Unintended Consequences

Something tells me that this and this will turn out badly for Republicans.

On the first issue, the volunteer border patrols in Arizona, there will inevitably be an accident or incident in which illegal immigrants and the volunteers clash. Of course, the blame will be on the volunteers. Now don't get me wrong, I think that the border security with Mexico is a joke and needs to be addressed. I also admire the volunteers who are trying their best to do something about it. However, short of them stopping a group of terrorists from entering the country, only bad things will come out of the Arizona border region. Instead of patrolling, the volunteers should use their resources to help build the fence along the whole of the U.S.-Mexico border. As Robert Frost writes, "Good fences make good neighbors."

On the second issue, I am as sick of the Democrat filibuster as any other Republican. I think that changing the rules is a good, quick way of ending this nonsense. However, the nuclear option will only backfire on Republicans. Instead of debating the rule change, the Republicans should be out educating the public on the court system and the history of appointing judges. They should be showing the voters that the Democrats are a party of desperation with no real ideas or prospects. The effort to elect the needed 60 Republican senators should begin so that the rule change and filibuster are non-issues.

Nothing worth doing is ever easy.