Have you noticed the bait and switch? We're sure you have.
While thousands of people are massing at the country's Southern border, hoping to take advantage of President Joe Biden's welcome mat and enter the country illegally, Democrats would have you believe the real threat to the country remains in Washington, D.C., where armed insurrectionists and white supremacists are preparing for an overthrow of the country, or something like that.
Thursday was going to be the day, or at least one of the days. The rumor was that on March 4 - once the traditional presidential inauguration day - some of the same protesters who came to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 were going to come back and, well, wreak havoc. It was all wrapped in some plot that included QAnon.
The day came and U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was ready. The House canceled votes in fear, but he decided to sit on the Capitol steps, had himself photographed, sent the photo to news media and let it be known on social media that he was protecting the country. By golly, he was was going to stand up to the "right-wing extremists" who were likely even now coming with their pitchforks and torches.
"I want to make a statement to let people know, those who would threaten those of us who cherish this freedom that we have here, that we refuse to allow those threats to negate our freedom," he told The Hill.
Out in front of him, between him and the protesters who never showed up, National Guard troops patrolled and a razor wire-topped fence protected him from the invisible masses.
Increasingly, Democrats want Americans to believe there is a giant, growing, racist, white supremacist population that wants to deny people votes, vaccinate only white people, and make the country's air more toxic and water more dirty.
One of their fellow travelers, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, claimed Tuesday during a hearing that those who stormed the Capitol "might as well" have worn "white robes and hoods."
The more they scare voters with such lies, the better their chances are at passing legislation valuable only to them and being re-elected.
Meanwhile, a growing, bipartisan group of Congress members are asking why the troops are still in place.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement he was "outraged" the troops remained - and are being asked to stay another two months - without any good reason.
"The Capitol Police have clearly stated that no specific credible threat exists - and what's more, they haven't provided the Department of Defense with any of the information needed to justify this request," he said.
Keeping the troops in place through mid-March is costing taxpayers $487 million, according to the Pentagon. Keeping them another two months will skyrocket that figure.
While Washington awaits its bogeymen, tens of thousands of people are on the verge of creating a massive problem at the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said Thursday 10,000 illegal immigrants in the last seven days, including 2,500 in the previous two days, have been apprehended in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
"We are weeks, maybe even days, away from a crisis on the Southern border," he said in a statement. "Inaction is simply not an option. Our country is currently unprepared to handle a surge in migrants in the middle of the pandemic."
Since former President Donald Trump left office, the number of migrant youth at the border who are reported to the Department of Health and Human Services for release into the interior of the country has grown nearly 600%. And federal shelters are estimated to be at 93% capacity.
City officials in Brownsville, Texas, say many of the illegal immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley Sector also are being released at the bus station to get transportation into the interior of the country. At least 6% tested positive for the coronavirus, but city officials said they had no way to prevent them from boarding the buses. A bus station worker told Fox News they are not allowed to ask passengers for proof of coronavirus tests.
Compared to what Trump didn't do, but was accused of doing about the virus, this potential spread is being done with the full knowledge of Biden.
But he shouldn't be blamed, said MSNBC host Joy Reid. Such accusations are "anti-immigrant xenophobia" and "absurdly racist."
Bait and switch. Ignore reality; focus on fear. It's the current Democratic playbook. Don't fall for it.