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Ed Gillespie wants Virginians to be very, very afraid
ED GILLESPIE, the Republican running for governor in Virginia, wants voters in the commonwealth to be very afraid. His recent TV ads feature wailing police sirens; a hoodie-clad man clutching a baseball bat; and, in big letters, a Hispanic gang’s motto: “Kill. Rape. Control.” In one ad, a voice-over asks, “Who will keep your family safe?”
Set aside the fact that Virginia’s violent crime rate, as measured by the state police, is the third-lowest in the nation and plunged by more than a third in the decade ending in 2015. Mr. Gillespie’s wedge issue of the day is gang violence — specifically, violent Hispanic gangs such as MS-13 — to which he hopes to harness the xenophobic fervor that propelled Donald Trump to the White House.
In the case of his TV ads, Mr. Gillespie has twisted truth to suit his purpose, and pandered to nativists in the Republican base, by trying to link his Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, to the MS-13 scourge. Mr. Northam’s sin, one of the Gillespie ads says, was to “cast the deciding vote in favor of sanctuary cities that let illegal immigrants who commit crimes back on the street.”
This is hogwash. As Mr. Gillespie himself acknowledged at a debate this summer, there are no sanctuary cities in Virginia. And in other states, and even sanctuary cities, there is no pattern of violent gang members being shielded from deportation. Nor did Mr. Northam cast “the deciding vote” in favor of sanctuary cities, because the Republican-sponsored bill to ban them was actually passed by the GOP-controlled state legislature.
Set aside the fact that Virginia’s violent crime rate, as measured by the state police, is the third-lowest in the nation and plunged by more than a third in the decade ending in 2015. Mr. Gillespie’s wedge issue of the day is gang violence — specifically, violent Hispanic gangs such as MS-13 — to which he hopes to harness the xenophobic fervor that propelled Donald Trump to the White House.
In the case of his TV ads, Mr. Gillespie has twisted truth to suit his purpose, and pandered to nativists in the Republican base, by trying to link his Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, to the MS-13 scourge. Mr. Northam’s sin, one of the Gillespie ads says, was to “cast the deciding vote in favor of sanctuary cities that let illegal immigrants who commit crimes back on the street.”
This is hogwash. As Mr. Gillespie himself acknowledged at a debate this summer, there are no sanctuary cities in Virginia. And in other states, and even sanctuary cities, there is no pattern of violent gang members being shielded from deportation. Nor did Mr. Northam cast “the deciding vote” in favor of sanctuary cities, because the Republican-sponsored bill to ban them was actually passed by the GOP-controlled state legislature.
Whole article at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ed-gillespie-wants-virginians-to-be-very-very-afraid/2017/10/05/2a3248d4-a7b4-11e7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html?utm_term=.36a0bd262860
7 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
The last thing we need is a lying Yankee carpetbagger in the governor's mansion.
This November, let's send Gillespie back to the RNC.
