The GOP Shows It Doesn't Really Want To Fix The Border

Ever since Biden got in the White House, the Republicans have been complaining about the number of immigrants at the border. They have called it an "invasion", and demanded that the President and Democrats join them is "fixing" the border.

Now it looks like they are getting most of what they have been demanding. Senate Democrats and Republicans have worked out a compromise bill - a bill that "would reduce the influx of migrants coming through Mexico by tightening asylum rules, add new agents for processing and make it easier to send people back who don’t meet the criteria for entry."

It's not perfect, but no bill ever is. Both progressives and right-wingers are unhappy with it, which means it's probably a good compromise. But most important, it would actually do something to fix the situation at our southern border. And it looks like there are enough Republicans and Democrats to pass the bill in the Senate.

The problem is the House of Representatives, where extremist right-wingers are in control. These are the very people crying the loudest for something to be done about the border, and not they are the people who are opposing the bill (and likely will defeat it).

Why would they kill a bill that would give them most of what they have been demanding? 

Because they would rather have it as a campaign issue than to actually fix it. 

They can't campaign on abortion. They are losing big on that issue. They can't campaign on cutting Social Security and keeping the minimum wage a poverty wage. Most voters don't like the GOP stance on this issues. The economy is getting better every day -- with GDP strong and inflation going down. By Election Day, the economy will likely be even stronger. And they can't legitimately campaign on the deficit and debt, because during the last GOP administration they added a trillion dollars to that debt by giving huge tax breaks to the rich and corporations.

That leaves immigration. But if they get a fix to immigration, that leaves them with nothing substantial to campaign on. They would no longer be able to scare the voting public with lies about the border. So they have decided they would rather keep immigration as an issue than to actually fix the problem.

This tells us a lot about the current Republican Party -- especially the firebrands in the House. They are not in office to fix problems. They are there to seize power, and to save their own jobs. They care more about themselves than the country.