Republican Sen. John Kennedy unleashes racist broadside against Mexicans
By: JOHN STANTON (NOLA. com)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy went on a racist tirade against Mexicans this week and demanded the Biden administration engage in mafia-style tactics to force the Mexican government to allow an invasion of its country by the U.S. military and law enforcement agents to fight drug cartels.
His comments enraged Mexican officials who have condemned Kennedy and even gone so far as to openly urge Latinos in the U.S. to not vote for Republicans as a result.
Kennedy unleashed his racist rant during a Senate hearing on the FBI and DEA's budget Wednesday. In comments to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, Kennedy derisively argued that without the United States the people of Mexico "would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent behind an Outback."
More than 37.2 million Americans — more than 10 percent of the total population — are of Mexican descent, according to the Pew Research Center.
Kennedy then went on to demand that Milgram and President Joe Biden engage in mafia style tactics to force Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to essentially cede his nation's sovereignty. "Call President Lopez Obrador and make him a deal he can't refuse to allow our military and our law enforcement officials to go into Mexico and work with his to stop the cartels."
Kennedy made his comments in his signature faux Southern drawl. Although the accent is widely considered to be an affectation designed to give off a bit of folksy "charm," it often ends up sounding more like an Englishman doing a bad impersonation of Foghorn Leghorn, rather than an average Louisianan.
Which makes some sense: Kennedy has a law degree from Oxford. As in, Oxford in the United Kingdom, not Mississippi — though Kennedy was born in that state. He also has degrees from Vanderbilt and the University of Virginia. According to Open Secrets, in 2016 his estimated net worth was $12.14 million, making him among the wealthiest members of the well-heeled United States Senate.
Predictably, his comments didn't sit well with Mexican officials. Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard condemned Kennedy, arguing that "what is behind these ideas and those who promote them … racism against Mexicans, and in general all Spanish-speakers," according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper also reported that Mexico's President also weighed in, saying "tell our countrymen, Hispanics, our American friends, not to vote for people with this very arrogant, very offensive and very foolish mentality."
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Open mouth, insert foot, or in Kennedy's case insert both feet.
Oh, Senator Kennedy, you should with all your bravado grab a rifle, they are readily available in your state and lead the charges into Mexico.
when they clearly tell you who they are, everyone should be listening.
Exactly and he made it loud and clear who and what he is.
like that other asshole - there are so many gop assholes I can't think of which one - who said that terrorists hated LGBTQ folks more than they did?
xtian nationalists are domestic terrorists...
silly me!
I don't know. To many of these republicans continue to conduct themselves in an outlandish manner as if to keep the subject and conversations on their antics. I often wonder if they are deflecting and keeping the questions and conversations away from other things. You know, like dirty Saudi, Chinese and Russian money. I still believe there is a lot more to the Maria Butina story than we were allowed to know and it runs right through the core of the previous Administration.
And of course, nothing happened behind those closed doors at Helsinki, right? Except after that 'meeting', the Khashoggi thing, US forces abandoned Syrian positions which were taken over by Russian forces, then the end of support and abandoning of our Kurdish allies---to name three things. And there are others too.
Not to mention that 'big gawd in your face' Sen. Kennedy had and has no problem with taking children from their parents and losing the locations of both of them. Something is seriously wrong with these people.
There are times that I have no idea what they are thinking or doing, their behavior is bizarre, to say the least. Why Kennedy would say something so racist is mind boggling. Mexicans make up 10% of the US population yet his ignorant bigoted comment seemed to flow out of him with no problem.
Every single one of them belong UNDER the Hague
Kolonel Kornpone Kennedy is typical of the gop!
So my idea to combat immigration is to go to South and Central America and invest in the area and make it a place they want to live, then they wouldn't leave.
Seems to make sense right? Yet the conservatives all hounded that idea that we should focus on our country and never send them a dime. One person even said to shoot people at the border.
So according to some, helping other countries and trying to make their living conditions better is bad...attacking and taking over a country good....
How much should we give them to make this happen? And while we giving them the money we should ignore all the problems and issues we have here that also need money?
Take your bullshit elsewhere, I ain't biting.
Just dream of building a wall and you all can stand on top of it with guns...
Ah, seems like you haven't thought through your solution or think there is a never ending supply of other peoples money.
Carry on.
Maybe you should turn your ire on Musk. After all he is building a factory in Mexico...
So what is your solution to the problem? I probably already guessed, build and man a wall....
with 50 caliber guns mounted on the top
hey! If you're gonna go big let's go YUGGEEEE!!!
Funny they don't care about money when it would go to an endless money pit.
Don't pay Congress until they fix the problem. Unfortunately that is about as realistic as your solution.
So in other words, you have no clue or ideas...
I'm all for not paying Congress. They shouldn't get paid period
In other words you don't like my idea so you put words in my mouth
I will wait for a similar post from you to the poster with the same idea as mine.
Uh huh. Still waiting on your idea....
Not paying congress is not an idea to help solve the problem. It is basically saying I don't know what to do, you fix it...
It is actually better than your idea of throw money at the problem without even a plan and hope it goes away.
Now who is making shit up?
Would investing in roadways down there help the people or hinder them? Would access to strong internet help them or hurt them...
Would a company that opened a factory down there and employed thousands of people hurt or hinder them....
Far cry from just throwing money at it.
You still have no idea.
Yea like we haven't already done all that.
Throw more money at it so you can say something is being done.
Open more factories down there so they can take away more Americans jobs. And two years from now when nothing is better you can complain we didn't give them enough money because of the Republicans.
That's the ticket.
As expected. How dare they take American jobs. Yet meanwhile they come here and you all say, of course, how dare they take American jobs.
So to me it comes down to the point of do you want them coming here to find a job or staying down there with a prospect of finding a job.
Seems republicans really don't want to do anything about it except complain.
I have no problem with them coming here legally to find jobs.
Let their own government work on making their country a better place to live and work
I have a problem with congress not wanting to fix the problem in order to use it as a political football
Some democrats really don't want to do anything about it so they can blame republicans.
How in the world do you think congress can fix the problem? What can they do? All you all want to do is put armed guards at the border in perpetuality, which would probably end up costing as much as spending money down there.
So you are against spending any money, against a corporation spending money or setting up shop, against helping the countries in any way and then expect people to solve the problem.
Good luck with that.
Meanwhile China makes inroads in these countries while we take a back seat and then of course republicans complain about China's reach and blame every one else for that as well....
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So you have zero ideas yet complain about mine and then say I am irrational....
The bubble is one of your own making. As far as I can see you have offered absolutely zero.
Radar controlled automatics... I mean if you want to go YUGGEEEE then really over do it...
Kennedy is essentially correct. Mexico would be a barren wasteland if not for the presence of the US next to it.
The comments are not racist as the condemn the Mexican government for their lack of cooperation in securing their own borders and passing their problems onto US soil. It doesn't help that the cartels pretty much control and are in cahoots with that corrupt excuse for government.
... says all the xenophobes.
RDtC is also a Russian BOT. Sad that there are so many here.
Strictly speaking about the above and not the remainder of the comment in any form or fashion, a debilitating and driving force that is self-defeating and frustrating to the "northern triangle countries" - Honduras, Guatemala, and El Savador investment efforts. . . CORRUPTION.
Corruption (political and otherwise) is a "non-starter" because "sent" capital funding to help encourage, promote, and diminish other problem areas may not ever to the root of those problems and circumstances, because of being shunted off into the coffers of individuals/groups/officials.
But the anti-immigration people don't want to hear that...knowing that a big part of that corporate colonialism is due to American interests
People going in and investing in the countries does a lot more than the government handing over a check, which I have never advocated for.
Just curious, how much do you have invested in Mexico and other south American countries?
Just curious, how much do you donate to the republican party...
Any other lame ass questions?
stay on topic if you plan on sticking around any longer.
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China and Russia are doing that big time.
As long as you're just willing to completely ignore everything about those countries.
TBH, anybody without the naivete of a 10-year-old probably hounded that plan.
OK, that's moronic.
You cannot help Mexico "make their living conditions better" until you eliminate 90% of the cartel influence and general corruption. You cannot do that by sending them money. It's like asking your alcoholic uncle to guard the wine cellar.
I was not even talking about Mexico, I was talking about South and Central America so take your condescending bullshit and buzz the fuck off.
Of course, all countries have things about them and they do that should be ignored that would including the US, on the other hand, there are things about those countries that should never be ignored and to that end, it is why we have given billions in foreign aid to Latin America. At one point in time, the US thought that Latin America was a suburb of the US and additionally thought that it was very important for our protection thus the Monroe Doctrine and later the Truman Doctrine.
Additionally, the US has intervened in Latin America, including sending troops dating back to the 1800s. We have supported coups in a number of Latin countries and supported right-wing dictators. So whether you or anyone else likes it or dislikes it we have been deeply involved for a couple of centuries. Some good and some bad.
Yet every administration, both dem and repub has supported Latin America with billions of dollars in aid including the last two administrations.
Agreed
And as stated above we have supported Mexico with foreign aid for decades.
Why has the US given billions to Latin America for the years?
IMO, the number one reason was stability in the Americas. Latin America is a huge trading partner that is rich in natural resources. If I remember correctly they received 25/30% of our exports. Even with this China has made huge inroads in trade with Latin America, replacing the US as some country's number one trading partner. If, as some have suggested we stop all aid to Latin America I would say that China would take that as an open invitation and be on our doorstep in a hot minute.
And after all the comments on this article that really have nothing to do with the main focus, Senator Kennedy's statement was racist as one could be.
there was an improved immigration bill during the bush administration that had white house, senate, and 2/3's approval among voters. it died in the house because of mandatory ID verification and penalties for those that hire them. there will never be an immigration policy in america while there's so much tax free cash available to be made exploiting them. slavery 2.0
I would say that they already are.
Yup, I tend to agree with the comment.
I well remember the bill and thought that it was a great move forward but as with past bills we became our own worst enemy.
On a geopolitical view they certainly have made great strides in capturing trade in Latin America and if we go the isolationist route they will be sitting on our door step.
China is also making inroads in the South Pacific and Micronesia as well.
Which brings it back to the question that caused such a kerfluffle. What do we do? As Kavika has pointed out, we've sent billions in foreign aid to Latin America. What has that done? Why should we send more?
Isolationist?
IMO, I would be totally against the US becoming an isolationist country, we tried that before and it didn't work out well at all. The world is too interconnected to try that and each move any where in the world has a reaction in another part of the world.
I agree. Yet every country in the world is a sovereign entity right? I was just wondering why you threw that in your post.
I was pointing out that if we go the isolationist route, which by cutting all foreign aid we would, in essence, be doing and that it would have a detrimental effect on us.
Yes every country in the world is a sovereign entity to some degree (think satellite counties of the old iron curtain as not having full sovereignity)
I don't know what your point is, please explain.
Thanks our corporate masters for that one
the mere thought of tax free cash makes rwnj's spontaneously ejaculate.
What exactly does that have to do with sending them money in leiu of enforcing and possibly modifying US immigration law?
And has that "made it a place they want to live"? No? Or have we had a massive flow of immigrants for decades?
I realize we call it "aid", but we all know that's not what it is.
To keep more countries from becoming like Cuba or Venezuela.
Meh.
If we offered to assist the Canadians with an out-of-control organized crime problem, would that be racist?
Everybody knows that all Central America has massive cartel problems, and everybody knows that the Mexican Cartels especially are uncontrolled and operating on both sides of the US/Mexico border. Everyone knows the Mexican government has an uneasy truce with the cartels where they agree to stay out of each other's revenue streams, which is convenient for the government because they couldn't control the cartels if they had to.
You see... Mexico is a country in Central America.
It's also the subject of the article.
”It's also the subject of the article.”
And in saying so, it’s important to remember the irrational, irresponsible, irrefutable words uttered.
Oh look, dick can't take a hint.
Too bad you are another right wing nut job that cannot offer any ideas themselves. Only be a jackass to others.
This comment is not directed to Ender. Last part of this thread removed for no value... it better stop. Only warning.
A lot of my comments were some of the reasons that there is massive immigration from those countries to the US. I said nothing about not enforcing or modifying US immigration law.
I didn't say it made it a place that they want to live. It was simply a fact that all political parties have done the exact same thing in Latin America. I do believe some of our policies were good and helped those countries and some were very bad and have led to more immigration rather than lessening it.
Call it what you will, it is still aid/money moving from the US to Latin America.
In a way part of that is true. The Monroe Doctrine was to protect the US and for us to use Latin America as a suburb of the US followed by the Truman Doctrine was to stop communism from spreading in Latin America. Additionally, it was to push our business interests and at times that was quite ugly on our part.
In comments to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, Kennedy derisively argued that without the United States the people of Mexico "would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent behind an Outback."
Do you think that was anything about helping them with out of control crime? And, Kennedy would not, IMO, say anything so racist to Canadians.
Making the President of Mexico a ''offer he can't refuse''. Great way to try to put together a program between countries. /s
We have a history of supporting coups and supporting strong man leaders that did not allow any civil rights. Add to that the number of times that we have sent US troops to Latin America has created political instability which in turn destroys the economy and freedom of the people of that country.
As far as the cartels go, I agree they have enormous power in Mexico and the line between government and cartels is nearly invisible. If you go back to the 80s in Columbia, Escobar was at least as powerful if not more powerful than the cartels in Mexico today.
We intervened in Columbia in a myriad of ways and one was troops, but what brought down the Escobar cartel (Medellin Cartel) down was Los Pepes. A great read is ''Killing Pablo''.
Now there isn't a wall in the world that will stop drugs from entering the US, with the demand here the cartels, be they Mexican, Columbian, Russian, Chinese, or Italian will get drugs into the US. If there is a demand there will be a supply. Want to stop the drug trade, stop using illegal drugs. Simple as that.
Will the wall stop illegals, IMO, no it won't and the cost will be astronomical along with on going maintenance. Using modern technology and even with the best of efforts will not stop all illegals.
The Mediterranean Sea doesn't stop thousands of illegals from trying to reach Europe.
Our immigration policy needs a ground-up revision and both sides have to get off their asses and get the job done, we need more immigration judges a lot more the current policy of waiting 3 to 4 years is nonsense.
Look at our history and the cause and effect in Latin America of our intervention and then attempt to understand what and why it's happening and then address of our own system that IMO is at best a mess.
The US has had decades to fix the problem and we haven't done it.
Unfortunately that racist fool does have a point.
Our Southern borders are being massively invaded.
Between AGW and fascist death squad governments can't fault folk for moving North.
Pretty sure America can make a place for them. We have so much empty space.
Kinda brings back to my original point. We should try to make more inroads with these countries.
Just like Musk is building a plant in Mexico. As much as I can't stand musk, if he pays a decent wage I tend to think the people that live in the area would stay and be able to make a decent living.
I know I sound like a utopian dream yet when these people start making a decent paycheck, it in turn helps the whole community as of course people will spend the money locally at other shops.
Instead it seems we have decided to throw money around Africa.
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I also don't want to seem like some sort of utopian dreamer.
A horde of invaders from the South is seriously problematic.
So glad I don't live there and have to deal with the situation.
For decades Mexicans have been welcomed North to pick crops.
A few decades ago hired some Guatemalans to cut shatter cane.
Nice folk. Hard workers. We brought them lunches at noon.
They seemed surprised that we brought them lunch.
Their father seemed surprised that I gave him a pack of Marlboros.
(he was rolling his own from some sort of grass clippings).
We kept them on through the winter and taught them about cows.
They are now long-term respected members of our town.
Geographically Mexico is largely on the North American Continent.
Culturally they are part of Latin America.
Central America [b] is a subregion of the Americas . [2] Its boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Central America usually consists of seven countries: Belize , Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua , and Panama .
Central America -
Mexicans are North Americans whether they like it or not.
Even Canadians are North Americans.
(We even allow Shatner into our thingy).
Oh, my goodness, some folks seem to be afflicted with lastworditis and argueforthesakeofarguing - it goes with the PD&D and incessant defense of the indefensible.
His statements are reprehensible. He is pandering to the racist and xenophobic elements in the Republican base. I'm certain that he will be well-rewarded by them.
he gets to wear an embroidered sheet...
An Outback? As in restaurant or truck?
Who knows what he means. What is quite clear is his totally racist comment.
Hmm, you don't know what he means but you know it is racist. You don't find that a bit funny?
Not at all. A part of a larger statement can be unclear, but just because that is so does not necessarily make the rest of the statement also unclear.
Not at all, it's quite clear what he said about Mexicans, the question was he talking about behind Outback restaurant or some other out back?
Love the blooming onion and have seriously flogged a friend's turbocharged Outback.
Racist Broadside Against Mexicans? A racist rant? mafia-style tactics?
I was expecting a lot more than a reference to a movie, a comment about the help we have given Mexico ( questionable phrasing) and an offer to help get rid of their biggest problem. But it was enough for those who live to be outraged to be outraged.
The racist part is Kennedy believes that Mexico and Mexicans are so incompetent they should surrender Mexico's national sovereignty to the US and allow US troops to basically invade...
What he said threatened all Hispanic nations.
What he said is insulted all Hispanic peoples...
Kennedy's paternal attitude belays his racism!
I stand by what I said. It is 100% truthful...
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Even with our help it hasn't gone well. CIA operatives in Mexico, information sharing between governments and billions spent have resulted in nada.
Mexico's President Obrador said it was racist and Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard condemned Kennedy, arguing that "what is behind these ideas and those who promote them … racism against Mexicans, and in general all Spanish-speakers,"
Since they are both Mexicans they stated Kennedy's statement was racist and being actual Mexicans they would have a better grip on racist comments about Mexicans than your run of the mill non Mexican from the US.
They certainly are so if you're looking for your opinion you will find it with the rest of the assholes opinions.
It is 100% opinion
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Just to mix your metaphors
Always defending the indefensible on top of your usual PD&D. . .
I have to ask. What does PD&D mean? (color me uninformed).
Projection, Deflection, and Denial - it's all some have . . . lol
[you could have walked on without that nasty bit]
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Pretty sure America can make a place for them.
Exactly, it’s not like we have a housing shortage or anything.