Letter to the Editor - February 28, 2019

Lowcountry voter urges Cunningham to listen to his constituents about border security

Voters in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District elected a Democrat in 2018, but not so he could serve as a stooge for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Representative Joe Cunningham is the first Democrat to win the traditionally red seat since 1981, and he did so in a district that President Trump won by nearly 15 points in 2016.

Cunningham won by sticking to local issues such as offshore drilling, the environment, and healthcare. If he wants to retain his seat in 2020, he should listen carefully to what his constituents are saying about border security.

The 1st District is still predominantly red, and recent polling cited in an article in the Washington Examiner (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/shock-poll-democra...) confirms that voters strongly favor the border wall President Trump wants to build in order to address the crisis on our southern border.

According to the Washington Examiner piece, a “poll of 10 representative districts, some of which Trump won by a big margin but then voted a Democrat into office in 2018, also found that a plurality approve of the president’s job performance, 49 percent to 48 percent. The Public Opinion Strategies survey done for the Republican National Committee provided some hope for the president and GOP messaging on the border wall.”

Across 10 districts that flipped from supporting Donald Trump in 2016 to electing a Democrat in 2018, a solid majority agree with the President that illegal immigration represents a serious national security threat, and that a border wall is necessary to address the crisis.

Voters in those districts support President Trump’s position on border security by an incredible 61 percent to 35 percent margin, whereas the average approval rating of Democrats only ranges between 20 percent and 35 percent.

Unsurprisingly, 53 percent of voters in these Democrat-held congressional districts support “building a border wall or barrier to improve security between the US and Mexico.”

That’s not just the opinion of voters, though; it’s also the position held by an overwhelming majority of the law enforcement agents who patrol the border every single day. They say a wall will improve national security, reduce crime, and cut the influx of drugs pouring in — just as the barrier separating Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas has done with remarkable effectiveness (https://nypost.com/2018/01/13/we-already-have-a-border-wall-and-it-works/) since it was completed in 2010.

The Democrats’ newfound opposition to building a border wall is purely about politics. Prior to President Trump taking office, Democrats overwhelmingly supported building barriers along our southern border, but now hardliners following Pelosi’s lead are playing politics with our national security by refusing to consider any border security solution that includes funding for a wall.

Rep. Cunningham should listen to his voters in the Lowcountry rather than Boss Pelosi, or his first term in Congress might be his last.

Colleen Conley

Isle of Palms, S.C.