Two lessons should be gleaned from last week’s criticism by Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona about President Joe Biden’s failure to deal with the crisis at the nation’s southern border.
The obvious lesson, but one no less important for its obviousness, is that the border situation is indeed a crisis and that Biden is spectacularly at fault. The second lesson is not about the border but about political opportunities. Congressional Republicans should recognize in Kelly’s distress a chance to build bridges with him. The ultimate goal would be to help move public policy back from Biden’s aggressive liberalism toward some semblance of moderation.
After Biden’s April 28 speech to Congress, Kelly issued an agonized complaint.
“What I didn’t hear tonight,” Kelly said, “was a plan to address the immediate crisis at the border, and I will continue holding this administration accountable to deliver the resources and staffing necessary for a humane, orderly process as we work to improve border security, support local economies, and fix our immigration system.”
The day after the speech, Kelly reiterated his concern to reporters: “I think it’s important that we continue to stress that we have a major issue. Folks said the definition of a crisis is different. I look at it as a crisis.”
Of course it’s a crisis. The record number of apprehensions of illegal immigrants says as much. So do the inhumane conditions at border detention facilities and tragedies such as the capsized boat off San Diego on May 2, with at least three dead due to an apparent illegal-immigrant smuggling operation. These are the things that happen when hordes of people take cues from a new president who favors providing free healthcare for illegal border crossers, tries to halt all deportations for at least 100 days, stops construction of a border wall, and nominates as his Customs and Border Protection chief a supporter of “sanctuary cities.” Biden created this crisis, and he owns it.
Because it is a Democratic president who is at fault for this crisis, border-state Democrats are right to fear a backlash if the crisis isn’t solved. They know Biden’s lowest job-approval ratings right now are for his handling of immigration. They know every member of Biden’s party might suffer politically because of it.
Kelly entered the Senate late last year with an undeserved image, probably rooted in his background as a shuttle astronaut, of a political centrist rather than a standard-issue liberal. Unlike his Arizona colleague in the Senate, fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, Kelly hasn’t yet become a “swing” voter whose opposition to full-scale leftism keeps Senate Democrats from being able to ram through a radical agenda.
Key word: “yet.”
Politicians learn how to follow their constituents. Sinema once was thought of as a firm “liberal,” but now, she is among the two least liberal Democrats in the Senate. Kelly may figure she has the pulse of Arizona voters, and therefore, he may follow her lead. He clearly has figured that woke leftism on border issues isn’t popular in his state.
Republicans should take heed of Kelly’s current frustration with Biden. It is at times such as these that new senators still getting a “feel” for their job may be most open to forging bipartisan alliances. And working relationships on one issue can lead the way to similar cooperation on others.
Republicans should care more about blocking bad policy (or creating good policy) than about being able to paint all Democrats as radicals. Once bad policy is enacted, it is difficult to undo. To serve their constituents better, Republicans should grab every chance to pull any Democrat closer to the center. In the case of Mark Kelly, Republicans should cross the political border and engage in some shuttle diplomacy.
