GLENN: A story that we have followed for a very, very long time when George Bush, this is really, I mean, the prescription drug thing with George W. Bush was staggering to me. And then when he did nothing on the border; in fact, he did the opposite on the border of what he should have done, it made no sense and that's when I began to question absolutely everything I believed about the Republicans and about George W. Bush. That was my "Come to Jesus" moment and I said wait, wait, wait. Because of what was happening on the border, I believe I even called for the impeachment of George W. Bush. It is criminal what we have done on the border. We have missing Americans. We now have murdered Americans. And over the weekend I heard this audio from Sheriff Arvin West from Hudspeth County in Texas. This is what he told ranchers in his county.
SHERIFF WEST: You farmers, I'm telling you right now, arm yourselves. As they say, the old story is it's better to be tried by twelve than carried by six, and I don't want to see six people carrying you.
GLENN: Now, when I first heard that, I thought the media is going to go crazy and they are going to say, here it is, an outlaw sheriff saying take matters in your own hands, yada, yada, yada, look at these gun toting Texan hicks. Thought for sure that was coming. It didn't. You have to ask yourself why. I believe because the violence on the border is so bad, it's indefensible, and the left can't bring this up. They are going to have to wait for something else to happen, but if you bring up this statement, it leads you to ask the question, why would a sheriff say that? Sheriff Arvin West is on the phone with me now. Can you bring him up?
Sheriff?
SHERIFF WEST: Good morning, Glenn, how are you?
GLENN: Good, sir, how are you?
SHERIFF WEST: I'm wonderful.
GLENN: Can you tell us the story? What led you to say this to the people in your county?
SHERIFF WEST: Well, Glenn, it was a multiple of things. The icing on the cake, though, was when they killed that rancher in Arizona. I mean, enough's enough. The town across the border there, they come over there and threaten them and pretty well vacated about 6,000 people, made them leave, the drug dealers did, and in doing so we had a bunch of them running to our side of the border looking for safety and, you know, we have no idea what's coming across.
GLENN: Sheriff, things seem to be you'd never know this by watching TV, but seem to be escalating in a way that the drug cartels have never, they've pretty much stayed on their side and tried to leave America alone. Is that true? And is it changing?
SHERIFF WEST: Well, years ago it used to be, like I said, it used to be a cat and mouse game. It's no longer that anymore. It's a domination game between the cartels on that side, but as time progresses, they're getting they're joining forces. Four years ago I made mention to congress that, you know, you hadn't seen anything in Nuevo Laredo like you are going to see in Juarez, and it turned out to be true. Wait until these cartels join forces and start just getting bigger and bigger fighting each other and go across the northern border of Mexico to fight for territory. It's going to get nasty. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better, and it's going to affect us drastically.
GLENN: What is the story about the elder gentleman that went across the border and had his eyes gouged out?
SHERIFF WEST: That was they were after one of his relatives, I believe maybe grandson or somewhere, you know, nephew or something like that and pretty much told him if you don't have him here at such and such time, we're going to kill one of your family members and sure enough, they got a hold of the old man. He was 90 years old and they gouged his eyes out with icepicks.
PAT: Wow. Sheriff, I think the thing that almost nobody
GLENN: Hold on just a second. That was an American citizen that that happened to. Correct? The grandfather was an American citizen?
SHERIFF WEST: I believe he was. If not, he was a border crosser. I think he could be able to cross back and forth.
GLENN: All right.
PAT: Nobody realizes the sheer enormity, I don't think, of the area that you have to cover. It's, what is it, like something like 5,000 square miles?
SHERIFF WEST: Right at 5,000 square miles, yes, sir.
PAT: And you have how many deputies to patrol that area?
SHERIFF WEST: Well, because of Governor Perry, I'm up to 17 now.
PAT: 17 from, where were you before?
SHERIFF WEST: We had six.
PAT: Oh, okay. So he got you eleven more?
SHERIFF WEST: Right.
PAT: So everything's fixed? I mean, surely 17's enough to cover 5,000 square miles.
SHERIFF WEST: You know, the I've had to move all the resources out away from every else in the county and move them to Fort Hancock. We've had a big influx in students coming across and getting in the school systems and just for safety. And like I said, the people that have come across there in that little old town, we have no idea if they are good people or bad people.
PAT: And many of them are bad. They are bringing drugs, they are criminals, and they just I mean, it can't be stopped when you have 17 deputies to patrol 5,000 square miles and very little border patrol agent interference in that area. I mean, what do you do? Are you getting any help from the federal government at this point?
SHERIFF WEST: Well, we had Congressman Rodriguez come out last week and talk to a group of folks up there and, of course, he's like the rest of these congressmen on the border. They got their head in the sand saying that there's no spillover violence, you know, although we've had you know, of course we all know about the Arizona rancher that got killed and then we've had, in Horizon City between Hudspeth County and El Paso County, or on the east side of El Paso County, there was a man kidnapped, his head cut off and arms cut off.
GLENN: Jeez.
SHERIFF WEST: Obviously drug related or drug cartel type.
GLENN: Killing.
SHERIFF WEST: Right, type killing. I mean, somewhere along the line between American folks and congressmen, we've got two different dictionaries when it comes to getting the definition of spillover. You know, any American loss to stuff like that in my books is a spillover.
PAT: And I know this isn't your area, but are the kidnappings still going on in El Paso?
SHERIFF WEST: You know, I'm going to say yes. There's hardly any of them reported anymore because, you know, I've talked to some folks up there that have been victimized to stuff like this and they are saying, you know, why report it? Nobody cares on this side.
GLENN: Gosh, that's amazing.
PAT: Wow.
GLENN: I was just talking to Rudy Giuliani, I don't know, when was that, Pat, about a week ago?
PAT: Mmm hmmm.
GLENN: Ran into him in the hallway and he had just come back from Texas and I said to him, how did you find Texas? I said, that's a different place, isn't it? And he said, holy cow, is it a different place. It is, it is in a different place, and he alluded to something along the lines that, you know, it's in a different time. It's ahead. And did you would you say that's an accurate description of what he was saying?
PAT: Yeah.
GLENN: And I said, we're in trouble. He agreed. Texas is feeling pressure that the rest of the country is not yet. They're witnessing things that the rest of the country is not, and you also have the understanding of what a constitutional republic really is that many places in America New York certainly doesn't have an idea of that. What are you sensing from Texans, sheriff?
SHERIFF WEST: Well, Texas stands out. There's not a red blooded Texan that won't stand up and fight. And, you know, the issue about me telling the farmers and ranchers to arm themselves, I meant every word of it and they know I meant every word of it. And from the same token 99% of them are already armed.
GLENN: I was going to say is there anyone that doesn't have a gun down there?
SHERIFF WEST: Probably not.
GLENN: I mean, I can't imagine living in Texas and not having a gun, especially if you're a rancher.
SHERIFF WEST: You know, that whole concept of telling them to get armed is just putting them on high alert. You know, these guys are out there working. They've got their backs to Mexico. These fields are close to Mexico. They are trying to make a living and they've got their families they need to take care of and feed. They don't have time to be worrying about who's coming across there with a backpack of dope and armed to the gills with a machine gun. So yes, I encourage them to stay armed and I mean, if you get shot at, a pitchfork or a grubbing hoe's not going to work. You've got to have something to defend yourself.
GLENN: Are you are they experiencing worry? Do you I mean, do you sense increased worry?
SHERIFF WEST: You know, it's kind of a mixed feeling with these folks. There's some of them are worried, yes, but they're mad. These people are mad, you know. I've had ranchers tell me this is the United States and we feel like the government has given up our part of, well, everything from I 10 which runs east and west in the southern part of the country, everything south of I 10 has been just given up to Mexico or no man's land.
GLENN: What about Rick Perry? What is he
SHERIFF WEST: Like I said, he's really the only one that has stepped up as far as when it comes to any kind of government officials, he the federal government has not stepped in.
GLENN: You know, let me ask you this, Sheriff. Pat and I were talking. I like Rick as a person. I think he's a nice guy. I have seen him do some things that I really like. I've also seen him, to me from a distance, fold. Pat is a Texan and he thinks that Rick has folded on a lot of stuff, but he now seems to get it again.
PAT: He does.
GLENN: He does, you know, during a campaign. Do you think he has had a "Come to Jesus" you know because we all I was just talking about it. You know, back in the Bush administration it took me about four years before I figured it out and then I realized I was being duped. You can change. Do you think Rick Perry has had a fundamental realignment of some of the things that he believes?
SHERIFF WEST: Well, let me tell you something about my experience with Governor Rick Perry. You know, it would appear to the media, it would appear to the general public that he's on and off again on border issues. He has not backed off of this since we started this, since we started our coalition, Texas sheriff's border coalition in 2005. He has always stood strong with us, he's always supported us and he's always been there. I mean, when issues change for us up and down the border, whether it be around Brownsville, whether it be around El Paso or parts in between, he's always stood there. He's just never grandstanded the issues that he's done. I'm telling you guys and I'm telling you with all sincerity he has always stood with us and he's always been there.
GLENN: Wow, that's quite an endorsement. All right, Sheriff, best of luck to you. You stay safe.
