Politicians who passionately run their campaigns on issues like border security often change their tune once elected, and the realities of said issues begin to dispel partisan illusions.
Democratic Arizona Governor-elect Katie Hobbs appears to be experiencing this very phenomenon as her rhetoric regarding border security seems to have changed dramatically since her controversial win over Republican candidate Kari Lake.
According to CNN, Hobbs told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday that she “doesn’t think the Biden administration is ‘doing enough’ to address the situation at the southern border.”
“We need real action on immigration reform. We need real border security,” Hobbs continued in her likely realization that a record-breaking surge in illegal crossings from Mexico and South American countries is occurring.
This is an interesting shift from before her election when she vowed to take down the shipping container walls that her predecessor had assembled along parts of the border.
According to KYMA-DT, Hobbs called the walls, “political stunts that are really not solving issues at the border,” but failed to provide any kind of alternative other than promising to tear them down.
How Hobbs plans to achieve “real border security” while tearing down makeshift walls and backing pro-open border sheriffs like Chris Nanos remains to be seen.
Back in August, she sponsored an ad which involved her and endorsed Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos walking along the southern border.
We need less talk and more action when it comes to securing the border. My highest priority is keeping Arizona communities safe which is why law enforcement like Sheriff Hathaway and Sheriff Nanos are backing my campaign. Watch here? pic.twitter.com/4IpFuUJgND
— Gov-Elect Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) August 31, 2022
Nanos is well documented for his open border sympathies.
In the ad, Nanos stated, “Hobbs will deliver whatever resources are needed to keep you safe, my team safe, our state safe. She’s not here to politicize our border.”
Despite Nanos’ claim that Hobbs will deliver needed resources for border security, his record would reflect that he might not accept those resources even if offered.
According to various sources, including Arizona Daily Independent, Nanos promised during his 2020 run for sheriff to reject federal border security funds through Operation Stonegarden.
According to the article, “Operation Stonegarden, a federal grant program used for immigration enforcement, currently provides funding for public safety efforts in both Cochise and Pinal counties which, like Santa Cruz and Pima, are key avenues for the cartel’s drug mules.”
Nanos was also documented as vowing to work with various open border groups during his campaign.
Hobbs told “CNN This Morning” that discussing her supposed border plan with President Joe Biden is a top priority for her.
“I’ve said this, I don’t think they are doing enough. I would love to have them visit and see firsthand the kind of support and relief that folks in these communities need from the federal government,” Hobbs said.
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Ironically, Biden has not once been to the southern border in any capacity other than a “drive-by,” as described by The Washington Post last year in an article responding to Biden’s CNN townhall.
“I’ve been there before, and I haven’t — I mean, I know it well. I guess I should go down. But the whole point of it is I haven’t had a whole hell of a lot of time to get down,” Biden said.
Hobbs appears to have her work cut out for herself as she faces a president who hasn’t visited the border, sheriff’s that want an open border, and hundreds of thousands of angry, conservative Arizona residents who demand she close the border.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
