AR GOP Senate Candidate Tom Cotton: Terrorists, Immigrants and Drug Cartels Want to Infiltrate Arkansas
GOP Rep. Tom Cotton is running for the Senate in Arkansas, and he’s the latest Republican to try to mash all the various right wing fear memes together into a hellish brew of paranoia. Immigration, terrorism, ISIS, human trafficking — all that’s missing is a chupacabra with Ebola: Tom Cotton: Terrorists Collaborating With Mexican Drug Cartels to Infiltrate Arkansas
Exhibit A: GOP Rep. Tom Cotton, who is running for Senate in Arkansas. The Congressman told a tele-town-hall meeting that the Islamic State is actively working with Mexican drug cartels who are looking to expand into the terrorism business — and that the groups, working in tandem, could infiltrate the country and attack people in Arkansas.
On audio of the town-hall, which was recorded by Arkansas Democrats, the key moment comes at around the 10:50 mark. Cotton was asked by a voter why the children crossing the border were allowed to stay for months (presumably while awaiting a court date). Cotton launched into a long answer about amnesty and the need to build a border fence, and added (emphasis mine):
“The problem is with Mark Pryor and Barack Obama refusing to enforce our immigration laws, and refusing to secure our border. I’ll change that when I’m in the United States Senate. And I would add, it’s not just an immigration problem. We now know that it’s a security problem. Groups like the Islamic State collaborate with drug cartels in Mexico who have clearly shown they’re willing to expand outside the drug trade into human trafficking and potentially even terrorism.
“They could infiltrate our defenseless border and attack us right here in places like Arkansas. This is an urgent problem and it’s time we got serious about it, and I’ll be serious about it in the United States Senate.”