Scaring White Folk, Part II: Maddow Calls Out GOP On False Immigration Reports
The political rhetoric coming from some GOP officials right now on immigration might make one believe that skyrocketing crime rates in the Southwest is a direct result of illegal aliens. But as Rachel Maddow pointed out last night, not only are crime rates way down, but so too are the number of illegals apprehended at the Arizona border. Not only is this in direct conflict with some political rhetoric, but as Maddow points out, some specific reports that have spread around right of center websites seem to be straight up lies. Yes, its yet another patented “Scaring White People” segment, that is quite effective.
You may recall a couple of weeks ago, Maddow made some waves when she listed a number of stories that Fox News had covered, that she claimed played upon some people’s racial fears. The Shirley Sherrod scandal was the hook, but included in the story were Fox News’ alleged obsession with Van Jones, the ACORN controversy and, of course, the New Black Panther Party/DOJ Whistle blower story (that seemed to only be of interest to the producers at FNC.)
In this version, however, the issue at hand is the alleged fear of illegal immigrants. Not only does Maddow claim that this is being exploited by elected officials and GOP candidates alike, but many reports from websites to Senators are, in fact, completely false. It’s another reasonable if not dispassionate exposition of logic and facts that separates Maddow from the rest of the cable news opinion journalists and makes her so respected on both sides of the aisle.
Maddow seems to spare no one in the following segment, including Lindsey Graham, Jon Kyl, Jon McCain and even Michelle Malkin (among many others), but rather than running down the details, its probably best to just watch the clip for yourself:
