Border Uprising

Things are heating up at the Border Patrol. First, the the National Border Patrol Council, which represents field agents at the agency, took no-confidence vote last month in its leader, David V. Aguilar, last month. Now the Washington Times reports, a senior Aguilar associate has showed up at morning briefings held at field offices in Tucson and Nogales, Ariz., seeking a show of hands of agents who actually support Aguilar. Such "intimidation tactics," union officials say, are aimed at undermining support for the no-confidence vote and the union.

Meanwhile, over at Fedsmith, an unnamed reader contributes a column saying that Border Patrol Council president T.J. Bonner needs to get over himself. Key quote:

Chief Aguilar is a federal official, serving in a position to which he was appointed in accordance with the established procedures for filling such jobs. He was not elected to the positionâ€"certainly not by the Border Patrol unionâ€"and serves at the pleasure of the President, not the union. Accordingly, a vote of no confidence, some confidence, or lots of confidence by the union is about as meaningless as those “unanimous” votes held every few years in the old Soviet Union.