I was stunned today when I read
this post on TalkingPointsMemo. A few things clicked into place, already well summarized by
this story from Georgia10. I put it together in a letter, which I submitted to several papers through the
Democratic Party's Letters tool.
On December 17, 2005, President Bush approved the National Intelligence Reform Act, which provided for adding 10,000 new Border Patrol agents over five years. However, his 2006 budget only funded the addition of 210 agents, or just 10.5% of the planned increase. A lack of funding was cited.
On May 1, 2006, Time magazine reported how White House policy director Josh Bolten outlined a five-point plan to shore up support for the Republican party. Point one was titled "Deploy Guns & Badges" and said in part "Under the banner of homeland security, the White House plans to seek more funding for an extremely visible enforcement crackdown at the Mexican border, including a beefed-up force of agents patrolling on all-terrain vehicles (ATVs)."
In mid-May, President Bush announced plans to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border.
On June 6, 2006, Pamela Hess of UPI reported that "When the Senate took $1.9 billion out of the war supplemental to fund border security last month, $1.6 billion came out of funds to replace equipment destroyed or worn out from four years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Apparently, giving our armed forces what they need takes a back seat to giving the Party what it needs.
Please, spread the word to your local papers.