National Journal
By Ben Geman
July 22, 2015
Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday sought to transform Donald
Trump's widely condemned remarks about Sen. John McCain's capture in
Vietnam into a political weapon
against the GOP field on immigration policy.
Reid,
speaking on the Senate floor, noted GOP candidates' criticism of
Trump's recent claim that McCain—who spent five years as a prisoner of
war in Vietnam—isn't a war
hero. But then he segued into Trump's claim in his announcement speech
that Mexican immigrants are "rapists."
"It
makes me wonder, where were all these same Republicans when Trump
slandered millions?" Reid asked. "When Trump insulted the senator from
Arizona, a member of his own
party, Republicans couldn't denounce him fast enough, but when Trump
called immigrants rapists, there was nothing but silence."
(In fact, multiple GOP presidential candidates condemned Trump's comments about Mexican immigrants.)
Reid
then added: "There is an ugly truth behind that silence, and it is
this: When it comes to immigration and frankly most other policy, there
is no meaningful difference
between the Republican Party and Donald Trump."
The
comments show Reid trying to exploit Republicans' weakness among Latino
voters, a political problem for the party heading into the 2016
elections. Obama won roughly
70 percent of the Latino vote in 2012.
Reid listed various GOP candidates in the crowded field who do not support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Reid
noted Jeb Bush's comments that undocumented workers should be able to
earn legal status but "not necessarily citizenship" and cited Scott
Walker's remark that if
somebody wants to become a citizen, they first "need to go back to
their country of origin."
Reid
also listed examples of the GOP field's opposition to President Obama's
executive actions on immigration. He said that "there is no daylight
between Donald Trump
and the rest of the Republican field."
"So
while the rest of the Republican presidential hopefuls may not engage
in the same repugnant rhetoric, make no mistake they are all on the same
page with Donald Trump,"
Reid said.
Reid
joined in the attack on Trump's comments about McCain, calling his
longtime Capitol Hill colleague a hero and saying he has "great
admiration" for the Arizona Republican.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment