Horns Down: An immigration Rorschach test.

Texas county jails reported this month that they spent more than $150 million on the incarceration of over 130,000 undocumented immigrants over the past two years. Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, who wrote the bill requiring the jails to regularly report the statistic, said the number showed that the government should do more to secure the border. We believe the huge expense instead shows the need for comprehensive immigration reform that would make legal immigration more accessible. Either way, the number only tells us something we all already know: Illegal immigration continues to be a problem for Texas. Both sides of the issue still disagree just as much on the best way to reduce it.

Horns Up: Water awareness.

A UT / Texas Tribune poll released Oct. 14 found that more than half of polled Texans support the $2 billion water funding proposition that will be up for statewide vote on Nov. 5. Only 19 percent oppose the proposition, so although 24 percent remain undecided, it’s difficult to imagine most of Texas changing its mind in less than a month.

Horns Down: Dewhurst's pandering devolves debate.

At a meeting of the Tarrant County Tea Party on Monday night, Lt. Gov David Dewhurst called for the impeachment of President Barack Obama, a statement that was greeted with cheers from the crowd. Dewhurst explained to the Texas Observer that he believed Obama should be impeached for doing “things which are not authorized under federal law, such as with immigration, such as not following our federal drug laws.” We’re sure this all enthralling to the members of the Tarrant County Tea Party, but is it a valuable discussion to have in the context of the race for Lt. Gov, in which Dewhurst is currently running? We don’t think so. Horns Down for putting political distraction tactics above actual policy conversations.