Right-wing media intensify conspiracy theories about birthright citizenship as a threat to American elections: “A huge national security risk”
As the Supreme Court reaffirmed birthright citizenship in America is a constitutional right, right-wing media and politicians have portrayed birthright citizenship as a threat to both national security and U.S. elections, citing so-called “birth tourism” from Chinese nationals giving birth while in American territory.
The origin of this narrative appears to stem from conservative author Peter Schweizer, a long-time associate of former Trump strategist Steve Bannon who has a history of reporting marked by errors and retractions, and his book The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon. Following the book's January publication, Schweizer promoted it in appearances on right-wing media and accused China of “massive exploitation of birthright citizenship” that will have “huge implications beginning in 2030 when these Chinese quote-unquote ‘U.S. citizens’ who've never actually lived here are actually going to be able to start to vote.” Multiple right-wing media figures and politicians have also amplified his claim that “at least 750,000 and possibly as many as 1.5 million Chinese, who are also American citizens by virtue of being born here, are now growing toward adulthood in China” — a figure which Schweizer says is based on unspecified “Chinese officials,” “Chinese research firms,” and a professor who is “very friendly with the Chinese.”
Now, a wide chorus of right-wing media personalities, Republican politicians, Trump administration officials, and even Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito have all either directly cited Schweizer’s book or repeated arguments contained in the book to fearmonger about birthright citizenship, often echoing the conspiracy theory of China swaying U.S. elections and undermining national security through “birth tourism.”
And all this comes amid efforts by right-wing media and election deniers to implicate China as a threat to our election system and force action by the Trump administration to seize power over voting ahead of the midterm elections.
https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud...birthright
As the Supreme Court reaffirmed birthright citizenship in America is a constitutional right, right-wing media and politicians have portrayed birthright citizenship as a threat to both national security and U.S. elections, citing so-called “birth tourism” from Chinese nationals giving birth while in American territory.
The origin of this narrative appears to stem from conservative author Peter Schweizer, a long-time associate of former Trump strategist Steve Bannon who has a history of reporting marked by errors and retractions, and his book The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon. Following the book's January publication, Schweizer promoted it in appearances on right-wing media and accused China of “massive exploitation of birthright citizenship” that will have “huge implications beginning in 2030 when these Chinese quote-unquote ‘U.S. citizens’ who've never actually lived here are actually going to be able to start to vote.” Multiple right-wing media figures and politicians have also amplified his claim that “at least 750,000 and possibly as many as 1.5 million Chinese, who are also American citizens by virtue of being born here, are now growing toward adulthood in China” — a figure which Schweizer says is based on unspecified “Chinese officials,” “Chinese research firms,” and a professor who is “very friendly with the Chinese.”
Now, a wide chorus of right-wing media personalities, Republican politicians, Trump administration officials, and even Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito have all either directly cited Schweizer’s book or repeated arguments contained in the book to fearmonger about birthright citizenship, often echoing the conspiracy theory of China swaying U.S. elections and undermining national security through “birth tourism.”
And all this comes amid efforts by right-wing media and election deniers to implicate China as a threat to our election system and force action by the Trump administration to seize power over voting ahead of the midterm elections.
https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud...birthright
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
