Lawn Chair Minutemen

In case you don't have the joy of being involuntarily signed up to a half-dozen immigration-obsessed e-mail lists, you may have missed last week's "Minuteman Project," in which a would-be militia of volunteer border-enforcers and Lou Dobbs enthusiasts headed down to the Arizona-Mexico border to Protect Our Sovereignty against illegal Mexicans. Lefty journalist Marc Cooper joined them, and filed a withering report. Excerpt:

At two Minuteman rallies staged today in front of the Naco and Douglas stations of the Border Patrol, there were only about 150 participants. While much hot air has been blown on both sides about these Minutemen exercising the Second Amendment i.e. carrying guns, the overwhelming majority of them are armed only with lawn chairs. Indeed, those drawn to this event (apart from being about 99.9% white) are disproportionaly aged and retired and are no more fit to conduct "civilian patrols" than they are set to run a marathon.

After today's rallies, I expect that a hundred or so might actually spend a few hours (sitting in lawn chairs) on the border in the next few days. In the end, I would be surprised if more than a few dozen actually go out on "patrol" with the hard-core organizers. […]

During today's gatherings, the Minutemen chanted "Viva La Migra" and chanted "Thank You, Border Patrol!" But the Border Patrol took extra steps to deploy an added number of official spokespersons outside the two stations where the rallies took place. The Border Patrol was emphatic in rejecting the "support" offered by the Minuteman Project. "They are a natural hindrance to us," said Supervisory Agent Jose Maheda. "We don't support them and they are making our jobs more difficult."