
Third, the fact that the border fence is already mandated, and has been law for ten years begs the question. Why hasn’t it been built? The short answer is that neither Congress nor President’s Bush or Obama have had the will to see it built, even though the law requires it.
I would argue that Cruz’s amendment, which on the surface might look tough, would have done little to actually force the government to do what it’s already required by law to do - build 700 miles of fence. And it’s very possible that was always the intention (i.e. include an amendment that sounded tough but in reality could easily be ignored and or bypassed). We already have plenty of tough sounding legislation that accomplishes nothing. Often his is by design. Cruz’s amendment would have just added one more example of such a law to the books.
What’s going to get our border secured is the election of an Executive who actually wants it to get done, not the passing of some tough sounding legislation that in reality has no teeth. If you look at the details of Cruz’s amendment, it’s clear that there were plenty of holes in it that would have allowed its professed intent to be bypassed or ignored.