June 13, 2018

Chris Cuomo doesn't let anyone get away with anything on his new show - especially Republicans. He has a "Great Debate" segment, where Van Jones represents the left, and David Urban represents the right - and one of Tuesday's topics was yet another protection torn from immigrants -this time women in particular.

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III announced the DOJ would no longer include domestic abuse as a legitimate category for asylum-seekers. I'm sure "Mother" approves. Because his soul is blacker than the people he wishes he could still legally own.

But back to Cuomo, he doesn't let Urban get away with sneaking extra language in there to try to make a different point. Honestly, Urban doesn't stand a chance with this one. There is no way to get around the fact that this is cruelty for the sake of cruelty, and Urban's lame attempts go nowhere.

My favorite is when he suggests Congress step in to make a law to fix it. Aren't Republicans the ones who hate it when Congress makes laws? Don't they want Congress to legislate as little as possible? Cuomo shoots back, "How about just not making this horrible restriction to begin with?"

Then, to slam the door shut on the argument comes Van Jones, who says unequivocally...when there is violence against women by governments, by religious groups, it is ALWAYS political. So it would even be wrong to say women cannot seek political asylum, because it is nearly always political in some form.

Transcript below:

CUOMO: Now it's about women specifically and how they want to tailor what the categories of asylum are. Domestic abuse doesn't count anymore. What could that mean for women who are trying to flee persecution and come to this country?

(cross talk as there is sound malfunction)

CUOMO: Dave, what were you shaking your head at?

URBAN: You make it sound like the attorney general is saying domestic abuse is something that's okay. It's not okay.

CUOMO: He's saying it doesn't fit the category of asylum for protection.

URBAN: He's saying political asylum is just that.

CUOMO: Asylum, not just political asylum, persecution is a category.

URBAN: Asylum in this country has been historically based on actions taken by the government, right? It's government-based actions against somebody because their race, their religion, you know, a large group of things, right? And domestic abuse, domestic violence has not been one of those traditionally.

CUOMO: But, it's circumstantial, Dave, they had to rule it out as an entire category. What if you're dealing with the women in North Africa and mutilation? What if you're talking about extreme sex and women want to run. Do you prescribe a whole category?

URBAN: Let the Congress change the law. Let Congress change the law.

CUOMO: Why don't you just not tailor it so narrowly so as to exclude this just for some political motive of harshness?

URBAN: Chris, domestic violence is a horrific, horrific thing.

CUOMO: Then, give it that respect.

URBAN: In the united states we can't -- listen, we're not doing a good enough job in the united states in the violence against women's act. It has a tough time every time it gets brought up in the Congress.

CUOMO: Deal with it here, don't deal with it there. Van jones, make your point. I have to move to another topic.

JONES: I want to say it is, in fact, a political issue. The fact that women are targeted for violence both by governments in their home, by some extreme religious groups is a political issue. And women fleeing for their lives because they do not want to be brutalized sometimes with their children in tow, that's exactly the kind of asylum seeker.

URBAN: What government action is doing this?

JONES: You got a chance to talk. You're putting that in there, but there could be non-government actors that cause people to flee, and I think it's important that we point out, yes, in the old sexist paradigm, men made the laws but didn't think about women's experience, it would have been a stretch. But in this world today, it is in fact true, and I think understood by many people, women being targeted as women for women -- what?

URBAN: Don't toss me in there. That's not fair. I don't have sexist views.

JONES: No, no, no, I didn't say YOU were sexist. I'm saying in the old way. You said historically, and all I was saying is was yes, historically, you might have been on firmer ground, but in today's world, people understand violence against women is political.

CUOMO: You would think right now you would be expanding the mandate, not contracting it. It seems to be some kind of politics at play. That's what we're getting at here.

JONES: I wasn't saying you were sexist. You said historically.

CUOMO: Dave, you're welcome here always as a fair broker. I have one more topic and also a reminder. We have a documentary on domestic violence on HLN that's gonna be coming out soon. You would not believe the scope of the problem in this country, let alone others where women are not protected at all by the government.

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