The US Southern border is currently in the midst of absolute chaos following the lifting of Title 42, a provision that allowed the federal government to expedite deportations. So-called “asylum seekers,” most of which are simply economic migrants who do not meet the technical definition, are flooding the zone and being released into the interior without even an order to appear, a stipulation that was already largely unenforceable.

In the midst of all that, some vulnerable Democrats (and former Democrats) are trying to rewrite history and present a combative posture toward President Joe Biden’s disastrous policies.

Here is the most recent statement put out by Sen. Joe Manchin. The “moderate Democrat” is now seen as a long-shot to win re-election in West Virginia in 2024.

“We are one day from the end of Title 42 and still the Biden Administration has no viable solution to prevent an unmanageable surge of migrants at our southern border. There are multiple commonsense solutions to this crisis, including my bipartisan bill that would give the Administration a two-year temporary expulsion authority for migrants attempting to illegally enter the U.S. without inspection or proper documentation. While I do not support every provision, Republicans in the House of Representatives are at least working on a border security bill to fill the leadership vacuum created by this Administration. Our country cannot maintain our superpower status if we cannot control our own border.”

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema took a similar line in her statement. She is also facing a contentious re-election bid in 2024 given that she’s now an “Independent” and will likely face a three-way race.

The Administration’s insufficient preparation for the end of Title 42 is unacceptable, and Arizona border communities bear the cost. As Title 42 ends, I’ll continue pushing for additional assistance to Arizona communities in need, and I will keep working with Senator Tillis and other bipartisan partners to help secure our border, keep Arizonans safe, and ensure migrants are treated fairly and humanely.

Meanwhile, Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat who hails from the red state of Montant, has been performing failure theater by pretending he wants to pass a new policy similar to Title 42. Like Manchin and Sinema, Tester is up for re-election in 2024 as well.

As part of his continued efforts to secure America’s borders and combat the flow of fentanyl to Montana, U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) announced his support for bipartisan legislation that will allow the Department of Homeland Security to maintain a similar authority to that used under Title 42 to immediately expel certain migrants who attempt to enter the U.S. or illegally cross the border.

But while those three want to pretend to be tough on the border, and by proxy, tough on the Biden administration, the receipts exist showing that when push came to shove, they folded. As the following thread by Sen. Mike Lee explains, Sinema, Manchin, and Tester had the chance to do the right thing and force an amendment that would have fixed the Title 42 problem. That would have happened in the most recently passed omnibus bill.

You’re going to hear from a bunch of Senate Democrats that they’re HORRIFIED at the conditions at the border as Title 42 is lifted.

But just remember – when there was a vote to save title 42, Manchin, Sinema, Tester all obeyed Schumer and voted against it. https://t.co/XT3H5QRCma

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) May 12, 2023

Together with Republicans, the three Democrats could have shut down the process and made sure that Title 42 was extended legally. They had all the leverage, and there’s little doubt that Sen. Chuck Schumer and Biden would have been made to capitulate given everything in the bill they wanted to get passed.

Instead, Sinema, Manchin, and Tester bent the knee. And for that, they now own this crisis as much as anyone else. So they can put out their tough-guy statements, but we know the truth, and hopefully, voters won’t forget it come 2024.