Since libtalker and MSNBC action hero Ed Schultz said this on his daily podcast, behind the curtain as it were, it's impossible to discern if he did so with a straight face. But based on Schultz's extensive history of delusional rants, one can safely assume that Schultz actually believes it.
Schultz was talking with "Ring of Fire" radio show co-host Mike Papantonio, a man attempting the immodest branding effort of touting himself as "America's Lawyer" (unless those in need of legal counsel are conservatives -- make that, "Whiniest Americans' lawyer") when Schultz spouted his characteristic nonsense. (Audio clips after the jump)
SCHULTZ: Jeb Bush making news of late -- first he says you've got to love these people who come in, he said that back in April of this year. This immigration crisis on the border has evolved out of a law that Bush passed, his brother, back in 2008. Here's Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson --
JOHNSON: If it doesn't pass (alluding to Obama's request for $3.7 billion toward border crisis), we're going to run out of money to deal with this and I've got my CFO working overtime without sleep trying to figure out how we are going to pay for this if Congress doesn't act, and basically that's not an option because I'm going to have to dial back all the things we've done, to surge resources, to deal with this spike unless Congress acts.SCHULTZ: Bottom line here is, folks, is that they want as many people coming across the border as they can and I'm talking about the Republicans because, Mike, that's another thing they can blame Obama for.
PAPANTONIO: Yeah, they want a chaos moment. They want something that's akin to, we all remember the helicopters burning in the desert when Jimmy Carter tried to go into Iran and carry out a military operation, that's a visual. They're looking for another visual and what they're going to have is a remarkable visual. It's going to be chaos at the border.
Papantonio is on target but not the way he intended -- agreed, we are living through Jimmy Carter's second term. Turns out it's even worse than the first.
With Papantonio's helpful analogy in mind, it is worth noting that both Carter and Obama were the pivotal figures in their respective disasters -- Carter by ordering a military mission in April 1980 that sought to free American hostages in Iran, and Obama in 2012 declaring that he would stop deporting illegal immigrants brought to the United States as minors, essentially declaring them legal residents.
Carter's rescue mission failed when a chopper collided with a transport plane on the ground in the Iranian desert, killing eight servicemen. Two years after Obama unilaterally declared that illegals arriving here as minors are now legal, our border is beseiged with illegal alien minors. Gee, who could see that one coming?
In other words, the blame for both debacles falls squarely on the men who precipitated them -- Carter and Obama. Just as Republicans were not involved in Carter's decision to order the rescue mission, they played a similarly non-existent supporting role in Obama granting legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegals.
Now that chaos has predictably ensued on the border, Schultz and Papantonio and assorted leftist cohorts predictably blame Republicans. Project much, guys?
This was hardly the only insipid claim made by Schultz in recent days. In another podcast, he said Republicans are motivated in their efforts to thwart Obama because he's had ... "too much success." Yes, Schultz actually said that (audio).
Which helps explain the recent CNN poll showing that Obama would easily lose to Mitt Romney if the election were held this month. Apparently all that success remains elusively not so obvious.
