“We need to decide — what product comes across the border.” Two of the biggest cartoons in Congress flash their… philosophy for CNN:
Roma, Texas (CNN) — Michele Bachmann leapt out of a black SUV near a high cliff overlooking the Rio Grande, dashed to the edge of a boulder and scanned the river that divides her country from another.
It was a quiet Friday afternoon in this border town where immigrants routinely sneak across the river in inflatable rafts, climb a ravine and seek shelter in a local church. But at this moment, there was little more to see on the Mexican side than some fishermen casting rods and a few horses snacking near the river.
Today it’s dead,” said Bachmann, a Republican congresswoman from Minnesota, sounding disappointed.
She blamed the stillness on the presence of a hand-held CNN camera.
“I think it’s quiet because the cameras are here. Because more than anything, the criminal cartel worries about and fears the wrath of the American people,” Bachmann said. “They’re crooks, they’re villains, but they’re businessmen. And that’s why they fear the CNN cameras.”
She was joined by her friend, Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King, on a boulder above the river. The duo represent a coalition of House lawmakers who are staunchly opposed to any legislative action on immigration that would offer lawful status to immigrants living in the United States illegally. While they don’t hold much official sway in Washington—neither chair a congressional committee and Bachmann plans to exit Congress in January—they do play an outsized role in amplifying conservative messaging.
They are prolific fundraisers and enjoy widespread support among the GOP’s tea party base…
When asked about critics who argue a border-length fence would be costly and nearly impossible to build in entirety, King compared it to the Great Wall of China, a project intended to keep out invading armies that cost the lives of thousands of Chinese workers to build.
“There were plenty of Chinese left over,” King said….
Yeah, it would be funnier if King didn’t already have the potential 2016 GOP candidates lining up to kiss his… ‘kingmaker’ ring. And Citizens United paying for the feast.
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Apart from cheap antics, what’s on the agenda for the evening?