Megyn Kelly Loses It Over Congressional Rep’s Statement Linking AZ Immigration Law To White Supremacists!
Reported by Priscilla - June 13, 2010 -
As the mouthpiece for the nativist right wing, Fox News never wastes an opportunity to bash those who oppose the AZ immigration law. But being “fair and balanced,” they have interviewed folks who are not fans of the law, including Clarissa Martinez, Director of the National Council of La Raza. But the presence of a guest from the other side, doth not a “fair and balanced” segment make as shown by what transpired during the course of the Megyn Kelly’s interview. I didn’t think that “fair and balanced” “news” anchors were in the business of demanding that their guests agree with them in denouncing Fox's political enemies. Silly me.
On Friday (June 4th), faux “news” anchor Kelly reported that La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group, is critical of President Obama meeting with AZ Governor Jan Brewer because the meeting legitimizes the new law. Both Kelly and Martinez agreed that the Federal Government is not doing its job of protecting the border. OK, so far so good. Kelly got into propaganda land when she said that Arizona “doesn’t want to see any more its citizens murdered, so they pass their own law” (Guess only illegals commit murder in Arizona?) “and groups like yours have been really critical of that law and some folks” (which folks, Megyn?) "you’ve really got no business criticizing that law because you’re not there, you’re not having to deal with what Governor Jan Brewer is having to deal with..” (Oh, so First Amendment rights don’t apply to those who “aren’t there? Really? If folks wherever they are, see what appears to be a Constitutional violation they don’t have the right to criticize. Should those, not living in the segregated South, have minded their own business when it came to Civil Rights?) But the best was yet to come.
Kelly then dropped the bombshell. Her voice rising and dripping with venom, she said “then today we see this Democratic Congresswoman from California come out and suggest that the people behind the Arizona law are connected to white supremacists. Clarissa you’ve gotta condemn that kind of talk, no?” Martinez cited how crime is down in many Arizona communities but was stopped by Kelly who wanted to get back to the white supremacist thing. She wanted Martinez to listen to a sound bite from California Democratic Representative Linda Sanchez but rather than play the sound bite, she stated that Sanchez said that “white supremacists were behind this law.” Martinez, accurately, said that the law wasn’t “organic” and that the legal arm of the Federation For Immigration Reform is behind this. Martinez tried to continue; but Kelly talked over her: “You’re not answering my question. Do you condemn that remark because the polls show that over 70% of Arizonans are in favor of this?” (And this related to the white supremacy thing, how?) Being “fair and balanced,” Kelly did not reference the rest of the poll which shows that the overwhelming majority of Arizona Hispanics oppose the law. She said “and now you’ve got a US congresswoman coming out and saying that white supremacists” (her voice grew louder) “are the ones behind this. That they’re the inspiration for this? You’ve gotta condemn that. Don’t you?” When Kelly, visibly exasperated, tried to say that the AZ Law is “more protective” of immigrants, Martinez said that it goes beyond the federal law. Kelly wasn’t pleased when Martinez cited how some AZ police are objecting to the law. She whiningly asked “do you support this boycott of Arizona?” When Martinez tried to respond, Kelly asked “what sense” it made because Arizona is hemorrhaging money” so “what sense does it make “to punish Arizona…?
Comment: It seems that this outrage about Sanchez’s white supremacist comment started with Fox’s Jon Scott, reinforced by Kelly, and later called a “liberal lie” by Sean Hannity. Rep. Sanchez merely articulated her opinion based on available information. It’s ironic, don’t ya think, that Fox News would be concerned about white supremacists being maligned (snark) when Glenn Beck has carte blanche to connect Obama, Obama appointees, liberals, labor unions, to Nazis and Communists. It is a reality that the Immigration Reform Law Institute helped draft the Arizona law. The IRLI is the legal arm of Federation For American Immigration Reform Law, a group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has deemed a hate group because of its employment of and connection to white supremacists. Their legal counsel, Kris Kobach, who had been interviewed by Fox, has ties to radical nativist groups. It is interesting that the author of the Arizona immigration law, Russell Pearce pals around with an Arizona white supremacist, JT Ready. So it does look like Rep. Sanchez’s comment, “There’s a concerted effort behind promoting these kinds of laws on a state-by-state basis by people who have ties to white supremacy groups…” actually has some basis in reality. The question is if Fox News and Megyn Kelly are being protective of of the Arizona law and its authors (white supremacy groups?!) to the point where one of their “fair and balanced” “news” anchors demands that her guest owes an apology. Go figure!
