Trib: Jeers to Heather Scott
In his weekly Cheers & Jeers column, Opinion Writer Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune gives jeers to ... Idaho state Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard.
As far as she's concerned, Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter is a wimp when it comes to keeping refugees of war-torn Syria out of the Gem State. Otter merely asked the Obama administration for a time-out on refugee resettlement. Scott, on the other hand, has yielded to venom-laced paranoia. Here's some of what she said in an electronic legislative newsletter this week:
- "I'm talking about the impending influx of thousands of Muslim refugees."
- The nation is threatened by an "Islamic agenda of domination and takeover."
- "Islamic immigration is different from non-Muslim immigration."
- An Islamic "doctrine on migration called Al-Hijra" calls on Muslims to migrate as groups, keep separate and "grow until they are large enough to start demanding their 'rights' and specifically Shariah Law." It helps, Scott writes, that "they also traditionally have more children than Westerners."
- The Obama administration is "dumping thousands of Islamic refugees across 190 communities in what can clearly be called an intentional invasion of our country."
This is the language of scapegoating, of demonizing people, of casting them as less than human and justifying treating them differently. Would Scott dare make statements such as those about other minorities - Africans, Hispanics or Jews?Which is precisely what Scott proposes to do. She wants Otter to call lawmakers back to Boise for a special session to "draft emergency legislation to address the refugee crisis." She also wants him to draft a second letter to President Obama because his first version wasn't strong enough. Can you imagine waking up in a country where Scott was in charge? Full Cheers & Jeers column here.
