Stuck on Hypcrisy

"Dick", the local blogger that wishes he wasn't, stopped by Babalu the other day to comment and correct an earlier post I made. This is what he posted:

Here's the direct quote from Thompson's June 27th speech:

We're catching, over a period of years, thousands of illegal immigrants coming from southern borders that are non-fence-able. Many of them come from terrorist-related states. We were just talking earlier, and I remember the figure that stuck out to me -- in the year 2005, we apprehended over 1,000 folks that originally has come from Cuba. If they're coming from Cuba, where else are they coming from? And I don't imagine they're coming here to bring greetings from Castro. We're living in the era of the suitcase bomb. We can't be talking seriously about national security while that's going on. We're catching one for every three that we don't catch -- they say. That's our government's estimate, so you can imagine what the real ratio is.

[bold is my emphasis]

And while I agree that this is old news, your characterization of what Thompson said and what Clinton took him to task for is just plain wrong. It's very clear that he was indeed referring to Cubans and not "1,000 non-Mexicans."

OK fair enough. Point taken. But Thompson's comments were regarding lax border security and how that affects national security, especially when enemies and terrorist states like Cuba are involved. Some people like Hillary Clinton and "Dick" himself wanted to make political hay out it so they misconstrue the statement as if it was an indictment on all Cubans trying to enter the country, which it obviously wasn't. "Dick" even said this in a comment on his blog:

I find your loyalty to Fred laughable considering his characterization of balseros as terrorists

But the reality is that "Dick" agrees with Fred Thompson on this issue. Just 10 days ago "Dick" posted the following:

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Our Insecure Borders

No matter what end of the political spectrum you hail from, this should scare the hell out of you.

A group of 25 people claiming to be Cuban refugees called police Monday night from an Oakland Park Waffle House, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

The group told police that they arrived on shore earlier in the evening and then were taken to the Waffle House at 4840 NW 9th Ave.

They were then taken into custody by Border Patrol.

Does anyone realize just how far inland this Waffle House is? Let me help you out.

[Map]

Six years, almost to the day, after 9/11 and this is the best that Bush Co. has been able to do in tightening up our borders. Boats land on our shores, unload their passengers who then proceed inland totally undetected until they call to alert authorities to their presence.

It's a joke. And if you don't think the bad guys, the real bad guys, the ones with the big plans who don't call police to let them know they're feet dry, aren't noticing how inept we are, then sadly, like George W. Bush, you would be wrong.

Posted by [D]ick at 6:41 AM

What exactly is the difference between these two statements? If there were no possible threat would "Dick" have made his post? Don't worry, "Dick". I didn't take your post to mean that balseros are terrorists. But be careful of what you say around Hillary, she doesn't seem to understand these things.

So the reality is that "Dick" shares the same exact concern that Fred Thompson has and that I have. Nobody here at Babalu has ever alleged that the borders are secure. Like "Dick" we have criticized the president for this. And we certainly are aware of the danger of espionage and possible terrorism coming from Cuba that Thompson rightly points out. I'm glad we can agree on some things. I'm sure that Thompson can now count on "Dick's" vote.