It won't come as a surprise to many that you can get the odd looney running for president in the US but this week I've been taken aback by just how ridiculous some of the latest bunch are.
In the wake of the Paris Attacks, the conversation in both the Republican and Democratic nomination races turned to the issue of refugees. Now nobody is surprised by Donald Trump saying that they shouldn't allow in any but the reaction of some of the other candidates would make you wonder if this is actually real life.
First up we have the Republican candidate Dr Ben Carson. A brain surgeon. Somehow.
He's completely against the idea of taking in Syrian refugees, saying 'If there’s a rabid dog running around in your neighborhood, you’re probably not going to assume something good about that dog.'
Good lad.
Marco Rubio is another of the main candidates who wants to halt Syrian refugees until a proper screening is introduced. However his fellow Republican, Rand Paul not only wants to stop Syrian refugees coming into the US, he's trying to introduce a bill to suspend visa to over 24 other countries as well. He says:
It's about time, and Paris should wake us up that we can't just let anyone come to this country. 40% of immigration issues in our country are from visa overstays, and for those visiting us from countries that have large jihadist movements, this will be a bone of contention.
Now we come to Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush.
The two lads ... now you'll love this ... the two lads are saying in that Christian refugees should take preference. In fact Cruz doesn't want to let any Syrian Muslims in at all:
There is no meaningful risk of Christians committing acts of terror. If there were a group of radical Christians pledging to murder anyone who had a different religious view than they, we would have a different national security situation.
How can someone get so far in a Presidential race - not to mention life in general - and not have yet copped on that it's this kind of segregation that can paint the western world in a bad light? Ironically Ted Cruz's family arrived in America from Cuba during a very troubled time for the country.
Thankfully the irony of this 'Christians only' policy is not lost on the actual president at the moment. Speaking this week, Barack Obama said:
I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for Isil [Isis] than some of the rhetoric that’s been coming out of here during the course of this debate.
Isil seeks to exploit the idea that there’s war between Islam and the west, and when you see individuals in positions of responsibility suggesting Christians are more worthy of protection than Muslims are in a war-torn land, that feeds the Isil narrative. It’s counter-productive. And it needs to stop.
And I would add, these are the same folks who suggested they’re so tough that just ‘talk to Putin’ or staring down Isil [will work] … but they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America as part of our tradition of compassion. At first they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of three-year-old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.
There are some candidates from both parties who are speaking a little more sense. Hillary Clinton wants to actually up the refugee intake from 10,000 to 65,000 but with a strict screening process. Her Democratic colleague Martin O'Malley agrees with 65,000 and Bernie Sanders is all for taking in refugees but did not commit to a number.
Meanwhile, among the Republican candidates, Lindsey Graham wants to pause refugee intake for a time, until proper screening is introduced, before taking in their fair share, saying 'I don't see how you can lead the free world and turn your back on people who are seeking it.'
The biggest nonsense...
And now we come to the latest debacle, with our old friend Donald Trump. He wants Muslims in the US to register on a database. Well, actually now he's saying he didn't say that.
Make up your own mind.
When asked by a reporter what the difference between Muslims having to register on a US database and the Nazi Jewish database would be, Trump simply responded 'You tell me.'
Trump: "Would certainly implement" Muslim databases. And "you tell me" diff from Jews/Germa: https://t.co/2FM6wReY6e pic.twitter.com/l3UgsMvjlE
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) November 20, 2015
So there you go. Jesus we're an awful race at times. I mean of all the species humans are without doubt the worst.
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