Sen. John Kennedy #racist #wingnut

Sen. John Kennedy #racist #wingnut alternet.org

United States Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) insulted the population of Mexico while grilling Drug Enforcement Agency Administrator Anne Milgram during a Wednesday Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on fentanyl.

Kennedy, like many on the right, has advocated for deploying the American Armed Forces to neutralize the cartels — a point that he viciously emphasized to Milgram.

"If [Mexican] President Andrés Manuel López Obrador invited the American military and or law enforcement personnel to come into Mexico and work with his, we could stop the cartels, couldn't we?" Kennedy asked.
[…]
"Why hasn't President Biden done it? I mean, this is the way the American people whose sons and daughters are dying. Look at it. Our economy is $23 trillion. Mexico's economy is 1.3 trillion. Ours is eighteen times bigger. We buy $400 billion every year from Mexico," Kennedy griped.

"Without the people of America, Mexico, figuratively speaking, would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent behind an Outback," the senator seethed. "So why don't you and the president embarrassing no one, get on the phone and call President López Obrador and make him a deal he can't refuse to allow our military and our law enforcement officials to go into Mexico and work with his to stop the cartels. Why don't you do that?"

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I wonder if Kennedy knows that most of the fentanyl entering the United States comes from China and India — not Mexico. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s website states:

Currently, China remains the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail and express consignment operations environment, as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States. Seizures of fentanyl sourced from China average less than one kilogram in weight, and often test above 90 percent concentration of pure fentanyl.

I wonder if Kennedy knows that Mexico is a sovereign state; that many of the guns used by Mexican drug cartels come from the United States. Imagine Mexico saying to President Biden that they want to put troops on the American side of the border to combat illegal firearm traffic. Sovereign states are responsible for what happens within their borders. We need to stop using the military as an arm of the DEA and Customs and Border Control. Congress needs to give the DEA and CBC the funding and tools necessary to do their jobs.

I wonder if Kennedy realizes how much of our produce comes from the Mexico and the states bordering our southern neighbor? Is he aware of the thousands of Mexicans who legally cross the border each day to pick produce; people who spent millions of dollars of money on the U.S. side of the border before returning home?

I wonder if Kennedy is aware that Mexico has a rich history; that Tijuana, Nogales, and other border towns are not representative of Mexico at large, any more than certain economically depressed communities in the U.S. present America as a whole. Sadly, many Americans have embraced an ugly, racist stereotype about Mexicans instead of educating themselves about the country and its citizens.

Here’s what I know about Senator Kennedy: He is a jingoistic, xenophobic bigot. I hope the good people in Mexico realize that the Kennedys of America don’t speak for all Americans. Yes, we collectively need to do something about fentanyl and immigration. Kennedy doesn’t care about either of these things. Much like Ted Cruz, all Kennedy cares about is exacerbating problems at the border so they will make Biden and the Democrats look bad.

"Without the fat people of America, Mexico, speakingly, could be eating wood out of a can and living in a figurative tent out behind a bank," the senator seethed. "So why don't you and the embarrassing con president, get on my phone and call President Póez Labrador and make him a deal he don't refuse to allow one Thai liter and our official law enforcement oars to go into Mexico and cork with his to stop the turtles. Why can't you do what?"

Kennedy thought he was complimenting Mexicans, because he and his constituents live in a sewer and eat cockroaches.

So why don't you and the president embarrassing no one, get on the phone and call President López Obrador and make him a deal he can't refuse to allow our military and our law enforcement officials to go into Mexico and work with his to stop the cartels. Why don't you do that?

…and if you think it’s such a great idea, how about you get a bunch of those who think like you, put on your ‘Tacticool’ gear, take up the AR-15, go into Mexico and you o OP lead by example. Why can’t you do that?

(*Crickets chirp*)

"If [Mexican] President Andrés Manuel López Obrador invited the American military and or law enforcement personnel to come into Mexico and work with his, we could stop the cartels, couldn't we?"

No. It’s been tried before and failed every time. Military forces are bad at police work. It’s compounded when they are asked to do anti-drug work. Drug use problems and corruption problems spiral out of control quickly.

Conservatives love the authoritarian nature of the military, so of course they see it as the answer to every problem.

Should we tell Sen. Kennedy there’s already Putin who think he can militarily interviene in the affairs of neighbouring countries and that Mexico is a sovereign state? Should Mexico be allowed to take measures against gun-runners trafficking guns from the US to Mexico?

John kennedy is an embarassment to america