Now Democrats and The Left Want To Defund… DHS? The Timing Is Curious

Hotair ^ | 07/27/2020 | Jazz Shaw

[SeekAndFind]

The fluid way that the left has suddenly pivoted to a new line of attack on law and order, with multiple voices being raised seemingly overnight, certainly looks suspicious to say the least. In an op-ed over the weekend at the WaPo, former California Senator Barbara Boxer (D) pours her heart out to the nation about one of her lasting regrets. She was one of the members of Congress who voted to create the Department of Homeland Security following the attacks of 9/11. And now she wants everyone to know how sorry she is for that terrible mistake. Of course, it probably wouldn’t have been such a terrible error were it not for… you guessed it… the Bad Orange Man.

Here are the three words that no elected official, serving or retired, wants to say: “I was wrong.”

Throughout my career, I was known for taking some very lonely votes. But I made a mistake in 2002 when I voted to create the Department of Homeland Security, which had been recommended by a number of members of Congress in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 the year before.

Looking back in the congressional record, I could hear the doubts in my voice.

Boxer goes on to point out how Presidents Bush (43) and Obama selected “talented, caring and competent” people to lead DHS. But the Bad Orange Man has not, leading to federal goons harassing the “overwhelmingly peaceful” protesters who are struggling against police violence toward Black citizens. So the creation of DHS was obviously a “mistake” and she wants us all to know how sorry she is.

Right on cue, in fact, within a matter of hours, the New Yorker published a column by staff writer Jonathan Blitzer. The title probably says it all. “Is it time to defund the Department of Homeland Security?” Mimicking Boxer’s words, Blitzer references the “mostly peaceful demonstrators.” He then goes on to bemoan the situation and ask what agents from ICE and CBPP are doing “in the streets of U.S. cities nowhere near the border, policing citizens who have broken no laws?”

Not for nothing, Jonathan, but when you’re setting fire to federal courthouses and firing rockets at cops and federal agents, I’m pretty sure you’ve violated the odd law here or there.

The author then goes on to carp about how the budget for DHS has grown over the years, primarily going to immigration enforcement. So after this lengthy history lesson, does he have a suggestion about what should be done? Of course he does.

Is there anything that can be done at this point to curb D.H.S.’s heedlessness? When the news from Portland first broke, Democrats in the House were having internal discussions about how to handle the department’s budget for the coming fiscal year. It’s a thorny topic in the caucus, with members split between a desire to target appropriations for legitimate security needs and an increasing wariness of D.H.S.’s broader enforcement functions.

There you have it. It’s time to defund the agency responsible for preventing terrorist attacks and protecting our borders. And we must do it in the name of stopping “Trump’s goon squad” from harassing peaceful people exercising their First Amendment rights.

Blitzer’s New Yorker colleague Masha Gessen chimes in on the same day, claiming that DHS “was destined to become a Secret Police Force.” It’s almost as of this message was sent out from some central planning office to blanket the media in a blitz attack. But no, I must be just paranoid. I’m sure it was all just a massive coincidence.

The Department of Homeland Security wasn’t created perfectly, but it’s been streamlined over the years in a series of needed course corrections. And given the state of the world today and the number of enemies who are always looking for an opening against the United States, we probably need them now more than we ever did. Domestically, the department represents one of the few, flexible tools the White House has available to attempt to curb the rioting engulfing our cities and restore the rule of law in places where police departments are overwhelmed and increasingly outgunned. But if it scores points against the Bad Orange Man, let’s just cut their funding, right? Sometimes these people are so predictable that it makes my head hurt.

[BuffaloJack]

I would support defunding DHS, but not for the same reasons.
DHS was created under George W. Bush after 9/11 for no reason other that to show we are doing something. The FBI always did the stuff done by DHS. Since its beginning, DHS has assumed a lot of things done by other departments. DHS is redundant and needs to go away. The FBI should resume the tasks taken over by DHS. And the same goes for all the activities previously done by other agencies. Immigration needs to pick up the tasks DHS took from it.

[Yo-Yo]

Dubya never should have caved into the Democrats and created the DHS in the first place.

However, if Dems are for defunding DHS, then I’m against defunding.

[Vaduz]

The lefts idea of law is it’s ok on the books but don’t use them unless it’s for our cause.
A very dangerous lot the left they don’t even trust each other.

[Reily]

Agree ! I also wonder what idiot gave it the Orwellian sounding name. DHS was a clusterf^%^*K when it was formed and still remains so. It took several functioning not complimentary LEO oriented agencies and broke them to merge them together. For example it’s intelligence analysis unit is so incompetent that it contracts out analysis to such luminaries like SPLC. Unbiased source there right? It’s so biased in its analysis that that must have been DHS’s goal !

[Dogbert41]

Throw in the FBI, CIA, FISA Courts, the Dept. of Education, NPR, Endowment for the Arts, and we have a deal!

[Lurkinanloomin]

I agree, GWB should never have invented DHS or TSA.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The propagandists have apparently read up on their Alinsky:

Rule No. 8: “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new.

[TBP]

Most of what DHS does is improper. I’d be willing to defund it. I’ve wanted to do so for years.

But the Democrats’ timing on this is VERY suspicious.

[TBP]

Some of DHS’s functions are legitimate. But those were already being done. As with other departments, keep the legitimate agencies doing already-established work and abolish the department.

Frankly, I think they put a few legitimate functions under these departments to keep them from ever being abolished.

Even the ones we need to have could be abolished and immediately replaced, so that we can get our people in there. As Morton Blackwell always reminded us, personnel is policy.

JFK did that, abolishing the Bureau of the Budget and immediately replacing it with the Office of Management and Budget, so as to replace the Republican staffers at BOB with Democrats.

[Trumplican]

How about we just defund black america?

[faithhopecharity]

Im all for terminating DHS, its at BEST just another unneeded federal agency and at worst another serious danger to us and our constitutional liberties.
but yes, the timing of the DNC shrills’ defunding demand is “curious” .. since they also demand to defund the INS and the police (and empty the prisons)....

[bk1000]

Wasn’t the DHS created to tear down the “wall of separation“ between intelligence agencies that was put in place by Democrat Jamie Gorellick?
FWIW, I never liked the idea of, or the name “Homeland Security”. Just something creepy about it.

[Sirius Lee]

Okay dems, lets start with defunding the TSA.

[napscoordinator]

I’ve never liked this department. It was made by a president who loved big government and world wide governing. They should decommission the place.

[EinNYC]

Sure, they want to defund DHS—the better to let their hordes of illegals and commie agitators into the country, to complete the destruction. Shoot on sight.

[cuz1961]

FYI

U.S. Coast Guard is now under HS.

Defund them and we will have no one enforceing International Maritime Law.

No more maintaining Aids to Navigation

No more search and rescue

No more inspection of foreign cargo from hostile nation’s

Do you all really want that ?

[cgbg]

It looks like the Trump campaign is finally starting to unleash Alinsky tactics:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1278837925535535105

[ridesthemiles]

I owned a lovable DAFFY Labrador dog who lived to be 15.

He had a higher IQ than ANYTHING Boxer ever achieved.

[oldtech]

Let’s take that one step further & get rid of where the real problem lies. Let’s defund the DNC.