Klobuchar: I'll pass on open borders, thanks

We’re finally seeing some daylight between a few of the two dozen Democrats vying for their party’s nomination next year. One area where the wheat is slowly be separated from the completely crazy chaff is on illegal border crossings. Most of the candidates have been trying to outdo each other in their surge to the left, shifting from a need to treat detainees more kindly to simply demanding that we decriminalize illegal immigration and not stop anyone from entering. (I’m not exaggerating. A few of them have come out in favor of that.)

Advertisement

Not so Amy Klobuchar. The Senator was on This Week yesterday morning and was once again asked if she would support decriminalization. To her credit, she didn’t simply join the rest of the herd and said she couldn’t support open borders. (Free Beacon)

Klobuchar appeared on ABC’s This Week, where she was asked if she supported decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings.

“Elizabeth Warren this week came out with a proposal following up on what Julian Castro said in the debate to decriminalize unauthorized border crossings. You said you were going to look at that in the debate. Do you support that idea?” fill-in host Jon Karl asked.

“I support different enforcement priorities and of course I’ll look at the statute to see if you can make changes depending on the level of a security risk, but no I don’t support open borders and simply getting rid of this statute” Klobuchar said, referring to Section 1325.

Here’s the video of that segment of the interview. It’s fairly short.

Klobuchar is at least drawing a distinction between herself and several of her competitors. It’s easy to see why Castro is swinging for the fences with the most far-left positions possible. He’s polling right around zero percent isn’t really a factor in the race. But he’s pulling some of the more viable candidates like Warren with him. Klobuchar doesn’t want to fall into the trap, so she’s taking the more moderate position, at least by Democrat standards.

Advertisement

And make no mistake, this is definitely a trap for Democrats. The polling hasn’t shifted significantly when it comes to border security and the idea of anything approaching open borders (which is precisely what Castro and Warren are talking about) is very unpopular, even among Democrats. And if the eventual Democratic nominee is on record supporting that idea, it will be fodder for endless general election advertisements and will be tossed in their face repeatedly during the debates.

I’ve said from the beginning that Klobuchar could be a dangerous candidate if she somehow secured the nomination. She is clearly able to take the nation’s temperature and stake out some moderate, more centrist positions that would be more widely palatable. Her problem is that she’s running in Joe Biden’s lane by doing this, and he doesn’t leave much room for passing.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Jazz Shaw 7:20 PM | March 18, 2024
Advertisement
Advertisement