Unfortunately, the point isn't facts. The point is that cynical unscrupulous politicians can garner votes by pandering to the ignorant prejudices of bigots and the poorly-educated. The US Republican Party is always in need of enemies and now that we can no longer be frightened by tales of reds under the bed or pedophile homosexuals (of whom, not coincidentally, the Republican Party has more than its fair share) the GoP has had to move on and create a new group it can claim "threatens our way of life and everything we hold sacred." It's disgusting, unfair, and ultimately stupid - but since when was stupidity anything other than the status quo when it comes to politics?