OMG moment at GOP debate

Texas. Gov. Rick Perry criticized a border fence as being unrealistic during Monday night's GOP debate. Instead of a fence or wall, he suggested more boots on the ground and high-tech solutions to reduce illegal immigration.

And here's a shocker. I basically agree with him.

"The idea that you're going to build a wall from Brownsville to El Paso and go left for another 800 miles to Tijuana is just not reality," said Perry.

He's right. A border fence is nothing more than an emotional response to illegal immigration. It's red meat for Tea Party people and other far right-wing fanatics. It's not a real solution.

Fences make some people feel better but rarely do they work. A ladder or tunnel would easily defeat the purpose of a costly and unguarded fence. In addition, a massive fence along the entire border with Mexico is an environmental nightmare for animals needing to migrate.

Even more border police and aerial patrols aren't enough to address the illegal immigration problem, but they are a start. Preventing undocumented people from entering the U.S., regardless of whether they are coming from the south or flying into JFK, requires smarter immigration policies and some societal changes. That's another blog item for another day.

Perry also talked about how providing in-state tuition for illegal aliens who want to better themselves by going to college was something he supported in Texas. He said the alternatives, which may include illegal immigrants not contributing to society, was far worse.

Again, I concur, although this too is a complex issue with no single solution.

Of course, through all of this, Michelle Bachmann's head nearly exploded, which in my view elevated Perry. Bachmann, the Tea Party favorite, was giving the audience what they wanted. And what they wanted was what they always want -- mean-spirited, shallow remarks that show zero vision and would set us back 200 years if implemented. Remember, these are the same people who applauded the number of executions in Texas at the last debate.

For one night, and probably one night only, Perry had moments of sounding rational. I guess that's not hard to do when Bachmann is sharing the stage.

Still, this group of Republicans is awful. Patti Davis, the daughter of Ronald Reagan, is going around to different media outlets blasting these GOP candidates for aligning themselves with her father. She points to what she saw as compassion in her father and says there is no evidence that modern-day Republicans possess an ounce of empathy for anyone. That perception is once again looking like reality as the GOP is lined up to shoot down President Obama's jobs bill, mostly because the bill raises money by eliminating certain deductions for the extremely wealthy -- the people they insist are job creators, even though there is no data to support that.

The lack of compassion and patriotism in these Republicans should disqualify them from ever aligning themselves with any past Republican president because the GOP has simply decayed into something that is so unsavory that even Reagan would condemn them. If Perry was trying to distance himself from that perception on Monday night, well, he has a long way to go, but I am not holding my breath.