The Time Beto Convinced a Top Republican Not to Build a Border Wall

[DonViejo]

The then-congressman made the case that the historical significance of a site was more important than arguments for additional security. At least one top Republican agreed.

Sam Brodey, Gideon Resnick
03.20.19 5:03 AM ET

Beto O’Rourke and John Cornyn were not often on the same page during the six years that they both represented Texas in Congress. But for a brief moment, O’Rourke—then a Democratic congressman from El Paso and now a 2020 presidential hopeful—got the powerful Republican senator behind him in his quest to stop the federal government from building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The effort ultimately proved for naught, as a barrier ended up being built at the contested site. But O’Rourke’s successful wooing of the No. 2 Republican in the Senate could prove to be an asset as he goes about pitching himself to primary voters: proof that on Donald Trump’s signature issue, he not only has spent years crafting his position but also has some bipartisan credibility to bring to the debate.

The collaboration with Cornyn came in 2013, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection made plans to build a $5.5 million, 17-foot high steel fence along a half-mile portion of the border in El Paso, a city that is separated from Mexico by the Rio Grande and, in most places, high steel walls. At the time, that type of barrier did not exist in this historic part of the city, where Spanish explorers first crossed the river north in 1598.

In El Paso, officials were concerned that building the wall would hamstring efforts to revitalize the area, which had struggled since a huge freeway went up, separating it from the rest of town. The site’s supporters wanted to preserve its history and possibly develop it into a tourist destination—the Southwest’s answer to Plymouth Rock.

According to a report from El Paso Inc., the city let O’Rourke, then a freshman congressman, lead the charge to get CBP to back down on the wall. In November 2013, he sat down with Cornyn, Texas’ senior senator and the second-ranked Republican in the Senate, who has long championed border security measures.

more
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-time-beto-orourke-convinced-john-cornyn-a-top-republican-not-to-build-a-border-wall?ref=home

[Skidmore]

1. K&R

[stonecutter357]

2. K&R

[Hortensis]

3. In a debate with Cruz, Beto pointed out that the wall in Texas

wouldn't be on the over 1200-mile border of the Rio Grande River but well into our nation, cutting through people's yards, towns, graveyards, wildlife preserves, farms, ranches, etc., and require massive takings by eminent domain. Or Trump trying to seize as a "national emergency" and creating one in the process.

Proximity to our neighbor over the border's a big part of the local culture, not a boogie under the bed, and most Texans not only don't need to be convinced but can't be convinced.

[Cha]

4. Kick for Beto.