GOP Dumb and Dumber

The GOP is so dumb that, having admitted its mistakes, it just goes right on making them.  In fact, it leaps at the opportunity to do dumb things all over again.

Let's take the issue of the GOP alienating the Latino community.  The 2012 voting results showed that the GOP had alienated Latinos to the extent that over 70% of them voted for Obama.  Compounding the GOP problem, Latinos are a rapidly growing segment of the population.  The GOP leaders were fairly quick to acknowledge that they had done something wrong and would have to make amends.  "Hey, guys," they said to one another and to the press, "let's quickly do an immigration reform bill so that we can get on the good side of these Latinos."

They then let Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) take the lead on an immigration bill.  After all, he's got a Latino-sounding name and can speak Spanish, so "porque no?"  Having long insulated themselves from Latinos, the Republicans don't know that Rubio, as a Cuban, is of little relevance to the vast majority of actual Latinos, as I've explained in prior blogs (2/13/13 & 2/15/13).  But at least the GOP was trying.

Then they got a chance to revert to their true colors.  With the Boston Marathon bombings, several GOP senators jumped in to use the Boston attack for pure politics, demanding that immigration reform be delayed so that the immigrant status of the alleged Boston culprits could be explored to see how such rotten people got into this country.  (It was ten years ago when they entered the country, and they were CHILDREN!)  In other words, "Run for the hills!  The immigrants are coming!"  This is just fear tactics at its worst.

And Latinos know it.  But apparently the GOP thinks Latinos won't notice.  Indeed, it may be equally insulting to them for the GOP to assume that Latinos are stupid and won't notice the use of fear tactics to deny them legal status.  Just as the GOP assumes the Latinos are too stupid to notice that Marco Rubio is Cuban.  Or too stupid to notice that the GOP doesn't understand the difference between Cubans and Latinos.  In their blatant assumptions, it's the GOP that's stupid and oblivious, folks.

The stupidity of the GOP is enough to make a cat laugh.  But I can't really enjoy the humor of it.  Our Latino brothers and sisters deserve respect.  Perhaps the most disgusting thing I've seen in politics in the last forty years is the skunky GOP attacks on Latinos in the 2012 campaign  All that talk about "a fence", electric or otherwise, made it very clear that when the GOP talks disparagingly of "illegal immigrants" they mean Latinos.   After all, who else enters by our southern border?  The anti-immigrant talk was aimed at them.

There are an estimated 40,000 "illegal immigrants" here from Ireland, but I for one doubt that the GOP knickers are twisted over these people from the Old Sod.  And why not?  Because even the so-called Black Irish have white skin.  We have to face it, friends, the GOP panic about immigration is racist.

But you know that, don't you?

The Latinos sure do.

Only the GOP seems blind to its prejudice.