(The map above is from Daily Kos.)That may sound like a rather harsh title to this post, but I think it's a valid question -- especially considering the fear mongering the Republicans are engaged in. The map above shows the states with governors who are ready to surrender to ISIS, and give them what they want -- a United States that fears them so much we are willing to give up our values and cringe in terror.
And it's not just the Republican governors willing to surrender. The U.S. House of Representatives has shown it's willingness to give in to ISIS and help them spread fear in this country. Yesterday, they passed HR 4038 -- an odious bill that would put such onerous restrictions on bringing refugees to this country that it would, in effect, ban those refugees from coming to the United States. The bill passed by a large margin -- 289 to 137. Two Republicans joined 135 Democrats in opposing this silly bill -- while 248 Republicans and 47 Democrats (to their eternal shame) voted to give in to ISIS.
The Republicans claimed their bill would prevent ISIS terrorists from using the refugee crisis to sneak into this country -- as one terrorist evidently did in Europe. They seem to equate refugees entering America with those flooding into Europe. But that is at least disingenuous, and probably an outright lie. The situation with refugees is very different in Europe and the United States.
While many thousands of refugees are arriving by boat in Europe every week, that is simply not happening in the United States. We are too far away from Syria and the Middle East for tiny boats full of refugees to reach us. Any refugee that wants to enter the United States must go through a serious and effective vetting process -- a process that takes from 18 to 24 months to complete, and requires clearance from the State Department, The Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (any one of which can end the process for a refugee and deny them entrance).
This system has worked very well -- so well that this country has had no problem from any immigrant that has gone through the process. And there's no reason to believe it won't work just as well for Syrian refugees. Personally, I think it's silly to think ISIS terrorists would submit themselves to this kind of scrutiny in a process that takes up to two years. There are quicker and easier ways for them to sneak into this country.
The GOP surrender monkeys know this. They are just trying to use the refugee situation for their own political gain -- and it's working with nearly half of the population. Note the chart below. About 44% of Americans are wetting their pants unnecessarily because of the GOP fear mongering, and another 9% don't know whether they should be afraid or not. These people are willing to toss traditional American values out the window out of a craven fear (that is not justified by the facts).
Are we an uncaring and cowardly country? The Republicans think so -- and they have convinced far too many Americans that cowardice is the way to go. It's shameful!
This chart reflects the results of a new YouGov Poll -- done between November 16th and 18th of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, and has a margin of error of 4.1 points.
