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Just standing around waiting for the feds to do something about a problem that they created and encouraged isn't going to get the job done either.

Perry hasn't just been waiting around.

Please give some detailed options and how you would enforce them.

Perry hasn't just been waiting around.

No he hasn't. Again, I'm not defending Perry, but if you read the full speech that Perry gave that was mentioned in the article you posted, he quite definitely didn't wait around, and he didn't give up easily on his dreams for the border areas.

I may bash Perry for supporting the pro-abortion Giuliani and for trying to put money into the pockets of his buddies, but Perry is incredibly compassionate and cares a lot about the people along both sides of the border, especially the poorer people that don't have good healthcare or education, and he definitely cared for the children of illegal immigrants. That is a side of Perry that most people will not see or they refuse to see. If Perry had gotten his way and had helped improve the healthcare and education of the poorer people along both sides of the border, I think the border situation might not be as bad as it is now. It's hard to say though, because the drug violence transcends the other issues down there.

Perry even acknowledged the drug problems along the border in that speech:

President Fox’s vision for an open border is a vision I embrace, as long as we demonstrate the will to address the obstacles to it. An open border means poverty has given way to opportunity, and Mexico’s citizens do not feel compelled to cross the border to find that opportunity. It means we have addressed pollution concerns, made substantial progress in stopping the spread of disease, and rid our crossings of illicit drug smuggling activity. Clearly we have a long way to go in addressing those issues.

As much foresight as Perry has, even he didn't realize how bad things would get. Nobody could have predicted it would get as bad as it did.

Everybody should read that speech because while a lot of us don't like him, and others think he's shallow or an airhead, that speech is from the heart and it shows an awareness of the problems along the border that most politicians, especially those from non-border states, simply do not have.

But let me ask you. If you were the Governor of Texas what would you do today about the border, illegal immigration, violence in TX (all border states), eduction of children, companies who hire illegals, etc.?

I forgot to address this in my last post, but since I replied to you, I feel I should.

I would stop playing games and do a much better job of securing the border and pressuring the feds. If we pull out of Afghanistan, the terrorists are going to get their act together and they are going to come after us hard, and the Mexican border will be the easiest route, especially with the amount of weapons floating around down there.

Illegal immigration and companies who hire illegal immigrants, they are an issue that are closely tied together. I would work hard on drying up the jobs. While it's a popular image that many come here to get on some kind of welfare/public assistance, the fact is that many are here working and sending money back to Mexico. We can keep on arresting people and occasionally deporting them, but that's just dealing with the symptoms and not the actual disease. When you hear about big companies getting busted for having dozens or even hundreds of illegal aliens, and for the most part the company gets a fine, the system is broke. In many cases, the fines are so low that it's still a better deal for the companies to try and continue employing illegals. Look at Tyson Foods - they've been busted, and not much happened. They are still busy giving plenty of donations to politicians from both parties. There has to be a line drawn where a company can no longer do business, and its executives must face jailtime, if they go over a certain amount of illegal immigrants. It's easy for one or two to slip through the cracks, but when you start talking dozens or more, there's people within the company that know what's going on.

As for education, I would have stood up to the federal government on No Child Left Behind. NCLB is screwing up our public schools and it has given the federal government too much control. The feds should not be able to hold our education taxdollars. It was one of the worst things that George W. Bush supported. I have wished that Rick Perry would take a stand and tell the feds to get lost and let Texans handle Texas' education issue. Our schools worked fine for decades, but now we are faced with bureacrats in Washington and Austin who are dictating to small school districts how to run things.

I feel for Perry, he's only been in office for 10 years, and it's tough to get a lot accomplished in Texas politics in such a short time. Still won't support him, but I sympathize, and I feel he is one of the more compassionate and border-aware candidates out there. Palin, Bachmann, etc. do not have nearly the grasp he has on the border issues.