Compassionate conservatism
by digby
No, I'm not talking about Paul Ryan's latest phony stab at redemption. I'm talking about this horrible thing:
State Rep. David Simpson (R-TX) gave a presentation on his recent tour of the Texas-Mexico border, explaining that officials believe tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors are fleeing abuse and sexual slavery in Central America.
"We need to love the immigrant, love people, and remember that these children are being fodder in this situation," Simpson said at one point.
Once the floor opened up to questions, one constituent, who the Longview News-Journal identified as Longview resident Terri Hall, took the microphone to suggest that migrants were crossing the border in such large numbers because of a "well-planned, well-thought-out" government operation.
"I understand the humanitarian and the compassion. But you are to represent us," she said. "We have children, and we have elderly people who have immunodeficiency disorders. These are people that are coming in with diseases -- leprosy, tuberculosis, polio. You need to represent us."
Hall's comment was met with loud applause.
Of course it was.
Unfortunately, this is as American as apple pie. The following is an excerpt from Rick Perlstein's forthcoming book called "The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan
." It's about how we welcomed the Vietnamese refugees who were forced to leave their country after having allied themselves with the US during the war:
Because we're so good ...
.
