Media Trumpets Allegation of Child Migrant Abuse Fails to Mention it Happened Under Obama

by: admin
2018-06-22
Source: texasinsider
01/08/2020

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Perhaps it was deliberate dishonesty perhaps it was confirmation bias only certain details fit The Narrative

By Guy Benson

Suffice it to say that I havent felt this disillusioned about our political process in quite some time.

First political class if youre baffled as to why so many people detest you -- all of you -- look no further than the incompetence deceit callousness intransigence bad faith and bias on parade over the last 96 hours. Good job everyone. Observe this wince-worthy performance:

If Democrats want to say that families being housed together as they await their immigration decision is cruel or abuse let them make that argument. Americans dont agree.

If a family is approved the gift of entry into America is worth waiting for.
If a family is rejected theyre at least kept intact before being shipped home together.

We have laws for a reason. People should not be rewarded with loosely-enforced contingent entry into our country as the default policy response to unlawful entry. David Frum a strident Trump critic has a strong piece out that (in part) documents the Lefts increasing open borders radicalism We have the media who -- good work aside -- cannot help themselves but embarrassingly betray their biases. When scores of children were held in cages during the Obama administration a corresponding cacophony of outrage never materialized. The press was too busy covering Saint Baracks scandal free presidency. Second earlier this week we have the President of the United States presiding over a disastrous policy both morally and politically being bludgeoned into a rare retreat after the extent of the failure was no longer disputable. Once he ran out of excuses his administration abandoned its previous pretense that its hands were tied by existing law all while he acted like a bystander who merely happened upon an unpalatable scenario. What he was seeing was his policy.

The forces within the administration who convinced him to pursue this now-discarded path should be held accountable for the debacle they created -- especially since it could have been handled so much better.

Next we have the Republicans in Congress who seem congenitally incapable of passing any immigration legislation. There are two scheduled House immigration votes later today but as I reported on Wednesdays Daily Briefing leadership sources sound decidedly sour about the passage prospects of either bill:

That was about 48 hours ago. Earlier Thursday I followed up with my sources and heard the exact same thing. Prognosis: Weak. I happen to favor the so-called compromise bill (as does the president) because it tackles a number of important issues while striking a reasonable balance. It has been amended to more permanently address the family separation issue as well.And yet chances are dim that it will garner support from 50-plus-one of the Republican-controlled lower chamber. And even if it somehow clears that hurdle it appears dead on arrival in the Senate. Upper chamber GOP lawmakers seem to be coalescing around a pretty good bill which perhaps offers the greatest hope for something actually becoming law even as House conservatives and moderates teeter on the brink of revolt and the president is foolishly denouncing a central plank of his own partys Senate bill:

More immigration judges to process claims something that is sorely and unquestionably needed.

Then of course there are the Democrats. They demanded that Trump and Trump alone fix the child separation problem through executive action -- even as they simultaneously endorsed a reckless shoddy totally unworkable bill that was so badly written that its provisions are already sparking deserved political attacks against those who blindly backed it. When Trump belatedly complied with their demands they instantly pivoted to a new attack brazenly arguing that detaining families together as they await asylum adjudication is the new monstrosity that must be resisted:

Nancy Pelosi 4:46 PM - Jun 20 2018

.@realDonaldTrumps executive order seeks to replace one form of child abuse with another. Every child is entitled to basic human rights. Instead the President is paving the way for the long-term incarceration of families. https://goo.gl/Xt12Q2

Pelosi Statement on Trumps Family Detention Plan - Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi

Washington D.C. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after President Trump signed an order to replace family separation with family detention: democraticleader.gov

Their pop culture lapdogs rapidly adopted the new agitation talking points shifting the goalposts in real time. But Florida Senator Marco Rubio has it exactly right: This is the veritable definition of bad faith and it helps explain why so many Americans loathe Washington and why so many conservatives distrust compromise. Democrats are empowering the dont give an inch crowd perhaps deliberately. Its cynicism all the way down. Incidentally the Lefts activism against family separation (which touched a nerve with Americans from across the ideological spectrum thanks to the unacceptable images that emerged from the humanitarian mess) was popular. Their new stance essentially described as the return of Catch & Release is not:

Steve Kornacki@SteveKornacki

Interesting contrast in the Economist-YouGov poll. The family separation policy at the border is very unpopular: 29 approve/54 disapprove. But the broader zero tolerance policy of arrest/jail for all illegal crossings has plurality support: 46-37

Steve Kornacki@SteveKornacki 2:00 PM - Jun 20 2018

Also when given these choices for how to handle the situation:

Detain families together while awaiting court date: 44

Release all & order adults to report back at later date: 19

Arrest adults/separate from kids: 12

Arrest adults AND kids send kids to juvenile detention: 8

Less than one-fifth of voters favor a return to catch and release. Republicans should pass the Senate bill which ends catch and release while expediting asylum claims.

It provides for shelter food and medical care for the detained illegal immigrants and streamlines swift full-family deportations for those whose asylum claims are rejected.
It ends -- or at least massively reduces -- the previous status quo which was huge magnet for illegal immigration as large percentages of illegal immigrants who were given court dates just never showed up for them. Unsurprisingly.

And finally while there was plenty of legitimate fodder for harsh criticism of the Trump administrations actions and decisions over recent weeks a number of Obama-era incidents and images were falsely attributed to Trump. Perhaps this was deliberate dishonesty on the part of the press. Perhaps it was confirmation bias -- certain details fit The Narrative so they were wielded without much regard for context. Heres the latest example which made the rounds among breathless journo-Twitter the other morning:

Pradheep J. Shanker M.D. M.S.@Neoavatara 5:51 AM - Jun 21 2018

Um......the facility opened in 2007. And the primary allegations are from...2016. A year BEFORE Trump became President. Just pointing this out.

Michael Biesecker

BREAKING ⁦@AP:⁩ Immigrant children as young as 14 housed at a juvenile detention center in Virginia say they were beaten while handcuffed and locked up for long periods in solitary confinement left nude and shivering in concrete cells. https://apnews.com/afc80e51b562462c89907b49ae624e79 …

These Virginia-based accusations all stem from Obama-era alleged abuse yet without that important information many casual readers are left to assume that You-Know-Who is responsible. This telling scorecard derived from the Associated Press story is especially egregious:

Razor@hale_razor 7:24 AM - Jun 21 2018

Immigrant children at detention center sue for 2015 and 2016 abuses including being strapped to a chair naked with sack over head.

Word count for Trump" - 5

Word count for Obama" - 0

ht @JammieWF

Young immigrants detained in Virginia center allege abuse

WASHINGTON (AP) Immigrant children as young as 14 housed at a juvenile detention center in Virginia say they were beaten while handcuffed and locked up for long periods in solit...
apnews.com

Its even worse than that even acknowledging some 2017 allegations:

Ed Morrissey 9:13 AM - Jun 21 2018

Nothing in this story explains that these abuses allegedly took place in 2015 and 2016 but they do mention Donald Trump a number of times in the story. Great work @AP.

The Associated Press: Whenever they used to restrain me and put me in the chair they would handcuff me: Immigrant children as young as 14 housed at a juvenile detention center in Virginia say they were beaten and locked up for long periods in solitary confinement. http://apne.ws/UqL14Yv

Bingo:

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Media Trumpets Allegation of Child Migrant Abuse Fails to Mention it Happened Under Obama

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