12 Crazy, Desperate, Hate-Filled Republican Reactions to Obama's Immigration Order

http://www.alternet.org/immigration/12-crazy-desperate-hate-filled-republican-reactions-obamas-immigration-order



1. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-MN: Before Obama’s announcement Thursday, Bachmann told reporters that the White House would bring in “millions” of “illiterate” immigrants who would end up as voters. She didn't stop there, however, but went on to deride the “social cost” of “millions of unskilled, illiterate, foreign nationals coming into the United States who can’t speak the English language.” When asked by reporters why she described immigrants as “illiterate,” Bachmann replied, “I’m not using a pejorative term against people who are non-American citizens. I’m only repeating what I heard from Hispanic Americans down at the border.” She also said newly protected immigrants would lead to widespread voter fraud, another right-wing fantasy not supported by factual evidence.

2. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX: The Senate demagogue has been leading the escalating GOP charge accusing Obama of acting more like a king than an elected leader. On Wednesday, he said that Obama’s executive action should be met with a refusal to vote on any more of his nominees. On Thursday, he compared the White House plans to an ancient conspiracy to overthrow the Roman Republic. Americasvoice.org, a pro-immigration group, blogged, “according to a tweet this morning, [Cruz] charged Obama with “plotting” and being “openly desirous to destroy the constitution,” while Texas Sen. John Cornyn said he president needs ‘ remedial civics 101.’”

3. Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY: This red-stater was throwing similar red meat to Obama-haters, telling TV reporters, “Once again, we have a situation where the president is intentionally misleading the public, misdirecting, saying one thing and doing another, and setting himself up as judge, jury and executioner, which is not what you’d expect in a democracy, more what you’d see in a dictatorship.”

4. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK. Like Bachmann, Coburn is retiring this year. That seems to have freed him to say what he’s really thinking, which is that protecting four million immigrant children and/or their parents from deportation, and helping them to get work or study permits, could lead to a race war. Coburn told USA Today, “The country’s going to go nuts. Because they are going to see it as a move outside of the authority of the president. And it’s going to be a very dangerous situation. You’re going to see—hopefully not—but you could see instances of anarchy.” He later told MSNBC that Obama should be worried about “things going on in Ferguson” and “we shouldn’t be doing anything right now to make that worse.”