Same Old Rusty Dog Whistles Dripping with Centuries Old Spit

GOP Rep Lou Barletta, via That's My Congress

Just days after GOP Rep. Don Young of the great white north kicked off the latest incarnation of Operation Wetback, Rep Lou Barletta, a GOP congressman from the Pennsylvania section of Upper Appalachia, might have accidentally stumbled into saying something stupid about immigration:

“Let’s not take on any more water on this sinking ship,” he said. “Let’s patch the holes. Then we’ll decide what do we do with all this water that’s here.”

I don't have any evidence that he accidentally said this, though. He might be getting his soggy talking points from the Great GOP Fax of the Universe, in which case this is the same old dog whistle they've been blowing for decades. It's the same dog whistle that got the first marijuana laws passed. It's the same dog whistle Eisenhower used to round 'em up and send 'em home. The odds may be good that this wingnut (with a distinctly immigrant sounding name) might have some kind of history of being anti-immigrant. Who knows? Probably best not to mention it.

Maybe the New York Times doesn't have access to Google. That would explain why the reporter of this latest story on the GOP's obsession with dampness couldn't find basic facts like Rep. Barletta's lack of basic facts.

When the law passed, Barletta told the Washington Post, "I will get rid of the illegal people. It's this simple: They must leave." On the day the city passed the measure, Barletta wore a bulletproof vest to illustrate his concern over crimes he said were being committed by undocumented immigrants. Statistics, however, showed that undocumented immigrants were hardly responsible for a crime wave in Hazelton: the city's data showed that of 8,575 felonies committed in the city between 2000 and 2007, 20 had been linked to undocumented immigrants. Later, forced to admit that he had no proof of an illegal immigrant-caused crime wave, or proof that illegal immigrants were crowding Hazleton's schools and hospitals, or even any idea how many illegal immigrants were in Hazelton, Barletta responded, "The people in my city don't need numbers."

Apparently the people in his congressional district don't need numbers, either, since they decided to send this Bullshitting Wingnut to congress. Or, maybe he's just a nice guy with something important to add to the conversation on immigration and race. I can't really decide which, so I guess I should be nice, and just say it's "a gaffe." Too bad some New York Times reporter doesn't go keep him talking; we might find out what he really thinks.