Jim Brown: Kennedy owes no apologies for Mexico remarks

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy owes the Mexican people an apology. That is, according to the Mexican ambassador to the United States as well as the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate.

The reason? Because our Louisiana senator is being too verbally tough on Mexico. So is he? 

Here’s the background. At a recent hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that was reviewing the Drug Enforcement Administration budget, the senator had some choice words about Mexican drug cartels making and smuggling fentanyl, a synthetic opioid into the United States. Kennedy rightly pointed out that fentanyl coming into the U.S. from Mexico has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans in recent years. 

Now we can agree that the senator often uses colorful language. After pointing out the vast difference in the economies of Mexico and the U.S., he went on to say that “without the people of America, Mexico, figuratively speaking, would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent behind an Outback.” Kennedy then told the DEA director that she should get the president to join her in “getting on the phone and calling Mexican President Lopez Obrador and make him a deal he can’t refuse to allow our military and our law-enforcement officials to go into Mexico and work with them to stop the cartels.”

Sounds like a pretty reasonable proposal. After all, the U.S. has vast technical resources and law-enforcement expertise that would certainly be a great help in weeding out these drug dealers that have killed so many Americans. But from the reaction of Mexico as well as with some press outlets in the US, you would have thought that the Louisiana Senator was calling for an all-out invasion of Mexico. The Mexican ambassador to the United States went bonkers.

“I don’t think the people of Louisiana feel represented by the vulgar and racist words you used,” stated the ambassador. (Hmmm. Since when does eating cat food out of a can signify being a racist?) He went on to say, “You are obliged to offer an apology to your citizens because what you were shorted is not worthy of the state of Louisiana, known for being a cultural melting pot.” 

Our state newspaper, the Advocate, was chomping to jump in. “It seems the senator has embarrassed us once again, by launching into an over- the-top rant against Mexico while deploying his phony ‘Foghorn Leghorn’ accent.”

The paper went on to say that Kennedy has “caused an international incident.” Wow! Actually, I’m pretty impressed that the senator has the power to stir up search “international” outrage.

Here are the facts. The United States has been flooded with illegal drugs flowing in from Mexico. Fentanyl is the new popular drug that killed some 72,000 people in our nation last year alone. And the number of deaths is dramatically increasing.

Again, these drugs are pouring in from Mexico, and the Mexican government seems to be unable or unwilling to put in place some harsh procedures to curtail such influx.

When 3,000 Americans were killed in the 9/11 attacks, our citizens demanded that our government rise up to the occasion, and take whatever means necessary to catch the perpetrators and see that it did not happen again.

So without asking, our country sent troops into Pakistan, Afghanistan and Middle Eastern nations. We now have over 70,000 Americans who have been killed, not with bombs, but with illegal drugs. Do we expect our country to stand around and not
take decisive action? Kennedy is not suggesting that the American military invade Mexico. He specifically said that our officials should work with the Mexican government to put a stop to the cartels. What reasonable person could object to that?

Louisiana’s senator has gained notoriety for his aggressive and lively commentary. Some say it’s a big corn pone, particularly from a highly educated public official. But that’s his style, and voters in Louisiana, who have elected him repeatedly by big margins, don’t seem to have a problem with his aggressive and sometimes off beat bravura. 

 If Mexican officials want to quiet down Kennedy, they might begin by becoming much more aggressive in stopping the flow of drugs from Mexico and the U.S. That’s the best way to get the senator to turn his southern barbs in a different direction.

Peace and Justice
Jim Brown<./b>