It's certainly been quite the week when it comes to the crisis at the southern border. Congress still hasn't come to an agreement on border talks, and we're already almost done with January. To think that some top Democrats wanted to get a deal by the end of last year. It doesn't help that the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision siding with the Biden administration as it allows for federal agents to cut razor wire installed along the U.S.-Mexico border. We've covered how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is standing strong when it comes to protecting his state and how he's had support from his fellow Republicans at the state and federal level, though Democrats including from Texas, have found ways to keep making it worse.
There's been considerable confusion from some over the Supreme Court's decision. That especially includes when it comes to the reaction from Texas' own Beto O'Rourke, the former congressman who ran losing campaigns for Senate, president, and governor.
Not only did O'Rourke claim that "Abbott is using the Texas Guard to defy a Supreme Court ruling," the failed candidate also likened it to states refusing to desegregate schools, as he insisted that "Biden must follow this example of bold, decisive leadership to end this crisis before it gets worse."
Abbott is using the Texas Guard to defy a Supreme Court ruling.
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) January 24, 2024
When Gov. Faubus did this in 1957, Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas Guard to ensure compliance with the law.
Biden must follow this example of bold, decisive leadership to end this crisis before it gets worse.
Well, the order was actually about the federal government an border agents. Further, there's a considerable lack of self-awareness in how it was President Joe Biden and his administration who gave us what is indeed a "crisis" and that it is his policies that make it "worse."
There's been over 15,000 replies and over 1,000 quoted reposts, many of them taking issue with O'Rourke's misunderstanding. "Beto" was still trending over X on Thursday night, more than a day after he made the post. Users also pointed to his losing record and how his name isn't even Beto.
You have no idea whatsoever what the Supreme Court did the other day. The Supreme Court did not order Texas to do anything.
— TS the Deplorable (@TStheDeplorable) January 24, 2024
And "Beto" is a fake name for an Irishman who larps hispanic.
Reaction from our own Kurt Schlichter caught some attention, our sister site of Twitchy pointed out, as he poked fun at O'Rourke for being "legally illiterate" and a furry. He aptly wondered "why is Beto, not demanding that the federal government honor both the duty to enforce the laws and the duty to protect states from invasion?"
Besides being legally illiterate, since the order was not directed at Texas but at the federal government, why is Beto, not demanding that the federal government honor both the duty to enforce the laws and the duty to protect states from invasion?
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) January 25, 2024
This is what happens when you… https://t.co/n0Qs13ASIm
Many other legal experts weighed in with quoted reposts to set O'Rourke straight.
No he is not. The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could not be enjoined from cutting the razor wire, not that Texas had done something illegal in erecting the razor wire. As always, Beto has no idea what he's talking about. https://t.co/UreTyqGv4G
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 25, 2024
There’s no ruling against Texas to defy.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 25, 2024
There was an order against DHS, not Texas.
SCOTUS vacated that order.
Texas can’t defy an order that (1) doesn’t exist, and (2) never existed in the first place.
Please read before you falsely accuse. https://t.co/8TcD3A5Dku
An analogy to the Texas situation is helpful here. Suppose #SCOTUS vacates an injunction that forbade the feds from seizing X’s guns. X is still free to keep his guns and buy more guns. The onus is on the feds to seize his guns if they so choose. @GregAbbott_TX https://t.co/ezhLy2jqEz
— Curt Levey (@Curt_Levey) January 25, 2024
Abbott is not ”defy[ing] a Supreme Court ruling.” The Court vacated an injunction against the federal government. It did not order Texas to do, or not do, anything. https://t.co/smocVvoTHa
— Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) January 25, 2024
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) also weighed in to counteract the analogy about Eisenhower nationalizing the guard, including when it comes to how it's actually Abbott who is enforcing the law here since Biden won't. "Gov. Abbott is using the Texas guard to enforce the existing U.S. law on immigration that Biden has ignored!," his post read.
The Left is making an absurd false equivalency here.
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) January 25, 2024
Eisenhower nationalized the guard to enforce the law of the land when a state refused to recognize the end of segregation with Brown vs Board.
Gov. Abbott is using the Texas guard to enforce the existing U.S. law on… https://t.co/MK5ByehWNm
O'Rourke is no longer in office, which is particularly fortunate when it comes to the issue of illegal immigration. For however bad the crisis is now, it would likely be worse if he and not Abbott were governor. He's not the only example of a Democrat getting the issue so wrong, though.
Fellow Texas Democrat, Rep. Joaquin Castro, is still in office. He reposted Abbott's promise to "hold the line in Eagle Pass" with a point about how Abbott was supposedly "defying the ruling," and, if so, that Biden "needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now." What about calls for him to actually do something about the southern border and find another way to stem the surge and disincentivize people from coming across the border?
As Katie covered on Thursday, the Biden administration has not ruled out doing what Castro called for when it comes to federalizing the National Guard.
Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border.
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) January 23, 2024
If Abbott is defying yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, @POTUS needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now. https://t.co/f1SKuCwEWG
Still another Texas Democrat, Rep. Greg Casar, who is also a member of the Squad, included a post in his thread on the issue that he agrees with Castro about such a bold move.
During Thursday night's episode of Fox News' "Gutfeld!," host Greg Gutfeld addressed both O'Rourke and Castro's posts in his opening monologue. He even made a joke that by asking Biden to take control of the National Guard, he's "hoping to replace 'Don't Mess With Texas' with 'Bend Over For Biden!'"
Not surprisingly, Castro has also reposted O'Rourke when it comes to his claims about spending talks.
I agree with @JoaquinCastrotx : if Abbott is defying yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, @POTUS needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard. (3/6)
— Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) January 24, 2024
They don't want a solution. They want the problem. https://t.co/EyFivzuGAT
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) January 25, 2024
Something tells us that the crisis at the southern border can only continue to get worse for as long as Biden is still in order. We'll see if that's enough for the American people to deny him a second term. As mentioned when covering how Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) on Thursday introduced a bill to protect states' rights to defend their own territory, RealClearPolling has Biden with just a 31.5 percent approval rating on immigration, while 63.5 percent disapprove, making it Biden's least popular issue.
