Today’s Republicans are openly racist and anti-immigration, at least if you’re brown. (Go ahead: tell me why Trump only wants English-speaking Swedes.) So the GOP keeps pushing their classic approach to white supremacy: wrapping themselves in the flag and pretending they’re the most rational of all actors. All their positions are completely obvious, they insist. “Immigration is bad for America. America first!” They bellow about immigrants are dragging us down! Criminals, rapists, and terrorists! And because they’re poor, they’ll just take all our money! Based on that threadbare excuse, Republicans grab honest workers from courts, churches, jobs and child care. They intentionally split families. They deport productive, established people to send them back to countries where they don’t belong. “They broke the law!” they used to shout before they elected their bespoke criminal boss. (Actually, they still shout that one.)
So little of that isn’t open hogwash. But somehow, we let the ghastly Republican lies stand. You have to wonder what’s wrong with us.
We already know the facts about crime, overall costs, and productivity of immigrants compared to average citizens. It’s a well-studied issue. So what’s the poor little rich, white-supremacist party gonna do? The official GOP policy is to lie. And we let that stand. I still can’t figure out why so many major media outlets don’t know how they should answer those questions. They’re liars. Is that hard to say? Yo! Democrats? Anyone?
There’s a piece of truth in there: yes, undocumented aliens are not legal residents. I get that part. We should protect our borders rationally. We should limit the people who try to enter the US illegally and enforce immigration laws. (Even though we all seem to agree the system is broken.) There’s room for agreement and compromise. If we actually want it.
But instead, Republicans use that to justify automatic deportations of people who’ve been here for decades. Republican red-meat speakers demand mass deportations as only possible option. They broke the law! (Well, technically, no, Dreamers didn’t break the law, but sins of the fathers and mothers must be enough, I guess.) No idea why is this treated worse than, say, having robbed a bank. Is there no possible statute of limitations? Is there no case-by-case option?
Anyway, our leaders know all this, too. They know they’re presenting false choices. They’re liars; it comes with the territory. It’s not like it’s an accident.
I know that ‘liar’ is supposed to be hard to show. How do I know they’re not just… I don’t know, demented? Clinically insane? Well, Jeeze. If you start with the assumption that our fellow Republicans are perfectly well-educated, ‘liar’ is the only option left. The research results are clear enough. Nobody’s disputed the facts. Immigrants (English-speaking or not) outperform native-born citizens in economic advancement, and they under-perform other citizens with their low crime rates.
And this isn’t just Trump. This is a Republican issue. Sure, Trump is a racist liar and coward, but so are the other Republicans. McConnell’s made the official Republican position clear:
#Senate Democrats have a choice to make. This should be a no-brainer… pic.twitter.com/zdUFXxclZ9
— Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) January 19, 2018
Wow. “Quick: poor children or innocent kids? Choose!” McConnell’s trying to hold them both for ransom. What is he, a Nazi out of Sophie’s Choice? Just as a reality check, you don’t put a loaded gun against someone’s head if you like them. McConnell made his vision of the official Republican position obvious: both groups should leave or die.
And the rest of the Republican party stays silent. Why do people still wonder what that means?
Republicans even conflate immigrants with refugees, and pretend they’re just the same. That easily crosses the line between ‘disingenuous’ and ethically evil. Refugees need our help desperately. They’re not emigrating for economic reasons, they’re fucking refugees!
Refugee: a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
If you’ve ever met a refugee, you know how dire their lives can be. Helping them is a moral imperative. And they’re incredibly safe neighbors. Their crime rates are just amazingly low. This is one of those issues that leaves me disgusted at Republicans, their claims of moral superiority, and anyone — Evangelicals especially! — who continue to support them. It’s right up there with promoting an open child molester for office. Or a sexual predator. Refugees are in the worst, most desperate kind of need. How heartless do you have to be to turn them all away?
Now we know. And we should all be ashamed.
Hell, we should be greedy, too. Refugees make us richer. Immigrants make us richer. It’s easy to see. Again, for all the shouting, they’re not disputing the evidence. What the fuck are we doing? How afraid are we?
Why, it’s almost like there are liars in the system, somehow, manipulating us for their benefit and profit. My golly! If only there was someone who might help us! Say, an opposing politician who might point that out! Or another actor — say, the fourth estate — who could help separate the truth from fiction!! Then we might be saved from ourselves!!!
Pfeh! As if!
