How Kristi Noem Can Fulfill Trump’s Immigration Pledges To Voters
Can Kristi Noem represent strong border and immigration policies before Congress and not back down?Can Kristi Noem represent strong border and immigration policies before Congress and not back down?DeSantis leads group of Republican governors in letter accusing Biden admin of 'appeasement-first foreign policy'
A group of 19 Republican governors signed a letter to President Joe Biden in which they accused the Democrat's administration of an "appeasement-first foreign policy."
The governors declared their staunch support for the nation of Israel, which is currently at war after Hamas launched brutal attacks.
"We write today to make clear that our states absolutely condemn these heinous acts of terrorism led by Iran-backed Hamas and proudly stand with Israel and the Jewish people," the letter states. "Your administration’s initial response—including a call for a ceasefire—created dangerous confusion that has only further emboldened state-sponsors of terror and their henchmen to continue attacking Israel. Unfortunately, this type of international chaos and violence is a direct result of your administration’s appeasement-first foreign policy. Now is the moment to radically change course."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis led the letter, according to the Republican Governors Association.
In addition to DeSantis, the letter, which is dated October 13, is signed by the governors of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming.
"First, we call on you to prioritize the protection of Americans who remain in harm's way," the governors declared. "Second, we call on you to provide unequivocal support to Israel as it defends itself and works to eliminate the Iran-backed terror group Hamas."
"Third, we call on you to cease your appeasement and empowerment of Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, including an immediate freeze of the $6 billion ransom payment made to the terror state and an expansion of sanctions against the Iranian regime," the letter states. "Finally, we reiterate our call to close the Southern Border and protect Americans from similar threats at home."
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Red states are rushing to aid Texas in securing the southern border since the Biden administration appears unwilling
Republican-led states are now sending resources to Texas in hopes of shoring up America's defenses and providing some relief at the state's beleaguered border with Mexico. The help is desperately needed, and the Biden administration does not otherwise appear up to the task.
Tennessee, Nebraska, Florida, Idaho, and Mississippi are among the red states that have stepped up to and into the breach, committing troops, law enforcement agents, support vehicles, and other resources.
What's the background?
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote to his fellow Republican governors on May 16, stating, "We, as Governors, must band together to combat President Biden's ongoing border crisis and ensure the safety and security that all Americans deserve."
Abbott added, "Join us in the mission to defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity and send all available law enforcement personnel and resources to the Texas-Mexico border to serve alongside our thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers."
Roused by Abbott's letter, or perhaps just remembering the Alamo, 24 Republican governors led by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds responded with a joint statement in support of Abbott's Operation Lone Star.
"The federal government’s response handling the expiration of Title 42 has represented a complete failure of the Biden Administration," they wrote. "While the federal government has abdicated its duties, Republican governors stand ready to protect the U.S.-Mexico border and keep families safe."
The joint statement added, "All states have suffered from the effects of deadly illegal drugs coming across the border, and every state is a border state due to the devastating influx of drugs in our communities. Republican governors are leading the way to address the border crisis by increasing fentanyl sentencing and increasing support for law enforcement interdiction of drugs, among other measures."
One week later, Abbott hosted nine of his fellow Republican governors for a border security briefing. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves were among those present.
Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis stated on May 19, "Operation Lone Star is underway with Florida deploying law enforcement officers and special agents to protect the Southern Border in Texas. When the federal government refuses to step up — Florida stands ready to serve."
DeSantis' office announced Thursday that Florida's assets "are on-scene to assist the State of Texas," including 800 Florida National Guard troops; 200 Florida Department of Law Enforcement officersalong with support staff; 101 Florida Highway Patrol troopers; two fix-wing aircraft for monitoring and patrol of the border; two mobile command vehicles; and five unmaned aerial vehicle pilots with 17 drones for overwatch.
Fox News Digital indicated that Florida's latest contribution altogether amounts to over 1,100 assets.
Nebraska
Gov. Pillen authorized the deployment of 10 Nebraska state troopers to Texas on Wednesday, stating, "Nebraska is committed to using every tool in its tool box to help stop the influx of illegal immigration at our southern border. Illegal immigration hurts our nation's security, undermines the rule of law, and threatens the wellbeing of our state."
The troopers are all reportedly trained drone operators who will provide assistance to Texas law enforcement at the border.
Abbot thanked Pillen, noting, "Texas, along with our partners from Idaho, Florida, and now Nebraska, will work to provide the security Americans deserve."
Idaho
Gov. Little revealed on May 19 that twelve Idaho State Police officers, six with the Domestic Highway Enforcement Team and six comprising SWAT troopers, were on the way "to secure the border and improve Idaho’s ability to interdict illicit drugs to protect Idahoans."
"The focus of the mission is two-fold – the ISP troopers will serve as a force multiplier for the State of Texas when there is an increased need for law enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border, and our troopers will receive on-the-job training and experience up-to-the-minute enforcement techniques that can be brought back and immediately applied in Idaho," said the governor.
Tennessee
Lee, who indicated help was on the way earlier this week, reaffirmed his commitment Friday, writing, "The crisis at our nation’s southern border is too big to ignore—drug trafficking and human trafficking continues to escalate, fueling crime across the country. While the federal government fails to act, Tennesseans are stepping up to serve & protect Americans."
Lee authorized the deployment of 100 Tennessee National Guard troops Wednesday to secure the border.
"The federal government owes Americans a plan to secure our country, and in the meantime, states continue to answer this important call to service," said Lee. "I am again authorizing the Tennessee National Guard to help secure the Southern border, and I commend these troops for providing critical support."
The TNG troops deployed at month's end will: execute patrols and provide additional security presence along the border; assist road and route clearance, barrier placement, and debris removal; and staff outpost operations.
"These troops are a capable contingent that will continue our long-standing tradition of responding to the call to aid our fellow Americans," said Brigadier General Warner Ross, Tennessee’s adjutant general.
Mississippi
Gov. Tate Reeves stated on May 17, "What happens at the border doesn’t stay there. Drugs and people are trafficked to every state in the nation - including Mississippi. To keep Mississippians safe and limit the impact of our nation’s open borders, the Mississippi National Guard’s 112th Military Police Battalion has been mobilized and is supporting Customs and Border Protection officers and agents along the Southwest border."
"Mississippi stands with those trying to secure our border and we will continue to do everything we can to assist. I’m thankful for the service of Mississippi’s brave Guardsmen, CBP and everyone else working to keep us safe," added Reeves.
The Associated Press reported that Reeves mobilized a National Guard unit to aid with America's defense in Texas.
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Republican governors give 'huge applause' when Chris Christie blames Trump for election losses: Report
Republican governors awarded Chris Christie "huge applause" on Tuesday after the former New Jersey governor blamed Donald Trump for disappointing election results.
What happened?
While speaking at the annual meeting of Republican governors, Christie reportedly blamed Trump for Republicans having lost the last three national elections. The governors responded with a "huge applause," Axios reported.
Christie told the GOP governors, donors, and consultants that voters "rejected crazy" by voting against Trump-backed candidates.
Christie also lamented that there are fewer Republican governors today than when he left office in 2018, a phenomenon he reportedly attributed to Trump valuing loyalty over actually winning elections.
The moderate Republican, once a Trump supporter, is becoming increasingly critical of the former president.
In a post-election interview with the Washington Post, Christie argued the case for moving on from Trump is simple: His electoral record is riddled with loss.
“How about this? When Donald Trump won in 2016, he said we were going to get so tired of winning we would ask him to stop winning so much," Christie told the newspaper. "In 2018, we lose the House. In 2020, we lose the Senate and the White House. In 2021, we lose two winnable [Senate] seats in Georgia. And in 2022, we vastly underperform historic norms given inflation and gas prices and crime and a president at 40 percent. I’m tired of losing."
"The only winning that has been done since Donald Trump has been president is for Donald Trump," he asserted.
Anything else?
Republican governors who spoke at the gathering focused less on Trump, according to sources who spoke to media. The event was closed-door.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is considered the odds favorite for the Republican presidential nomination, reportedly spoke about his successful record as governor in Florida and his landslide reelection victory that proved the Sunshine State is no longer a swing state.
Indeed, earlier on Tuesday, DeSantis boasted, "At the end of the day, I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night. The fact of the matter is, it was the greatest Republican victory in the history of the state of Florida."
Meanwhile, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, another potential 2024 presidential candidate, also talked about his convincing reelection victory.
Exclusive: 16 GOP Governors Oppose Biden’s Executive Order Creating Monopoly On Federal Construction Contracts
Biden's policy "will undermine taxpayer investment in billions of dollars of forthcoming public works projects," the governors write.Horowitz: Thousands of Afghans coming to a red-state community near you
Our communities are being flooded with the most unvetted “refugees” of all time from the most volatile part of the world. And there is no resistance whatsoever among Republicans in state governments. As thousands of Afghans are moved from military bases to our communities, we are about to pay for the worst form of social transformation without representation.
In October, Zabihullah Mohmand, a new arrival from Afghanistan, was charged with raping a woman in a Missoula, Montana, hotel. The Department of Homeland Security, in response to outcries from the Montana governor, insisted that the 19-year-old Afghan went through a “rigorous and multi-layered” vetting process. The problem is that they are right. Most of these people have gone through a vetting process — a process with no data! We rushed in over 100,000 Afghans within a matter of days. These people came from the darkest corners of the Afghan mountains. What sort of criminal history are you going to find, especially on a 19-year-old?
Moreover, they are making our point. How do you vet people for a violent ideology or anti-women values when those views are shared by the overwhelming majority of the people in Afghanistan? The stone-cold truth is that the views of the average Afghan — at least a large number of them — are indistinguishable from those of the Taliban.
In 2013, Pew Research Center published a poll surveying the sentiments of people in 39 Muslim countries, and the data on Afghanistan is quite disturbing. Here are some of the highlights:
- 99% support making Sharia the official law of the land, more than in any other country surveyed. 61% say that Sharia should be imposed upon non-Muslim citizens.
- 79% support the death penalty for those who leave Islam.
- 82% say religious leaders should have some or a lot of influence over politics, more than in any other Muslim country surveyed.
- 39% believe suicide bombings can be justified, more than anyone else except for the Palestinians.
- Only 30% believe women should be allowed to decide whether to wear a veil, less than in all but one country surveyed. 94% believe wives must always obey their husbands, more than anywhere else except Malaysia.
- 96% believe converting non-Muslims is a religious duty, more than in any other country.
At the time of the alleged rape in Montana, Rep. Matt Rosendale pointed out that during the initial court hearing, Mohmand’s attorney claimed that “cultural and language barriers” may have led to the rape. Well, no kidding! A group of Afghan evacuees allegedly assaulted a female service member at Fort Bliss while they were staying on the base. Do we really need to rehash the lessons of Europe and irresponsible refugee policies over the past generation to realize we are following in those self-immolating footsteps?
What is particularly jarring is that the Biden State Department, HHS, and private taxpayer-funded resettlement contractors appear to be targeting red states like Montana, Nebraska, Indiana, and Oklahoma for this social transformation. The Grand Island Independent reports that 469 Afghans have already been resettled in Nebraska and another 635 are on the way. “Because of the rush of evacuations, a lot of the Afghans of working age are coming without the employment documents that most refugees have when they arrive,” reports the central Nebraska media outlet. “So they will need financial help for longer than the usually expected three months until they can start working.”
So, who is paying for this? The feds have set a deadline for Feb. 12, 2022, to get all of the Afghans off the military bases, which means the pace of resettlement in our communities will accelerate in the coming days.
One would think every GOP governor and legislator would immediately raise Cain over this and pledge to block any resettlement within the states. How is this in any way in the interests of their constituents from public safety, financial, and cultural standpoints? Instead, nearly every GOP governor has partnered with Biden to screw their constituents. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb is practically begging the feds to seed as many Afghans as possible in Indiana, while he controls his own people with COVID fascism and refuses to take action against domestic crime. There were thousands of refugees at Camp Atterbury in southern Indiana who are now being released into communities at a rate of hundreds per week. One thing is clear: Biden and Holcomb won’t force injection mandates on their prized Afghans.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who never saw a domestic criminal he didn’t want to release from jail, announced in Sept. he was “excited” that Oklahoma would be getting the third largest number of Afghans of any state.
As a close second to the priority of fighting federal COVID mandates, any Republican running for state office needs to pledge to block federal social transformation of our communities. Republicans just supplied the requisite votes to pass the current budget continuing resolution, which contains an extra $7 billion in taxpayer funding for Afghans. This will induce transformation of our communities at the behest of international officials, unelected State Department and HHS bureaucrats, and parasitic contractors who have everything to gain and nothing to lose by endangering the communities and saddling them with a fiscal burden.
Horowitz: A plan for GOP governors to protect soldiers from unjust jab mandates
One of the most heartbreaking consequences of the immoral, illegal, illogical, and inhuman mandate to get the experimental — and now, ineffective — COVID shots, is the destruction of the careers of our service members. So many people who gave their lives to the military are being dishonorably discharged for not getting a shot that doesn't work, many of them don't even need, and is quite risky — especially for the young males at risk for myocarditis. What if our nation's governors were able to assert their power to at least save the careers of those in the National Guard, augment it with a state militia, and then create a landing place for their respective residents in the other service branches to continue their careers?
Oklahoma state Rep. Jay W. Steagall USAFR Major (Retired) spent 19 years in the Oklahoma National Guard and now chairs the House committee on Veterans & Military Affairs. In an interview with TheBlaze, Rep. Steagall was irate about news of some of his fellow brothers in the Oklahoma Guard who are now being sent home because of this immoral order. Some have been sent home the minute they filed for a religious exemption.
"How does this happen in a state like Oklahoma when we have a Republican governor who is commander-in-chief of the Guard?" asked the conservative state legislator who also owns a gun store.
Steagall has a plan to deal with this problem. The Constitution and our early history are quite clear that the state militias aka the National Guard are by default under the orders of the governor of that state. Obviously, the Constitution did provide for the president to assume command and federalize the guard units in case of insurrection or other similar emergencies. Federal law prescribes the federal service conditions under 10 U.S.C. §246 (known as "Title 10" deployment). So long as the president has not explicitly declared a Title 10 emergency, the chain of command in a state's guard units are controlled exclusively by the governor through "Title 32."
As such, according to Steagall, there is no reason why a single red state should be subjected to the vaccine mandate in the National Guard.
"Every governor can issue an order to the Adjutant General of the State indicating that the governor is simply retaining all disciplinary authority within the Governor's office in regard to the fed's 'mandatory' administration of an FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine," advised the Oklahoma representative, who also chairs the states' rights committee. "Withholding disciplinary authority from subordinates by their superiors is an action that military commanders are familiar with, and is oftentimes a necessary action to take by superiors to maintain order and discipline amongst their subordinates."
In other words, absent a Title 10 declaration, there is no reason why red state guardsmen should be dismissed pursuant to Department of Defense orders. They should not be taking orders from the president, but from the governors. Every governor should send out an order to the state's two-star adjunct general who commands the National Guard and prohibit any disciplinary actions taken on behalf of Pfizer and Moderna, who evidently now control our national military.
Obviously, some will wonder if the president will then respond by federalizing the entire National Guard under Title 10. He might choose to do that, but that is a fight worth having, especially when half the governors are opposing it. The president would have to defend declaring an emergency and owning all of the troops in states that are already very unfavorable to him for a shot that has already waned. This would bring much needed dialogue to issues of natural immunity, better therapeutics than the vaccine, the side effects, waning efficacy, and the Nuremberg Code. It would finally force that inflection point that we've been avoiding for 18 months of this nightmare.
Moreover, let's not forget that states have the right to form their own state guards in addition to the National Guard. For example, Texas has the Texas State Guard, along with the Texas Army National Guard and Texas Air National Guard. It's about time other states follow suit anyway and create a parallel state guard that is not subject to federal control. This can be a perfect landing place for the persecuted soldiers within the states who are forced to leave the other federal military branches that are completely under the president's control. Why let that talent go to waste? States absolutely have the right to a militia. Heck, the liberals are the ones who suggest the Second Amendment is primarily about arming a state military. So, isn't it time to call their bluff and call one into service to deal with all of the mayhem from the border crisis that Biden has foisted upon this nation anyway?
Governors should also be advised that the DOD order itself, which was promulgated a day after the FDA issued a license to the Comirnaty shot, is flawed in its construction. The Aug. 24 memorandum of the Secretary of Defense states, "Mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 will only use COVID-19 vaccines that receive full licensure from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in accordance with FDA-approved labeling and guidance." The problem is that the only shot that has officially received full licensure (License No. 2229) is the Comirnaty shot, the conceptual vaccine from Pfizer's German partner, BioNTech. This vaccine won't even be available for a few years.
Pfizer's version of the shot, on the other hand – the only one commercially available – received an extension of the emergency use authorization, not a licensing number. As the FDA states in footnote 9 of the letter to Pfizer, "In the August 23, 2021 revision, FDA clarified that, subsequent to the FDA approval of COMIRNATY (COVID19 Vaccine, mRNA) for the prevention of COVID-19 for individuals 16 years of age and older, this EUA would remain in place for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the previously-authorized indication and uses."
Thus, service members are having their careers destroyed over shots that have not even been fully approved, as prescribed by the original DOD memo.
This issue with the National Guard speaks to the broader impotence of the GOP governors in fighting back across the board. With so many talented and patriotic people losing their jobs within all branches of the federal government, these state governors should be finding ways to invite these people into other positions. Take the fired health care workers and use the profligate sums of COVID funding to pay for them to work in outpatient COVID clinics that actually save, rather than take, the lives of those infected with the virus. Have fired federal law enforcement work in state law enforcement. Have fired federal military work in state military units.
If the federal government is sending us the message that they want a divorce from red America, perhaps it might be a blessing in disguise in the long term if we actually seize the moment and utilize the trashed treasures of patriots losing their jobs to rebuild red America upon our original founding values.
Horowitz: Even Arkansas Republicans refuse to protect bare-bones individual liberty in the face of shot mandates
Who would have thought that nearly a month after Joe Biden declared martial law and forced a vaccine mandate upon many workers in all 50 states, not a single red state has effectively combated it yet? To this day, thousands of people have been forced to either get the experimental shots against their will or lose their livelihoods, despite the failing efficacy of the shots accelerating every day. A perfect example of this dynamic is playing out in the state of Arkansas.
Arkansas Republicans cannot even support a degree of a compromise on the totalitarian vaccine mandate that would limit the mandate to the degree that New York was pushing just a few weeks ago! One would think opposing any vaccine mandate in a state like Arkansas with a supermajority trifecta would be a slam dunk. Any "private" business mandate is being done at the behest and cajoling of government and cannot be chalked up to free market activity. Yet the same RINO governor who had no problem placing mandates on "the private sector" to shut down businesses and fine them last year is suddenly concerned about their "right" to force employees to violate their bodies.
"Employers have the freedom to protect the health of their workplace, and government should not interfere with the employee/employer relationship," Asa Hutchinson said in a statement released by his office after supporting fines on businesses all last year for NOT engaging in COVID fascism. Freedom is a one-way street in his book.
Because of Hutchinson's unflinching grip on many RINOs in the legislature, full opposition to workplace jab mandates was out of the question for conservatives in the legislature. As such, they opted for a watered-down bill (SB 739) allowing for an exemption for those with antibodies and an opt-out to get PCR-tested once a week. This bill would essentially bring Arkansas back to where New York was just a few weeks ago, yet still a number of Hutchinson allies in the Senate opposed it.
On Tuesday, the House voted 68-23 to pass the bill. But even though it also passed the Senate on Monday, it failed to achieve the two-thirds support it needs to be implemented immediately. Pursuant to Arkansas law, for a bill to be implemented right away without the 90-day layover period, it must pass as an emergency declaration, which requires 24 votes in the Senate. Yet even though Republicans have 27 senators, four of them defected and declined to declare it an emergency: Cecile Bledsoe, Lance Eads, Jonathan Dismang, and none other than Senate president pro tempore Jimmy Hickey.
Now, why would the GOP Senate president vote against immediately implementing a watered-down bill to allow a testing exemption that even New York was allowing until recently? People are being forced to make life-altering decisions right now and cannot afford to wait 90 days. Many have already been forced to get the shot or lose their jobs without any relief from the legislature.
Many of these Republicans hide behind concerns about "regulating" businesses, but they never seemed to be concerned when the businesses were regulated into bankruptcy during the shutdown.
Ultimately, SB 739 will become law in Arkansas, after it's already too late for many workers, but it's a shame they couldn't pass a clear restriction on vaccine mandates. S. 732 would have done just that, but failed to get two-thirds' support in the Senate and was blocked by the House committee on public health. SB 730, which would have authorized unemployment benefits for those who lost their jobs due to mandates, passed the Senate but was thrown out on procedural grounds by House speaker Matthew Shepherd. It's amazing how GOP leaders in red-state legislatures tend to elevate alleged concerns over procedure over basic human rights during an unprecedented time of suspension of civil liberties.
Throughout this entire ordeal, presumptive front-runner for governor next year Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been awfully quiet. Conservatives who want a change from Asa Hutchinson could sure use a voice who is not bought out by Walmart and Tysons.
When looking for gubernatorial candidates, conservatives need to take their cues from Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, who is not only promising to ban all COVID mandates outright in her challenge to Governor Brad Little, but for the second time, she used Little's absence to temporarily bar mandates while serving as acting governor. On Tuesday, McGeachin barred all businesses from requiring vaccine passports and also called up the Idaho National Guard to potentially deploy to the southern border. The last time Little was out of state, McGeachin used her power as acting governor to bar mask mandates. While Little will countermand this order as he did her last one, McGeachin is demonstrating what red-state leadership looks like. Where are the other leaders?
Throughout the next few weeks, a number of states will be meeting to redraw the election maps. This is a perfect time to address the coercive mandates and other emergent issues that are of even greater urgency than reapportionment. Alabama conservatives, for example, have introduced a very important bill that can be used as a model in other states. HB 31 would subject employers to liability for injury if they require their workers to get the shots. This was the original position of OSHA and is in line with current law regarding workplace injury.
On Aug. 1, 1776, just a few weeks after signing the Declaration of Independence, Sam Adams spoke before a large audience at the State House in Philadelphia, beseeching them to fight for their independence. During the speech, he warned the public that "our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty."
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