Commentary — As we reported earlier, Sean Hannity — Fox News host and right-wing radio maven — has, two days off what is one of the most stunning political defeats of the past few decades, had a change of heart about immigration reform.
Sean Hannity has been leading the charge on blaming “illegals” for many of America’s ills, so the move he made to embrace a softer stance on the issue of immigration just days after Mitt Romney lost his bid for the White House has been viewed a bit cynically by some who feel the change is an attempt to pander to Latino voters.
And pandering might be a good idea right now. Hannity’s party of choice lost around seven out of 10 votes to incumbent candidate President Barack Obama among Hispanic voters.
Hannity himself expressed disdain just months prior to that happenstance for those who would defend immigrants in America, responding to criticism of his use of the word some consider pejorative — “illegals” — by digging in his heels and saying back in May:
“I’m not stopping it … Illegal immigrant! Illegal!”
Hannity is one of several conservatives who just days before the election had been bleating about the danger of “illegals” in America and now seems to be seeking to perhaps sway legal, voting immigrants over to the platform that has been alienating them for so long.
And while just a few months back Sean Hannity didn’t care if human beings didn’t like being called “illegal,” in the past two days he suddenly realize they are people after all. Nice, very pretty people with the ability to pull a voting lever — he gushes:
” … that is a position that I’ve evolved on. Because you know what—it just—it’s gotta be resolved. The majority of people here—if some people have criminal records you can send ‘em home—but if people are here, law-abiding, participating, four years, their kids are born here … first secure the border, pathway to citizenship … then it’s done. But you can’t let the problem continue. It’s gotta stop.”
Below is a clip of Hannity discussing immigration, “illegals” and terrorists on his show back in 2010. In the clip, he claims there are “millions” of people who “drain” our hospitals, education systems and other services simply by being here, and advocates arresting people simply for being Latino in the US.
Do you think Sean Hannity’s flip-flop is genuine, or an attempt to pad the vote for the GOP in 2016?