Trump Got What He Wanted in El Paso Massacre; Is Latest White Supremacist Killing Enough for the Psychopathic President?

Closed Circuit TV obtained by KTSM 9 (El Paso) news channel
shows terrorist identified as Patrick Crusius, 21-years-old,
as he enters the Cielo Vista Walmart in El Paso on Aug 3, 2019.
The gunman, armed with an assault rifle, opened fire on shoppers
at a packed Walmart store, reportedly killing at least 20 people
in the latest mass shooting in the United States. Crusius posted
a white supremacist manifesto echoing Donald Trump's polemics
against perceived dangers of immigrants and asylum seekers
fleeing violence and terror. Crusius praised Trujmp's racist
political effort to build "the wall" along the U.S-Mexico border.
(KTSM 9/AFP/Getty Images)

The latest in a wave of white-supremacist terror attacks in the United States comes days after sustained social media taunts by President Donald Trump directing hatred against ethnic and religious minorities, immigrants, congressional members and civil rights workers.

The current toll out of El Paso is at least 20 dead and dozens wounded, gunned down by Patrick Crusius, who posted an anti-immigrant 2,300-word manifesto on a website moments before carrying out the massacre, (KTSM-TV, (El Paso), Dallas News, Slate).

The emboldened 21-year-old white supremacist echoed Trump's tirades against immigrants and minorities in his four-page manifesto (text here and posted at Heavy.com).

Crusius warned of the danger of a "Hispanic invasion" and stated his objective to "reclaim my country," a formulation of Trump's Make America Great Again racist trope, (Dallas News).

Crusius writes explicitly electoral and political invective, notes Mehdi Hasen in The Intercept:

The manifesto declares [Crusius'] imminent attack 'a response to the Hispanic invasion,' accuses Democrats of 'pandering to the Hispanic voting bloc,' rails against 'traitors,' and condemns 'race mixing' and 'interracial unions.' 'Yet another reason to send them back,' it says.

In other social media, "Tweets on [Crusius' Twitter] account praised President Trump and, in particular, his effort to build a wall along the U.S-Mexico border," reports the Los Angeles Times.

The killer's manifesto's prose and formulation of anti-immigrant sentiment is indistinguishable from Republican talking points.

Writes the killer, (manifesto posted at Heavy.com):

Some sources say that in under two decades, half of American jobs will be lost to it. Of course some people will be retrained, but most will not. So it makes no sense to keep on letting millions of illegal or legal immigrants flood into the United States, and to keep the tens of millions that are already here. Invaders who also have close to the highest birthrate of all ethnicities (sic) in America. In the near future, America will have to initiate a basic universal income to prevent widespread poverty and civil unrest as people lose their jobs.

The killer also echoed Trump's propaganda about "fake news." Writes the killer, "The media is infamous for fake news. Their reaction to this attack will likely just confirm that."

Since Trump declared himself to be a "nationalist" at a political rally in Houston in October 2018, rightwing terror massacres have been carried out at synagogues, mosques and other public gatherings.

Even as white supremacist terror attacks and murders have spiked since Trump assumed office in 2017, Trump has consistently downplayed the violence, infamously taking the side of neo-NAZIs and other white supremacists at the Charlottesville, Virginia 2018 murder and racist rallies, (Los Angeles Times).

But it's not just Trump of course. The modern Republican Party is intimately tied to white supremacy; the two movements are seamless.

"Let us face the facts. This is a harvest. It is the crop of things sown," warmed Ralph McGill after the bombings of a synagogue and a school in the late 1950s. "When the wolves of hate are loosed on one people, then no one is safe."

Trump doesn't read; and can only emit 280 characters of unschooled invective in a single Twitter post. But Trump's campaign rants are hitting home among American racists and the unhinged pack of hyenas gunning down Jews, Muslims, Latinos and anyone else imagined as the enemy,

Trump and Republican strategists may revel in the success of their political work directing hate and resentment against a growing list of undesirables and scapegoats.

The rest of us must not stay silent.
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In our home, we have used the back of old campaign yard-signs (at right) to advocate for peace on our front lawn since the Pittsburgh massacre at a Synagogue last year.

We have noticed an increase in black and brown-skinned folks jogging by or out for a walk during this gorgeous Wisconsin Summer.

Whatever works for you, don't be silent. Not anymore.

Trump's 14th Amendment Nonsense Made Fool of Gov Scott Walker in 2015

Brown people are invading and the Jews are helping.
So say Trump, Scott Walker and the whole bunch of
mass-murdering, anti-Semitic whacks, (Twitter).

Madison, Wisconsin — In 2015 Donald Trump was scoring points with white supremacists voicing his intentions to somehow halt the 14th Amendment citizenship guarantee.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said, me too, making a fool out of himself in the process, (Mal Contends).

Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post had fun at Walker's expense, reporting the Wisconsin governor's multiple interpretations of the14th Amendment, weeks before Walker ended his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for president amid God's calls for Walker to quit the race.

Reports Johnson:

Walker said Monday that he supports ending birthright citizenship, then said later in the day that the problem could be addressed by enforcing other laws. On Tuesday, a prominent donor confronted Walker on the topic and walked away satisfied that the candidate wouldn't do away with birthright citizenship. On Friday, Walker said he didn't have a position on the issue. Then Sunday, Walker said he does not want to alter the 14th Amendment.

And writes CNN's Eric Bradner at the time:

The Wisconsin governor and Republican presidential candidate was asked on ABC's 'This Week' whether he backs Trump's push to end the 14th Amendment's mandate that all children born in the United States are automatically granted citizenship.

'Well, I said the law is there. And we need to enforce the laws, including those that are in the Constitution,' Walker said

Laws in the Constitution?
 ---
Now, Trump is hoping to excite Republican Party racists for the midterm elections by claiming the power to change citizenship law and the 14th Amendment through executive order.

Trump and Walker are racists.

While this Trump stunt may seem a distraction to some, there is a fight to be had as events the last week make abundantly clear.

It's the fight Trump and Walker want. So be it.

Opposing Trump is a civic duty and moral responsibility.

And these people are racist lunatics.

Trump wants to unconstitutionally end birthright citizenship but add a discriminatory question about US citizenship to the 2020 census. That tells you everything you need to know

— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) October 30, 2018

"Operation Wetback" Praised by Donald Trump, Notes NBC News

"Trump is right about one thing: We do have a country. We have a country where all people - not specifically citizens - are considered equal. We have a country moving towards full inclusion and civil rights for all. We have a country with values anathema to the xenophobia that inspired 'Operation Wetback,'" writes Raul A. Reyes at NBC News, noting Tuesday's debate in Milwaukee.

Trump and the Republican Party's rhetoric aimed at ethnic minorities is becoming more and more dangerous, and morally repulsive.

Will one candidate for the Republican Party's nomination for the presidency speak up and call out this racist crap for what it is?

During the debate in Milwaukee no one did.

Scott Walker Now Refuses to Take "Position" on 14th Amendment Citizenship Clause

Scott Walker heard Donald Trump's reading of the citizenship-birthright clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and had to get in on this toxic appeal to nativism and bigotry—Walker's political wheelhouse.

"Shortly after Donald Trump released his immigration policy proposal on Monday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker assured reporters that he agreed with Trump's opposition to 'birthright citizenship,'" reported Phillip Bump in the Washington Post. "Absolutely," we should end "birthright citizenship," Walker said to NBC's Kasie Hunt.

On Friday, Scott Walker changed his mind and told CNBC's John Harwood that "I’m not taking a position on it one way or the other." (CNBC - Scott Walker talks birthright citizenship)

How can a candidate for the presidency not take a position on this pillar of American citizenship enshrined in Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Scott Walker can because Walker does not have the slightest conception of common law, constitutional law and judicial policymaking.

Walker did explain in a Tweet Friday that he earlier agreed with Trump's position on the Fourteenth Amendment because he was "tired." (Blue Cheddar) (ThinkProgress) (CognitiveDissidence)

What?

Don't look for a detailed position paper outlining Walker's Constitutional analysis: 'It's August-hot in Iowa and I'm tired, enough of Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment.'

Walker did hint at his Constitutional acumen in 2013. In determining the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression does not apply to speech that is critical of Walker, Walker's administration ordered 100s arrested and fined.

U.S. District Court Judge William M. Conley and state courts disagreed with Walker and ordered restoration of the First Amendment at the Wisconsin Capitol, as well as civil recovery of attorneys' fees and other costs. (Mal Contends)

This is why Scott Walker avoids townhall-style listening sessions and unscripted sit-down interviews. He doesn't know anything, ala Sarah Palin. (Mal Contends)

No one expects a presidential candidate to be a Laurence Tribe or a Richard Posner, but being a student of the United States Constitution is critical to serving as POTUS.

This has been a bad month for the candidate of the Koch brothers, the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation and the corporate bill mill, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

As Walker is forced into discussing public policy, it is becoming readily apparent that Walker is in over his head.

This ignorance is dangerous, as seen when Walker pushed for more secrecy in Walker's aborted scheme to gut Wisconsin's Open Records law.

Walker is a lightweight who takes orders from billionaires and other donors funding his campaign.

Can you imagine Scott Walker as president?

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist, Dan Bice, wrote in April 2013 that Scott Walker is not an "ideas guy," suggesting someone as error-prone as Walker who can't think on his feet "could earn him the distinction of being the Gov. Perry of the 2016 campaign." (Daniel Bice chat transcript on Thursday, April 18, 2013) (Mal Contends)

We're there.

Five weeks-plus into his campaign after his July 13 announcement for the presidency, Scott Walker has earned the distinction of being the candidate who does not, like, know anything, to borrow from Juan Cole.

Republican Hate-mongering 'Illegals' Rhetoric

Grand Old Party of Hate

Update: Scott Walker says he would repeal President Obama's "amnesty" on Day One, in one of Walker's self-proclaimed "big, bold" ideas: "For goodness sakes, we’re seeing the real – the very real – public safety risk for what happens when you have people who commit multiple, multiple criminal offenses. They are a public safety risk to anyone in this country." (Breitbart) Who knew multiple, multiple criminals were invading and rampaging America, creating a public safety risk to anyone in this country? Republican racists know, though this is sheer, hate-mongering nonsense.
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"Long past time for media to stop calling people 'illegals,'" reads a headline from DesMoinesDem writing in the Bleeding Heartland from Iowa.

The Iowa writer also hits GOP politicians, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Radio Iowa and its 50-plus affiliate Iowa radio stations (division of Learfield Communications) for their continued use of the racially charged invective Republicans use to appeal to rural whites in America still in thrall to anything injurious to the other—them.

That goes for Fox News too, but one miracle at a time.

White and racist equals Republican Party today. Whites for liberty and equality vote for someone else.

Didn't always be that way, but appeals to racism are a main stable of the Republican political diet.

Throw in evangelical Christianitites and you have an Iowa Caucus election custom-made for Scott Walker, though Walker's faltering campaign has many anti-Latino, anti-equality and misogynistic rivals looking at other candidates with demonstrable knowledge of public policy.

Republican candidates for president see racist appeals and voter obstruction of minorities as a winning combination, and decency will not prevent the GOP from sowing the seeds of hate. (Mal Contends) (J.P. Green) (Mal Contends) (James Vega)

The Tea Party Wants a White Homeland; Support Obama's Immigration Plan

"Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger -- we were strangers once, too. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too." -- President Obama, November 20, 2014 (White House)

Don't care much what Scripture tells us, but I like the sentiment expressed last night.

So-called Christians are going to have to square their professed beliefs in compassion, decency and kindness with the first steps of making immigrant families Americans, attacked by motley crew of racists, and rightwing militants.

The rightwing is screaming "anarchy," "censure" the president (Fund, The National Review), (Cost, The Weekly Standard); and Obama is acting like a "king" and a "monarch," (Rand Paul)—no surprise from Paul with his racist past.

Right alongside the relatively restrained rhetoric comes the openly racist warnings from the whites-only crowd.

The long-standing position of StormFront maintains its warning the "immigrant invasion threatens America's survival"—right next to the odious group's disquisitions on: Was There Really A Holocaust?

President Obama should welcome the enmity of The White Party of America now firmly embedded in the Republican Party.

There is a mass sentiment in America for out-and-out fascism (though not pervasive enough to win a national election): Nativism, militarism, bigoted, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-Semitic racists embraced by the GOP until their hate becomes too obvious or is revealed in uncovered emails. (Walsh)

By the way, one wonders if the Republican Party is going to have to give Ronald Reagan, brain-dead monster that he was, a rethink: