Border Wall: Congressional Democrats have made clear by their no-negotiating stance with President Trump over border security that they don't want a wall or a fence built, period. It has nothing to do with principle, and everything to do with racial politics and Democrats' raw, unfiltered hatred of Trump.

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We wish this was a principled debate about what's best for America. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, that horse left the barn a long time ago. The Democrats have made their unalterable opposition to Trump their bottom line. Because they plan, by their own admission, to impeach him for as-yet unspecified crimes or, at the very least, cripple the remainder of his presidency, they won't help him build the wall. No matter what.

When President Trump met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, they presented a common front: No deal they said. Trump walked out, calling the sham meeting "a total waste of time."

No deal. Of course, that was sort of the idea. The Democrats merely wanted to virtue-signal their most ardent followers that they were still solidly Never Trump.

"He left the room today because Speaker Pelosi said that even if he gave her what she wanted, she would never agree to the border security priorities we have on the table," said Vice President Mike Pence, who's heading the talks to end the shutdown.

Border Wall: Why Not Deal?

Even some die-hard Democratic supporters are perplexed. Why not make a deal with Trump, who built his entire career on being willing to cut deals? Trump would probably even sign a bill legalizing the so-called "Dreamers," if given half a chance.

But Democrats right now have one priority: Damage Trump. Then impeach him. For what? It doesn't really matter. They're taking a page from the Queen in "Alice in Wonderland": "Sentence first — verdict afterwards."

How do we know this? Well, it's a fact that in the past 13 years Democrats joined Republicans twice to vote for a border fence and greater security. And to their credit.

In 2006, for instance, then-Senator Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer all voted to strengthen border security, including fencing to keep people out. It happened in 2006, and again in 2013. Indeed, Democrats at time seemed pretty tough on illegal immigration, a phrase they won't even use today. In 2013, the bill was $46 billion, and included 700 miles of fencing.

Indeed, Democrats at the time seemed pretty tough on illegal immigration, a phrase they won't even use today. They see a tide of potential new Democratic voters, so now they soft-pedal their former vocal opposition to illegal immigration.

Dems' Past Border Security Support

"Those who enter our country illegally and those who employ them disrespect the rule of law," Obama, sounding almost exactly like Donald Trump, said in 2005. "And because we live in an age where terrorists are challenging our borders, we simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, and unchecked."

"I voted numerous times...to spend money to build a barrier to try to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in," Hillary Clinton said back in 2008, as she ran for president. "And I do think you have to control your borders."

"Illegal immigration is wrong, plain and simple," fumed Schumer in 2009. "Until the American people are convinced we will stop future flows of illegal immigration, we will make no progress."

In 2013, the bill was $46 billion, and included 700 miles of fencing. All 54 Democrats in the Senate voted for it. Today, House Democrats won't even consider Trump's puny $5.7 billion request.

For a funny break, watch this video, made by Campus Reform's Media Director Cabot Phillips (a contributor to IBD). In it, he reads the above quotations to lefty college students, but tells them the comments come from Trump, not Democrats.

The results are both funny and disheartening. They call "Trump's" words "hateful speech," "dehumanizing," "problematic," and "jingoist." One student even says "there are racial biases deeply embedded in there."

Do say.

The students of course are shocked to discover that Trump said none of these things; Democrats did.

Demonizing Trump

To paraphrase former Sen. John Kerry, Democrats were for the border wall before they were against it.

But that's the point, isn't it? Democrats have done a great job of demonizing Trump with their base. The mere mention of his name is enough to turn some Democrats livid with rage, unable to reason or compromise. It's become a form of mass madness, masquerading as political passion. Yet, by refusing to engage the opposition, Democrats do their party a disservice, and their nation as well. Petulance and peevishness aren't patriotism.

Trump has threatened to declare an emergency to build the border wall. It's certainly within his right to do so.

As the Daily Caller wrote, Obama "himself declared 12 states of national emergency ranging from a "National Emergency with Respect to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic" to "blocking property" from "certain persons" in connection with countries in conflict with the U.S." And the U.S. is now operating under some 32 existing past declared "states of emergency," which are still in effect.

The threat to the U.S. from a porous and undefended southern border is real — crime, unknown diseases, and even terrorism have been known to enter our country across the long frontier with Mexico. If the Democrats won't deal, Trump should declare an emergency and build the wall. Then dare the Democrats to impeach him for it.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

A Secure America Requires A Secure Border Wall: So Build It

Why Trump Shouldn't Cave On Border Wall, By The Numbers

Trump's Grand Immigration Bargain: Either Take Border Security Seriously, Or No Deal On 'Dreamers'

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