Here’s an ooga-booga campaign ad that dropped today from Florida Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran, who is widely expected to announce a run for governor:
The ad warns that “any family, anywhere” could be targeted by “illegal” immigrants. It exploits the killing of a young woman in San Francisco (for which the accused was recently acquitted), but it distorts the facts of that case to make it seem like dark-haired, hoodie-wearing, undocumented immigrant men are hunting white girls for sport right here in Cockroach Acres!
The ad also makes it sound as if “sanctuary cities” are criminal-empowerment zones rather than districts in which municipal leaders decline to use the local police as a federal deportation force — and ignores the fact that they do so for good reason, since that practice tends to increase rather than reduce crime.
It’s a despicable, fear-mongering ad that is designed to gin up hate against a group of people with a lower crime rate than their US-born counterparts. And it says something awful about the state of our politics right now that this turd Corcoran feels emboldened to run such an ad in a diverse state like Florida.
What we’re seeing here is decades of Republican race-baiting and xenophobia extended to its twisted yet logical conclusion. I don’t think Corcoran will win the nomination. But regardless, one of the most powerful politicians in the state went all-in on demonizing immigrants. That’s not normal, not for someone running for a statewide office in Florida in the 21st century.
But Corcoran is taking his cues from the bigot in the White House, and he can count on Fox News to keep up the immigrant demonization drumbeat with daily segments like this:
Angel Mom Laura Wilkerson: "We don't have to give them anything. The ones that are marching and demanding in the streets – we don't owe them anything. So we don't have to give an inch. I don't like the fact that they're demanding something like it's owed to them. It is not." pic.twitter.com/O7rj9Id0Ta
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 28, 2018
“Angel Moms” is what Fox News calls mothers whose children have been murdered by immigrants — it became a thing during Trump’s campaign. The goal is to hang onto power by keeping the Republican base crapping their pants even though crime is at its lowest levels in decades. It’s shameful, and the only cure is a good ass-whupping for Corcoran’s party come November.