Texas, Kansas and El Pendejo Demagogo

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

I learned today that the states of Kansas and Texas have at least one thing in common. Aside from  both being states of the union they share a quality not easily seen at first glance – you have to make an effort, the way an out of focus picture seems to look better when you squint at it.

Don’t squint yet, first let me tell you what I’m talking about. Two news items, both from Talking Points Memo:

GOPer: Ranchers Should Shoot ‘Wetbacks’ Crossing Border Illegally

Kansas Rep. Proposes To Track Citizen Status Of Public Schoolchildren

A candidate for U.S. Senator in Texas thinks that ranchers should have the right to “shoot wetbacks.” Chris Mapp told the editorial boards of both the Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express News that – take a deep breath because this could make your head explode – saying wetback is as “normal as breathing air in South Texas.” Mapp is running in the GOP primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Which makes him a magician because he’s accomplished a seemingly impossible task – he’s made Cornyny look like the best Republican primary option.

In Kansas, state Rep. Allan Rothlisberg has proposed that public schools track the citizenship of schoolchildren. Here’s the gist of his idea, as reported in Talking Points Memo:

Rothlisberg’s bill would require every child who enrolls in a public school for the first time to present proof of lawful presence, such as a Social Security card, birth certificate or other document. Districts would submit annual reports to the state on the total number of children they enrolled who failed to provide such proof.

It pains me to have to do this, but in light of the level of understanding we’re dealing with I’ll point out the obvious, as stated by school administrators in Garden City, one of the most diverse communities in Kansas: “even raising the question with parents and students would damage the welcoming environment they have tried to create.”

The National GOP has been busy in recent weeks, putting on a show about how it’s trying to be more inclusive and open to Latinos. Meanwhile politicos within their ranks are staging extremist side-shows. I know that the Republican Party is paying truck-loads of money to Latino advisers in order to help them with their Latino “problem.” They’re the same handful of advisers that they’ve used in the past, saying the same thing they’ve heard in the past, with the same results.

This brings to mind two things. One, I’d like to know where I can sign up for that brainless job. And two, I’ll give them some advice at no charge: invest in a leash and a muzzle, and reign-in your extremist nuts. And do it loudly and publicly so we can see you mean it.

And here’s another freebie. Learn Spanish and listen to this, it’s wildly informative, especially the last line. You’ll have to suffer a commercial to get to the meat of the thing (a warning, one of the commercials on the rotation may be an anti-Obama rant … completely out of my control).

 

[Photo by The Rocketeer]

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