Can Toby Neugebauer Help Trump Face Down Mexico… And The U.S. Chamber of Commerce?
12/27/2016
A+
|
a-
Print Friendly and PDF
 If there is one promise Donald Trump will never be able to back away from and survive politically, it is The Wall. The Great Wall of Trump has taken on a kind of existential importance, both as a tangible symbol of Trump’s ability to keep his promises and as a concrete representation of the Historic American Nation’s will to survive. Even on his “victory tour,” Trump is still swearing we will see it constructed. But Trump is going to have to face down both Mexico and much of the American corporate establishment to keep this most important promise.

Before Trump has even taken office, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States is pushing back. Carlos Manuel Sada Solana recently declared his country “is not paying for the wall” and instead, incredibly, called for Congress to pass Amnesty legislation [Ambassador: ‘Mexico is not paying for the wall,’ by Jessie Hellmann, The Hill, December 1, 2016]. South of the border, legislation has already been introduced to prevent Mexico from contributing any money towards the project, and Mexican analysts are whining that The Wall would hurt everything from Mexican security to its environment [Mexico Proposes Legislation To Counter Border Wall Expansion, by Lorne Matalon, Fronteras, December 27, 2016].

Of course, especially given Mexico’s already-collapsing security situation and spiraling cartel violence, building The Wall is in the best interests of both nations [The Texas border lake where Mexican cartels ‘are killing unwitting American tourists,by Hannah Parry, Daily Mail, December 27, 2016].

And ultimately, America does not need Mexico’s permission to make them pay for it.

However, Trump will need skillful, knowledgeable and committed allies in key positions if he is to fulfill his stated plans. And one of the most important will be who becomes Solana’s counterpart as the American ambassador to Mexico.

Most of the rumored candidates are not promising from a patriot perspective.

  • Al Zapanta
Appallingly, the longtime head of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce is one of the leading contenders [Five key ambassador picks for Trump, by Katie Bo Williams and Jordan Fabian, The Hill, December 24, 2016]. Zapanta has a long record in government service, including helping President Bill Clinton pass the North American Free Trade Agreement. He’s also noted for his close relationship with former Mexican president turned anti-Trump activist Vicente Fox [U.S. chamber chief acts as high-level trade ambassador, by Cheryl Hall, Dallas News, August 2015].

Worst of all, Zapanta is already on record saying Trump doesn’t literally intend to dismantle NAFTA or Obamacare and isn’t actually going to build the wall. Instead, he says it will be a “smart wall” and American efforts should be spent on “providing economic opportunity” in Mexico so people stop coming [Trump’s potential ambassador to Mexico: Renegotiate NAFTA? ‘Don’t go for the whole enchilada,’ by Jill Cowan, Dallas News, November 12, 2016]. Everyone who wants to cross the border for “business purposes,” he smirks, should do so.

Of course, if we aren’t allowed to control our borders until Mexico (already a rich nation by global standards) equals the American level of prosperity, then we might as well just become part of Mexico now and get it over with.

If Zapanta becomes ambassador, we can count on him putting the interests of Mexico (and the American Cheap Labor lobby) ahead of our own national interest.

  • Larry Rubin
Rubin was the CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico from 1997 to 2008. As you have probably guessed, he is a passionate supporter of mass immigration and “comprehensive immigration reform,” i.e. an Amnesty/Immigration Surge. Though he is a staple of the Spanish-language media, Rubin only made headlines in America when he bemoaned an effort by Mexicans to stop supporting American businesses, the “Day Without Gringos.” Rubin wasn’t offended as an American: he just fretted that such gestures got in the way of the business community’s efforts to secure Amnesty [Group: Mexico Boycott Has Little Effect, by Mark Stevenson, Washington Post, May 2, 2006].

Rubin was actually born in Mexico—Wikipedia gives his full name as Larry Rubin Querejeta. Again,Rubin cannot be trusted to represent American interests in Mexico.

  • (Shudder) Alberto Gonzales
The Attorney General under President George W. Bush, of cursed memory, Gonzales is a supporter of anti-white racial preferences and went out his way to denounce efforts by states and localities to enforce the immigration laws that his own Department of Justice contemptuously ignored. When in office, Gonzales did everything he could to weaken immigration enforcement, including subverting the courts to benefit pro-Open Borders immigration lawyers (The Treason Bar).   A creature of the Bush family, Gonzales would be exactly the kind of “snake” in the administration Trump warns about in his campaign speeches.

There is no way to reconcile a vow to Drain the Swamp with the reemergence of this noxious, anti-American Affirmative Action hack.

Any of these choices would be a signal of impending betrayal. They are especially ominous given Trump’s recent meeting with Carlos Slim, celebrated by the Main Stream Media as “a possible thawing between Trump and Mexico’s business and political elite, which he had used relentlessly as a foil throughout his campaign”. [Trump meets with Carlos Slim as Mexican leaders seek better relations, by Philip Rucker, Robert Costa, and Joshua Partlow, Washington Post, December 19, 2016]

However, among the rumored names there is one sign of hope.

  • Toby Neugebauer
Texas private equity and oil tycoon Neugebauer was a large donor to Ted Cruz during the campaign, as opposed to being simply a Cheap Labor lobbyist. He was such a fervent Cruz backer that he offered to give $1.5 million to charity if there was a one on one Trump/Cruz debate before the Iowa caucuses [Texas billionaire and GOP fundraiser considered for Mexico ambassador, report says, by Alex Daugherty, McClatchy DC, December 19, 2016]. He’s the son of Congressman Randy Neugebauer, who has a mediocre C+ record from Numbers USA, though a more favorable B grade from 2013-2016, including votes to defund sanctuary cities, block amnesty for DACA recipients, and against amnesty for illegals serving in the military.

More importantly, despite widespread contacts in Mexico, Neugebauer has explicitly backed Trump’s border security measures.

[H]e supports building a wall and wants a strong US-Mexico border.

“I get border security,” he said, adding that tougher immigration controls are needed to clamp down on the Mexican drug trade and sex trafficking of young girls into the States.

[GOP lawmaker’s billionaire son favorite for Mexico ambassador, by Isabel Vincent, New York Post, December 18, 2016]

In general, there are reasons for both optimism and pessimism in Donald Trump’s selections thus far. The presence of men like Stephen Miller and Jeff Sessions in important roles must cheer patriots.

But a few good men will not be enough. Ultimately, if Trump is to accomplish any of his promises, he is going to have to fight a long war with the bureaucracy and business communities who are profiting from the status quo.

Whoever Trump selects for Ambassador to Mexico will be critical. The new ambassador must be tough enough to stand up to the Mexican elite, loyal enough to back Trump against the smears of the MSM, and knowledgeable enough to know how to apply pressure.

Of the names being circulated, only Neugebauer seems to come close.

Of course, if Trump names instead an Open Borders lobbyist or Bush lackey like Gonzales, it doesn’t necessarily mean final betrayal. We shouldn’t panic no matter what happens. Trump ultimately sets the policy.

But if Trump appoints someone to this critical post who sees their job as protecting Mexico from Trump, as many of the names being circulated do, it drastically reduces the chance President Trump will be able to accomplish his agenda. Instead of Trump serving as the turning point for the Historic American Nation, he might be just another Republican who broke his promises.

And we wouldn’t even get the wall to show for it.

James Kirkpatrick [Email him] is a Beltway veteran and a refugee from Conservatism Inc.

 

Print Friendly and PDF