After acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli came under fire for saying the Statue of Liberty stands for European “immigrants who will not become a public charge,” he predictably went crying to Fox News about the meanie leftist media which recorded his exact words.
Media Matters explains the latest attack on immigrants from the Trump administration:
Cuccinelli is in the midst of a PR blitz to tout a new “public charge” rule targeting legal immigrants that the Trump administration is currently drafting. The rule would make it significantly harder for these immigrants to obtain a green card if they use public benefits like Medicaid, housing assistance, or food stamps. Analysts told The Washington Post that the rule could “dramatically” reduce family-based legal immigration, especially from Latin America and Africa.
First, Cuccinelli was asked on NPR whether the words on the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor” are part of “the American ethos.”
Yes Cuccinelli said. Then he falsely suggested that the poem meant, “give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet, and who will not become a public charge."
Cuccinelli also appeared in a contentious interview on CNN where he said, “Of course that poem was referring back to people coming from Europe.”
Not surprisingly, Cuccinelli was blasted by the director of the American Jewish Historical Society, which has the original manuscript of the iconic poem, as well as other historians, and such figures as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Stephen Colbert.
So Cuccinelli went for some Republican Rehab on Fox News Tuesday night. “Tell us what you meant,” was the first softball question from Fox News @ Night host Shannon Bream.
Cuccinelli laughed derisively. “If I open my mouth, you know, they’ll scream something awful no matter what,” he whined. He complained that “many” articles written about him were “completely and totally untrue.”
Bream did not point out that his comments about the Statue of Liberty poem and the European immigrants were recorded for all to hear. Nor did she respond to Cuccinelli’s accusation that the “left media” didn’t want to talk about the policy. In fact, questions about the poem were in the context of the policy.
Instead, Bream nodded as Cuccinelli said, “We expect immigrants that come here to be able to support themselves and not go on welfare. And that’s all the discussion is about.”
But when Bream asked what Cuccinelli had meant by his “European” comments, Cuccinelli struck out at her condescendingly. “Shannon, don’t do what they do,” he lectured.
“This whole poem had nothing to do with the Statue of Liberty that France gave us,” Cuccinelli now insisted. “It was part of building a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty to stand on.” He claimed, “A lot of people on the left are trying to use this poem as if it’s law somehow.”
“Of course, we’ve always, as that poem expresses, sought those who yearn to be free, as it says in that poem,” Cuccinelli continued, “but they still need to be able to support themselves and not rely on the public or the government.”
Bream nodded. She closed the segment by spinning for Cuccinelli. She claimed these are “not new laws” but “things that have had bipartisan support in the past." She added, "And we're glad we had you here to separate fact from fiction for us.”
Watch it below, from the August 13, 2019 Fox News @ Night (Cuccinelli is in the segment after the third orange bar.) But first, you can watch Cuccinelli discuss the poem with Erin Burnett on CNN’s August 13 Out Front.
Less extreme Republicans are also falling into this, as they frankly love Pence’s policies – particularly the complete mess he’s made of our judiciary and the concentrated work his men have done to erase every single bit of work accomplished by President Obama’s people. I’ve even heard “mainstream” Republicans trying to excuse the tariffs and the skyrocketed taxes faced by Middle Class employees across the country because of Pence and his ilk. So we have an issue in that the Republicans have all tied themselves to this concrete block as it sinks into the quagmire.
The key to 2020 is whether enough of the swing state Dems have learned their lesson from the results of 2016, when they stayed home and allowed the deplorables to prevail by a hair. It is my fervent hope that these 2-3 million active voters across Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, etc will show up in force this time to assert that the US does not stand for bigotry and viciousness. I’d be even happier to see Texas actually stand up against this bunch. What this country needs right now is a firm stand that says “NO” to bigotry and enthusiastically tosses these criminals out of our White House.
Bemused is correct that Pence will try various little tricks over the next 15 months to see if they will increase his chances and depress turnout. I’m anticipating any or all of the following:
1. Watch out for Clarence Thomas announcing retirement next June and being replaced by a young gargoyle by October, just before the election. This is a maneuver intended to depress all the voters trying to correct the mess these people just made of the Supreme Court.
2. Watch out for further bellicose action towards Iran – these guys are hoping to provoke a confrontation that goes as big as possible, which would then lead to the old trope of “Hey, we’re in a war and you don’t change horses in the middle of the race!” like they tried with W back in 2004.
3. Watch out for another “invasion” meme being thrown around next fall, likely fueled by anti-immigrant rhetoric throughout the GOP convention. The GOP believes this ploy worked well enough in 2018 to depress Dem turnout that they will use it again in a general election. (Keep in mind that the GOP had secretly thought the results could have been worse for them – they were concerned about potentially losing the Senate but were able to actually gain seats by depressing turnout in Florida and other states and by pushing extremist governors in Florida and Georgia.)
And we should remember that the Pence White House isn’t trying to mobilize the whole country. They hate most of the people of the US. They’re just trying to mobilize their base of deplorables. If the active Dem voters across the swing states stay home again, that’s really all Pence needs to do in order to win. Let’s work to make sure that those people show up this time.
By postponing the latest round of tariffs on Chinese goods, in order to forestall price increases during the Xmas shopping season, the president has admitted outright that the tariffs are paid by American importers, not Chinese exporters. Wouldn’t surprise me one bit if wholesalers and retailers in the USA were to decide to start raising prices before the tariffs kick in (if only to have the wherewithall needed to replenish their stocks).
By making it so difficult for immigrants, especially non-whites, to come/stay in the country, it’s not rocket science to predict a labour shortage for working in the fields, picking the crops, processing the produce, etc. etc. etc. The whole farming sector relies heavily on low wage physical labour and there aren’t enough Americans (willing) to take those jobs unless they receive a lot more pay (a good thing, actually). That extra cost will be borne – again – by American consumers.
I’m terrified at the idea that Trump/Pence might decide to organise some sort of attack aganst the homeland in order to mobilise the country behind them.