Fear has become the Republican Party’s life-force. Front-runner Donald Trump brought the 2016 nomination contest to a new low with his proposed ban on Muslims entering the country. But rather than meaningfully criticize Trump for his discriminatory policies and xenophobic rhetoric, every GOP candidate has mimicked his anti-Muslim proposals and remained committed to support him as the party’s nominee.
Cruz, Rubio, and the rest are following Trump’s lead because the party’s base is with him: 59% of Republicans back Trump’s proposed ban. The rest of the field need fear-mongering rhetoric and discriminatory policies of their own to stay in contention, so they’re doing their best Trump impressions — campaigning on discriminatory rhetoric and policies that go against the very foundation America was built on:
- When asked about closing mosques, Marco Rubio said we should close down “any place where radicals are being inspired.”
- Ted Cruz proposed legislation that would ban Syrian Muslims from entering the country and voted against a measure rejecting Donald Trump’s ban on Muslims.
- Jeb Bush has said we should only allow Syrian Christians into the United States, and proposed a religious test on refugees.
- Ben Carson has said he doesn’t think a Muslim should be president and compared Syrian refugees to “rabid dogs.”
- Chris Christie is one of Trump’s greatest defenders. “I don’t believe [he] is hateful… I don’t believe he’s a bigot,” Christie insisted,
when Trump called for a ban on Muslims. - John Kasich called for a government agency that would advance Judeo-Christian propaganda in the Middle East.
Published: Jan 14, 2016