Under discussion was the Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising
Misconduct (SCAM) Act, bipartisan legislation that would require online
platforms to secure their sites from fraudulent and deceptive
advertising, as well as demand stronger accountability when users on
their platforms are victimized by scam artists and fraudsters.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO)
has proposed expanding the SCAM Act to include provisions that would
revoke the citizenship of any naturalized citizen within the first 10
years of their being granted citizenship, if they are found complicit in
activities that defraud the American people. The committee invited
legal and immigration experts as witnesses, including former VA Attorney
General Ken Cuccinelli, to discuss and debate where the Constitution
draws the line on the government's role in revoking citizenship and
Congress' plenary powers.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) was also on
this committee and chose to use her question time as an opportunity to
go on a TDS-laced ramble.
Rinse. Repeat.
After Hirono
accused the Trump administration of using the immigration process to
target all immigrant communities, Schmitt leveled her. To understand the
reason behind his searing response requires hearing exactly how insane
Hirono sounded.
Hirono started with, "This regime said it would
only go after the worst of the worst and criminals," then swiftly slid
into accusations that the Trump administration only targets legal
immigrants and naturalized citizens. Hirono rarely has an independent
thought of her own — if she thinks at all — so she read off cue cards no
doubt prepared by her staffers. Yet, she still managed to meander
through circular logic about travel bans, attacks on international
students, and how this alleged targeting of these foreign students made
it difficult to "add to the diversity... and also the payment of
tuitions," at the Ivy League universities. As if these institutions
didn't have billion-dollar endowments to pull from. So, it certainly
wasn't hurting them.
But here is where Hirono went completely off the rails.
Hirono said:
"It's
just the latest step in this regime wreaking havoc around our already
broken immigration system. Trying to break it beyond repair, from where I
sit. He's now telling 24 million... 24 million naturalized Americans
that their citizenship can be questioned. And I think when I say this
hearing is bizarre, I mean, you're going to use conduct that occurs 10
years after the naturalization was conducted or the application for
naturalization was submitted, and conduct 10 years later to somehow go
back to the point of the application to determine whether there was
fraud was committed, it's very bizarre. So, 24 million already
naturalized citizens... I happen to be the only naturalized citizen
sitting on this committee, and I am horrified by the implication that
naturalized citizens basically get second-class citizenship. Not only,
and should they commit crimes ... yes, as citizens, yes, they should be
prosecuted like any other U.S. citizen. But what, uhhh... laws... or
bills like the SCAM Act does is it subjects the naturalized citizen to
even more... ummm... uh... harm, or, or more than what would be visited
upon by a U.S. citizen. Which a naturalized citizen, by definition,
is.
"So, let's be clear. This has never been
about law and order for the Republicans, this is all about getting
immigrants. It's about terrorizing immigrant communities. Whether it be
ICE officers who are acting outside of what would be considered
reasonable behavior, and using our immigration system as a pretext,
basically, to keep certain people out of our country.
"As a
naturalized citizen, I can't think of a more undemocratic, un-American
thing to do to someone who chooses to become a U.S. citizen, to hold
this over their heads and to treat us as second class citizens."
This would have been one response to Hirono's banal pablum:
Hirono thought she still had time, so she bumbled
into an actual question, without even being aware of how many witnesses
were sitting in front of her. Of course, Hirono took more than the five
minutes allotted to her, because the witness she addressed the question
to needed to complete his answer. Once he did, Hirono ended the time by
saying, "It's just astounding. It should be unconstitutional."
It was now Schmitt's time, and he immediately dived in, addressing Hirono's incoherent diatribe.
Schmitt began:
"Speaking
of astounding. Your comments are astounding, Senator. You mentioned a
few words. 'Horrific.' I think to the American taxpayer that's been
ripped off from people who came to this country to rip them off, that's Horrific.
"You talk about, 'Bizarre' —"
Hirono attempted to interrupt Schmitt, but he was having none of it.
"No, no, NO. It's my time now. It's my time. You went over time, it's my time.
"'Bizarre'
is the idea that you would be here in this committee defending violent
murderers from being deported. That you would be defending violent
rapists from being deported. That you would defend people who took
advantage of the good people of this country of their taxpayer dollars, that is bizarre. A terrorist who kills American citizens. You know what's bizarre? Is your defense of that.
"So, forgive me if your 24 million Americans — or naturalized citizens — should be afraid. That's ridiculous."
Hirono tried again to interrupt Schmitt, and he showed her the back of his hand!
"No, no, no — nothing but fearmongering here. You have nothing but fearmongering here.
"What I'm saying in this bill is, if you do those things to the American people, if you take advantage of taxpayers..."
Hirono tried a third time to interject, but Schmitt once again showed her his hand, saying, "You're not recognized!"
Wow. Schmitt took no prisoners as he concluded his blunt and unequivocal address.
"If you commit a terrorist act. If you commit wholesale welfare fraud, within 10 years, you're damn right we're deporting you.
"If
you're convicted, it's not being accused of anything. If you are
convicted in a court of law of these crimes, absolutely we should not
only convict you, but we should deport you.
"Gone.
"And if
you think that's some sort of like, negative assertion towards me, I'll
take it. I love it. That's what we should be doing more of in this
country.
"Because people are coming here and they're ripping off
taxpayers. And I, for one, don't want to see it anymore. And if you want
to have that debate in public we can do it, but that's what this
hearing is about: to examine the SCAM Act. So, I'd just like to expose a
few of your lies in your most recent dissertation on the dais here."
That's bound to leave a mark, especially on Mazie Hirono's already
soft head. So far, we have six Republican senators who are not seeking
reelection and two who have been primaried. It would be a wonderful
thing if their replacements have an ounce of the knowledge, fire, and
conviction of Sen. Eric Schmitt in doing the business of the American
people and standing up for the concerns.
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