In fighting the Trump Administration’s land grab for the purpose of building the border wall, Texas Democrats are calling for Texas Republicans to show some consistency.
For example, Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso in the House, notes that Texas Senator John Cornyn supported a recent bill that protect property rights of land owners in north Texas. In a statement, Cornyn said
After years of uncertainty, Texas families who live and own land along the Red River can rest easy that the federal government has no rightful claim to their property.
Escobar challenged Cornyn:
He’s talking about protecting private property, American property owners, in North Texas. We would ask that he have the same enthusiasm for protecting the … private property rights of his constituents in South Texas, as well.
The border wall puts Texas Republicans in the position of choosing between political expediency and principles. Support for the principles of property rights, plays well with their political base. But that base also supports the border wall, which requires the use of eminent domain to seize private property.
Interestingly, voters in north Texas tend to vote for Republicans while voters in south Texas tend to vote for Democrats. So Republicans can speak out both sides of their mouth. They can tout property rights while simultaneously supporting their wholesale violation. Such hypocrisy might be politically expedient, but when expediency trumps principles, nobody wins.