On July 30, Michele Richinick, a writer for msnbc.com, hyped a Texas protest against Rick Perry’s decision to deploy the National Guard to send a message to the waves of illegal immigrant children flooding over the border. With the title “Texans rally against Rick Perry’s deployment request” and the lede that “Texas Gov. Rick Perry is facing wrath from residents in his home state,” the MSNBC contributor seemed to forget that only 20 members of the Texas Organization Project (TOP) bothered to show up.
It remains unclear why MSNBC thought a 20-person protest in which “protesters held 12 large, blank checks to symbolize the millions of dollars the state will spend on Perry’s plan” was newsworthy. The only direct quote in the article from the TOP was Dallas Country communications director statement that Perry’s decision was “unnecessary.” Strong words.
The article did give Richinick the chance to tout the “violence and instability at home in Central America” that has resulted in a “humanitarian crisis and a political challenge for the Obama administration.” She also extolled the humanity of Democrats, citing statistics like “70% of Republicans said children who flee from gang violence in Central America shouldn’t be treated as refugees. But 62% of Democrats said the kids should be considered refugees.”
In conclusion, the Morning Joe contributor made certain to push the Republican impeachment narrative, stating that “the immigration talks this week come as Republicans decide whether or not they want to move forward with their attempt to impeach Obama for acting in various situations first without consulting Congress.”
