I mentioned to one of my cohorts here at C&L the other day that the only reason the right and their enablers in the media are making a huge deal out of this Ebola outbreak in Africa is because they are more than happy to help Republicans fearmonger over the immigration issue.
Media Matters validated that suspicion when I read their latest report: Right-Wing Media Exploit Ebola Outbreak In West Africa To Spread Immigration Fears :
Right-wing media are exploiting the recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa to stoke fears that undocumented immigrants could carry the deadly virus across the southern U.S. border, even though the Centers for Disease Control and other health experts have stated that the likelihood of such an event is "almost nonexistent." Right-Wing Media Hype Fears That Ebola Will Spread Into U.S. Through The Southern Border
Breitbart.com: Individuals From Nations Suffering From Ebola Exploit "Porous" U.S. Border. On August 3, Breitbart.com claimed that it had obtained "a leaked intelligence analysis from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP)" purporting to show that 71 individuals from Ebola-stricken nations had been caught attempting to illegally enter the U.S.:
Among the significant revelations are that individuals from nations currently suffering from the world's largest Ebola outbreak have been caught attempting to sneak across the porous U.S. border into the interior of the United States. At least 71 individuals from the three nations affected by the current Ebola outbreak have either turned themselves in or been caught attempting to illegally enter the U.S. by U.S. authorities between January 2014 and July 2014. [Breitbart.com, 8/3/14]
Infowars.com: "Ebola May Have Already Crossed Border" And "Be Spreading" Across The U.S. On August 4, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' website Infowars.com pointed to Breitbart.com's CBP report to claim it showed that "Ebola may have already crossed [the] border, hyping fears that "by shipping illegals to various regions of the U.S., the Obama administration could also be spreading Ebola or another deadly disease carried by an illegal immigrant right now across America." [Infowars.com, 8/4/14]
Drudge Report: "Dozens From Ebola-Struck Countries Caught Sneaking Into USA." On August 3, a Drudge Report headline highlighted Breitbart.com's report by linking immigration to the Ebola crisis: [...]
Laura Ingraham: "We Could Have Ebola People Coming Across The Border Right Now," And We Have A "Very Limited Ability" To Prevent The Disease From Spreading. Laura Ingraham, a contributor to both ABC and Fox News, used the Ebola outbreak in West Africa as an excuse to spread fears that Ebola-infected individuals may be illegally crossing into the U.S.:
INGRAHAM: All the people who are upset about the Ebola-infected patients being treated in the United States. I will say this, at least we know who they are and where they're being treated. We currently have a border that is so much like Swiss cheese that anyone could be coming across the border right now, with any type of illness. And, we have a very limited ability to stop them, track them, prevent the disease from spreading. So before you get all upset about Ebola, we could have Ebola people coming across the border right now. [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 8/4/14]
And on and on it goes.When Republicans can't win another national election due to their hatred and fearmongering over the brown people who are supposedly going to invade and take us over from our southern border, I hope they all go thank Laura Ingraham personally for all of her good work in achieving that goal for them.
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