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Whenever I see the latest crazy story out of the Tom Tancredo universe, I have a hard time deciding whether to laugh or scream in indignation.When Tancredo says that the U.S. should consider bombing Mecca, which he had done on repeated occasions, my first instinct is to laugh because he is such a boob. But then, when I realize how many people probably take him seriously, and how many people in the Middle East think that we might actually take him seriously, then my meter moves more towards indignation.I faced the same dilemma when I saw this post from the national blog Wonkette:
According to this charming pre-school window display at Tom Tancredo’s campaign office in Council Bluffs, the Illegal Mexicans have raped 17,576 white children since 9/11, which is possibly the most ridiculous combination of fear-mongering statistics we’ve ever seen. In other words, Tom Tancredo will probably be our next president.
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The window actually says “Illegal Aliens,” but you get the picture. Again, my first instinct was to laugh because I find it so absurd that a Presidential candidate might have this on the window of his office. But again, my next reaction was indignation. Tancredo is running for President with the only real message being this: Illegal immigrants are scary. I think illegal immigration reform should be a part of every candidate’s platform, but this isn’t about reform – it’s about fear. And that sucks.