The first thing that has to be done is secure the border. . . East Germany was very, very able to reduce the flow. Now, obviously, other things were involved. We have the capacity to, as a great nation, secure the border. If East Germany could, we could.
— Joe Miller, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Alaska
Heinersdorf, Germany on the Iron Curtain border, 1987 (4×5 film) — © Brian Rose
Just in case anyone is confused. The Iron Curtain split towns, divided families, and crushed lives. It was the nuclear trip wire between east and west, the real and symbolic expression of the authoritarian ideology of the Soviet Union and its proxy states. It was designed not to keep people out, but to keep people in.
Ahhh…and Rand Paul also has a novel idea with his suggestion to place an electrified fence underground at the border. Just electrocute ’em. The scary thing is these nut jobs have a following.
And defend the border with private militias, just like the one Joe Miller’s brownshirt security guards are from. The guys that handcuffed a reporter trying to ask Miller questions at an open townhall meeting in a public school.
It’s hard to believe how close people like Miller are coming to positions of real power. I can only hope that with this latest escapade, Joe’s luck has finally run out.