I'm Proud that Governor Tom Wolf is My Governor, and Greg Abbott is Not.

Earlier today, Texas, Michigan, and Alabama's Republican Governors announced they will not accept Syrian refugees into their states. Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz said we should only accept the Christians. Donald Trump thinks taking any refugees is crazy. Texas Governor Greg Abbott even took time to write a letter to the President asking him to take no refugees into the United States right now, for fear of a Paris style attack. Let me remind you, none of the attackers were refugees at all, and the "passport" on one of their dead bodies was planted there after being purchased in Turkey.

I'm proud to state that my Governor, Pennsylvania's Governor, is taking the opposite position of these shameful men. Governor Tom Wolf says refugees are welcome in Pennsylvania, and he will continue to work with the federal government to take in refugees. He is making the moral, humane decision, one that I am proud to live with into our future.

ISIS wants you to hate the refugees, to blame them for the attacks on Paris, and to subject them to harsh new scrutiny that makes life in the West too difficult for them to bare. ISIS wants a clash of civilizations. Let's not lose sight of reality:

The very same refugees entering Europe are often the very same civilians who face the indiscriminate violence and cruel injustice in lands controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (though, it should be noted, many in Syria are also threatened by the brutal actions of the Syrian government). Globally, studies have shown that Muslims tend to make up the largest proportion of terror victims, with countries such as Syria and Iraq registering the highest toll.

If Muslim refugees come to Europe and are welcomed, it deeply undercuts the Islamic State's legitimacy. Aaron Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has helpfully catalogued some of the Islamic State's messages on the refugees pouring into Europe from the Middle East. The messages give the impression of deep discomfort and even jealousy that the Muslim population the Islamic State so covets for its self-proclaimed "caliphate" would rather live in "infidel" Western lands.

“Would You Exchange What Is Better For What Is Less?" is the title of one video message. It sounds more than a little like a note from a jilted ex.

Indeed, we must stand with the refugees, and discredit ISIS. I'm proud of Governor Wolf, my Governor. I'm glad I don't have to call Greg Abbott my Governor.