Pat Buchanan: "We Own Mexico"



Generally, we regard Pat Buchanan as a sad, elderly relic of an age when African-Americans were forced to go to the back of the bus. Buchanan is the sort of chap who might -- had he not, unfortunately, access to the public airwaves -- be tossing back a milk shake at Ruth's Chris Steak House in DC, wondering why his Ford Administration nomination to the Apartheid South African government never mestastasized (Averted Gaze). His sulfurous denounciations on Israel have continually lent ammunition to charges of anti-semitism, which even his friend and conservative fellow traveller William F. Buckley, Jr. felt rhetorically unable to defend Buchanan against.

But it is in incendiary rhetoric against Mexican immigration that Buchanan really and truly comes into his crisp, white hood. These are the brown people who really get his sheets in a twist. On yesterday's McLaughlin group, Buchanan went what can only be properly construed as Gonzo:

"John McLaughlin: On this point -- this is either for Tony (Blankley) or Mort (Zuckerman): What was left out of this bill that ought to be in the bill with regards to securing of borders?

"Mort: Well, I do think that there is a tremendous expansion of the ... border security to the south. The one thing we haven't protected, of course, is against Canadaians. I'm a Canadian, I can understand why.

(Pat Buchanan chuckles softly in the background)

"Tony Blankley: A National ID Card ..

"John McLaughlin: What was left out of the bill was ... Why aren't we leaning on the Mexican government?

"Mort: You can lean on the mexican government all you want. mexico's population has gone from 20 million in 1940 to 110 million today. No Mexican President can survive ...

McLaughlin: --Calderone might do it ..

"Mort: No ... absolutely not ..

"McLaughlin: --Fox wouldn't do it ...

"Mort: -- It's the second largest support ...

McLaughlin: --But why don't we try to do it, we have trade leverage with them.

Mort: We have tried to do it and the only way that we are going to be able to do this -- to some kind of rational system here ...

"McLaughlin: You know the prime reason is the repatriation of money to Mexico.

Mort: --Of course ..

"McLaughlin: --The Mexicans ..

Mort: ... No Mexican president can walk away from that. No Mexican president could succede.

McLaughlin: am I right or wrong?

"Pat buchanan: You're wrong. The reason is, john, the lack of courage in the executive of the united States. We have enormous leverage.

McLaughlin: Absolutely!

"Buchanan: 23 billion goes in remittances every year down there .. we buy their oil .. on tourism .. I mean, we OWN Mexico (Eleanor Clift gorans in the background) you could get seomthing done if you had courage of the Presidency.

"Mort Zuckerman: oh, that's nonsense, pat. We don't own Mexico.

"Eleanor clift: Mexico is a developing society ..

"Mort: Absolutely ..

"Eleanor: .. And as they develop more they will control their family size. and the Catholic Church plays a role in that, too.

Mort: the last thing in the world we need is for Mexico to become a radical left wing government which the policies which you are talking about would accomplish!

"McLaughlin: (Without irony) When we come back, Hellfire in the holy land!"

(McLaughlin Group)