Border Compromise Is A Bad Deal 

We told you last week that the purpose of the big border security amendment compromise was not to stop illegal immigration. The purpose was to fool enough of the public so that enough senators would feel they had cover to cast a vote for what is becoming the immigration reform equivalent of Obamacare. 

This is a massive bill full of contradictions and loopholes. Here's more proof. Senators supporting the Corker/Hoeven "border surge" amendment say this deal will build the border security fence. There is already a law on the books (the 2006 Secure Fence Act) calling for a border fence and they didn't do it. It is infuriating and insulting. Why should we trust them this time? As it turns out, we shouldn't. 

Breitbart reports that there is language in the Corker/Hoeven amendment giving Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano discretion over whether to build the fence. 

Liberal politicians spent the weekend on Spanish language shows reassuring the Latino community that citizenship will come before border security. That is not what most Americans want. 

A recent CNN poll found that 62% of Americans said the main focus immigration policy should be "increasing border security to reduce or eliminate the number of immigrants coming into this country without permission." 

Moreover, there is a report today that the new "border security" amendment includes stimulus funds demanded by Vermont socialist Bernie Sanders. Why are supposedly conservative senators like Bob Corker and John Hoeven trying to satisfy a socialist like Bernie Sanders? 

Amnesty Hurting Rubio 

For those, including myself, who had high hopes for Marco Rubio, he is suffering badly for his association with this Senate amnesty bill. According to a new Rasmussen poll, 73% of Republicans had a favorable opinion of Florida's freshman senator back in February. Today, his favorability rating is down 15 points to 58%, and this battle is not yet over. 

In 2010 Rubio ran a solid conservative campaign in Florida after defying the Republican Party establishment by opposing the sitting governor, Charlie Crist. In that race, Rubio was a strong proponent of border security and blasted an "earned path to citizenship" as "code for amnesty." Yet after just a few years in Washington, D.C., he is day-by-day frittering away the goodwill of those who elected and supported him. 

For example, Senator Rubio had previously insisted on an open and fair debate in the Senate. He told Rush Limbaugh in January that he would not support the bill if it was written in secret and rushed to the floor. 

But that is exactly what has happened now with this latest "border surge" amendment, which has added 120 pages to a bill already over 1,000 pages long. Harry Reid is demanding a procedural vote on the new bill today, and it is doubtful many senators have read the whole thing. Nevertheless, Rubio appears to be standing with the "Gang of Eight" rather than standing by his previous statements. 

I still think Rubio could have a bright future ahead of him. But conservative activists will likely not be as enthusiastic about supporting him in the future. The senator will have to spend considerable time repairing frayed relationships and rebuilding trust that has been needlessly lost. 

Obama Aims To Control The Weather 

Stung by recent polls showing a huge drop in support among younger Americans, Obama is moving to shore up his left-wing base. Tomorrow he will deliver a speech trotting out his plans for dealing with climate change. Once again, Obama will be resorting to unilateral actions. The speech reportedly will be heavy on executive actions and EPA regulations given the split control of Congress. 

The hubris of the left is amazing. Given all the things government can't do, liberals want us to believe that it can stop long-term trends in the climate? Like so much of the left-wing agenda, climate change is just another excuse for even bigger government, more regulation and more control over our lives and the economy. 

For example, Fox News reports that the administration has just reduced the amount of federal land available for oil shale development by two-thirds. 

One industry analyst reacted to this decision by saying, "What they basically did was make it so that nobody is going to want to spend money going after oil shale on federal government lands." Just as the United States is poised to lead the world in a major energy revolution, the Obama Administration steps in the way. 

Silencing Dissent 

Here's a shocking story from Maryland about the left's instinct to silence dissent. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting today at Carroll County Community College. 

Unbelievably, a local Democrat county official contacted "the Community College's campus security, the State Police, and the county sheriff's office," concerned about the event. Was he worried about radical Islamists? No. He demanded that a local Tea Party group be banned from the town hall event, claiming that it engaged in "violent tendencies." 

This smear against the Tea Party is outrageous and it is completely false. It is the political left that routinely engages in violence and intimidation. 

Liberal politicians had high hopes that the Occupy Wall Street movement would become a potent grassroots movement. Instead, it quickly developed a lengthy rap sheet that eventually generated a lot of bad publicity.