Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Breaking News: Republicans Are Hypocrites

Few people have a better nose for hypocrisy than Rachel Maddow. Here, she points out the irony of Republicans excoriating the federal government for letting illegal immigration get out of hand while at the same time refusing to do anything about it:


John McCain's rhetoric blaming President Obama for failing to secure the border is, unsurprisingly, especially egregious. As McCain well knows, a Clinton-era crackdown on illegal immigration into southern California called Operation Gatekeeper diverted migrant traffic to Arizona. Rather than continue north, most stayed in the state, taking advantage of Arizona's strong economy and employer willingness to hire them at low wages. For 11 years through two presidential administrations, McCain kept his mouth shut until 2005 , when he co-sponsored (with the late Edward Kennedy) the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, which never made it out of committee. The bill, which combined amnesty, guest worker, and border security programs, served as a template for similar bipartisan legislation attempts in 2006 and 2007, none of which succeeded after coming under pressure from all sides of the immigration debate. In other words, after 14 years of opportunity on this issue (longer, if you consider that McCain was first elected to the Senate in 1982), by his own standards McCain's record on this issue is one of silence and failure. And, yet, this is all the fault of Barack Obama, who in 1994 taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago.

Equally brazen are Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and notably execrable Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). McConnell says "I just don't think the time is right" for immigration reform. Well, Mitch, if not now, when? This wouldn't have anything to do with you wanting to be majority leader, would it? After all, immigration reform would help Harry Reid's tough reelection campaign in economically ravaged Nevada.

As for Saxby Chambliss' demurral that "we've" got a lot of work to do, work on what? All the Republicans do is vote no and filibuster. How hard can that be? Ah, the audacity of dopes...

You think Rachel was through? Are you kidding? Yesterday was a huge day for Republican hypocrisy as they piously emoted about the need for financial reform while filibustering debate on the issue. That's right: They want to parade their self-righteous indignation in front of cameras while unanimously refusing to discuss the matter on the Senate floor. The Democrats, though, sense public opinion on their side and plan to pressure the Republicans by forcing a vote every day. At last!...

Songs of innocence...

United States counties protected by levees (Thanks, Editilla)...

Jon Stewart explains the Arizona law so that even an spelling-challenged teabagger who thinks immigrants should larn American can understand it. Read on for the account of a white supremacist opening a youth club in Odessa, KS...

The law polls well, but that's because of the difficulty of devising a neutrally-state question about a hot button issue that is nonetheless complex. I wonder what the poll results would be were the question put like this:
Should a majority ethnic group pass an immigration law with serious fairness, constitutional, and economic implications purely out of frustration with a minority, 80% of whom reside legally in the affected area?

What do these numbers tell you?...

The most sensitive man in America?...

Utterly Hilarious Dept: Like...like...like a quitter...on the roof.

Lazyboy asks the hard question: If everyone grows up with self-esteem, who is going to dance in our strip clubs?

9 comments:

Susanna Powers said...

I thought we'd seen the last of David Duke.

Tao Dao Man said...

Republicans stand on quick sand when it comes to this.
Reagan gave them amnesty, W wanted comprehensive immigration reform. Now his Brother Jeb is backing immigration reform.
The main stream GOP will eventually HAVE to back immigration reform. They see the demographics. If they do no get Latinos back in their camp, they will be history for decades, and decades. Nationally, and locally.

K. said...

Sussah: Duke is like kudzu -- we'll never rid of him or his like.

RZ: They're tap dancing barefoot on a hotplate right now. They can all see reality, but they don't want to deal with it while the teabaggers are on the rampage. I have to say that I'm enjoying it.

Taradharma said...

great post, as always. those Republicans are in major melt-down mode.

that video is excellent -- I posted it on FB. I was just talking with someone last night about the obesity epidemic and does that public health crisis justify laws banning trans fats and the like? Discuss.

Roy said...

Republicans Are Hypocrites

This is news?

And when is somebody gonna finally put a stake through David Duke's heart. Man does he look like one of the undead in that video!

All in favor of pulling the All Star game from Phoenix say "Aye"!

nursemyra said...

I loved that Lazyboy song so much I bought the whole album...

K. said...

Roy: Modern conservatism is so self-contradictory that it's almost Marxist in terms of planting the seeds of its own destruction. And yet it continues on -- mostly, I think, because they've so successfully demonized taxes, government, and large segments of the population that enough people put their fears ahead of their aspirations.

NM: My son sent me that video. I'll be sure to tell him that Lazyboy has a new fan Down Under.

Annette said...

Thanks K, for showing the hypocrisy once again of McCain.. He is such a snake I just can't even stand the sight of him.

Also thanks for the link to my story. It is getting more and more attention all the time and it needs to be. It is a scary situation for our children when someone of shady pasts says he wants to teach them history that is being ignored... To me that is just indoctrination of a different form.

I will keep you posted as they are meeting again tonight, and the opening is scheduled for tomorrow night... I plan on being out there to see how many show up, if he still opens.

Ima Wizer said...

Democrats are a civilized people. Republicans are hypocrites and liars.