Video: Jim Gilmore Rips Republicans’ “Fascist Talk” on Immigration, Latinos, “Deportation Force”

by Lowell

Per Florida Politics:

[This past Saturday] addressing hundreds of Florida Republicans at the Sunshine Summit at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando… 

[Jim Gilmore’s] most interesting remarks were when he said that the Republican party was making a mistake with their harsh rhetoric regarding immigration during the current campaign. 

“We as a Republican Party seem to be on the attack against the Latino community, and of Latinos who live among us,” he said, preceding that remark by saying he wasn’t sure the audience would welcome them. “We seem to be expressing attacks on the Constitution, when we threaten to take away birthright citizenship from people in this country.” 

Gilmore said he didn’t think much of Donald Trump‘s call this week for a “deportation force’ to drag millions of undocumented immigrants out of the U.S. “To rip up our society at the very time that we need unity in the face of these challenges. I want you to know, this is fascist talk. It is unworthy of the great Republican Party of the United States. It may be acceptable to some people, but it is not acceptable to me.” 

There was some scattered applause, but not much. 

Later on in a Q&A with reporters, Gilmore said that though it may be “fashionable” to speak so disparagingly about Latinos in the GOP circa 2015, but he won’t do it.

“I reject it. I think it’s bad for the party. I think it’s unacceptable for the Republican Party, and frankly, it’s bad public policy for the United States,” he said, adding that he does believe that the U.S. needs to bulk up on border security and does not believe in granting a pathway to citizenship for those who broke the law in crossing the Southern border.

Now, I disagree with Gilmore on 99% of the issues (including on immigration, where he opposes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants), but I do strongly agree with him for calling out Republicans’ “fascist talk” on Latinos, immigration, “deportation forces,” etc. I’d most certainly throw in Republicans’ recent, rabidly anti-Muslim talk as well. That’s not just disgraceful and profoundly unAmerican, but — perhaps worst of all — exactly what Daesh/ISIL wants us to do.