Most days, I have no patience for self-described libertarians. You know the type: people whose understanding of the world begins and ends with reading a few passages of Ayn Rand, who defend the Iranian regime, or who self-righteously put quotation marks around the word “border” in vapid op-eds.
Yes, small government is great. But we can’t have no government, especially at a time when hostile governments are trying to kill us. It would be great if we lived in a world where we could just shrug our shoulders, do nothing, and assume everything would just work out fine. Alas, we do not live in that world. Those who wish to conserve the freedoms and quality of life their ancestors bequeathed them have to fight. We can’t just assume that the people who chant about our death respect libertarian inaction!
This is a lesson Republicans would do well to heed this week, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), after weeks of grassroots pressure, moves to enact the SAVE America Act.
WHAT TO EXPECT AS SENATE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH SAVE AMERICA ACT DEBATE
The pre-Trump GOP was characterized by an unwillingness to wield government power, even legitimately, and that fatalist libertarianism is a particularly bad philosophy to guide us through our country’s current Democrat-led communist insurgency. The lingering damage of the Biden administration’s open border policy means we have very little intelligence as to the threat posed by extremists and others in this country. An act which amounts to treason, Senate Democrats are blocking efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security during wartime, when Iranian sleeper cells are murdering Americans.
One statesman, however, who has figured out how to keep one foot in libertarian optimism and the other in reality, is Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). Lee posted a plan for circumventing the Democrats’ treasonous use of parliamentary procedures:
“Democrats have kept the Department of Homeland Security shut down for more than two weeks. … We need to fix that … And then move to using the talking filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act… I can’t in good conscience vote to proceed to the proposed housing legislation up for a vote tonight—which would give money and authority to an already-bloated federal bureaucracy—before passing DHS funding and the SAVE America Act… Nor should I”
Now I don’t know exactly what a talking filibuster is, but Lee, a self-described constitutional nerd, certainly does. If Senate Republicans follow Lee’s leadership, the Senate can outmaneuver the Democrats’ treasonous obstructionism to both fund DHS and pass the SAVE Act.
THE ‘TALKING FILIBUSTER,’ EXPLAINED
Formally called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (gotta love congressional acronyms), it requires proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections and when voting. It also forces states to remove noncitizens from their lists of eligible voters. It was introduced by champion of America, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
While Democrats are crying foul (at our efforts to get them to stop cheating), the bill is overwhelmingly popular. A Pew Research study last year found that 83% of Americans support requiring proof. Notably, of those who said yes, 71% were Democrats and 95% were Republicans. The issue is so mindlessly obvious that even CNN started holding Democrats to account for fighting against it.
Every other country with democratic elections requires voter ID. It’s so widespread that even left-wing propaganda outlet Wikipedia has an article spelling this out in exquisite detail. The Democrats’ rejection of voter security is a confession of voter fraud. The public overwhelmingly supports strengthening our borders and securing our elections via common-sense, universally accepted voter ID measures. So why are we allowing the Democratic minority to hold the country hostage?
THUNE BECOMES MAGA’S MIDTERM ‘FALL GUY’ WITH VOTING BILL CRUSADE
This is no longer a discussion of how to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the system. The modern Democratic Party constitutes an existential threat to the future of America. Meanwhile, Republicans in Washington are worried about puppy parades. With the SAVE Act, Republicans will hold on to the majority this midterm election and the foreseeable future. Almost 60% of voters say the Democrats have gone too far left. That’s why they can only win by cheating (which they do everywhere). Without the SAVE Act, they will seize power and never, ever let go.
This is not the time for a show vote. Senate leadership is deluded if it believes it can simply go through the motions and tell voters that they tried, but gosh darn it, election integrity just isn’t in the cards. The voters demanded an end to feckless incompetence, and will read this as an unwillingness to fight for their priorities. If they are in fact serious about governing, now is the time to look past their petty internet squabbles and safeguard our borders and our elections. To date, some have stepped forward, with members such as Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) realizing that now is the time to actually govern. Libertarianism is nice as a Ron Swanson joke on Parks and Recreation. But the GOP won a majority by promising to govern and restore accountability and integrity. This may be their last chance.
Jared Whitley is a longtime political strategist and award-winning columnist who has worked in the U.S. Senate, the White House, and the defense industry.
