Wednesday, June 9, 2010

El Presidente Demagogue

Sometimes politicians make it so easy to point out their stupidity and hypocrisy that it feels like taking candy from a voter. That was the case with Mexican President Felipe Calderon the other day, who demonstrated that he’s a top notch demagogue who is happy to exploit any tragedy he can to help his sagging political career. Check this out.

A week or so ago, a tragedy occurred along the U.S./Mexico border. Anastacio Hernandez, who was in this country illegally, was being deported by federal Border Patrol agents. They were in California. According to the Border Patrol agents, when they removed Hernandez’s handcuffs at the border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, he turned on them and wrestled both to the ground. One of the agents pulled out a stun gun and shocked Hernandez. Hernandez died a few hours later from that shock.

This is a tragedy on many levels. It’s a tragedy that Hernandez is dead. His death was entirely avoidable if he had simply crossed into Mexico rather than pointlessly fighting the Border Patrol. And it’s a tragedy that these two Border Patrol agents will have to live with having caused a death. Moreover, it's a tragedy that every leftist in Congress will now try to exploit this tragedy by calling for the heads of the two Border Patrol agents who do not appear to have done anything wrong. They will also call for hearings on stun guns, one of many causes on the left.

And chief among the exploiters, getting a solid head start, was Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who saw in this tragedy an opportunity to raise his Obama-like popularity ratings (41%). Calderon began by completely losing all sense of reality, by describing what happened as “torture” and stating that “a death with that degree of violence is truly a unacceptable violation.”

So a guy gets shot with a stun gun, as in “don’t taze me bro,” after he chooses to fight two cops who are letting him go, and he dies because of a freak set of circumstances, and that’s a “degree of violence” that is unacceptable? Really? That’s torture? Seriously?

How does that compare with corrupt Mexican police and drug gangs torture-killing thousands of citizens in Mexico over the past several years in ways that are too graphic to discuss? Where is the condemnation for the illegals who have been brutally killing Arizona ranchers? How about the bodies they’re pulling out of the abandoned mine in Mexico? The deputies found decapitated on Mexican highways? The murder of family members when you can’t get at the principal? The execution style killings of politicians? Any of this ring any bells Felipe? And let’s not forget that Hernandez started it.

Then Calderon tossed in Arizona’s immigration law, claiming that it “opens a Pandora’s box of the worst abuses in the history of humanity.” Really? Asking people for identification is the same as the Holocaust, or the genocides in Cambodia, Turkey, Rawanda, Sudan, and so on? It’s the same as Stalin’s mass murders and purges? It’s the same as the slave trade or Islamic terrorists blowing up school girls? It’s the same as what’s going on in Mexico right now? Me thinks someone needs some perspective.

Not to mention that this has nothing to do with Arizona’s law. This took place in California. And if you don’t know where Tijuana is, then buy a map seƱor. Secondly, these were federal agents enforcing federal law -- these weren’t Arizona cops. And let’s not forget that Mexico’s “laws” are much harsher when it comes to illegals, and that Mexico’s “justice” system actually is brutal and corrupt, not pretend brutal like you’re making out the US system to be.

Maybe exploiting and demagoguing a tragedy is good politics in Mexico, but it certainly sucks here. And maybe if you would do something to make Mexico something other than a cesspool of violence and despair, then this whole problem wouldn’t have come up in the first place? Maybe it's time to shut the heck up el Presidente?

16 comments:

btw said...

Lefties are good at nothing else if not hyperbole. Senior Presidente included. It's a classic case of "Don't look at me, look over here where I'm pointing".

AndrewPrice said...

btw, Very true. Calderon has serious problems at home and this is nothing more than an attempt to divert the public from his failures.

And I don't think he'll be the only one. I suspect that we'll be hearing the likes of Pelosi, et al. starting to howl about this soon because they need to energize Hispanic voters who have started to stay home on voting days again.

Especially with the shooting of the teenager the other day in Texas.

Anonymous said...

Andrew: Calderon's future is secure. When he's no longer president of Mexico, he can become the president of the ACLU. They love police brutality horse manure and racial profiling baloney too.

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, Excellent point! Plus, he seems very good at pointing out bad things with America while ignoring similar bad things in foreign countries, so he'll be perfect for the job!

BevfromNYC said...

But Andrew, it IS the fault of the Arizona law because illegals are leaving Arizona in anticipation of the new law and the local authorities in the other states are having to deal with the problem. Until California, New Mexico, and Texas pass similar laws that is...

Did they ever find Calderon's party comrade,Diego Fernandez de Cevallos? He was kidnapped about a month ago and presumed murdered.

btw is correct that Calderone is deflecting his own problems by diverting attention to us. But then Vincente Fox did the same thing when he was El Presidente too.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, That's the kind of twisted that logic that I could actually see them using to link Arizona to this! Of course, that sounds like a good reason for Texas and California to follow Arizona's lead, doesn't it?

Diverting attention from their own failings by pointing fingers at the United States seems to be the method of choice for most foreign leaders these days -- everyone from Brazil to Iran to Korea to Europe. It's really pretty pathetic.

And you're right about Fox, he did the same thing.

Diego Fernandez de Cevallos was kidnapped a month ago, and no demands have been made for his return even though the kidnappers released pictures of him. They haven't officially declared him dead, but my guess it's only a matter of time.

Tennessee Jed said...

I don't know if you remember the first season of Miami Vice. No show more personified the 80's in my opinion, and the original story arc of about 6 or 7 details how Rico came to join the team. (Crockett's partner {Jimmy Smits} was killed, as was the older brother of Rico. They were murdered by a big time drug kingpin named Calderon.

Hopefully, it is now clear where I was going with all that. El Pesidante Demagogue is nothing but a thug who sticks his nose into our affairs. It's o.k. for his people to illegally enter our country, but jail time to people illegally entering May-he-coh.

I still cheer whenever I see a movie or book depicting San Jacinto.

AndrewPrice said...

Jed, I remember that! And I agree about Miami Vice being the show about the 1980s.

Yeah, it sure is amazing how people who do much worse than us can criticize us for kicking people back out of the country (something every country does).

You would think there would come a point when people would be more worried about their won countries than trying to find fault in us, but then demonization has always been good politics. "Hey look at the nasty gringos. . . ignore what I'm doing over here."

MegaTroll said...

The guy's a jerk. He should look after his own country before he starts making things up here. Nice article.

AndrewPrice said...

Agreed Mega. And he's not alone. Pretty much every foreign leader who has gotten into trouble is doing the same things.

Writer X said...

Calderon isn't doing much for tourism in his country either. Can't tell you how many people I know who visit Mexico at least once a year; they've been cancelling their trips in droves and going elsewhere or simply staying home. And I don't remember Calderon saying a peep after rancher Rob Krentz was gunned down. The man is a hypocrite on so many levels. He looks equally as desperate as Obama.

AndrewPrice said...

Writer X, I'm hearing similar things about people not going to Mexico anymore. And you're right about Krentz. That's a total outrage -- a real outrage, not a faked outrage -- and I don't recall hearing a peep out of Calderon (or Obama).

Frankly, I'm sick of foreign leaders using us as a strawman punching bag to try to raise their own popularity at home.

Writer X said...

Andrew, Obama has spent more time with Paul McCartney than he has with addressing the immigration issue. BTW, Gov. Brewer's approval rating has literally soared (>30 pts) since she signed the Immigration Bill, but that is getting off topic.

AndrewPrice said...

Writer X, Good for her! I heard her on the radio today, and I was impressed with how she handled herself -- she was talking about meeting with Obama. I really liked how she never backed down and she didn't get into name-calling, but she made it clear that he's a clown.

StanH said...

Calderon is a prime example of a politician in self preservation mode, Machiavelli would be proud.

AndrewPrice said...

Stan, It's funny should mention Machiavelli. I've got an article about Machiavelli and Obama. I was going to publish it today, but I pushed it off until Sunday night.

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