Streak of Racialist Extremism Exposed - New York Times (NYT) editorial this weekend on how the "relentlessly harsh Republican campaign against immigrants has always hidden a streak of racialist extremism. Now after several high-water years, the Republican tide has gone out, leaving exposed the nativism of fringe right-wingers clinging to what they hope will be a wedge issue." The editorial alludes to last week's visit by the American Cause to the National Press Club in Washington. The group, seeking to speak for the future of the Republican Party, declared that its November defeats in Congressional races stemmed not from having been too hard of foreigners, but too soft. The NYT points out several key points that have been repeated in NDN analysis throughout the years:
This is nonsense, of course. For years Americans have
rejected the cruelty of enforcement-only regimes and Latino-bashing, in opinion surveys and at the polls. In House and Senate races in 2008 and 2006, "anti-amnesty" hard-liners consistently lost to candidates who proposed comprehensive reform solutions. The wedge did not work for single-issue xenophobes like Lou Barletta, the mayor of Hazleton, Pa., or the former Arizona Congressman J. D. Hayworth. Nor did it help any of the Republican presidential candidates....Americans want immigration solved, and they realize that mass deportations will not do that. When you add the unprecedented engagement of growing numbers of Latino voters in 2008, it becomes clear that the nativist path is the path to permanent political irrelevance. Unless you can find a way to get rid of all the Latinos.
The Editorial also alludes to two illustrative quotes by Bill O'Reilly, "for another YouTube taste of the Fox News host assailing the immigration views of "the far left" (including The Times) as racially traitorous."
On that note, you might want to review the NDN Backgrounder: State of the Modern GOP and the Conservative Movement
Amidst Having No Identity and No Agenda, the GOP Attacks Immigrants Again in Economic
Stimulus Debate
NDN BackgrounderImmigration Reform and the Growing Power of the Hispanic Vote
The Utter Bankruptcy of Today's Republican Party
Chip Saltsman's Other Song - The Star Spanglish Banner - After all the attention received by the Republican mailing of the parody song "Barack the Magic Negro" by Chip Saltsman, last week NDN highlighted "The Star Spanglish Banner," a "puerile bit of Latino-baiting" on the same notorious CD. That same afternoon Mr. Saltsman withdrew his name from the race for RNC Chair.
The election for RNC Chair was finally won by Michael Steele. Many see this as a "first step" by the
Republican party to change direction, but when we read Mr. Steele's position on immigration, it is clear that the GOP just doesn't understand how to fix the broken immigration system, and they have no plan.
According to this article, and to the New York Times,incoming Senator Gillibrand "Hints at a Change of Mind on Immigration."
University of Virginia law professor David Martin is joining the Department of
Homeland Security as a principal deputy general counsel.
Confidential taxpayer information might be at risk in Weld County, CO due to warrantless immigration searches being conducted by the Sheriff's office.
Postponing E-verify - The federal government has agreed to postpone implementing the E-Verify regulation for federal contractors until May 21, 2009 at the earliest, a business group said today. Federal officials agreed to a request by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to postpone enforcement of the regulation so that the rule can be reviewed by the Barack Obama administration, the organization said in a news release. It is the second time the federal government has pushed back the deadline. Under the new agreement, federal contractors will
not need to comply with E-Verify until May 21.
Layoffs mean more than lost wages for H-1B visa holders
Obama Must Embrace Immigrants to Reform Economy
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