Chris Hayes scolded Jeb Bush on the Wednesday edition of his MSNBC program for using the term "anchor babies." Hayes played a clip of Bush calling for "greater enforcement, so that you don't have these anchor babies, as they're described, coming into the country." He continued by pointing out that "Hillary Clinton responding with a Tweet: 'They're called babies' – which seems like a better term for those small human beings." [video below]
Hayes's rebuke of former Governor Bush came hours after he posted something similar on Twitter: "Better term for 'anchor babies' is 'babies.' Or, alternately, 'tiny humans to be cherished and valued.'" Of course, in both of these instances, the anchor missed the gaping hypocrisy of speaking so highly of newborns, while running to the defense of Planned Parenthood, which butchers unborn babies in order to sell their organs and their tissue, as revealed in the recent series of undercover videos.
Several conservative users on Twitter (including this writer) responded to Hayes over his glaring blind spot regarding infant humans. Katie Pavlich inquired if the host was "for defunding Planned Parenthood now." Amy Curtis wondered if Hayes would apply the "same thing for those unborn babies PP [Planned Parenthood] is dismembering for profit."
The MSNBC personality's disconnect became even more apparent, as he turned to Jess McIntosh, the vice president of communications for the pro-abortion Emily's List organization, for her take on Bush's remarks. McInosh blasted the Republican presidential candidate for his supposedly "derogatory slur to refer to the children of Mexican immigrants." She added by claiming that all of the GOP presidential candidates had a vision of America as a "dark, militarized place where we are terrible to people with different-colored skin, and we are terrible to women, and we disregard science, and we absolutely say no to any sort of progress."
The transcript of the relevant portion of the panel discussion from Wednesday's All In With Chris Hayes on MSNBC, which included McIntosh, former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, and Linda Chavez of the Center For Equal Opportunity:
CHRIS HAYES: Jess, let me – let me play for you – this is Jeb Bush talking to Bill Bennett this morning about – and I'm putting in heavy quotation marks here – quote, so-called anchor babies. Take a listen.
BILL BENNETT (from Bill Bennett's "Morning In America" radio show): Governor Bush – sorry.
JEB BUSH: If there's fraud, or if there's abuse – if people are bringing – you know, pregnant women are coming in to have babies simply because they can do it, then there ought to be greater enforcement. That's – that's the legitimate – you know, side of this – greater enforcement, so that you don't have these – you know, anchor babies, as they're described, coming into the country.
HAYES: Hillary Clinton responding with a Tweet: 'They're called babies' – which seems like a – a better term for those small human beings who are born-
HOWARD DEAN: See, that's the danger. Jeb is going to get dragged into this-
HAYES: Well, that – Jess – I mean, that's-
DEAN: And that – that's a really big problem-
HAYES: Jess-
JESS MCINTOSH, EMILY'S LIST: I think the governor is absolutely right. Jeb Bush is – is the only one at this point who – who normally sounds sane because of his – his own family situation. He used a derogatory slur to refer to the children of Mexican immigrants today. That's the guy with the best moral foundation to discuss this issue? I think – I think it is still unlikely that Donald Trump, despite the polls, becomes the Republican nominee. But I think that he has damaged the field – all 17 or 25 or however many there are of them – so thoroughly that no matter who does, their painting a picture of an America that is a – a dark, militarized place where we are terrible to people with different-colored skin, and we are terrible to women, and we disregard science, and we absolutely say no to any sort of progress – I think that it's – it's an awful picture that this – that this Republican field is – is painting of – of the future of this country. And listening to this incredibly divisive, hateful – like, used-to-be extremist kind of rhetoric coming from people who want to be everybody's president is – is just shocking. I never thought that Trump would have this much effect on the whole field.
