Watch the Democrats Closely on the SAVE Act

It is something that has been talked about ad infinitum for decades. Voter ID. Yet the left, of course, has forever been adamantly opposed to it. They say it is an attempt by Republicans to oppress and disenfranchise certain sectors of society and make it harder for them to vote.

The reality is that voter ID requirements would do neither of those things. In fact, it would ensure the integrity of our elections and protect every single American and ensure all votes in elections are fairly cast.

Our elections in this country are one of the most sacred things we have to maintain our Republic the way that our founding fathers intended. The voice of the People matters in our representative system of government, and it ought to be taken damn seriously.

Recently, U.S. Senators John Kennedy and Mike Lee joined forces, along with other Republican colleagues, to introduce the SAVE Act, or the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would provide an amendment to the National Voter Registration Act to make it clear that states must require proof of citizenship when they register individuals to vote in federal elections.

The main concern is the massive influx of illegal border crossings that are occurring as a result of the disastrous border policies of the current administration.

While it is already set in law that only citizens can vote in federal elections, how do you safeguard that when you don't know who is casting the vote, or whether they are truly eligible to vote at all? And what is the potential, say, if even just 1% of the illegals who have entered the country do vote somehow? That's potentially hundreds of thousands of votes which can very much impact the results.

The SAVE Act does not require voter ID. It simply requires states to prove votes are cast by confirmed citizens. But it does leave it up to the states to determine how they go about this.

The bill would also require states to clean up their existing voter rolls and remove any current non-citizens from them. It would provide for more accountability, creating higher federal penalties for registering non-citizens to vote, and ensure that "proof of citizenship" is provided by voters in acceptable ways that can be verified.

I think it's a no-brainer law, frankly. It's sad we need it. But we do.

It's a Republican lead bill and what will be interesting to see is how Democrats decide to vote on it. You'd think it would be a slam-dunk bi-partisan bill. But you can almost bet Democrats will oppose it. If and when they do oppose it, I think Americans need to listen very closely to the reasons they provide against it.

The question is, what would be the harm in simply making sure the voters who vote in our federal elections are actually citizens of the United States?

We're not talking about people being oppressed or disenfranchised here. We're simply saying, "Prove you are an American citizen." Because without there being a set law that at least requires citizenship to be verified, the door is wide open for anyone to vote.

Including illegal immigrants.

The bill is up in the air for now. But I think it's one to pay close attention to especially as we draw nearer to the upcoming November presidential election. The border crisis is one created by design by the Democrat party and Biden's border policies. Do we accept that it's simply an action taken in the interest of "inclusion and acceptance of people simply seeking better lives," or if they adamantly oppose the SAVE Act can we safely assume the Democrats are simply trying to source new voters?

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© 2024 Jim Bauer 

The Not So State of the Union

Was it the State of the World? The State of Ukraine? Where was America in President Joe Biden's final address to the Union? If you were paying close attention, America wasn't part of it. In fact, it wasn't a State of the Union address at all. It was a campaign speech.

Where was mention of massive fentanyl deaths that are claiming the lives of 100,000 Americans every year? Drug cartels controlling our border states and the border crisis itself and the impact it has had across the nation? The cost of goods and services and eroding personal economies affecting every American household navigating through the pain of inflation? Where was talk about the massive rise in crime and chaos happening across our cities and towns?

Instead, Biden shouted at us in what was nothing less than a dark, pessimistic, and foreboding rant that put politics before American interests, and instead of addressing the core issues that are of concern to every single American.

On the issue of the economy, he tried to prop it up by saying, "Our economy is the envy of the world," even though the average American needs $11,400 more today to maintain the same lifestyle they enjoyed in 2021. Since Biden took office, grocery prices have risen 17%, cash strapping hard working Americans and straddling the poor. Instead of focusing on the core issues causing the inflation, such as the supply chain crisis and the high cost of energy, he railed against "greedy" corporations for price gouging and shrinkflation.

He once again took aim at Republicans for being the cause of trhe border crisis when everyone knows it was his decisions on day one to end Trump's border policies which was followed by a flood of illegal immigrants into our country. He blasted Republicans for not passing a border security bill that would do nothing to actually secure the border.

All in all, Biden simply missed the mark. Sure, he was amped up. He was more voracious than usual. But it was all for show. What was missing from his riled-up speech was substance. It was missing the core issues and what he plans to do about them. What was missing was where we are now, how we got here, and what he will do to fix it. According to Joe Biden, everything is fine in America, and we just can't see it.

He offered no solutions. He passed the buck. He assigned blame. He shrugged off bearng any responsibility for many of the issues we are faced with, and in typical Joe Biden fashion, he entirely dismissed the real State of the Union Americans are actually living in.

He chided and scolded and blasted, fist pounded and yelled. He looked and sounded more like an angry old man hyped up on too much coffee than a president ready and willing to lead all Americans united together into a better and brighter future.

I won't call his speech out as a total disaster. But it wasn't good, and I don't think it wins Biden any points except among his die-hard supporters which, quite frankly, are leaving in droves every single day as his policies and actions separate themselves from the reality we are all dealing with that cannot be escaped from.

What Americans want from our leaders is a sense of urgency that we can see they feel when times are not so good, and for them to accept and acknowledge the reality rather than sell us a bill of goods. We want to be understood and uplifted and have a sense that our leadership will forge better paths ahead for us.

How can we be assured that the challenges we face can be addressed and made into achievements if our leaders don't even convey a sense that the challenges exist?

When President Biden denies the truth and turns a blind eye, it leaves Americans with no hope. No sense of resolution. When his focus is on the safety and protection of other countries and other people while leaving Americans behind, it makes Americans wonder which country it is he is leading?

I would find it hard to believe that any honest, thinking person who watched that speech walked away feeling better about the current state of, or future of America. And that was the job of the State of the Union. It was the job of President Joe Biden.

Like so many other jobs since his administration took control of the White House, he didn't get this job done. Even if his speech really was essentially a campaign speech, you can't win over the American people and earn their vote relying on denial and lies to get it. All the assurances that we are on the right path and have strong future prospects have to be conjoined with the reality Americans actually live.

His State of the Union did not accomplish that.

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"No Crisis on the Border," Says Harris

It could be said, and difficult to deny, that the Biden/Harris administration may not have invented gaslighting, but they sure have at least perfected the art of it. Take any issue you want, be it the economy, how many jobs they've created, working from the middle up, or the border crisis.

It's all a farce. They have accomplished nothing and yet they continue to tout false narrative after false narrative about how well it's all working for the American people.

The silver lining, if there is one, is that it would seem that the majority of the American people simply aren't buying it. Even the media has had to say more than once, "Something isn't right." And no matter how badly they may want to, they can't deny the polls either.

Biden is disliked and his approval ratings are in the tank on almost every issue, and Kamala Harris' polls are so bad even an abacus wouldn't work to try to get the numbers right.

While there are myriad issues plaguing us right now, the border crisis is one that stands out like a sore thumb, inflation notwithstanding, and Kamala Harris, the supposed border czar is fit to stand before the American people and all but outright deny that a crisis on the border even exists.

How many times has she even been to the border, by the way?

In an ironic way, one guesses, who do we really have to thank for at least a heightened awareness of the border issue? Republican governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gregg Abbott of Texas who were left essentially to just "deal with it," until they decided to send the illegal immigrants they were dealt to the places where the liberals live.

From the liberal pulpits they shouted to the high Heavens that illegal immigrants are no more than regular folks just looking for a better shot at life who deserved a chance just as much as anyone, and that we should welcome them with open arms and see them as an opportunity to make America a warm, welcoming better place. To see not their intrusion on our lives, but to see what wonderful things they can offer to society as a whole.

Of course, that liberal tune quickly changed not long after the illegals were sent straight to their doorsteps. The reality suddenly didn't seem to jive with their narrative and not in my backyard stepped up to rear its ugly, glaring head.

Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it. 

The reality is that it's, well...it's a bitch you know. And what some of the border states did was to shine some of that real light on the issue which even democrats themselves can no longer deny. The border is an issue and the situation that we have is clearly a crisis.

Unless you're Kamala Harris.

She recently told Margaret Brennan on CBS' "Face the Nation," citing images of thousands of illegals flooding the border in hot spots like Eagle Pass, Texas, "What it means is that we have to stay focused on a number of issues related to the irregular migration that we're seeking around the world and America is not immune."

By the way, what the hell does that actually even mean?

How are we staying focused on the issue? What means are we using to stop the flood? What policies are we implementing to secure the border? What tools and other resources are we offering to our Border Patrol agents? What resources are we offering or providing to the border states most impacted by the problem? What consequences are we imposing on those who enter our country illegally? What sanctions are we considering against Mexico if they do not work with us to solve the issue?

The fact is that when Joe Biden took his oath of office, he shut down nearly all, if not all, of the tough on immigration policies imposed by former president Donald Trump and essentially opened the floodgates wide, only to turn around and pretend to solve a problem that existed (that did not) before he took office.

And by the way, just for optics sake, why even appoint a supposed czar to oversee something that isn't supposedly a problem? And if the czar herself, directed with the responsibility of addressing the problem doesn't even see a problem, how does that qualify her to be a czar at all?

It is a problem, and everyone seems to know it except for the person who is supposed to be charged with fixing it.

Democrat New York Mayor, Eric Adams, has been highly critical of Harris and her lack of leadership on the issue of the border as tens of thousands of illegals pour into his city. In his eyes, despite any denial, it is indeed a crisis and said publicly, "Never in my life have I had a problem I did not see an ending to. This issue will destroy New York City."

Those are poignant words that should raise eyebrows for anyone. The people of New York City, long considered to be a resilient and strong people, able to deal with anything that comes their way, who have turned around a damaged city more than once in its history, is now reduced to being helpless?

And where is the communication between the Biden/Harris administration with Border Patrol chiefs outright saying they have never seen a worse situation on the border than they are seeing now. In other words, if the men and women on the front lines are saying, "This is bad," or in fact, "this is the worst I have ever seen it," where are the efforts to ramp up the response? If you had a general come to you and say, "We are going to be attacked," you'd probably want to perk your ears up and listen to what the general has to say.

But it's a moot point according to Harris. You have to ask yourself, why would they lie? Not just the Border Patrol agents. But Eric Adams. Why would they lie about an issue that supposedly doesn't exist? What purpose would it serve? 

Maybe it just all comes back to Trump in an odd sort of way. You know, I've said it multiple times, but it bears repeating. I am convinced that in the eyes of the democrats, or at the very least, in the eyes of the Biden/Harris administration, that the destruction of America itself is, to them, simply collateral damage in what the real goal is.

Taking out Trump no matter what it takes and no matter what the cost is. Everything else be damned. The border crisis is part of that. Reversing other highly effective Trump policies is too. 

The bottom line is that we have a serious issue facing us when it comes to the border, and with a clear lack of acknowledgement or leadership on the issue, the reality is that the issue will only worsen. It's like an early missed diagnosis of cancer. Once you finally realize it's a problem, it's too late.

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