Sometimes an elected official is confronted with a genuine political challenge, a real gut check, where your principles actually matter.
In the face of a big challenge, Charlie Baker has shrunk. He made himself small, to the point of taking out his political discomfort on perhaps the most vulnerable people in the world right now.
Baker’s remarks — a departure from September when he signaled support for the refugees — earned swift rebuke from immigrant advocates. Lawyers said under the Refugee Act of 1980, governors cannot legally block refugees.
He can’t block refugees from coming to MA. Of course he can’t — it’s a federal responsibility. The only thing that he or any other governor can do is to make life difficult for refugees when they’re here — refusing or discouraging services and so forth.
Well there’s a big man for you.
Compare this to the immense political courage and leadership shown by President Obama. Appreciate the man:
“The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism. They are the most vulnerable as a consequence of civil war and strife. They are parents. They are children. They are orphans and it is very important … that we do not close our hearts to these victims of such violence and somehow start equating the issue of refugees with the issue of terrorism.”
Add this to resisting the media’s drumbeat for more war, more quagmire. You can argue with the particulars but — like the Iraq War — he has thought it through a lot more thoroughly than most of his critics. Gut check — passed, with flying colors.
Now … is Baker not aware of the US vetting process for refugees? If not, why not? That’s his problem and duty, isn’t it? It would have been awkward if he had said, “Well, we’re going to have to check the rule book, and I’ll get back to you” — but at least it would have been honest.
The US refugee vetting process is excruciatingly slow and very thorough — 2,000 refugees in four years. That’s stingy. Click the link to the Vox article — it’s amazing what they have to prove.
The Paris attack’s masterminds came from Belgium, apparently radicalized as adults. ISIS Daesh makes recruits via social media, even among nominally Christian white kids.
This is hard. But refusing help to people who need it is not the answer. Find some guts, Governor.
Baker surrendered to fear. Obama leads with courage.
” If they can get you to believe absurdities, they can get you to commit atrocities.” VOLTAIRE
Fred Rich LaRiccia
Who’s most afraid of preschoolers?
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/chris-christie-no-syrian-orphans
…preschoolers can be more challenging than CNBC moderators:)
What … no mention of erstwhile Democrat Maggie Hassan – who is calling on the federal government to reject Syrian refugees until intelligence and defense officials can say the vetting process ensures Americans are safe.
This is the stupidest trolling from Republicans this week. Democrats who agree with Baker are wrong too!
The review process so far has been incredibly slow and hyper-restrictive – only 2,184 Syrian refugees admitted nationwide since the crisis began when there are hundreds of thousands looking for more help. Exactly how much more hyper-hyper restrictive are Baker, Hassan, etc. looking for it to be? And how much does that cost us in good will, not only with the Syrians who are left out in the cold, but with other countries who see America is much more willing to bomb than to help innocent civilians hurt by that bombing?
we have to circle the wagons ; )
Blue MASS group had a post about MASS governor’s position. Oh, the horror, circle the wagons. What are you talking about?
Then when you duck and deflect, the first response to the comment is the position is wrong no matter if you’re an R or D. But that’s not straightforward for you.
What is difficult for you to comprehend?
Nothing to see here, just more trolling.
It’s clear enough that thebaker isn’t attempting to comprehend anything.
Ms. Hassan is wrong. Mr. Baker is wrong. More than half of US governors are wrong (27, according to this link).
This is not GOP or a Democratic problem, this is an AMERICAN problem.
We have become a nation of cowardly anti-Muslim bigots. We have jumped to run after each and every jingoistic dog-whistle. Our mainstream media have spent the years since 9/11 building our hysteria, and we have said and done nothing about it. We have, instead, shredded our rights to privacy, to freedom from unreasonable search, to Habeas Corpus — on and on and on. We have invaded a foreign nation without cause and based on lies. We have followed formal policies of abuse, kidnapping, torture, and murder — policies that we know originated in the Oval Office — and we have done NOTHING about those war crimes.
We have turned our back on the values that have defined us.
In the 2001 9/11 attacks, AQ exploited this visceral bigotry in hopes of making us display our anti-Muslim bigotry to the entire Muslim world. We reacted exactly as Osama Bin Laden hoped. Today, in 2015, ISIS/ISIL tries the same strategy, and once again we react exactly according to their script.
Our governors are not the problem. We, the electorate, are the problem.
What a joke. There’s no vetting process in these circumstances. These people have nothing. Asking for the vetting process is just the same as slamming the door in their faces.