[guest post by Dana]

Reinforcing his troubling lack of concern for Americans doubtful about the government’s ability to thoroughly identify and track Syrian refugees slated to come into the country, President Obama mocked Republican leaders for their determination to protect Americans in the aftermath of the Paris massacre:

Apparently they’re scared of widows and orphans coming in to the United States of America as part of our tradition of compassion. At first they were worried about the press being too tough on ’em during debates. Now they’re worried about three-year-old orphans. That doesn’t sound very tough to me. They’ve been playing on fear in order to try to score political points or to advance their campaigns. And it’s irresponsible. And it’s contrary to who we are. And it needs to stop, because the world is watching.

Yes, the world is watching, President Obama, and the world knows that ISIS has, and will continue to brutally use, abuse, and groom women and children as terrorists and suicide bombers. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume these radical Islamic jihadists will share the common goal of disrupting and destroying the West, and will attempt to infiltrate the region in any way possible. Also, given that we now know that two terrorists sneaked from Syria into Europe via Greece, how is it *not* reasonable to be very concerned about our inability to thoroughly vet Syrian refugees?

As a reminder, FBI Director James Comey cautioned last month:

“We can only query against that which we have collected. And so if someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them,”

To a reasonable person, the president’s schoolyard games of blame and shame are all the more dangerous in light of the real risk we face. Yesterday, Ted Cruz summed up the president’s refugee plan: “It is the height of lunacy for a government official to welcome in tens of thousands of refugees when we know that among them will be ISIS terrorists.”

Cruz then challenged President Obama to debate his refugee policy:

“I want to encourage you, Mr. President, come back and insult me to my face,” Cruz said today. “Let’s have a debate on Syrian refugees right now. We can do it anywhere you want. I prefer it in the United States and not overseas where you’re making insults. It’s easy to toss a cheap insult when no one can respond, but let’s have a debate.

“I got to tell you, it is utterly unbefitting of the president to be engaging in those kind of personal insults and attacks,” he continued.

Apparently, it’s not just Ted Cruz and other Republicans in leadership who believe the president is seriously misguided, as both Democrats and Republicans rebuked the president in a vote today which increases security checks on Syrian and Iraqi refugees seeking entry to the U.S.:

The vote was 289-137, enough to override a threatened White House veto of the legislation, which was hurriedly drafted in response to the carnage in the streets of Paris. Forty-seven Democrats voted for the bill, despite President Barack Obama’s biting criticism of its proposed limits.

The bill would require new FBI background checks and individual sign-offs from three high-ranking U.S. officials before any refugee could come to the U.S. from Iraq or Syria, where the Islamic State group that has claimed credit for the attacks has flourished.

Republicans said it was simply prudent to place new controls on the refugee system, without ending it entirely or requiring religious tests as some in the GOP, including presidential candidates, have demanded.

–Dana