Pierce: The Historical Significance of 'Cosmopolitan' as an Insult [View all]

[mcar]

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a56782/stephen-miller-jim-acosta/

On Wednesday, for reasons known only to whatever critters inhabit the ravines and gullies of the presidential cortex, they trotted Miller out to talk about the administration's new proposal to limit legal immigration. Miller is not equipped to be the public face of a phony real estate scam, let alone the executive branch of the government of the United States. Jim Acosta of CNN asked him a question. It did not go well...

The way Miller leaned into the word "cosmopolitan" while answering Acosta has a long and ignoble history in 20th century authoritarianism, especially the anti-Semitic variety. During World War II, for example, the Soviet government under Stalin used to rail regularly at "rootless cosmopolitanism," especially in the arts. The Nazis were fond of tossing it around, too. There is no context in which Miller's use of the word against Acosta makes sense except as a historical signaling device.

Also, Miller doesn't know dick about Emma Lazarus and the Statue of Liberty. She wrote the poem, "The New Colossus," from which the famous lines on the Statue of Liberty's pedestal were taken in 1883 for the purpose of raising funds for … wait for it … the Statue of Liberty.

How do you put this uninformed goon in front of the camera? Jesus, these really are the fcking mole people.