Texas GOP to Obama: Don’t mess with us

President Barack Obama singled out the Texas congressional delegation during his recent speech on the border crisis from Dallas – arguing that if this influential bloc of Republicans backed his emergency spending plan, it could pass “next week.”

Texas GOP lawmakers said Thursday that Obama’s supplemental request is essentially dead on arrival with them, as well as the broader House Republican Conference. They fumed about the president’s handling of the crisis — and how he’s putting pressure on Congress to solve it.

“He caused this and so now he’s trying to blame it on us, that we’re holding up the fix?” said a peeved Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) on Thursday. “That is patently false.”

Any additional spending request would face tough hurdles in Congress, but Obama’s $3.7 billion proposal detailed earlier this week is running into steep opposition from Republicans on Capitol Hill and is all but certain to be rejected in its current form.

If Obama wants to get Republican support, the key selling point will be pairing the extra funds he’s seeking with significant policy changes meant to get at the heart of the reason why unaccompanied minors from Central America have been trying to enter the United States illegally in record numbers. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson testified Thursday that as many as 90,000 unaccompanied minors may cross the southwest border before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

But the policy changes the GOP is seeking could come at the expense of support from some Democrats who are eager to provide the emergency aid but aren’t so sure about tweaking a 2008 anti-trafficking law that makes it more difficult for migrant children from countries that don’t border the United States to be repatriated.

That’sgreat but all I have heard or read from the Governor of Texas is a lot of gassy rhetoric that neatly avoids even ever using the phrase ‘secure the border’. Listened to Perry again on Hannity today. More of the same blather. Spent most of his air time filibustering by blabbing in extenso about the splendid, wonderful, patriotic ‘heroic men and women’ of the Border patrol. No mention of his determination as Chief Executive of the sovereign state of Texas to use his authority as commander of both the Texas NG and the State Guard to seal the border and capture and hold prisoner all violators of the international border of his state. The only comment was some whining about the Mahdi not ‘authorizing’ use of the TNG. That means turning on the federal money tap to pay the state back for paying Guardsmen called up. Hannity was his usual lame , stupid self. Parroting Perry's irrelevant 4th of July rhetoric and carefully avoiding asking his Gubernorship why he isn't acting as the Texas Chief Executive and really using the power of the state to protect the citizens of Texas. The political class is so benumbed by Chamber of Commerce money and the institutional inability of a group who has spent their life using words to avoid action and who really don't know how to take action when a true crisis arrives. I have seen this before, in Louisiana after Katrina. The governor was a pos before the storm but she and her minders literally did not know how to take action in the face of a crisis . This crisis is even more existential and the GOP both doesn't want to do anything and doesn't know how in the first place.

Perry could become the most popular governor in the nation if he would stand up and secure his southern border. Cannot figure this out, regarding Perry ... so guess will have to go back to small ‘p’ in perry. The first politician to take action and not offer simply lip service could very well be the next President. Wonder if any politician will stand up and take action, instead of offering words only?

Not only is Perry not doing anything but we have yet to hear from Abbott, Patrick or Paxton. Obviously they are involved in campaigning but it’s a long time until November for we Texans and I, for one, want to know what those three candidates intend to do or at least their position on the issue.

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