The bogus cry of this-raises-serious-concerns was soon heard throughout the land.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley rushed to say that in hearings he wants to examine immigration reform, “particularly in light of all that is happening in Massachusetts over the last week.”
Never mind that what happened in Boston has relatively little to do with the issues being debated on the immigration front. Many politicians and pundits do whatever they can to hitch their wagon to any news bulletin might give them a rhetorical edge.
Sometimes this is legitimate—the Newtown massacre clearly convinced President Obama to mount a passionate push for gun control—and sometimes it’s a stretch.
If a shoe bomber tries to blow up a plane, we need to debate airline security. If an oil spill erupts in the ocean, we need to check on whether there were adequate federal inspections.
But as tragic as the Boston Marathon bombing was, it doesn’t lend itself to a huge policy revamp, unless someone wants to ban fertilizer, or stop holding marathons.
