Subject: Re: Trump: I Would Encourage Russia...
Yeah, there were controversial things in it like making sure CBP officers were carrying radios. :)

Again, that's an essential feature of any good messaging bill. You put a ton of things in the bill, making sure that there are at least some provisions that the opposing party will not ever vote for, and at least some provisions that no rational people can oppose. That way you can state in your campaign that the opposing party objected to the most anodyne provisions (like CBP officers having radios), rather than the "poison pill" provisions (like amending the statute to authorize family detention, so that you can keep minor children locked up).

1. This bill was a good bill (it wasn't, as documented by me on this board)
2. The democrats are absolved from any responsibility for negotiating in good faith in the future.

Neither of these things are true. The bill was the most restrictive immigration proposal that's come forward in the last thirty years or so - it was a great bill for border restrictionists. Almost entirely "fence," with almost no "door." And Democratic "responsibility" isn't the issue - the reason that this is as good as the GOP will get for a generation or two is because the Democrats were uniquely motivated to abandon some of their principles and interests in ensuring positive treatment of migrants, a set of circumstances you won't see repeated for decades.

I gain addition by subtraction. By (correctly) labeling the democrats as the party that refuses to secure America's border, I get...fewer democrats. As the beatings continue, they're more...motivated...to actually come to the table and talk solutions.

There's a whole lot of wishful thinking there. First, Democrats are getting blamed for the border because Biden's the President; when Trump's the President, Republicans are going to start getting blamed for the border. Because the voters (generally) will blame the person in charge when things go wrong - whether that's fair or not.

Second, the Democrats who are going to get voted out will almost entirely be from the moderate wing of the party - the ones who would be most willing to actually come to the table and talk solutions.

Finally, and most importantly, you're unlikely to ever get even as good a situation as you have right now. You'll never get a better one, despite your imagined "beatings." The Democrats have never been more motivated to cut a deal on the border. This is the high point. The issue is hugely salient, Abbott caught them flat-footed, Biden's running for re-election and both the House and Senate are up for grabs, and there's a massive time-sensitive funding request that they successfully were able to tie to immigration. In 2026, after the Republicans have tried and failed for two years to fix the border and the Democrats have no incentive (as a party) to try to cut a deal, you're never going to get 60 votes.

Abbott gave the GOP a winning hand, and all they had to do was play it to cash in. Instead, they folded and got up from the table.