Then-President George W. Bush signing the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act in 2008
Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) visited Guatemala recently bringing along three TV cameras, three photographers, six reporters, a political aide, two press secretaries and David Bossie, a far-right political activist. The purported reason for his visit was to do some volunteer work As a U.S. licensed ophthalmologist, Mr. Paul's purported reason for his visit was to do some volunteer medical work.
what eye thynk: Why he needed cameras, photographers, reporters, press secretaries and a political activist made more sense when it turns out he also planned a meeting with Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina to discuss American politics.
Speaking of his 45 minute meeting with Mr. Molina, Senator Paul said, "I told him, frankly, that I didn't think the problem was in Guatemala City, but that the problem was in the White House in our country, and that the mess we've got at the border is frankly because of the White House's policies."
Of those being intercepted at our southern border, a large percentage have stated they came here to escape the culture of violence endemic in places like Guatemala where wholesale kidnapping of children in order to force them to join violent cartels is a fact of life. Yes, it is common knowledge that they will not be immediately returned to their native countries which gives these young people a chance to disappear among the millions of undocumented residents here. But, contrary to what Mr. Paul would like to believe, that is not an Obama policy!
The current law that forbids the immediate deportation of these children is a George W. Bush legacy. One of the last pieces of legislation he signed into law as President was the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Its purpose is to protect young immigrants from ending up in the sex trade. The law is a good one; but it has tied the hands of the current administration during the current border crisis. Rather than acknowledge that fact, we have Rand Paul venting his Republican spleen against the Democratic President his party has made a near-religion out of disrespecting.
During the Bush/Cheney years, Al Gore (D) was widely criticized during a trip to Saudi Arabia for speaking negatively about "abuses" committed against lawful Arab citizens following 9-11. Accusations of treason were heard from the right.
In 2007, when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) met with leadership officials in Syria, Eric Cantor (R) spoke to the media suggesting that she may have violated the Logan Act, "which makes it a felony for any American 'without authority of the United States' to communicate with a foreign government to influence that government's behavior on any disputes with the U.S." Fellow GOP congressman agreed with his assessment and flogged that news story for a few weeks.
The loud silence about Mr. Rand's Guatemala meeting makes it apparent that talking trash about American leadership is okay, if you're a Republican.
I guess that's what happens when your vitriol over the other party winning the White House becomes too corrosive to contain within your own borders. I mean, how many times can you disrespect the president at home when that just doesn't do enough to soothe your hatred anymore, and the only way to make yourself feel better, bigger, more important is to take your show on the road? Diplomacy, respect and national pride be damned; let that dirty laundry fly, GOP, let it fly. And if it undermines the current diplomatic dialogue between President Obama and President Molina, so much the better.
Shame, Mr. Paul, shame on you and your party.
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