Saturday, November 22, 2014

Michele Bachmann warns of 'illiterate foreign nationals' voting in 2016


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/20/1346183/-Michele-Bachmann-warns-of-illiterate-foreign-nationals-voting-in-2016?detail=email


U.S. Republican presidential candidate and Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) speaks during a news conference in Des Moines, Iowa December 29, 2011. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)

Rep. Michele Bachmann is going a little off the Republican Party's desired message on President Obama's planned action on immigration. The official Republican message is that their anger is about executive overreach, not about scary brown people. Bachmann, though, is definitely focused on the scary brown people:
“The social cost will be profound on the U.S. taxpayer — millions of unskilled, illiterate, foreign nationals coming into the United States who can’t speak the English language,” Bachmann told reporters at the Capitol. “Even though the president says they won’t be able to vote, we all know that many, in all likelihood, will vote.” Bachmann added: “The president has a very single-minded vision. He’s looking at new voters for 2016.... People do vote without being a citizen. It’s a wink and a nod, we all know it’s going to happen."
This is so wrong on so many levels. Set aside the overt racism, it's completely wrong about what Obama is doing. The plan is to allow people who have already been in the United States for years to avoid deportation, not about new arrivals in the country, and as Bachmann admits she knows, non-citizens are not allowed to vote.
But we really shouldn't set aside the overt racism. After all, the entire point here is to scare voters into being afraid of illiterate brown people dragging down the economy and taking over the government. That's pretty damn racist! However, Bachmann was prepared to explain that she had excellent sources for her claims:
"... I spent four days at the border and spoke to American Hispanics on the border. That’s what they told me. Those are not Michele Bachmann’s words, those words came from Hispanics who live on the border…. I’m not using a pejorative term against people who are non-American citizens. I’m only repeating what I heard from Hispanic Americans down at the border. That’s what they told me."

why is it every time a racial issue is on the table some bigoted republican whack a mole pops up and claims to have spoken to one of those in question and even though they are the target of republican racial angst  and are subject to all the anti them generated by republicans they are going to tell them that they are of the same mind?  they always have some nondescript unavailable for conformation person who just wandered up to them and ask the questions that are the republican talking point de jour, they offer this as corroboration of their having a finger on the pulse of America and that gives them the right to say things like, "the American people want..." when it makes no difference that they are wrong they aren't hearing the people they are hearing the one who gives them their talking point and marching orders.
Matt Wuerker