So Fred Thompson gives a speech, and in that speech he talks about the need to guard the borders better, and in the course of that he says that “We’re are now living in a nation that is beset by suicidal maniacs…”
What conclusion does Marc Ambinder of The Hotline draw from this? See if you can guess, then click below the fold:
Was he referring to Cho Seung-Hui’s rampage [at Virginia Tech]?
Because if he was, Thompson is positioning himself well to the right of Tom Tancredo on immigration. Hui was a legal immigrant who acheived permanent resident status– and, anyway, unless Thompson is a cultural essentialist, was, at the time of his shootings, more of an American than he was a Korean. Anyway, is Thompson saying that every legal immigrant is a potential Cho? What does VA Tech have to do with amnesty for illegal immigrants?
You can watch the video at The Hotline and judge for yourself, but really, this sounds like a classic example of a reaction that says more about the listener’s “all Republicans are racist” mindset than about the speaker. The post has since been updated to reflect the Thompson campaign’s response that no, Fred wasn’t talking about Korean college students. Perhaps Ambinder has forgotten with whom we are currently at war.