Right On The Right

Too often, the Administration has been on the wrong side of the immigration debate, favoring a political solution in the form of "comprehensive reform" instead of a physical fence. The American people badly want an actual barrier. It appears that the President truly understands the need for security first now, favoring a solution that will help defend this country. Ed Morrissey has the good news:

The Bush administration plans to use its authority to bypass more than 30 laws and regulations in an effort to finish building 670 miles of fence along the southwest U.S. border by the end of this year, federal officials said Tuesday.

Invoking the legal waivers — which Congress authorized — would cut through bureaucratic red tape and sidestep environmental laws that currently stand in the way of the Homeland Security Department building 267 miles of fencing in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, according to officials familiar with the plan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the waivers had not yet been announced.

The move would be the biggest use of legal waivers since the administration started building the fence. Previously, the department has used its waiver authority for two portions of fence in Arizona and one portion in San Diego.

Ed has a good take on the political ramifications of this move, noting that it may help quell concerns over McCain's policy, especially since he's now saying he'll secure the border first. If he would pledge to finish the fence, on the entire border, he could corner the debate on an issue that, as Ed mentions, has vast bi-partisan agreement amongst the American people. This is a solid step towards a secure border.

More tough talk on the right for Fred Thompson, sort of. There seems to be quite a few problems with not Fred himself, but his new campaign coordinator, Spence Abraham. To review my initial problem with Spence:

Spence was one of only two Senators in the entire U.S. Senate who refused to sign a letter calling on President Clinton to condemn Palestinian terrorism and Yasser Arafat. This was at the height of a series of homicide bombings in 1999 and 2000.

Well apparently cozying up to jihadis isn't the only problem Spence has had in public life. Over at Hot Air, you can listen to Michelle talking to Laura Ingraham about Spence being an open-border practitioner. Allah throws in his snarky sum-up of Malkin's exposure of truth:

You may not want to listen to this one anyway: The effect of MM knocking Big Papa is apt to cause seizures in the Fredheads among us, and even prompts a rare disagreement between the boss and Laura.

Go listen. Once again, it's worth re-stating- If Fred Thompson wants to win the Conservative vote in this country, he has to fire Spence Abraham.