The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board thinks that closing the U.S. border with Mexico in response to the health emergency is "simply nonsense."
One can argue for and against taking that measure to control the swine flu outbreak.
I'm not at all surprised that the Editorial Board would be on board with Obama. I'd be surprised if it wasn't.
That said, there are some disturbing and very unfair accusations in the editorial; and they have nothing to do with a serious discussion of the flu outbreak.
The actions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the governor and other state and local health officials seem measured and prudent.
This is not the case in other quarters, where common sense has become a casualty to political expediency. Anti-immigration groups and some of their apologists in Congress are pushing Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to close border crossings with Mexico.
Never mind that doing so would upend the robust trade between the two countries at a time of great peril for both economies. Never mind that WHO officials say containment isn't feasible, since the disease long since has leaped borders around the world. And never mind that even if it was possible to close the border, the effort would drain resources from efforts to mitigate the disease.
I've supported taking measures to keep ill people from Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, from entering the U.S. to spread the virus.
No political agenda is influencing my opinion. My view has nothing to do with political expediency. There's nothing sinister about it.
Moreover, I'm not a member of any "anti-immigration" group. I'm pro-immigration. My ancestors were immigrants. They came with nothing and made a better life for themselves. They arrived in the country legally and asked for nothing from the government. They just wanted freedom and opportunity; and they found it.
My concern about the spread of the disease has nothing to do with ILLEGAL immigration or LEGAL immigration. It has everything to do with public health.
If the swine flu were rampant in Canada, I would want our northern border closed. It's as simple as that.
The Obama administration has been floundering badly on its handling of the crisis. There are mixed messages coming from Obama and Janet Napolitano and Joe Biden and others. They don't seem to be in control of the situation. That's very unsettling.
When Matt Lauer interviewed Joe Biden on Thursday morning, the topic was "Swine Flu Outbreak: Is U.S. Doing Enough to Stop Spread?"
Lauer raised some legitimate questions, and I don't think the Editorial Board would call Lauer "anti-immigrant."
MATT LAUER:Last night the president said, no plans to shut down the borders between the U.S. and Mexico, no plans even to curtail commercial air traffic or travel between the two countries. And I think some people this morning, Mr. Vice President, may be shaking their heads not understanding that. Help me out.
Biden then repeated the same lame lines that we've been getting from Obama and the government, that it won't do any good at all to close borders. Lauer pressed Biden on the matter.
LAUER: Let's just talk as non-experts then, you and me. It seems the president used the analogy 'the horse and the barn.' You know, you don't close the barn door after the horse has left. But when the horse leaves the barn, there aren't thousands and thousands of other horses waiting to stream out of the barn door. This is more like a water main break. It floods basements. You close down those houses and you clean them up, but wouldn't you also go back and turn off the water in that water main so it doesn't continue to flood other neighborhoods?
Biden blew Lauer's argument off by saying the analogy wasn't "appropriate."
Biden then went on to deliver his major gaffe, to say what we were later told by Robert Gibbs and Janet Napolitano that Biden didn't mean to say -- don't fly or ride subways. Stay away from mass transit.
The point is Lauer wasn't trying to trip up Biden. He's definitely Obama administration-friendly.
Nevertheless, Lauer argued in favor of closing borders as a legitimate consideration to attempt to mitigate the illness. Taking that stand isn't being "anti-immigrant" or playing politics.
I object to the JS Editorial Board ripping individuals concerned about the public health by accusing them of having a not so hidden, "anti-immigrant" agenda.
It's a cheap shot.
The theory of closing schools to stop the spread of swine flu is no different than closing the borders. It's also a form of mitigation.
The Board is in favor of closing more schools to halt the virus. The reason is to keep sick people from infecting healthy ones.
Granted it's on a much smaller scale with schools, but the goal is the same.
With the borders, the idea is to prevent more sick people from Mexico from coming into the U.S. and exposing healthy Americans to the swine flu.
That's not "simply nonsense."
It's quarantining.
No comments:
Post a Comment