Rookie U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC: D-NY) has become the gift that keeps on giving. At least, for political writers, comedy writers—well, the ones that still believe comedy doesn’t pick sides, and people who just like to laugh when people say stupid stuff.
It seems the left used Rep. AOC, not that she minded, to pick another fight with the right by sowing a fake news story published by Newsweek, this one to make conservatives appear unreasonably prudish. Who knows, maybe Rep. AOC herself, or someone with her permission, planted this story. The left asserted the right was “upset” over Rep. AOC’s recent viral dance video. The left argues it’s not fake news, but I can’t find one prominent conservative or anyone I know personally who was offended by that video.
From The American Conservative: “I don’t like her politics, but this video of college student and future Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dancing makes me, like every normal person, find her completely charming.” They go on to criticize “weirdo conservatives” (apparently, granting it was a conservative) who released the video for thinking this would show Rep. AOC in a bad light.
From Reason: “Criticize Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Socialist Policies, Not Her Extremely Likable Dance Video.”
From Fox News: “It caused a social media stir, with the mainstream media and liberals lining up to cheer it and condemn conservatives for being offended by it. The only problem: Conservatives were not actually offended by it.”
From Twitchy: “The problem was that there was no conservative pouncing, and Newsweek’s article about the alleged conservative mockery of the video contains absolutely no examples to support the headline.”
Whether released by morons on the right or the left, I thought the video showed a young college student having harmless fun. Actually, I’d rather see that version of Rep. AOC anytime than the hapless, socialist politician desperately struggling to make sense. I think she’s finding that a socialist making sense to her sycophantic followers is much easier than making sense to people who think critically and question her policies.
Rep. AOC recently emitted a flurry of foolish remarks during an interview with MSNBC’s perennial wolf-crying, this-is-finally-the-smoking-gun, Trump-bashing host Rachel Maddow. Taking issue with President Trump’s national address on the border wall, fence, etc., Rep. AOC said:
In the actual address, there was falsehood after falsehood and we have to make sure that we get our facts straight. Everyday immigrants commit crimes at a far lower rate than native-born Americans. And not only that but the women and children on that border that are trying to seek refuge and seek opportunity in the United States of America with nothing but the shirt on their backs are acting more American than any person who seeks to keep them out ever will be.
Wow! Kind of leaves you dumbfounded for a moment, eh? And I literally mean dumbfounded in the sense of having found something said that is so very dumb. But there’s a danger when you respond to such stark-naked stupidity. You risk losing brain cells. I mean, what can you say about someone who is telling falsehoods while accusing the president of, well, telling falsehoods?
“Everyday immigrants commit crimes at a far lower rate than native-born Americans” is actually what Rep. AOC said.
This statement may be a fact when taken literally, but sorry Rep. AOC, that’s not the context you mean, is it? Why would you say, “everyday immigrants” when it’s clear you’re defending illegal immigrants? You must be talking about illegal immigrants and not legal immigrants because the right has no problem with legal immigration. Saying immigrants have a lower crime rate when you’re suggesting illegal immigrants do is… um, a falsehood, no?
Using the trusty leftist tool of conflation, Rep. AOC, her acolytes, and her mentors on the left often compare the crime rate of immigrants, which is lower than that of native-born Americans. But then they falsely expand the argument to include illegal immigrants. The problem is the illegal immigrant crime rate, when separated from legal immigrants, is demonstrably higher than native-born Americans. And the disparity is even greater when high illegal immigrant crime rates are compared with low legal immigrant crime rates.
According to data compiled by brilliant crime researcher John Lott, a study of illegal immigration crime rates in Arizona showed: “Undocumented immigrants are at least 142% more likely to be convicted of a crime than other Arizonans. They also tend to commit more serious crimes and serve 10.5% longer sentences, more likely to be classified as dangerous, and 45% more likely to be gang members than U.S. citizens.”
The Pew Research Center reports that as of 2016, illegal immigrants comprised only 3.3 percent of the total U.S. population. However, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons shows that illegal immigrants make up 20 percent of the total federal prison population. This doesn’t include illegal alien prisoners in American county jails and state prisons. With these numbers, how can Rep. AOC justify her obfuscated insinuation that illegal immigrant crime rates are lower than native-born Americans? Well, she can’t, but she doesn’t care about the truth, right? To them, it’s all about their romanticized notion of radicalism and revolution. The left has become infamous for allowing leftists “their own truths,” right?
So, if this conflation isn’t bad enough, let’s take on Rep. AOC’s other outrageous contention: that people on the border, threatening to breach our security by entering the U.S. illegally, “are acting more American than” those of us who feel it’s important to protect our national borders. I guess it doesn’t matter if any of us served this nation in the military, as a cop or firefighter, or are just plain law-abiding citizens. I guess, we just don’t measure up to Rep. AOC’s view of what constitutes a “true” American.
Just sit back and take in such a ridiculous statement. She heralds people who are not American citizens, who are not legal immigrants, and whose first act as a “more-American” would be to violate America’s immigration and refugee laws. Oh, yeah. That sounds more American than we faux-Americans who simply want to protect our country’s national borders by enforcing the laws Congress has created (insert head-exploding sound effect here).
No, Rep. AOC. People wishing to violate America’s borders are not more American than genuine Americans who wish to protect their country. Normal people don’t think like this. People seeking a better life for their families, even risking breaking other nation’s laws, might be understandable, but it’s not more American. For example, those who want to cross our border illegally aren’t more American than Newman, California police corporal Ronil Singh who was shot in the line of duty the day after Christmas 2018.
Corporal Singh was a legal immigrant, naturalized U.S. citizen, who did everything right. He emigrated from Fiji, overcame cultural and language challenges, and accomplished his lofty goal of becoming a law enforcement officer in the United States of America. This goal is difficult for native-born Americans to accomplish, never mind an immigrant from a small island nation 5,500 miles away in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
In an ultimately tragic irony, it was a previously deported, previously arrested illegal immigrant who ended this fine American police officer’s life. A violent act committed just 30 minutes after Christmas Day had ended. It is a day the officer’s wife will remember as the last time she’d seen her husband alive. It is also the day their five-month-old son will not remember being with his Dad but will read about it and see the photos taken under their Christmas tree when he grows up.
Christmas will now become a reminder of a murderer, who should not have been in our country, who took his father from him. He will read about his father’s heroic life, all the people he helped, and see the images of the deluge of officers who descended on their little town from all over the nation and Canada to honor their fallen brother. He’ll read about how Republican politicians, including the President of the United States, personally comforted his family members and spoke so highly of his father.
Sadly, he’ll also read that no California Democrat politician of stature expressed any similar gestures or showed the family the public sympathy his father’s sacrifice warranted. Even Rep. AOC’s congressional leader, the person for whom she cast her vote for House Speaker, Californian Nancy Pelosi (D), did not call the Singh family or even tweet condolences. No, unfortunately, his father’s death didn’t enhance the neo-Democrat’s narrative, therefore merited no compassion.
Perhaps, we can give Rep. AOC a pass for not extending her sympathies to this officer and his family who obviously touched so many hearts in every state and around the world. After all, she represents New York, not California. But NYPD Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill, also from New York, tweeted his sincere sympathies on behalf of his New York police officers.
So, let’s say we give Rep. AOC a pass. Then what about California’s leading politicians? According to Michelle Malkin, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi did not issue any condolences. But she found time to tweet about the two children who died in U.S. custody.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) did not send her sympathies to her constituent’s family either. But she did send a letter to the Border Patrol, also expressing her concerns about the two children.
Incidentally, both Leader Pelosi and Sen. Feinstein, of California, posted their tweets on the same day the illegal immigrant criminal brutally murdered Corporal Singh.
And how could we forget Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA)? She, I think, wants to be president, right? She tweeted three times between Christmas and New Year’s Eve bemoaning the plight of illegal immigrants and their children. I found no public comments from her toward Singh or his wife and five-month-old son’s “plight.” No one is surprised none of these Democrats attended Corporal Singh’s funeral. We know how they feel about cops.
For the record, two other California politicians failed to show public sympathy or attend the officer’s funeral. California Governor-elect (at the time) Gavin Newsom was reportedly too busy watching an NBA basketball game. And then-California Governor Jerry Brown also couldn’t be bothered to attend this very high-profile funeral. Normally, the most dangerous place to be is between a camera and a politician. Apparently, not in all cases. Not when a cop dies in a way that harms your political message.
And, yes, former California Governor Brown and new California Governor Newsom, Ronil Singh’s adult family knows you weren’t there. And, someday, Cpl. Singh’s son will read that you chose not to attend his father’s funeral. Don’t you think he’ll wonder why his father’s sacrifice for the people of California wasn’t worth your time?
But at least the now departed California Governor Brown offered these comforting words about Corporal Singh’s death, which should soothe his family’s grief: “[I]t had nothing to do with the [sanctuary] law of California.” How touching is that?
So, there you have it. The twisted world as neophytes and veteran Democrats see it. Rep. AOC believes people breaking the law to get into the U.S. are more American than Americans who want to protect their country from those breaking our laws to enter illegally. And California’s top Democrat politicians, federal and state, can’t be bothered to send a comment or attend the funeral of a police officer who sacrificed his life to protect them. Then again, the officer had two things working against him. He was a legal immigrant, but worst of all, he committed the ultimate crime in the neo-Democrat’s view: He was a cop.
