Michael Smerconish, a CNN host and SiriusXM personality, made news Thursday for saying that people who act like a “bigot” or “racist” online should be outed, yet his own past writing may reflect attitudes that the Left considers “racist.”
While Michael Smerconish has expressed a number of liberal views in recent years, many of his past columns endorse ideas that, by the standards of the American Left, could be seen as “racist.” (RELATED: CNN’s Michael Smerconish: Media Should Out Anonymous People If They Say ‘Bigoted’ Things [VIDEO])
In a blog post from November 2009 published at the Huffington Post, Smerconish explicitly promotes racial profiling, something that would surely be found racist and Islamophobic by his left-wing peers.
He writes, “Profiling. Let’s look for terrorists who look like terrorists. Those who threaten us have similarities. In virtually every instance, they have race, gender, ethnicity, religion and appearance in common. Those characteristics should be considered as we seek to prevent terrorist strikes against the United States. Everyone needs to be screened, but some more than others. When the terrorists start looking like Thurston Howell, III, we will change accordingly.”
In the same column, Smerconish also endorsed immigration policy that was positively Trumpian.
He said, “Immigration. Our borders are porous. They need to be closed. Only when they are closed should we make decisions as to what to do with the millions who are already here illegally. It is impractical to believe we will ship them back to wherever they came from. But through attrition, and by ensuring no more of their friends and relatives join them, we will probably diminish the herd.”
This isn’t Smerconish’s only writing about immigration. He also penned a 2007 article for the Huffington Post where he writes, “Our borders are porous, and Congress won’t act. The closest they’ve come was to approve 700 miles of fencing, but without funding. Meanwhile, the quality of life in Hazleton declines.”
Smerconish also wrote an article in 2006 for HuffPost positively reviewing Pat Buchanan’s book, “State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America.”
In the article, he cites a fact Buchanan pointed out about illegal aliens’ criminality, saying, “One in every 12 people breaking into the United States illegally has a criminal record.”
He also notes Buchanan’s claim about white people becoming a minority, saying, “By 2050, the U.S. population of European descent will be a minority, as it is today in California, Texas, and New Mexico.”
Smerconish writes, “Those coming here are disproportionately poor, uneducated and criminal. And the fact that they are emigrating from countries that have themselves never been fully assimilated into the First World, is what separates this group from our forefathers. They are breaking in, not playing by the rules. Most important, many have no desire to be American. So why does it continue?
“The status quo is enabled by multinational corporations anxious to topple sovereign borders, a Hispanic media that depends for its survival on the perpetuation of bilingualism and gutless politicians. Political correctness is a major factor. Witness how many seek to dismiss Buchanan’s analysis as the work of a white guy uncomfortable with the realization that his kind is losing its dominance and control. Or they try to label him a racist or xenophobe.”
Finally, he ends the column by saying, “‘State of Emergency,’ indeed. It’s time to close and defend our borders.”
Smerconish also wrote a sardonic 2006 article for HuffPost that seemed to criticize illegal immigrants for their lack of assimilation and the political correctness that prevents people from talking about it.
He also advocated a position that many leftists would seemingly find Islamophobic in a 2005 column for HuffPost. In the article, he speaks approvingly of flushing the Koran down the toilet to intimidate Muslim Gitmo detainees.
He says, “When I first read the Newsweek blurb that said our interrogators were threatening the flushing of the Koran as a means of getting information out of bad guys at Gitmo Bay, it didn’t even register. It was that tame, at least to me. After all, what we’re talking about here is the use of non-physical means to extract information from suspected al Qaeda members in the context of a war – on terror.”
He adds, “Those depicted on my set are willing to work themselves into a lather – while burning our flag – over reports of the American Standardizing of the Koran, and look about one small step removed from the terrorists who cut off Nick Berg’s head or flew airplanes into the Twin Towers. These enemies of the United States are lunatics, and the depravity of radical Islam knows no bounds. If the toilet act doesn’t work, let’s try a menstruating American GI, riding a pig, if available.”
CNN drew outrage this week after its reporter Andrew Kaczynski tracked down the creator of the pro wrestling gif tweeted out by President Trump and the network seemed the threaten to reveal the man’s identity. Many saw CNN’s behavior as “blackmail.” (RELATED: ‘Extremely Unethical’ — CNN Draws Backlash After Threatening To ID Reddit User Behind Trump’s WWE Video)
However, Smerconish had a different take, saying on his SiriusXM show Wednesday that because the creator of the gif may also have made postings that were racist and anti-Semitic, he deserves to be outed.
“If he continues to be a racist, if he continues to be a bigot, if he continues to be anti-Semitic, they’re gonna out him. Yeah, I like that,” he asserted. “He should be outed.”
Smerconish also said on Thursday that people who “promote hate,” also “sacrifice any right to privacy that you otherwise would have had.”
By saying this, Smerconish essentially endorsed doxxing anyone who can be perceived to be a “racist” or “bigot,” effectively leaving them jobless and open to harassment and threats. (RELATED: CNN Analyst: You Don’t Have The ‘Right’ To Be Anonymous)
