Rantz: It’s time for Mayor Murray to get off his high horse

Look, I’m not going to pretend I don’t understand why politicians of all political stripes use cheap shots and carefully selected, misleading language in quotes written by staffers and given to them for a sign-off. It’s an easy way to tell your base what you stand for and sometimes an even easier way to be guaranteed some media coverage. But shouldn’t Mayor Ed Murray get off the high horse where he pretends he so much better than President Donald Trump? And shouldn’t he stop forwarding a fake narrative?

In a press release announcing funds to organizations to defend illegal immigrants from being deported (note: officials refused to answer directly whether or not these dollars would go towards illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes like murder), Murray couldn’t help but go after Trump by using a false narrative.

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“I signed legislation in April establishing a $1 million immigrant Legal Defense Fund because immigrants are being targeted by a presidential administration that has embraced White Nationalism,” Murray said from his high horse.

The criticism on Charlottesville is warranted, for sure. I didn’t think Trump handled it well initially; to claim it’s embracing white nationalism is, of course, more about Murray playing into this contrived narrative that Republicans are racists, which plays really well with Seattle Progressives.

But is Murray really the best person to criticize the president’s handling of … well, any issue? There’s a reason Progressive groups, once his ally, are abandoning Murray: his handling of the accusations he sexually abused a minor. He chose to victim blame and paid a political price for it.

But beyond that, if you’re going to get on a high horse, at least be accurate. The Trump administration isn’t targeting “immigrants” by any stretch of the imagination. The administration has decided to take a harder-line approach to illegal immigrants — not immigrants, and despite what Murray and other activists will tell you, there is a difference.

Now, you can disagree with their approach to illegal immigrants. That’s obviously a fair discussion and one we should be having, with a goal of finding solutions and, yes, compromise.

But, Murray doesn’t want you to have that discussion. It’s a much harder debate to win (ask Congress – for all their talk of needing to reform immigration policy, they don’t move the needle) and, more importantly to Murray, he can’t play white savior to all immigrants he apparently thinks can’t get by without him. It’s a great bit of symbolism, though doesn’t actually address any of the day-to-day issues facing immigrants (legal or illegal).​

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