John Culberson had his debate yesterday with someone who, while very knowledgeable on the subject at hand (more so than Culberson, I daresay), is not on the ballot against him.
“The immigration debate has to be defined in terms of the international war on terror. We are engaged in a long, brutal, ugly war with extremists,” said Culberson, R-Houston. He said without citing a source that possible terrorists are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and adopting Spanish surnames.
“Our border is undefended and not enforced,” Culberson said. “As long as that exists we are under the threat of attack.”
Emphasis mine. In less polite circles, we call that “making stuff up”.
Immigration lawyer Charles Foster retorted that linking terrorism and immigration is a “disservice to the discussion.”
“Ninety-nine percent of these people take care of our kids and build our homes,” said Foster, who heads the immigration section at the law firm Tindall & Foster, and who was a principal adviser to President Bush on the issue.
“Immigrants are a great asset to the United States. This wave of undocumented immigration is no different than waves of immigrants who have come throughout our history,” Foster said.
[…]
Foster noted that of all the immigration legislation Congress considered this year, one of a few bills to pass was approval for 700 miles of fencing along portions of the U.S.-Mexico boundary.
“No wall in history has ever kept people out,” he said. “Comprehensive reform is necessary. It can’t be piecemealed.”
Not that it will likely matter (since after all, when in the past six years have we ever taken into account what our allies think?), but Mexico has asked President Bush to veto the Great Wall of Mexico legislation. About the only people whose concerns are less likely to be heeded than the Mexican government are environmentalists. Sorry about that, butterflies and ocelots.
Anyway. Culberson still won’t debate his actual opponent on the ballot, Jim Henley. Maybe debates are an overrated part of the campaign process, and maybe you could learn everything you need to know about Culberson from this $37-a-head event. He’s still a wussy for going so far out of his way to make sure as few people as possible can hear him speak in a venue where his word can be challenged.