Lindsey jumps the shark with lurid claims of 40,000 Gucci-bag toting Brazilians coming for Connecticut
The fearmongering on the right-wing has been at a shrieking, hysterical fever pitch ever since January 2021 and shows no signs of calming down any time soon. Whether the issue is COVID-19 vaccines, inflation, immigration, or foreign policy, you can be sure to find every single Republican politician on some right-wing media network promoting the most outrageous conspiracies and wild-eyed accusations in a desperate attempt to keep their base engaged and enraged.
The latest outburst of absurdity comes from a sitting United States Senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The once Trump critic turned shameless bootlicker claimed on FOX that 40,000 Brazilians in “designer clothes and Gucci bags” were set to invade Connecticut and declared that this “is not economic migration anymore.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) bizarrely claims 40,000 Brazilians heading for Connecticut "wearing designer clothes and Gucci bags" illegally crossed the border: “This is not economic migration anymore.” pic.twitter.com/SYg0cWWJHc
— The Recount (@therecount) October 13, 2021
While it is no surprise to hear vile racist welfare queen tropes coming from someone like Lindsey Graham, it really does illustrate the impossible situation that refugees and immigrants are put in. While Republicans howl and scream that the Biden administration is too soft on immigration and isn’t doing enough to stop it, the Biden administration is deporting thousands of people every month and incarcerating thousands more in overflowing for-profit detention centers run by companies with a long track record of abuse.
These human beings are used as a cheap political pawn between two sides seemingly locked in a rhetorical pissing contest to prove to the other side who cares about them the least without any consideration to the human cost, and it’s appalling to see senior members of the United States government dehumanizing and besmirching innocent people looking for security and opportunity in such a ridiculous fashion.
Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America.