Republican leaders, the New York Times reports, are actually astute enough to realize that a travel ban on Ebola-affected countries really isn't something that can actually happen, since there aren't any direct flights from West Africa to the United States and for a variety of other reasons. So they're "refining" their position, to now call for just a temporary suspension of visas out of those countries. But in the meantime, they're still out on the stump screaming Ebola.
Days of news media fixation, mounting public concern and political pot-stirring have created an odd dichotomy in which leadership aides on Capitol Hill are urging caution while candidates on the campaign trail are pressing hot buttons. House Republican leadership aides have repeatedly said lawmakers are not calling for an actual ban of airline flights, even as the likes of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, have done just that. […]
Mr. McConnell, said a spokesman, Don Stewart, was "using shorthand" last week when he said, "It would be a good idea to discontinue flights into the United States from that part of the world." He, too, supports a temporary suspension of visas, a position put into legislative language on Monday by Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, who vowed to press visa-suspension legislation when Congress returned in November.
Yes, they're calling for a travel ban because that sounds like the toughest thing that they can use to keep Ebola fear whipped up, and then concede that they're smart enough to know it won't work, so here's this other thing that maybe they could support while they're still yelling for a travel ban. Meanwhile,
In reality, Republicans are not planning a legislative response, at least for now, Republican leadership aides said Monday. They merely want their voices heard.
Oh, of course. Sure that's all they want, just to be "heard."
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It should be shocking to absolutely no one that they aren't really planning a legislative response, because Republicans just don't do that. Not when there's political points to be scored.