GOP Leaders’ Disgraceful
Act of Political Pettiness over Syrian Refugee Crisis
When
it comes to potentially bringing jihad to America by allowing some 10,000
Syrian refugees into the United States, it’s easy for President Barack Obama to be compassionate. After all, he’s surrounded and protected by
the Secret Service 24/7.
But
what about the rest of us?
What
if one or more radical Islamists sneak into that group of ten thousand? What if one of them straps on a bomb-vest and
detonates it inside a mall full of Nevadans doing their Christmas
shopping? Or tourists seeing a show on
the Strip? Or attending a UNLV or UNR
basketball game?
Those
severed body parts and pools of blood will be ours, not Obama’s.
As
such, conservative Assemblyman John
Moore (R-Clark) – an Army veteran with Middle East combat experience - sent
a letter to Gov. Brian Sandoval on
November 16 urging him to take steps to block resettlement of Syrian refugees in
the U.S.
“I
have no faith,” Moore wrote, “that our current leadership in the White House
can or will screen the current wave of refugees properly to ensure the safety
of the American people, including Nevadans.”
That
same day, U.S. Sen. Dean Heller sent
a similar letter to Sandoval, warning that ISIS might use the resettlement
program “to reach U.S. soil to carry out attacks on Americans.” Heller said he wanted to ensure “that Nevada,
given its status as a tourist destination with over 40 million visitors
annually, is protected.”
Legitimate
concerns. Reasonable request.
Later
in the day Sandoval responded, issuing a statement declaring that it was “in
the interest of all Nevadans and the millions who travel to our state annually
to insist on extensive evaluations of any potential risk individuals may pose
to Nevada or our national security.”
Two
days later, long after the horse had left the political barn, the
lead-from-behind “leaders” of the Republican Assembly Caucus issued a
pabulum-filled statement signed by 16 GOP legislators applauding Sandoval and
Heller for their actions on the matter while childishly omitting the name of
their colleague, Moore, who got the whole ball rolling.
Curiously,
the list of signers also did not include five conservative members of the
caucus - Assemblywomen Michele Fiore
and Shelly Shelton, along with
Assemblymen Moore, John Ellison, Brent Jones and Ira Hansen - leading me to wonder what possible objection they
could have to demanding more rigorous security screening of Syrian refugees.
So
I called and asked why they refused to sign.
Only to discover they didn’t refuse.
Turns out, they weren’t even asked!
That’s
right. In a disgraceful act of political
pettiness and vindictiveness, Assembly Speaker John Hambrick and Majority Leader Paul Anderson didn’t even tell the five conservatives about the
letter, let alone invite them to add their names to it.
These
are the people charged with ensuring our safety? God help us.
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