If you are a regular viewer of WonkTV, you know there was a hearing this morning in the House Judiciary subcommittee on Civil Rights about discrimination and violence against Asian Americans. Obviously, it was timely.

But because Republicans were involved, we sort of knew what was going to happen. It's a truism in American politics that wherever two or three Republicans have gathered, one of them will come in and just mow everybody down with racist comments, and the other Republicans get left in their dust yelling "unfair!" and shootin' their guns in the air like Yosemite Sam, bitchin' that they NEVER get to say the racist stuff first.

Such was this morning. Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy, this fucking redneck, thought a House hearing on discrimination and violence against Asian Americanswould be a good place to talk about how we need to go back to the good old days of lynching.

Yes, lynching.

Roy started by saying platitudes about how the murders in Atlanta were bad. Then he got mad they were even talking about discrimination and violence against Asian-Americans, because here's why:

"The case we are talking about here, the tragedy we just saw occur in Atlanta, Georgia," Roy declared. "I would also suggest that the victims of cartels moving illegal aliens deserve justice. The American citizens in south Texas, they are getting absolutely decimated by what's happening at the southern border, deserve justice."

The conservative congressman continued: "The victims of rioting and looting in the street... last summer deserve justice. We believe in justice."

What about the Mexicans Chip Roy hates so much? What about the imaginary white victims of the imaginary Black Lives Matter riots last summer? WHAT ABOUT THEM? We're just surprised he didn't put his hand on his hip and say "WHAT ABOUT ASIAN-ON-ASIAN VIOLENCE?"

Then came the lynching:

"There's an old saying in Texas about 'find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree.' You know, we take justice very seriously. And we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys. That's what we believe."

He said that. In a hearing on anti-Asian discrimination and violence. That for the sake of justice, we should bring back lynching. (The Daily Dot notes that Chip Roy's "old saying" is in fact a Toby Keith lyric.)

Roy's point, such as it was, was that he doesn't like all these people saying what hate speech is, doesn't like this "policing of rhetoric in a free society," he just thinks when somebody does something bad, we should lynch them. (He did not mention due process, you will be shocked to learn.)

Roy also screamed about the "Chinese Communist Party" a whole bunch, because he thought this was the venue for that. This was a hearing where pretty much every elected Asian-American woman in Congress, two of whom are Republican women, testified about their experiences. Actor Daniel Dae Kim testified in support of two hate crimes bills, saying he was speaking to all those "to whom humanity still matters."

And this is how Chip Roy, the ranking member of the subcommittee, decided to kick off the hearing. Like we said, fucking redneck.

Roy got his ass handed to him in real time by Democratic Rep. Grace Meng of New York, who is Asian American.

"I want to go back to something that Mr. Roy said earlier," she began. "Your president and your party and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country that you want, but you don't have to do it by putting a bull's eye on the backs of Asian Americans across this country. On our grandparents and on our kids."

Fighting back tears, the New York congresswoman added: "This hearing was to address the hurt and pain of our community and to find solutions! We will not let you take our voice away from us!"

And Rep. Ted Lieu, also Asian American, handed Roy his ass during the hearing:

"I served on active duty so you can say whatever under the First Amendment. You can say racist, stupid stuff if you want," the Democrat snapped. "But I'm asking you to please stop using racist terms like 'Kung Flu' or 'Wuhan Virus' or other ethnic identifiers in describing this virus. I am not a virus, and when you say things like that, it hurts the Asian American community."

"Whatever political points you think you are scoring by using ethnic identifiers in describing this virus, you're harming Americans who happen to be of Asian descent," he added. "So please stop doing that."

If you think Roy felt bad, or maybe tried to argue that he should have worded that better, maybe shouldn't even have talked about lynching at all, you have clearly never met Chip Roy. In fact, the little hick doubled down, issuing a statement repeating his remarks, and babbling something about Texas justice, like PEW PEW PEW!

"Apparently some folks are freaking out that I used an old expression ...

Toby Keith lyric. Ancient Toby Keith lyric. From 2002.

... about finding all the rope in Texas and a tall oak tree about carrying out justice against bad guys. I meant it. We need more justice and less thought policing. We need to stop evil doers, such as those who carried out the attack in Atlanta this week, or cartels abusing little children, or those who kill our cops on the streets. We should restore order by tamping out evil actors, not turn America into an authoritarian state like the Chinese Communists who seek to destroy us. No apologies."

No apologies! And if it hurt your feelings, well then, Chip Roy doesn't care, because he's a goddamned piece of shit, so there.

What garbage.

OPEN THREAD.

[Daily Beast / ibid.]

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