Border security – impeachment and secession

The border security issue saw three developments yesterday that shows how “hot” it has become. In the morning, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) traded barbs over Cornyn’s vote on a foreign-aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan (and Gaza, too!) that offered nothing for border security. Next, the Texas Nationalist Movement brought their petitions supporting secession to the Governor’s office, asking for a special legislative session. Finally, yesterday evening, the House of Representatives impeached SecHomeSec Alejandro Mayorkas by the margin of a single vote. More likely this will put Democrats and RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) on the spot during this election cycle. But it also represents the greatest pressure the Uniparty has ever faced.

Foreign aid bill – border security out, impeachment trap in

Late Sunday night, while the Kansas City Chiefs were successfully defending their Super Bowl title against the San Francisco Forty-niners, the Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and – even less credibly – Gaza. The vote was 70 to 29, with 22 Republicans and 48 Democrats voting “Aye.” The “Nay” votes included two Democrats (Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Peter Welch, D-Vt.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Those three, according to Cullen Linebarger at The Gateway Pundit, voted “Nay” over the Israel part of the package.

The 22 Republicans voting “Aye” included Mitch McConnell (Ky.), John Boozman (Ark.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Susan Collins (Maine), Jerry Moran (Kansas), Mitt Romney (Utah), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), Todd Young (Ind.), and the entire Senate delegations of North and South Dakota, Louisiana, Idaho, Iowa, and Alaska. They also included Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Attorney General Ken Paxton was furious. Cullen Linebarger found quite an exchange on X. (Warning. Some of these posts expressed disdain for Sen. Cornyn in very impolite language. Parental judgment and discretion are advised.)

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), Speaker of the House, refuses even to consider the Senate bill.

Sen. Cornyn will not stand for reelection until 2026. Mr. Linebarger suggested that Cornyn should “bail like many establishment RINOs before him.” Several Republican House Members have resigned already or announced their intention not to seek reelection.

The Texas Nationalist Movement sees an opportunity

The Texas Nationalist Movement still had on hand the signatures, most of them electronic, they had gathered last year on petitions to place the question of Texas secession on the Republican and Democratic primary ballots. Yesterday afternoon they took all those signature documents to the office of Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas).

Gov. Abbott has, thus far, not commented. The San Antonio Current, which has expressed disdain for the Movement and its goals, expressed that same disdain yesterday. They did quote Dan Miller, head of the TNM, in his address to supporters at the Texas Capitol:

Today, we bring those same names, those same petition signatures, plus all the Democrats who signed the petition who wanted a vote as well, to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is an issue that transcends partisan divide and is, in fact, an issue of the people of Texas versus an entrenched political establishment.

But they also cited a British study saying 67% of likely Texas voters would reject Texas Independence in any referendum. Still, 23% would support independence. The crosstabs show that Texas independence finds greater support among Trump voters than Biden voters. That same poll suggested that a plurality of the sample said the United States should allow any State to secede if a majority of its voters support that step.

Redfield and Wilton Strategies reported that poll out on February 7, 2024 – a week ago. Many things have happened in the ensuing week, things that could change minds. Even without that consideration, Dan Miller insists that TNM enjoys greater support than have similar secession movements at the same or similar stage of the debate.

At the end of the day, you’re going to see polls like that… If you look at where support is for this issue right now, in this lifecycle of an independence movement, we’re outperforming Brexit, we’re outperforming Scottish independence and we’re outperforming Catalan — and we’re outperforming everyone at every stage of the process.

More to the point, a February 10 Newsweek poll shows the border security issue has galvanized support for Texas independence.

Alejandro Mayorkas impeached over border security

But in the most electrifying story yet, the House of Representatives tried again to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) was back in the House to vote; he had been absent last week. The House voted 214-213 to impeach.

Jim Hoft at The Gateway Pundit linked to and quoted President Joe Biden’s outraged reaction. In it Biden, of course, defended his Cabinet officer, and blamed Repujblicans for not passing “bipartisan” border security legislation. He neglected to mention that the legislation freely admits 5,000 migrants per day before any border shutdown can take place. He also failed to mention that the bill largely provides for an army of “immigration judges” bearing rubber stamps.

Mayorkas becomes the first cabinet officer since William Belknap, President U.S. Grant’s War Secretary, to face impeachment. Mr. Belknap faced trial in 1876, not over any policy difference, but over self-dealing and a lifestyle too lavish even by the lax standards that then prevailed. He resigned minutes before the House voted, but they impeached him anyway. The Senate supported the five Impeachment Articles – but by simple majorities, not two-thirds. Thus, he walked – but he never held office of honor, trust or profit ever again.

This time, Mayorkas’ supporters told NPR and Axios that his impeachment was over a policy difference, hence unworthy. NPR cited “experts” who seemed to find the immigration laws discretionary – and subject to Mayorkas’ sole discretion as SecHomeSec.

Gov. Abbott paid due attention:

What next on the impeachment

Reps. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), and Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) joined all voting Democrats to vote against impeachment. McClintock even went on record saying the impeachment would go nowhere.

Sen. Charles M. Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Majority Leader, apparently has sole discretion on whether to try the case. Furthermore, no one expects Mayorkas to lose his job. But the Impeachment Articles do put the Senate and Schumer on the spot on border security. Schumer sees no reason to spare the Democrats any embarrassment, because in his view, people expect nothing else from Democrats than to open the border and let in millions of prospective Democrat voters to replace the voters whose mothers aborted them away during the Roe era. No doubt he himself sees that as their duty. But will he “take one for the team” to spare Republicans from embarrassment? Or does he think Republicans can embarrass themselves only by voting for impeachment? No one knows – so no one knows what he will do with those Articles once he receives them.

What next on other questions

The other two controversies illustrate that RINOs might again be in hunting season. Twenty-one other Republican Senators besides Sen. Cornyn showed that they want to admit cheap labor. They little know that the kind of mendicants showing up at the border will vote for socialism. (Or that the Chinese nationals of military age will likely await orders from Beijing to embark on campaigns of sabotage, or even mass murder, when a Sino-American War breaks out.)

The Texas Nationalist Movement is certainly paying attention. When Dan Miller says other secession movements enjoyed less support at the current stage of their campaigns, several experts agree! Newsweek quoted Matt Qvortrup, author of an apparent primer on secession, thus:

These are not bad polls. In fact, they suggest that those who want “Texit” are at the same level of support as those who supported Brexit in 2010—and, of course, that changed.

In Catalonia, Quebec, and in Scotland, support for independence was in the twenties when the issue was first discussed. This has in all cases moved within touching distance of independence. The polls may seem disheartening to those who believe that Texit is imminent. But these percentages should worry those who—like Governor Abbott—who are against Texit.

Gov. Abbott is pushing hard on border security, though he secured reelection two years ago, probably for two reasons. First, as Dr. Steve Turley suggests, because Ken Paxton showed him he can. And second – and more important – because he knows border security gives the TNM an entering wedge. He’s had eighteen hours to respond to the delivery of the Texit petitions to his office. If he doesn’t respond, he will have shown fear.

Abbott did note one thing: his border security measures have forced the invading migrants to seek pathways of lesser resistance.

Will the federal government file any more lawsuits against Texas? How will the Supreme Court handle them? Will Gov. Abbott call that special session anyway, just to clear a Texas throat and say, “Leave us alone, or else”? Stay tuned.