The first month of 2024 has not even passed yet and it has already included more than enough silliness to last the entire year. As you probably already know, Texas is embroiled in a bitter battle with the Biden administration over the border crisis.

The federal government is trying desperately to prevent Gov. Greg Abbott from dealing with the asylum seekers and illegal immigrants crossing the border to gain entry into the country. Even a recent Supreme Court decision was not enough to deter the governor, who has labeled the constant influx of foreigners as an “invasion.”

This brouhaha has prompted many a stupid take coming from members of the left-wing chattering class. This is where columnist Elie Mystal comes in. The author penned an op-ed in which he said Abbott “is sounding a lot like an old Confederate,” accusing him of trying to start another civil war and calling for the Biden administration to use violent means to stop Abbott from taking action on illegal immigration.

The author then made the laughable claim that Texas “wants to invade the rest of the United States and remake the country in its own Christofascist image.”

Mystal went on to contend that the Lone Star State is “ground zero in the battle to reassert states’ rights over individual rights and the federal government” and that it is “more or less winning the first battle in this Civil War reenactment.”

The author concluded his goofy diatribe by calling on the White House to use violent means to stop Abbott and Texas’ government.

If President Biden will not enforce federal laws in Texas, nobody will. In this case, enforcing those laws requires not just breaking down the razor wire defenses and deconstructing the Eagle Pass barrier but also arresting the people who obstruct federal agents performing their duties. If Governor Abbott tries to further obstruct the operations of the federal government and continues to violate the Supreme Court’s order, he should be arrested for treason. And if all that seems aggressive and likely to escalate the conflict, I’d simply point out that appeasement never works, and Texas has already taken the aggressive step of violating court orders in order to harm as many migrants as it can, all while Biden and Garland impotently shout, “Hey pal, that’s not fair!” as dead bodies float on by.

So, to sum it up, Abbott is basically Jefferson Davis and is trying to take over the entire country by trying to address the worsening situation at the southern border. Moreover, Biden should send in the troops to forcibly arrest Texas officials who refuse to go along with Biden’s mandates.

At the outset, the notion that Abbott is leading some type of “Christofascist” effort to take over the country is absurd, and Mystal knows it. In fact, I don’t believe for a second that the author is braindead enough to believe most of what he argued in his piece. Abbott has made no move toward seceding from the United States, which means comparing him to Confederates is about as brilliant as trying to fill the Grand Canyon with a shovel.

Moreover, his call for the federal government to use violent means against Texas officials who are not going along with Biden’s agenda is a terrifying reminder that there are many on the authoritarian left who believe it is fully justified to use the power of the state to violently attack those who do not agree with them.

Lastly, there is also the inconvenient fact that if Biden were doing his job, this standoff would not be happening in the first place. Regardless of what one’s views are on immigration policy, it is clear that Abbott’s actions are a direct response to the White House’s refusal to address the border crisis in a way that makes sense. Instead, Biden has simply allowed the problem to persist, almost like he does not want to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers trying to cross the border.

Folks like Mystal would rather advocate for the federal government to wage war on a state than deal with the fact that their president is not fulfilling his duties.