When will Republican leaders stand up to Donald Trump?
The ban on travelers from seven primarily Muslim countries and the chaos that ensued at airports across the United States over the weekend have called the question.
Silicon Valley leaders have stepped up. Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg and Sergey Brin made statements both cogent and passionate. Google is setting up a $4 million crisis fund to fight the executive order.
Even the Koch network of conservative financiers has condemned the ham-handed ban, seeing a slide toward authoritarian rule. It is a surreal world when Democrats find common cause with the Koch brothers.
Where is House Speaker Paul Ryan? Where is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell? Some GOP lawmakers are speaking out, but not enough of them, and not the ones that count. Congress needs to engage.
Trump issued his executive order Friday. Because the ban was paired with a statement exempting “minority religions” — not Islam — from some restrictions and promising Christians first consideration for refugee status, the action is widely seen as a ban on Muslims.
No kidding.
Trump promised this during the campaign and later asked Rudy Giuliani to figure out how to do it. There was little notice to immigration officials, one reason for much of the weekend chaos.
Thousands of demonstrators thronged airports from San Francisco to Detroit and the East Coast when it became clear that people who had arrived legally were detained for deportation. This included refugees who had helped Americans in Iraq and Syria and face torture and death if they are sent back.
The American Civil Liberties Union went to court Saturday to stop it. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly quickly stayed the deportation order when the administration could not guarantee the refugees’ safety, but the wheels of courtroom justice turn slowly. And Trump’s team says the challenge will just be an inconvenient delay.
On Monday, Trump defended the short notice and detentions. He shrugged off the demonstrations and mocked political leaders who expressed concern for refugees. A spokesman said the ban was “a small price to pay” to keep us safe.
More likely, it will do the opposite.
Of the terrorists who have claimed lives on American soil, not one is from the banned countries. Saudi Arabians slaughtered thousands of Americans on 9/11, but they are not banned. Ah, but Trump has business interests in Saudi Arabia.
Iraq, our ally until now, is among the seven. On Monday it announced a reciprocal ban.
What Trump’s action has accomplished is to support the jihadist contention that America is at war with Islam. On social media, Islamic State supporters celebrated the potential to recruit more moderates to their side.
What America needs now is a Congress willing to take charge, convene public debate and create sensible immigration rules. Congress cannot erase what has happened, but it can reassure the world that United States’ foreign policy is not insane.
GOP leaders will have to fight their president to do that. But they’ve had good training after fighting Barack Obama for eight years.
Bay Area News Group
