The Walk-Back Should Not Be Invisible or Cost Free
We need to be ready to respond effectively to some predictable, but still slippery if not prepared, rhetorical tricks in the run up to inauguration.

A smart Republican colleague I like very much asked me yesterday, with innocence in his eyes 'why democrats thought building a wall was so outrageous anyway. What is the difference between a wall and a fence anyway?'

This walk-back started in the final debate.

Reince Prebus said yesterday that they would start with securing the border and then deporting only the criminals, which he put at between 2-3 million, before only then taking up the question of deporting 11 million.

I first heard this walk-back yesterday.

The president is a citizen...a walk-back during the campaign.

If you voted for our president-elect because he would be a disruptor, this is the sound of the rug being pulled out from under you, because if a wall is indistinguishable from a fence and his focus will be to deport 2-3 million immigrants who are criminals these are exactly the policies already in place for the past 8 years...so his disruption, on his signature issue, is emerging as continuing the Obama legacy.

Your betrayal here should neither go unnoticed nor pass without cost.

If you did not vote for our president-elect be prepared to respond effectively when campaign claims that were fundamentally outrageous and indecent and inaccurate are calmly reframed as 'what is the difference between a wall and a fence anyway?' And 'we will start by deporting the 2-3 million criminals.'

Remind them that this is a complete about-face that amounts to an admission that the plan is continue to build on the Obama legacy.

He now says he has no interest in prosecuting HRC.

If you voted for him because of his rhetoric of certainty...he is 100% sure he will bring the jobs back...this is a really bad sign.

Related to this...

While even the president-elect is now saying he will deport the 2-3 million immigrants who are criminals...many of his supporters continue to pretend that their favorite sound bite is accurate...all illegal immigrants are criminals because they entered illegally.... However...

The most common crime associated with illegal immigration is improper entry. Under federal criminal law, it is misdemeanor. Like all other criminal charges in the United States, improper entry must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict.

Unlawful Presence Is Not a Crime. Many foreign nationals legally enter the country on a valid work or travel visa, but fail to exit before their visa expires for a variety of reasons. Mere unlawful presence in the country is not a crime. It is punishable by civil penalties, not criminal.

Current estimates are that approximately 45% of undocumented immigrants did not enter illegally. Meaning they are not criminals. They committed no crime by overstaying their visa.

Further, no one in America is a criminal until charged and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Otherwise, every speeder or jay walker is an illegal and that is clearly inaccurate and crazy.