Vermination: Lou Dobbs' bout with leprosy

"You can sum up the fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats with one word: vermin. -- Matt Taibbi


David Neiwert has a concise takedown of Lou Dobbs' bogus immigrants-with-leprosy statistics here.

For those not up to date on Dobbs' bout with leprosy, here's a quick recap: Dobbs got called out by Leslie Stahl (among others) for citing bogus statistics and analysis offered up by a notorious rightwing crank on the incidence of leprosy in the United States and its causal relationship with illegal immigrants.

Dobbs and one of his show's reporters had stated that the incidence of leprosy in the United States had exploded in the early 2000s and that some 7000 new cases of leprosy had been reported here in just 3 years. Yikes!

Before you stop to make sure your nose, fingers, and toes are not falling off, please note: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 96 cases occurring in the United States were reported to the CDC in 2002, and disease prevalence has remained relatively stable in the United States (chart with 1973-2003 data is here).

Why did Dobbs and his staff rely on unsourced statistics from an article [pdf] written by a well-known rightwing nut job, Madeleine Cosman? Why didn't they just call the CDC and ask for the latest incidence data or just check out the CDC website?

I bet they did. But those statistics -- 96 cases versus 7000 -- obviously don't work with the intended narrative: Immigrants, especially Mexican illegal aliens, are infectious vermin!

My suspicions are supported by Dobbs' response to the controversy. He says he stands behind his data 100%. We know he knows better.

Narrative uber alles.

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Click "Read More" for the full "vermin" quote from Matt Taibbi's Spanking the Donkey.


You can sum up the fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats with one word: vermin.

Democrats are afraid of manmade or mechanical things: toxic waste, bombs, ECHELON, television, Wal-Mart, the Pentagon, stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, the stock market.

Republican fears are all biological. A recurring theme in almost every area of their belief systems is contagion of their virgin, protected world by living vermin greedy for rape of their treasure.

Republicans are weirdly not afraid of sprawl or the shopping malls that swallow their old neighborhoods, but they are afraid of the Mexicans who clean the kitchens in those new food courts…." -- Matt Taibbi, Spanking the Donkey