GOP slouches into the Crazy -IMMIGRATION Edition | Trump Won’t Condemn Bomb Threats in Springfield OH

[superrific]

Oh, good Willie Horton redux. Let's hope that America has woken up in the thirty+ years since then.

 

[ChileG]

“… “I think our people hate the right people,” a relaxed JD Vance confided to an interviewer three years ago.

By “our people,” Vance meant the followers of Donald Trump, whose support he intended to win in the Ohio Republican senate primary.

… it was also clear that Vance knew one couldn’t foster hatred for liberal elites without the collateral damage of hatred for immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities, cultural nonconformists, and any of the groups whom those elites were supposedly elevating at the expense of “our people.”

But these past few weeks suggest that it wasn’t merely collateral damage at all. The assault on these groups really was the point. The alleged failures of liberal elites (to, say, close the border or protect manufacturing jobs) are the excuse for the assaults on immigrants and minorities that we’ve seen throughout the Trump years. That’s where the real political payoff is.

Let’s return, for a moment, to Vance’s telling sentence. By “hate” Vance means . . . hate. Not disagreement or even dislike. Hate.

… And the assault on the Haitians of Springfield, Ohio, is a kind of culmination of Vance’s—and of course Trump’s—politics of hate.

It also represents a culmination of Vance’s and Trump’s politics of lying.

Vance acknowledged yesterday on CNN that he had been trying to manufacture coverage of Springfield based on nothing more than a few unsubstantiated constituent phone calls

“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

The creation of stories. One could call that fiction. Or lies. Lies in the service of justifying and encouraging hatred for a minority group.

That seems familiar. It’s familiar from the last century in Europe. It’s also familiar from periods of American history, especially with respect to race and immigrants.

… Perhaps a pure play on racism and nativism is more effective politically than a somewhat complicated debate about the border—especially after Trump killed the border bill, and especially in non-border states in the Midwest?

In any case, it’s striking that Trump and Vance are willing to make this campaign so clearly a referendum on nativism and racism. …”

Vance, Trump, and The Politics of Hate

The liberal elites may be the stated target. But minority communities are the ones who suffer.

www.thebulwark.com

Was having a conversation with my wife’s aunt (who is about 5 years older than I am) and we were talking about immigration and she was asking my POV (she is pretty hardcore Republican).
I told her that Trump is coming from a place where he does not view them with humanity. I told her that if you think about immigrants in such a negative light, you won’t ever get immigration right.
Yes, we need to vet. But we also need the workers and the vast majorly are good people.

 

[superrific]

Unable to golf, Trump is indulging in a tweet storm that is all over the map, but includes digging up a Haitian migrant crime from Boston:

1. They weren't smuggled.
2. This happened on your watch, asshole. You were the ones separating the families and ditching the UC
3. The reason that UCs aren't given Notices to Appear is because the process is farcical. Since they are not given an attorney, the judge literally has to have a conversation with a small child about whether the child understands his or her rights and the process.

This bullshit is so frustrating. I think it's this sort of trolling that is most irritating to me -- at least, in this moment it is. Right-wingers don't give a fuck about girls' sports and have fought them every step of the way -- but now they are so concerned about protecting girls' sports because trans. Right-wingers never gave a fuck about the unaccompanied children or the families they were ripping apart, but now they are suddenly concerned with these kids' welfare (note to Trump: they are probably working in Arkansas thanks to Sarah Sanders). They don't care about any of this shit, except in pathetic attempts to attack liberals who are doing the best we can.

 

[nycfan]

 

[altmin]

He does understand that the internet is forever, right? Nothing ever really disappears.

You think this guy understands it?

 

[lawtig02]

His position on this is becoming more and more nonsensical as we go.

 

[UNCatTech]

This man should lose his job for making this statement.

I would also make it a point, if I lived close enough, to plant Kamala signs in the front yards of the entire department's homes.

 

[nycfan]

 

[UNCatTech]

Now where could they possibly get the most powerful weapons you can have?

And is he linking this to immigration? I would imagine that the statistics don't support that most mass shootings, using the most powerful weapons you can have, are committed by immigrants.

 

[Zoo_View]

His position on this is becoming more and more nonsensical as we go.

He challenged the reporter.

In MAGAtland, that’s all that matters.

 

[dukeman92]

Starting to see the strategy (I'm dense) They know they're cooked. They don't have any policy so make the biggest issue they can out of the border and perceived "migrant crime". They DGAF about the truth or who they hurt, it's just a smear campaign. Anything to get elected.

 

[lawtig02]

He challenged the reporter.

In MAGAtland, that’s all that matters.

True, and I should have also noted, doing a “press conference” while surrounded by rally attendees who have been conditioned to despise the press is one of the weirdest things I’ve seen in a while. It’s like they know his conventional press appearances have been disasters, so they’re surrounding him with a physical manifestation of his ego.

 

[nycfan]

Brutal in its simplicity:

“
City Manager Bryan Heck fielded an unusual question at City Hall on the morning of Sept. 9, from a staff member of Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. The staffer called to ask if there was any truth to bizarre rumors about Haitian immigrants and pets in Springfield.

“He asked point-blank, ‘Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?’” recalled Heck.

“I told him no. There was no verifiable evidence or reports to show this was true. I told them these claims were baseless.”

By then, Vance had already posted about the rumors to his 1.9 million followers on X. Yet he kept the post up, and repeated an even more insistent version of the claim the next morning.

That night, former President Donald Trump stood on a Philadelphia debate stage and shot the rumor into the stratosphere.

… It was the culmination of a spectacular collision of forces that thrust Springfield into the heart of the U.S. presidential election.

Over the summer, outside neo-Nazi groups—which specialize in exploiting local controversy to foment outrage about migrants—had seized on a local controversy and fanned the narrative of pet-eating Haitians.

Then the Trump campaign blasted those rumors to the world—and kept pushing them even after they were exposed as lies. The Trump campaign continues to run hard at the controversy. Trump last Friday said he planned “large deportations” from Springfield—whose Haitian community is overwhelmingly in the country legally.

Trump campaign surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy plans to host a town hall in Springfield this Thursday. Vance said on Tuesday that Trump would like to visit Springfield, too, at some point.

Attempts to contain the damage in Springfield were quickly overwhelmed despite city leaders’ racing from meeting to meeting trying to stem the tide.

The Ohio state police were called in to protect local children as they returned to school. A security tower with cameras was erected outside City Hall. Thirty-six bomb threats had been logged as of Tuesday evening. …”

 

[nycfan]

(Cont’d)

“… It’s in the middle of the middle of the U.S., with a name so generically American it was used in the classic sitcoms “Father Knows Best” and “The Simpsons.”

The town sprung up along the Old National Road, the first highway built by the federal government. From the beginning, it was a place of immigrants: first the Irish, who traveled the road westward in the early 1800s, then the Germans, who founded the town’s flagship Wittenberg University in the 1840s, and eventually a wave of Black Americans fleeing the South in the mid-20th century.

This recent wave of Haitian immigrants was initially welcomed. The town’s fortunes had declined alongside those of the rest of the Rust Belt, with the population dropping from 83,000 in 1960 to 59,000 in 2020. The pandemic created a crunch in the available labor force as many workers stayed home out of choice or necessity, collecting stimulus checks. [My side note — never change, WSJ, stimulus to the working class is the great evil that ruined work ethic, we get it]

Haitians were fleeing danger in their increasingly lawless country, particularly after the assassination of their president in 2021. In Springfield, they were welcomed by evangelical groups and employers alike. Friends and family members followed loved ones there.

… They were able to immigrate legally under a Biden administration policy granting Temporary Protected Status to Haitians as part of a program created by Congress in 1990 to protect immigrants from countries deemed too dangerous to return to.

The local economy boomed. Business owners said they were grateful to have workers eager to work long shifts and do what it took to meet production goals. New subdivisions sprung up in the cornfields outside town. New restaurants opened. The Haitian flag flew at City Hall.

Growth came with growing pains. The number of non-native English speakers in the public schools quadrupled to more than 1,000 children. The local clinic and hospital were overwhelmed with people fleeing a country where healthcare had been scant. Traffic increased, as did frustration with drivers more accustomed with the chaotic streets of Port-au-Prince than the orderly grid of Springfield.

… an evangelical pastor named Carl Ruby, who ran an “immigrant integration” not-for-profit organization, sought out a local GOP leader who had criticized him online. Ruby said he shook the hand of Mark Sanders, who had become a leading critic in town of the influx of immigrants—and wouldn’t let go until he agreed to meet.

… Ruby offered to share tax documents for his organization that would dispel rumors he was getting rich from his nonprofit. He also said he didn’t own rental properties or benefit from a local employment agency that has employed Haitians, as had been rumored.

Sanders, who has likened Ruby to a “coyote” who makes money from helping people cross into the U.S. illegally, agreed to take down some of his online posts but the two men haven’t spoken since.

“I think he believed me, but I don’t think it fits his narrative,” Ruby said. He’s not interested in another get-together. “Logic and truth just don’t matter at this point to that group.”

Sanders, a retired engineer, had started working as a school bus driver to comfort his daughter, who had been scared to get back on the bus after Aiden Clark’s death. He said he would be open to another meeting because he believes he can show ways that the Haitians have hurt the city. “I can show you the detriments,” he said. “Show me the benefits.” …”

 

[nycfan]

Then, the CHUDs came …

“… On Aug. 10, a group wearing ski masks and carrying swastika flags and rifles marched in Springfield. The ADL identified them as Blood Tribe, which it describes as a growing neo-Nazi group claiming to have chapters across the U.S. and Canada.

On Aug. 27, during the routine public-comment portion of the Springfield City Commission meeting, a man identifying himself as a Blood Tribe member said: “I’ve come to bring a word of warning. Stop what you’re doing before it’s too late. Crime and savagery will only increase with every Haitian you bring in.” [My note — this bears a strike resemblance to Trump’s recent rhetoric]

Rue, the mayor, interrupted him, saying “You sound threatening to me,” and asking police to peacefully remove him.

And recently, roughly 20 individuals claiming to represent the Proud Boys marched in the town.

Springfield NAACP President Denise Williams said residents are on edge from visits by the groups. “I’m saying to our people near and far to please stand down and don’t approach these guys—they are armed,” she said. “It’s quite dangerous.”

[Then Vance and Trump took it national]

… Blood Tribe took a victory lap for its presence in the town, boasting on Sept. 11, “We are on the ground in Springfield weekly—we even showed up to their City Council Meeting.”

Vance, meanwhile, has continued to defend his claims.

… A Vance spokesperson on Tuesday provided The Wall Street Journal with a police report in which a resident had claimed her pet might have been taken by Haitian neighbors.

But when a reporter went to Anna Kilgore’s house Tuesday evening, she said her cat Miss Sassy, which went missing in late August, had actually returned a few days later—found safe in her own basement. …

[Meanwhile, even the Vance shift from pet eating to increased disease claims are misleading w/r/t HIV cases and otherwise a lie] …

Information from the county health department, however, shows a decrease in infectious disease cases countywide, with 1,370 reported in 2023—the lowest since 2015. The tuberculosis case numbers in the county are so low (four in 2023, three in 2022, one in 2021) that any little movement can bring a big percentage jump. HIV cases did increase to 31 in 2023, from 17 in 2022 and 12 in 2021. Overall, sexually transmitted infection cases decreased to 965 in 2023, the lowest since 2015. …”

 

[ChileG]

Brutal in its simplicity:

“
City Manager Bryan Heck fielded an unusual question at City Hall on the morning of Sept. 9, from a staff member of Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. The staffer called to ask if there was any truth to bizarre rumors about Haitian immigrants and pets in Springfield.

“He asked point-blank, ‘Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?’” recalled Heck.

“I told him no. There was no verifiable evidence or reports to show this was true. I told them these claims were baseless.”

By then, Vance had already posted about the rumors to his 1.9 million followers on X. Yet he kept the post up, and repeated an even more insistent version of the claim the next morning.

That night, former President Donald Trump stood on a Philadelphia debate stage and shot the rumor into the stratosphere.

… It was the culmination of a spectacular collision of forces that thrust Springfield into the heart of the U.S. presidential election.

Over the summer, outside neo-Nazi groups—which specialize in exploiting local controversy to foment outrage about migrants—had seized on a local controversy and fanned the narrative of pet-eating Haitians.

Then the Trump campaign blasted those rumors to the world—and kept pushing them even after they were exposed as lies. The Trump campaign continues to run hard at the controversy. Trump last Friday said he planned “large deportations” from Springfield—whose Haitian community is overwhelmingly in the country legally.

Trump campaign surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy plans to host a town hall in Springfield this Thursday. Vance said on Tuesday that Trump would like to visit Springfield, too, at some point.

Attempts to contain the damage in Springfield were quickly overwhelmed despite city leaders’ racing from meeting to meeting trying to stem the tide.

The Ohio state police were called in to protect local children as they returned to school. A security tower with cameras was erected outside City Hall. Thirty-six bomb threats had been logged as of Tuesday evening. …”

More partnering with neo-Nazis, but we have a poster who won’t vote for Harris because she cited a Trump quote about Charlottesville which may not point to Trump being racist-friendly, and not the 100 other examples (such as this one) that show Trump is definitely cozy with the neo-Nazis and racists of the world.

 

[Mulberry Heel]

Reading articles like the WSJ one above, it's easy to see why the Trump and Vance campaigns are centering their efforts on Springfield. They see it as the perfect town to use to symbolize everything they've been claiming about immigration. In their version, Springfield was a good and decent town that has been "invaded" by a horde of black immigrants from Haiti, in a move that was approved by the Biden Administration - thus "proving" that Democrats are allowing immigrant mobs into the USA to take over small towns and cities everywhere. And now that they're in Springfield they're taking the town over and crime is soaring (it's not) and they're doing wicked things like eating white people's pets (they're not) and stealing from white people (they're not) and overwhelming local hospitals and other facilities.

For Trumpers this is one of their worst nightmares, and it's one that people like Trump and Vance have masterfully played on for years and years. And their hope is that by November they will have convinced whites living in small towns and cities in key Midwestern swing states, as well as Pennsylvania and NC and GA and so on, that this is exactly what will happen to them if the Democrats stay in power. The fact that the Haitians have in many respects turned around a dying town and brought it some life doesn't matter, the fact that they are often doing jobs that local whites aren't willing to do doesn't matter, the fact that the stories of eating pets and soaring crime isn't true doesn't matter. All that matters to the Trump GOP is that they can use Springfield to try and frighten whites all across the country that this is your future unless Trump wins the election. It's ugly, it's extreme nativism at its very worst, it runs contrary to the whole idea that we're a nation of immigrants, it's placing the lives of immigrants in places like Springfield in danger, but they don't care. They have likely decided that this is their best chance to still try and win the election, and they're going to run with it for all its worth.

 

[nycfan]

I’m sure JD Vance will agree with Marge here:

Homer: [describes series of awful events in NYC, culminating with falling through a manhole into the city sewer] And that's when the CHUDs came at me.

Marge: Oh, Homer, of course you'll have a bad impression of New York... if you only focus on the pimps and the CHUDs.

 

[nycfan]

 

[lawtig02]

Reading articles like the WSJ one above, it's easy to see why the Trump and Vance campaigns are centering their efforts on Springfield. They see it as the perfect town to use to symbolize everything they've been claiming about immigration. In their version, Springfield was a good and decent town that has been "invaded" by a horde of black immigrants from Haiti, in a move that was approved by the Biden Administration - thus "proving" that Democrats are allowing immigrant mobs into the USA to take over small towns and cities everywhere. And now that they're in Springfield they're taking the town over and crime is soaring (it's not) and they're doing wicked things like eating white people's pets (they're not) and stealing from white people (they're not) and overwhelming local hospitals and other facilities.

For Trumpers this is one of their worst nightmares, and it's one that people like Trump and Vance have masterfully played on for years and years. And their hope is that by November they will have convinced whites living in small towns and cities in key Midwestern swing states, as well as Pennsylvania and NC and GA and so on, that this is exactly what will happen to them if the Democrats stay in power. The fact that the Haitians have in many respects turned around a dying town and brought it some life doesn't matter, the fact that they are often doing jobs that local whites aren't willing to do doesn't matter, the fact that the stories of eating pets and soaring crime isn't true doesn't matter. All that matters to the Trump GOP is that they can use Springfield to try and frighten whites all across the country that this is your future unless Trump wins the election. It's ugly, it's extreme nativism at its very worst, it runs contrary to the whole idea that we're a nation of immigrants, it's placing the lives of immigrants in places like Springfield in danger, but they don't care. They have likely decided that this is their best chance to still try and win the election, and they're going to run with it for all its worth.

Agree, but the problem for Trump is it doesn’t appear anyone outside the base is believing a word of it. That could change, but this seems to be doing more harm than good among the people he’ll need to win the election.