It turns out many Democrats were for the wall before they were against it. While Democrat leaders like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) now oppose President Trump's border wall, they previously supported similar border fencing and barriers during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies. Schumer was among 26 Senate Democrats--including Dianne Feinstein, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Obama--who voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorized the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the southern border similar to what Trump is calling for. A portion of that fencing has already been built, as documented recently by the New York Times.
More recently, in 2013 all 54 Senate Democrats voted for the ill-fated "Gang of Eight" comprehensive immigration reform bill that included a "Southern Border Fencing Strategy" for another 700 miles of barriers.
But now, Dems seem to be stridently opposed to a border fence, wall or barrier of any kind. "I think the base of their party has moved left, further left than they are," says Jeffrey Lord, contributing editor to The American Spectator. "And I think that their base is not going to tolerate (a wall)."
Lord tells KTRH that Democrats' opposition to walls and barriers is hypocritical. "Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are physically protected by all kinds of things...walls, barriers that make it impossible to get into the Capitol with a truck, and all this sort of stuff," he says. "They're doing this for themselves, but boy, if you're somebody who lives along the border, not to mention if you're these poor people in Tijuana, there's a double standard."
President Trump has threatened a government shutdown if Congress does not approve funding for a wall. Lord and other conservatives hope the president stands firm. "I really don't think the president has any intention of backing down on this at all," he says. "He may have to find new and creative ways to do it."