It'd certainly legal for the governor to deploy the National Guard troops in his state...not the same thing as declaring war.

I agree that it should be the Red Cross, and not the National Guard, dealing with this crisis...but let's not be ridiculous and act like this is Perry declaring war.

"Small government Republicans" haven't opposed the warfare state since getting denounced as isolationists in the early 1940s. Libertarians are a fringe element in the Republican Party. Republicans are the big business, warfare/ incarceration state, and theocracy party.

Well, let's see.....Central American child killed by National Guardsman, Central American child killed by insane white yahoo at the border while mixed in amongst the Guardsmen, National Guardsman kidnapped by the Zetas or related group because they get a little too close to something.

Place your bets, ladies and gentleman, place your bets....
:-(

The money shot:

"It is not clear where the money will come from in the budget," the memo states, adding that Perry's office has said the money will come from "non critical" areas, such as health care or transportation.

@1 is correct. There's been too much boneheaded hyperventilating from the Stranger over the past few months and you guys need to fucking stop already. We have this, Kelley's claim that the downing of the flight is some sort of Sudetenland moment in history and the rest of they hyperbole. All it does is point out you have no one who is capable of reporting on news events since Goldy was fired/let go/resigned or whatever excuse you are sticking with this week.

I see Rick Perry has been listening to Louie Gohmert.

Republicans love spending boatloads of cash to intimidate and harass minorities. They only object to spending if it goes to help people who don't look like them or who worship a different invisible avenger than they worship.

All this said, President Obama can Federalize the Guard as well....

Nice catch, @4. The primary animus of conservatives is the destruction of civil society.

All the National Guard can do is hand the kids to the Border Patrol. So I think this is just a way for Rick Perry to look good to protesters while not really having an effect - a perfect political opportunity, in other words.

Hopefully a smart Guard commander will bring plenty of extra MREs and blankets to the border.

Hmmm... lets send a thousand guys with assault rifles to interact with thousands of highly stressed children, many of whom don't speak English. What could possibly go wrong?

The Texas border is about 1,000 miles long. Even if they were funded, even if they were trained for this mission, what 1,000 National Guardsmen would hope to accomplish is quite beyond me. Even if they're only in pairs, and discounting administration and logistics entirely, considering the need to work in shifts that's ~160 detachments, spaced about 6 miles apart. Hardly going to seal the border, and a tremendous disruption to the state budget and to the careers and families of the Guardsmen with whom Perry is playing politics - but enough to get national headlines, which is what counts I suppose.

I really can't figure out what these people want. If you "turn them away at the border" wouldn't you just be giving them unlimited chances to try to sneak in a few miles down the road? There would be no consequence for trying over and over again until you finally slip in.

They're not even trying to "slip in." The kids have been turning themselves in to the border police.

wwJd?

Let's hope this gets Texas to swing blue even faster! The GOP is brilliant at alienating whole blocks of voters- why stop now?

@13, some of "these people" are pre-teens, crossing with even younger siblings. They want to stay alive, which is now difficult in their home country.

As far as I'm concerned, anyone who can get through Mexico without being imprisoned or killed deserves immediate citizenship and a Presidential Medal of Honor.

@2
Right on. Real libertarians are against big government AND big corporations because the LAST THING corporations want is real capitalism...no more bailout? No more corporate welfare? Actually being held accountable for their crimes? That's why they support the business wing of the GOP and not libertarians.
And I like most libertarians want open and fair immigration.
http://www.lp.org/issues/immigration

@17: I meant the protesters. You know, the ones yelling about turning kids away at the border?