If House Republicans couldn’t garner enough votes to pass their own bill yesterday, what makes them think they’ll be more successful today?
Apparently they’ve sweetened the deal by committing to throw money in the Rick Perry toilet.
They’re now tweaking the bill and taking the temperature of their rank-and-file, trying to see whether anything can be passed before lawmakers flee the district. [...]
Friday, leaders tossed in an additional $35 million to reimburse states such as Texas who have sent the National Guard to the border to help deal with the crisis, bringing the bill’s total to $694 million.
The National Guard troops Rick Perry deployed to the border don’t have the authority to make arrests; they can only refer immigrants to local authorities or the Border Patrol. And local sheriffs haven’t been too keen on their deployment because, again, they have no real authority. It’s essentially a thousand man photo op and a waste of money.
House Republicans believe they can find the votes for their bill by wasting money on another waste of money. Because we need to stop wasteful spending. Or something.
Will it work? Maybe.
Whether they pass their pathetic and embarrassing bill today or not, the Senate isn’t going to vote for it and the president would veto it even if they did. They’re going through an awful lot of trouble to make complete jackasses out of themselves for a bill that won’t become law. It’s bewildering but also amazing and keep going!
