Politics - News Analysis
Republican Senators Provides a Helpful List of the Six Most Racist Republicans in the Senate
Some of us who have a passing understanding of the law get asked why Congress creates specific h*te crimes. The people who ask do have somewhat of a point in that any sort of assault is already a crime, a serious one, any significant threat is already a crime, and it almost seems offensive (looked at in a different light) to elevate one violent act over another. The crime is the crime and we don’t criminalize “thoughts” in this country.
It is a legitimate viewpoint even if one disagrees. (We do disagree and believe that hate crimes serve a purpose, but respect that it’s a legitimate point.)
There are legitimate reasons to pass h*te crime legislation. The first and, in our mind, most important, is to establish federal jurisdiction over what might otherwise be a state crime.
“Why does that matter?” Because in certain areas of this country, certain crimes are, perhaps, not taken as seriously as one might expect. Ensuring that a crime invokes federal jurisdiction ensures that the crime is treated with the same seriousness throughout the country. Another positive is the fact that it is a strong statement of support and a rejection of prejudices. Some symbolism is more than just symbolism. It matters.
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There are other reasons but we consider the above two to be the most significant.
On Wednesday, the Senate voted to advance a bill directing the Justice Department to speed up its review of anti-Asian h*te crimes and strengthen reporting in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. The Daily Beast picks us up from there:
While 92 senators voted in favor, six Republicans voted against the legislation: Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Josh Hawley (R-MS), Rand Paul (R-KY), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Roger Marshall (R-KS). Cotton said in a statement, โThe โCOVID-19 H*te Crimes Act,โ has been moved to the Senate floor with little commentary, factfinding, or Committee consideration.โ Anti-Asian harassmentย and attacks have increased significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, most notably culminating in an attack on Asian massage parlors in the Atlanta area that cost 8 people their lives. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), the first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate, sponsored the bill.
Given the reasons we listed above, creating and acting upon federal h*te crimes serves a significant purpose. Support for this legislation at this time should be a no-brainer, unless one is predisposed to not particularly care if one group is singled out for anything anyway. Voting “no” on a bill like this is a statement. You will note that there are several “presumed presidential candidates” on that list.
The list provides us a cheat sheet, the six most openly racist Republican senators in the country: Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Rand Paul, Tommy Tuberville, Tom Cotton, and Roger Marshall.
How convenient.
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Peace, y’all
Jason
jmiciak@yahoo.com and on Twitter @JasonMiciak
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