Or, “There’s nothing that can’t be blamed on Mexicans.”
DES MOINES — Mike Huckabee used the volatile situation in Pakistan Friday to make an argument for building a fence on the American border with Mexico and found himself trying to explain a series of remarks about Pakistanis and their nation.
On Thursday night he told reporters in Orlando, Fla.: “We ought to have an immediate, very clear monitoring of our borders and particularly to make sure if there’s any unusual activity of Pakistanis coming into the country.”
On Friday, in Pella, Iowa, he expanded on those remarks.
“When I say single them out I am making the observation that we have more Pakistani illegals coming across our border than all other nationalities except those immediately south of the border,” he told reporters in Pella. “And in light of what is happening in Pakistan it ought to give us pause as to why are so many illegals coming across these borders.”
In fact, far more illegal immigrants come from the Philippines, Korea, China and Vietnam, according to recent estimates from the Department of Homeland Security.
Asked how a border fence would help keep out Pakistani immigrants, Mr. Huckabee argued that airplane security was already strong, but that security at the southern United States border was dangerously weak.
“The fact is that the immigration issue is not so much about people coming to pick lettuce or make beds, it’s about someone coming with a shoulder-fired missile,” he said.
Yeah, all those people crawling across the Sonoran desert in the 120-degree heat are really Pakistani terrorists armed with shoulder-launched RPGs and anti-aircraft missiles. Be sure to check the maid for plastique, and make sure the gardener isn’t putting in land mines.
Dipshit.
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is it just me or did anyone else hear Miss Teen South Carolina’s voice in their heads when reading the Huckabee quotes?
No, this is very smart. He sounds like a dipshit to us, but we’d never vote for him. He’s not saying what he’s saying. The subtext is where the action is.
He’s using the “I’m for the racists’ policy, but not for the racist reason” tactic. He’s using security as a (meritless and unsupported) excuse to adopt policies that appeal to the nativist who hate latin@s, while giving himself an argument that he’s not motivated by animus at all.
Remember, the Republican coalition from Goldwater onwards was built on the defection of racists from the Dems to the Republicans, and to keep the coalition the party has to appease the racists on immigration and border issues. But they don’t want to (1) alienate socially conservative latin@ voters; or (2) make middle class whites feel guilty for supporting racist policies. Well, #1 they cannot accomplish; appeasing the racists will continue to mean that Republicans are not the party of the black or hispanic voter. But #2 they’re trying desperately to accomplish. And, because white Republicans very much want to see themselves as not racist while doing what is necessary to appease the racists, they will buy pretty much any paper-thin excuse.
So, Pakistani super-secret border-crossing terror cell conspiracy it is. Huck’s voters will accept that story. Not because they’re stupid, but because it allows them to tell themselves what they already want to tell themselves.
Heh. I love Huck. I want him to win the nom. He’s the most easily beaten in the general. Go Huck!
That link is not a link; it got read as an email address.
Zuzu and lorelei- a clean tie!!
Do we have any serious national issues with illegal immigration from the middle east?
My information is only anecdotal but I personally know a dozen or more illegal immigrants from both Latin American and China. At the same time everyone I know from the middle east is here legally.
Taking his theory at face value:
Gosh, I can’t imagine why there would be an upsurge in immigration from an already unstable country where one of the major political figures was just assassinated, an action that will probably lead to martial law by the country’s current dictator. That sure is a brain-bender there, Mikey.
Giuliani can probably give him a good run for his money in that department considering the many questions hovering around his political and personal conduct.
At this point I’m just not wishing for -anything- with the idea that “ho ho, there’s no way the Americans would elect that clown!” haven’t you people learned -anything- yet? -spits- -throws salt over shoulder-
A lot of people from ME actually come here legally as students or visitors but then turn illegal by overstaying their visas.
ME= Maine… huh?? Guess I’m missing something, Farhat…
No kidding, Farhat. That’s how most people get into the country illegally, other than Mexicans or Chinese.
Well, and this is just a guess, it might have something to do with the fact that the portions of Pakistan not controlled by a what is essentially a repressive military junta are chock-a-block with Islamist fundamentalism.
Uhm…what???
It almost sounds as if he thinks Pakistan shares a border with the US!
Oh wait, I guess they’re all in the “South” anyway. Yep, all those funny-looking brown people who talk funny. Arabs, Afghans, Pakistanis, Mexicans…they’re all the same! They ALL live in the same place (immediately South of the US, where the climate is warm and there are lots of jungles and deserts where strange creatures abound), and they’re just itching to jump over the US border, where they can then not only blow up all the buildings and convert everyone to Islam (all while speaking only Spanish/Arabic/some funny-sounding gibberish), but take away ALL the jobs too!
*rolls eyes* It’s sad how so many people actually still think like that…
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