Posted on 09/08/2011 9:30:44 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
And now for a lighter moment from last night’s debate, or at least the weirdest moment. Jim Hoft calls this Ron Paul’s Checkpoint Charlie moment, but it’s really more like an apex of Paul’s paranoid band of libertarianism. In this exchange, Paul opposes building a border fence because he doesn’t believe it represents American values, which is a fair enough argument that one usually hears from Democrats. He then tips over into hilarity when he suggests that the US government might use it to stop Americans from fleeing to, er, Mexico:
I immediately noted on Twitter on hearing this that it was my first laugh-out-loud moment of the debate, which got an angry response from a couple of Ronulans. (Is there any other kind?) One told me to ask the people of the former Soviet Union and East Germany about how ridiculous that might be. Well, it may come as a shock to Ron Paul and his followers, but the Iron Curtain wasn’t what made the Soviet Union a totalitarian state (and it wasn’t literally a wall anyway), nor the Berlin Wall for East Germany. The latter had to build the wall in Berlin to keep people from escaping its police state, which existed before the wall was built or even contemplated. Anyone who doesn’t understand the difference doesn’t belong in any serious political debate.
Besides, I’m pretty sure that we’re not running a great risk of capital flight to Mexico at the moment. Our southern neighbor is teetering on the precipice of becoming a failed state, kidnappings are an epidemic, cartels run entire swaths of the country, and the political environment sounds somewhat like the lyrics to “All She Wants to Do is Dance.” Even if an eventual US government closed the border to keep Americans in, we have a wide-open border on the north and two oceans on either side. Americans would like Canadians and swimming a lot better than taking their chances with the drug cartels. And if we were ever in a position where Americans wanted to escape to Mexico, then a border fence would almost literally be the least of our problems.
Well, if Ron Paul makes sense to you, I have to ask...What did you change it into, A cheese cake?
And half the country is closer to the Mexican border.
What I find interesting is how Paul’s rabid supports portray him, it is like they have no concept who he really is.
Lol ... thanks NT, never saw that one before.
- (disclaimer: it’s just a joke, son.)
Why do the jokes seem to make more sense than what the current proposals offered by our government these days?
Rhetorical question ... no need to answer ;)
Even so, it’s impossible to keep any American out. You would have to have government ground all airplanes, prevent all boats from sailing, and prevent all cars from travelling anywhere.
I’d like to see which military unit will be willing to implement what Ron Paul fears in these United States.
Sabotage, IEDs, ambushes, oh my!
Sabotage, IEDs, ambushes, oh my!
Sabotage, IEDs, ambushes, oh my!
Tell me when they start talking about fencing off Canada and the east and west coasts, then I'll start to worry.
Some would still wish to immigrate but the flow could be more easily controlled because they would actually be bringing something besides crime and drugs into the country.
You know, crazy aunt stuff like that.
After all, no nation has ever used a fence (or an ocean) to keep citizens in. < /SARC>
I thought that statement by Paul was so off the wall that he should have lost the whole debate.
Paul is clearly a nut.
I look forward to the day when Paul is no longer running for president.
Neither normalcy nor lunacy are permanent states of mind.
If you went to public school, you may wish to check your parameters.
Because it doesn't keep them out.
Maybe, as a fiscal conservative, he thinks that it is irresponsible to spend $3 Billion in borrowed money to buil a Fence that illegal aliens can easily climb over, cut through or dig under.
Watch how fast illegals can climb over and cut through a $3 Billion Fence
A combination of "boots on the ground" and "removing the magnet" are required to decrease the number of illegals coming in. Tough laws, like that recently passed in Georgia, make it very risky for employers to hire illegals. As a result, illegals deport themselves.
Illegal aliens are self-deporting from Georgia
In the news report on the video, notice that the illegals are self deporting out of Georgia INTO states that have not "removed the magnet".
Probably these guys.
People that think, "It will never happen here," guarantee that will happen here.
Ping!
I would hardly put Ron Paul in the same category with Jefferson and Copernicus.
Maybe you should look at the success Israel has had with its wall. A single chain fence is a farce and everyone knows it. It is a pathetic straw man argument.
Maybe, as a fiscal conservative, he thinks that it is irresponsible to spend $3 Billion in borrowed money to buil a Fence that illegal aliens can easily climb over, cut through or dig under.
But that's not the point he made. His point was, "what if it were to keep us in". And if it wouldn't keep them out, why would he be so paranoid to think that Americans couldn't just as easily get out?
The Mexican government will bar foreigners if they upset the equilibrium of the national demographics. Hows that for racial and ethnic profiling?
If outsiders do not enhance the countrys economic or national interests or are not found to be physically or mentally healthy, they are not welcome. Neither are those who show contempt against national sovereignty or security. They must not be economic burdens on society and must have clean criminal histories. Those seeking to obtain Mexican citizenship must show a birth certificate, provide a bank statement proving economic independence, pass an exam and prove they can provide their own health care.
Illegal entry into the country is equivalent to a felony punishable by two years imprisonment. Document fraud is subject to fine and imprisonment; so is alien marriage fraud. Evading deportation is a serious crime; illegal re-entry after deportation is punishable by ten years imprisonment. Foreigners may be kicked out of the country without due process and the endless bites at the litigation apple that illegal aliens are afforded in our country (see, for example, President Obamas illegal alien aunt a fugitive from deportation for eight years who is awaiting a second decision on her previously rejected asylum claim).
Law enforcement officials at all levels by national mandate must cooperate to enforce immigration laws, including illegal alien arrests and deportations. The Mexican military is also required to assist in immigration enforcement operations. Native-born Mexicans are empowered to make citizens arrests of illegal aliens and turn them in to authorities.
Ready to show your papers? Mexicos National Catalog of Foreigners tracks all outside tourists and foreign nationals. A National Population Registry tracks and verifies the identity of every member of the population, who must carry a citizens identity card. Visitors who do not possess proper documents and identification are subject to arrest as illegal aliens.
All of these provisions are enshrined in Mexicos Ley General de Población (General Law of the Population) and were spotlighted in a 2006 research paper published by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Security Policy. Theres been no public clamor for comprehensive immigration reform in Mexico, however, because pro-illegal alien speech by outsiders is prohibited.
Consider: Open-borders protesters marched freely at the Capitol building in Arizona, comparing GOP Gov. Jan Brewer to Hitler, waving Mexican flags, advocating that demonstrators Smash the State, and holding signs that proclaimed No human is illegal and We have rights.
But under the Mexican constitution, such political speech by foreigners is banned. Noncitizens cannot in any way participate in the political affairs of the country. In fact, a plethora of Mexican statutes enacted by its congress limit the participation of foreign nationals and companies in everything from investment, education, mining and civil aviation to electric energy and firearms. Foreigners have severely limited private property and employment rights (if any).
As for abuse, the Mexican government is notorious for its abuse of Central American illegal aliens who attempt to violate Mexicos southern border. The Red Cross has protested rampant Mexican police corruption, intimidation and bribery schemes targeting illegal aliens there for years. Mexico didnt respond by granting mass amnesty to illegal aliens, as it is demanding that we do. It clamped down on its borders even further. In late 2008, the Mexican government launched an aggressive deportation plan to curtain illegal Cuban immigration and human trafficking through Cancun.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.