Young Not Stupid: AZ Sen. Kelly Won't Secure His Own State's Border, Even Though It Makes Political Sense
The following is an installment in a weekly series of commentary articles by Cameron Arcand, founder of the conservative commentary website Young Not Stupid and a contributor to The Western Journal.
Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was an early critic of the Biden administration’s response to the crisis at the southern border, but his words appear to be hot air.
“This continues to be a major problem that shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of Arizona communities. And I think it was important to highlight that it wasn’t part of the address last night,” Kelly said in April, according to Politico.
“We’ve got to address this and it can’t be on Arizona taxpayers and Arizona towns that are really struggling right now. It’s a federal government problem.”
The crisis first made headlines in March, and shows no signs of stopping with Customs and Border Patrol reporting over 178,000 migrant encounters in April alone.
He even doubled on his criticism during a radio interview earlier this month, where he said that the United States has “failed Arizona” when it comes to the border.
“Let me be clear on this. Washington D.C. has failed, failed the state of Arizona on border security,” he told KTAR-FM.
Unfortunately, his rhetoric seems to serve no purpose besides developing a courtship with moderate and conservative voters.
He voted against the amendment proposed by Republican Ohio Sen. Ron Johnson last week which would have “prohibi[ted] the cancellation” of border wall construction contracts, according to the Senate Press Gallery.
Senate about to vote on this amendment again, but this time, it’s not a vote-a-rama. Wonder how the two Dem senators from Arizona vote.. https://t.co/BFNFvXhUsr
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) May 20, 2021
Sinema a no as well
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) May 20, 2021
Notably, his fellow Arizona Democratic Sen. Krysten Sinema also voted against the amendment, but unlike Kelly, she has actually been pushing for legislation to improve conditions at the southern border.
Sinema, along with Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, introduced the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act in the Senate, which seeks to establish regional processing centers and expand Border Patrol.
We introduced the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act to address the crisis at our southern border. Our bill prioritizes Arizona’s border communities, requiring @DHSgov to better coordinate and communicate with local governments and non-profits. pic.twitter.com/F7XX5SMfxR
— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) May 23, 2021
His inaction compared to his colleagues is perplexing, especially given the fact that he is up for reelection in 2022.
By not making any genuine effort to mitigate the influx of migrants and secure the border at the legislative level, he is giving Republicans ammo to use against him while simultaneously getting on the Biden administration’s bad side.
The Biden administration has not taken any decisive long-term action to stop the crisis, which means it will take immense pressure from Democratic lawmakers in order for them to rise to the occasion.
Kelly has enjoyed being vocal on the sidelines, but has yet to put in the grunt work required for change to occur.
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