Buchanan: 'A Country that Won't or Can't Control Its Borders Is Not a Country Anymore'

On Monday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” in an appearance to promote his latest book, “The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority,” conservative commentator Pat Buchanan criticized the Obama administration for being unable to control its borders and warned that a country that can’t control borders is no longer a country because it results in changes in the “character and composition” of the country.

Partial transcript as follows:

HANNITY: Pat, there’s two themes that in your books, this being a different book– immigration, American decline. You see this, this is all government-created, isn’t it?

BUCHANAN: Well it’s not all government-created. There are people all over the world that to come to the United States but as Ronald Reagan said a country that won’t or can’t control its borders is not a country any more. And Sean, what’s happening on our southern border and Europe is the failed states of the Third World are driving people basically to try to seek to have what exists in the West and the United States. But the truth is if you do not get control of folks pouring in to your country from all over the world, they will alter the character and composition of your country and change it forever without the consent of the American people.

HANNITY: Look at Murrieta, CA. Now, we have militia guys threatening to go down to Texas. Government not enforcing the law is now creating a situation that’s now spiraling out of control.

BUCHANAN: Sean, 1991, I ran against George H.W. Bush, 1992 you went down the border in San Diego. They were coming across the border at 5,000 every weekend pouring in and they all talked about it — secure the border because illegals are pouring into the United States. And if the government had acted then we would be dealing not 12 million or 20 million but 3 million. Many of them would have been gone. But, it’s a failure of both political parties. Presidents of both parties. Why in heaven’s name don’t they know how to control the borders of their own country?

HANNITY: Pat Buchanan, I was there in Marietta, GA, not Murrieta, CA. And I couldn’t get into your rally at the time and you were running for president. You were sort of anti-establishment for a long time. I look at the Republican governors. I’m pretty happy at the job they are doing. I look at Republicans in Washington. No vision. They’re timid, afraid of their own shadow. Won’t even cut off funding for ObamaCare and go after the conservatives that do.

BUCHANAN: Let me ask you Sean, why can’t you given the problem you got, you’re seeing tens of thousands, scores of thousands of children pouring into the country. Why cannot the government get together we need a secure fence, a double- or triple-link fence all along the border of the United States with Mexico? We got to tell folks we know how much you want to come but we decide who comes into our national home.

HANNITY: Pat, why don’t you put the people who are coming from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador – look I understand you want to be here, but you got to respect our laws and sovereignty. Put them on an airplane and send them home.

BUCHANAN: That’s what Gen. Eisenhower did in 1953. I hate to say the name of the project. It was called “Operation: Wetback.” He sent a United States general down to Texas where a million people poured into Texas in the southwest and said clean this up. And they put them on buses and ships and sent them back to Mexico.

HANNITY: But, you know what they do in Mexico if you come from Central America they either put you in jail or send you home.

BUCHANAN: It’s felony in Mexico. In addition to that, you go through that terrible country. And many children are suffering horribly I think going through that country. But why has the government of the United States not got the moral moxie to do its duty and defend our borders?

HANNITY: When you see Murrieta, CA, you hear about militias now thinking about going down to Texas because the government is not doing their job. That’s why I say this is a government caused crisis. Barack Obama — he rewrites laws, chooses not to untoward laws. Even Jonathan Turley says we’re at a constitutional tipping point, Pat. You’ve been following presidents for a long time. Have you seen anybody like this before?

BUCHANAN: I think any president, you know, George W. Bush — taking a look at what’s happening now would at least finally act. But this president doesn’t act. He talks. What he says is an excuse for his inaction, Sean. I’ve never seen a president like that.

HANNITY: I’ll go my own way. Sue me. That’s his line. Go ahead, sue me. But we have a Constitution. We have separation of powers.

BUCHANAN: I think Barack Obama has decided I’m not going to get nothing from these guys and I’m going to do nothing except what I want to do and I’ll do it by executive order and they can go fly a kite and I’m going to be who I want to be.

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