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In response to his comments earlier this week that microchips should be implanted into immigrants in the country illegally, 3rd District Republican Congressional hopeful Pat Bertroche was named “Worst Person in the World” Wednesday by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann.
On Monday, Bertroche told a Tama County Republican forum “I think we should catch ’em, we should document ’em, make sure we know where they are and where they are going. I actually support microchipping them. I can microchip my dog so I can find it. Why can’t I microchip an illegal? That’s not a popular thing to say, but it’s a lot cheaper than building a fence they can tunnel under.”
The comments drew immediate scorn from immigrants-rights advocates who felt the Urbandale Republican was dehumanizing immigrants by comparing them to pets. Bertroche isn’t denying he made the comments but insists it was meant as “social commentary” and was an example of him trying to poke fun at radical ideas.
His explanation did not save him from Olbermann’s daily countdown of the world’s worst people.
However, Olbermann also criticized Bertroche for saying immigrants in the country illegally receive government services without paying taxes to support those services. Olbermann correctly points out that this isn’t true (as supported by a study by the nonpartisan Iowa Policy Project), but Bertroche wasn’t the person who made that claim. It was actually state Sen. Brad Zaun, another 3rd District GOP candidate who spoke at the Tama County forum.
It appears this wasn’t Bertroche’s first stab at controversy, although clearly it was his most successful. The Des Moines Register reports on a comment he made April 23 about how he believes some Supreme Court Justices should be impeached.
“You can find cause” to impeach, Bertroche said. “Look at Ruth Bader Ginsburg. You ought to impeach her just by the way she looks. … Oh, I’m sure she’s a good justice if you’re a lefty.”
Here is the “Worst Person” segment featuring Bertroche.
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