When I read the millions and billions it will cost to build a fence to secure the southern border, I am reminded how other huge projects have been funded in America. We enlist families, towns, schools, churches, to support a portion of the cost. If you could figure out how much one foot of fence cost, or one mile, I have a feeling people would step forward and offer to raise the cost of building it.

This is next to meaningless. It's being done to placate we conservatives in thinking something is being done.

You can put the prettiest patch in the world on a hole on your stern of your ship, but if you leave a fifty foot tear in the back unplugged, you are really doing much.

Add to that millions and millions already in this country with no real enforcement being used to convince them to leave (stopping bennies, really going after employers) and it's worse than nothing.

It's an insult, in that they think this will fool us.

Nope...not a penny, till the party demands that citizenship be taken off the table in discussions about immigration reform.

What's the downside? They would have the support of more than 2/3 of the country....and also be right.

I can not understand why you have to offer a path for citizenship before you secure the border. We tried that once and it did not work. Issue temporary worker cards without promosing citizenship and when we prove that the border is secure then work out a plan on how they can apply for citizenship.

Ya know what I just love?

A few years back I just knew the GOP was going to use immigration this and the presidential electoral year. It'll rile up white voting America alright. And most of the red will vote GOP. This is just a great smoke screen you "people" put out there to get Joe Sixpack out there to focus on this issue, and absentmindedly lose focus on the rest of the incredible mess you guys have gotten us into.

This is just so big of deal right now. There's jus too darn many of them darn mexicanos flooding across our border. It's absoulutely ruining us.
They're taking so much of our money that could be spent on the real problem, fighting the war on TERROR! (Yikes, I'm scared just writin' it!)

Now we get to spend even more money on building an incredible fence to keep them mexicanos out. That's what I call a wise investment. We could probably mount 50 ca. machine guns every 30 ft or so as a real deterrent.

But wait, I'm gettin to the part I love. This "little" smoke screen ain't so little anymore is it? It's opened a whole big can o' worms with people protestin an all. What do they matter anyhow, most of em is illegals anyhoo.

But I just love the in fighting and bickering that the smokescreen started. It ain't workin out so good is it?

I laugh at you guys again and again. What a bunch of rubes...

Maroons.

Here's my message to the once-great GOP: f**k you.

These corrupt SOB's won't get one red cent from me.

Boy, raker sure got us on that. What a guy. We can't get away with pretending there are many millions of illegals in our country any more. With a genius like The Rake on the job (if he can quit snorting milk out his nose in mindless glee) we won't be able to fake all those photos of ticked-off illegal aliens marching in outrage that we might actually want our laws obeyed.

What's the story, rake, on the radical Mexican groups who openly state their intent to "take back" states they claim are "theirs"? Did the conservatives invent those groups?

Hey, rake, why not post some rebuttal to the figures of how much illegals cost us every year for their free medical care? Eddicate us on how the figures are all invented about the ratio of illegal aliens in our prisons, vs Americans. Set us straight, oh wise one, about how there is no real problem with having millions upon millions of undocumented people in this country, filling up our schools, using our emergency rooms as their primary medical care providers, breaking our laws because we can't even track them down when they don't show up for court, etc.

Expound on the basic fairness of making millions of law-abiding people sacrifice and work to gain citizenship, and then handing it out to people who started their lives as future Americans by thumbing their noses at our laws.

Good on you, rakester, for pointing out the holes in the immigration debate.

Bet you think the evil CORPORATIONS should have to pay a really nice big minimum wage, too, even to all those illegals, so you uneducated unmotivated unskilled losers can get iPods and Infinitis just like the real workers do.

Yeah, and I'll bet we are supposed to believe that our supposedly teen-aged potty-mouth lib would have given money to the GOP under other circumstances. Just like older liberals do all the time.

But thanks, TAL, for yet another example of what passes for intellectual political discourse on the Left. You and raker are shining examples of the intellectual challenge we conservatives face every day---no wonder we are all quaking in our boots.

(PS---that is called 'sarcasm'. People who get educated learn these things. The rest of you snort and snuffle at the rapier-like wit of rake...and play Pull My Finger.)

Ahm jes try'n to emulate my hero from southern Texas. He don' write so well either! He he he he (I just got the creeps doin that, echhhh!)

Tell me you didn't really fall for that fence ruse, did you? Amnesty is the goal, the fence will never be built. Just look at the 10 years it took to build the 30 miles of fence in San Diego ... lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit.

"Nope...not a penny, till the party demands that citizenship be taken off the table in discussions about immigration reform."

I'M WITH YOU, ALMIRANTA!!

It's going to take a HELL of a lot more than one brain-dead vote to bring me anywhere NEAR the Republicrats again... When they vote the Senate Bill down and agree to the House Legislation, I MIGHT consider it...

Almiranta and dbogdan:

Check out numbersusa.com, there is a section there which rates each congressman, Senator and Governor as to the immigration issue.

It's going to be my voting guide in November.

Any shortcut to citizenship is amnesty.

NO CITIZENSHIP FOR ILLEGALS!

Hooray for voting English as the official language today. It's about time.

Now for the wall...Maginot Line anyone? If you're willing to build it 370 miles, then build the whole damn thing!

Tax breaks AND donations? Not in this lifetime. Let us go after the corporate law breakers that hire illegals. The fence won't benefit anyone other than businesses that profit from a contract to build it.

Ha ha. This is a good one.

Tax payers are already on the hook for paying for this dumb idea and Matt wants people to pay for again.

Heres a better idea , don't build it at all and let the Minutemen build it instead like they are threatening to do. That way the taxpayers save the money, still get a lame fence and its all paid for by a bunch of Patriotic Ex-Cons.

If you have any doubt whether the President is serious about a border fence read a quote from Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, Julie Myers. She said this on the Hugh Hewitt show shortly after the Presidnt made his prime time speech on immigration. I recommend you read or listen to the whole interview. This one quote, although revealing, does not give justice to the claim by Hugh. The transcript is from Monday, May 15. The post is called:
How to undo the impact of a Presidential address in one easy lesson.

"I don't think we think that fencing is the best way to stop them on the border. I think the President's called for...if you build a fence, they build a tunnel." - I.C.E. Asst. Secretary Julie Myers.

Did you get that folks? "if you build a fence, they build a tunnel?"
Yep..."if you build a fence, they build a tunnel!" That according to the administrations spokeswoman.
My question to you, Mr. President is, what are you going to do to stop the tunnel?

http://www.radioblogger.com/

If you have any doubt whether the President is serious about a border fence read a quote from Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, Julie Myers. She said this on the Hugh Hewitt show shortly after the Presidnt made his prime time speech on immigration. I recommend you read or listen to the whole interview. This one quote, although revealing, does not give justice to the claim by Hugh. The transcript is from Monday, May 15. The post is called:
How to undo the impact of a Presidential address in one easy lesson.

"I don't think we think that fencing is the best way to stop them on the border. I think the President's called for...if you build a fence, they build a tunnel." - I.C.E. Asst. Secretary Julie Myers.

Did you get that folks? "if you build a fence, they build a tunnel?"
Yep..."if you build a fence, they build a tunnel!" That according to the administrations spokeswoman.
My question to you, Mr. President is, what are you going to do to stop the tunnel?

http://www.radioblogger.com/

Any bets on who gets the construction "no-bid" contract? Anyone? Any bets on who the laborers will be to build it?

I still think the better plan is to threaten Vicente Fox and/or the new guy after Mexico's upcoming elections to either cooperate and start funding a southbound magnet with all those petrodollars they're hoarding, or we criminalize the transfer of American dollars by illegals to Mexico. If illegals try to sneak the billions of dollars they now send, they risk total confiscation, until Mexico actively helps us fix this problem.

It's not brown vs. white, or espanol vs. anglais, it's the money.

By the way, this should apply to ALL illegals and their country of origin. Less than half of all illegals are from Mexico.

without question, this will be another Halliburton no one else needs apply. This is America. Dick Cheney has the right to get as rich as he can

I think Illegals building the wall would be delicious irony, don't you?

Illegal crossing s a midemeanour, payable by a fine. .make that either a fine that goes into wall construction, ar an amount of hours of labour at minimum wage on the wall equal to the fine.

AND of course Clinton as well when he was constantly using HAlliburton, right?

I'm in - for 37 pesos.

Since the Senate has decided to give away Social Security cash to illegals, I think I'll have to pass on a donation this time and in a couple of years work against my current Republican Senator.