NEWS AND OPINION:
The countdown is on for the arrival of what has come to be known as the “Honduran caravan” — an estimated 4,000 men, women, children and infants who left the troubled Honduran city of Pedro Sula last weekend on foot and by truck. Saturday will mark a week on the march for the throng of hopefuls who plan to assemble on the U.S.-Mexico border and demand entry. The caravan itself has become a complex political symbol that some observers say is yet another ploy by rival Democrats and a hostile news media to portray the president in a negative light as the midterm elections approach.
That media now has its own caravan. Coverage is intense, plentiful and dramatic.
“Republicans are fear-mongering about a migrant caravan to boost midterm turnout” said a Salon headline, while CNN noted, “Mother in caravan: Trump has to receive us.” Vox declared that “Trump’s ’caravan’ tantrum could put migrants in danger.”
But President Trump is having none of it.
“I am watching the Democrat Party led (because they want Open Borders and existing weak laws) assault on our country by Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, whose leaders are doing little to stop this large flow of people, INCLUDING MANY CRIMINALS, from entering Mexico to U.S,” an emphatic Mr. Trump tweeted, even as news coverage went global.
“In addition to stopping all payments to these countries, which seem to have almost no control over their population, I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught — and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!” the president noted in follow-up tweet, which was isolated and quoted by many news organizations as a blockbuster headline.
“Americans are compassionate people, and we empathize with all those who suffer and respect the desire of millions to become Americans. Tolerating illegality is not real compassion, not for our own American citizens and not for illegal immigrants who are often abused by the inherent criminality of porous borders,” Steve Cortes, president of the Trump Hispanic Advisory Council and a campaign adviser, tells Inside the Beltway.
“Walls work,” he adds. “The examples are many globally, but the best model is Israel where a serious, high-tech border barricade on its southern border with Egypt and Gaza cut illegal crossings by 99 percent over five years.”
THE CARAVAN OF POLLS
Immigration draws strident responses.
“Immigration has risen to the top of the list when Americans are asked to name the most important problem facing the nation — edging out the government, which has been the top issue each month since January 2017. The 22 percent of Americans who say immigration is the top problem in July is up from 14 percent in June and is the highest percentage naming that issue in Gallup’s history of asking the ’most important problem’ question,” Gallup noted in a poll released in midsummer.
A Pew Research Center poll of more than 10,000 Americans released earlier this week reveals startling divides: 57 percent of Democrats said that “the way immigrants in this country illegally are treated” is a “very big problem” in the U.S. Only 15 percent of Republicans agreed.
MAKE COMEDY GREAT AGAIN
A new project gets underway this weekend with some strong backing from CRTV — the video subscription network founded by talk radio kingpin Mark Levin: The Make Comedy Great Again Tour is embarking on a six-city tour of notable venues featuring five comedians with a mission to return comedy to its more benign roots.
“While mainstream media, Hollywood and big tech elites ignore heartland Americans, CRTV will continue to promote and provide content and options to this underserved audience,” says CRTV President Gaston Mooney.
“Do you remember what great comedy was? It was smart. It was well-performed. And it made you laugh until you cried. It wasn’t political, it wasn’t profane, and it wasn’t worried about hurt feelings. And after being away for far too long, great comedy is back,” notes advance production materials, which predict audiences will appreciate the “conservative language” while feeling free to “laugh liberally.”
Find them at MakeComedyGreatAgain.com.
MARCH FOR LIFE GEARS UP
Organizers for the 46th annual March for Life — billed as the largest human rights demonstration in the world — have revealed their 2019 theme: “Unique from Day One: Pro-Life is Pro-Science.”
The march, which gets sparse media coverage but has drawn as many as 650,000 people in years past, will be held on Jan. 18.
“Science is behind the pro-life movement. We see that medical and technological advancements always affirm the pro-life movement, for example, DNA is present at fertilization and no fingerprint on earth, past, present, or future, is the same. We know, too, a baby’s heart beats at just six weeks, and we can distinctly observe it ourselves with ultrasound technology. As science progresses, we see clearly that every life is unique from Day One in the womb,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of the organization.
Ben Shapiro, editor-in-chief of The Daily Wire, will be among the many speakers. President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a host of Republican lawmakers previously have spoken at the event, staged on the National Mall.
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POLL DU JOUR
• 85 percent of Americans approve of background checks for private gun sales or at gun shows; 79 percent of Republicans and 91 percent of Democrats agree.
• 74 percent approve of a federal database to track gun sales; 58 percent of Republicans and 88 percent of Democrats agree.
• 47 percent say that “if it was harder to buy guns, there would be fewer mass shootings”; 22 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Democrats agree.
• 43 percent approve of allowing teachers and school officials to carry guns; 69 percent of Republicans and 22 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A Pew Research Center poll of 10,683 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 24-Oct. 7 and released Thursday.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on twitter @HarperBulletin
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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