Now that Ebola has arrived in the United States, the nation’s leaders are wasting no time politicizing the outbreak, while thousands are dying in Africa. Here are 12 ways Democrats and Republicans are exploiting the crisis for political gain.
Support the Military Industrial Complex
The War on Ebola is the new War on Terror and Republicans have found a new enemy they say the Democrats are failing to protect Americans from. President Barack Obama is “not protecting our country and our families from Ebola,” says Rep. Tom Cotton, the Republican Senate candidate in Arkansas. Cotton promises to “rebuild our military and keep your family safe and secure, whether the threat is terrorism or disease.”
Ban West Africans, and While We’re at It, Mexicans, too
Republicans saw an opportunity to advance their immigration agenda by calling for a ban on travel to the United States from West African countries affected by Ebola. Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton called for a “no-fly zone from that region of the world.”
Ed Gillespie, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Virginia, says Ebola and terror group ISIS have made our “porous Southern border” a “public health threat and a public safety threat.” Sen. Pat Roberts, running for re-election in Kansas, says it’s all one issue: “Ebola, ISIS, or whoever comes across the border — the 167,000 illegals who are convicted felons — that shows you we have to secure the border, and we cannot support amnesty.”
While we’re at it, says Roberts, let’s impose “a quarantine on West Africa.”
