Shep Smith is probably the only Fox News anchor who actually has a brain AND a heart, which he demonstrated yet again today with his commentary on all the 'fraidy cat Republicans out there refusing Syrian refugees.
Chris Christie, for example, said he would even refuse 3-year old orphans, which is probably a little better than him threatening to eat them for dinner, I suppose.
At any rate, Shep Smith stepped up and called out the emperors of fear.
“In the face of terror, will we panic, or be calm and deliberative in approach?” Smith said. “Confronted with those who want to change our way of life, will we abandon our freedoms and the rights granted to us by the Creator?”
In his commentary, Smith suggested that the U.S. must “welcome huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” referring to refugees attempting to escape their war-torn countries of origin. He also warned against taking “extreme measures to fundamentally alter who and what we are.”
At least 15 state governors on Monday — mostly Republicans — issued executive orders blocking refugees from Syria and elsewhere from entering their states until the federal government can provide an effective screening process for those entering the country.
Smith continued (emphasis added):
“Our shining city on a hill is vulnerable. We’ve always known that. If we change it to accommodate the savages, have they won? And what then would be left to protect? We profess to stand as an example for all the world. Our unique experiment in freedom, tolerance, openness, and equality is our gift to societies and peoples everywhere. Come, join us. Enjoy a chance at the American dream. Today, we mourn, but we cannot allow ourselves to become like those who want to destroy us. We cannot resort to the tactics of the barbarians. We must fight for what we believe in and who we are, guard our freedoms faithfully for the generations to follow. And we must not let the rhetoric of potential and political extremists among us lead us to self-destruction. When there’s panic, we show resolve. When there’s calm for extremism, we resist. We are America. We must lead.”
As for the WATB governors like Christie, Jindal, and the rest, perhaps they should take a page out of Nikki Haley's playbook and consider the positives to accepting refugees.
Haley said that if Syrians begin entering the state, she would take measures to ensure they’re safe and added that South Carolina residents are her primary concern.
Haley pointed out that other refugees have served as interpreters for the United States military, and people have welcomed them.
There's also this pesky fact. All of this posturing on the part of governors is pure nonsense, because they lack the power to actually refuse those refugees.
The problem for Jindal, Abbott and the other governors opposed to admitting refugees, however, is that there is no lawful means that permits a state government to dictate immigration policy to the president in this way. As the Supreme Court explained in Hines v. Davidowitz, “the supremacy of the national power in the general field of foreign affairs, including power over immigration, naturalization and deportation, is made clear by the Constitution.” States do not get to overrule the federal government on matters such as this one.
But for now, God bless Shep Smith for being the one to "balance" the unbalanced baloney coming out of Fox News.
