Cartoon by Joe Heller

Republicans, do you want a race-based immigration system, too?

THE WASHINGTON: President Trump’s intent could not be more explicit: He wants immigration policies that admit white people and shut the door to black and brown people. That is pure racism — and the Republican Party, which traces its heritage to the Abraham Lincoln era, must decide whether to go along.

Silly me. The GOP seems to have made its choice, judging by the weaselly response from most of the Republicans who were in the Oval Office on Thursday when Trump made vile and nakedly racist remarks.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) heard the president clearly: Trump referred to African nations as “shithole countries,” the shocked senator reported. At another point, while discussing potential relief for groups of immigrants — including Haitians — who are losing their temporary permission to remain here, Trump reportedly said, “Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out.”
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According to Durbin, Trump asked why the United States wasn’t welcoming more immigrants from places such as Norway, whose prime minister had visited the White House a day earlier.

To Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), the president’s message apparently came through. His colleague, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who was not at the meeting, said that Graham told him Durbin’s account was “basically accurate.” Graham himself would say only that “I said my piece directly” to the president, and that “I’ve always believed that America is an idea, not defined by its people but by its ideals.”

Other Republicans at the meeting cravenly claimed either deafness or memory loss. Perhaps they simply agree with Trump’s race-based approach to immigration.

Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) issued a joint statement saying they “do not recall . . . specifically” the “shithole countries” slur; Perdue later went further, flatly denying the words were spoken. Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of homeland security, said she did not recall “that exact phrase,” while House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) apparently have been stricken mute >>>