Spelling Out the Obvious
This special issue of “DUUUHHH!!!” has TWO cover stories. First: Traffic is getting worse. Hold the phone! Who knew??? They had to do a study to find this out? Christ, all they had to do was get behind the wheel and try to go somewhere.
And the other earthshaking revelation is: Republicans might be losing support among Hispanic voters. [Gasp!] Say it isn't so! Nobody was more shocked by this possibility than Tom “Kill-All-The-Mud-Races” Tancredo (R-Wingnut).
Yes, illegal immigration is a serious issue with no simple solutions. Bring on the demagogues. The outcry against illegal immigrants is sort of like the fury against school busing in the 1960s and ‘70s (speeding up integration by busing students away from their own neighborhoods and into other school districts). A lot of the resentment was legitimate and not based on racism. But the George Wallaces of the day sure got lots of political mileage out of it. They could whip millions of rednecks into a frenzy just by going on and on about “that #!$#%$#$!! busing.”
Unlike today’s Republicans, George Wallace didn’t act puzzled when Blacks didn’t vote for him.
The most rightwing elements of the Republican Party are trying to get the same political mileage out of illegal immigration. They don’t need to spew out stereotypes and racial slurs. All they have to do is keep hammering away at “them” and “illegals” and “guarding our border,” and millions of voters go into a white-hot fury. Like with school busing, a lot of this fury is legitimate and not based on racism.
But the Republicans are purposely using this issue to fan the flames and court every single-digit-IQ sister-humping mouthbreathing xenophobe in the country. And then they wonder why they're losing Hispanic voters.
Labels: George Wallace, Hispanic voters, Tom Tancredo
posted by Tom Harper @ 12:08 PM
20 Comments:
The GOP talks out of both sides of its collective mouth when it talks about immigrants and Hispanic voters. On the one side, they spew the usual "family values" and religious crap and whatever else to this target audience they think will hoodwink them. Out of the other side comes the stuff they don't say in front of the target group, lest they lose their vote.
The more light is shed on this, the more I think we will find Hispanic and immigrant voters turning away from the doubletalkers and toward the left...
"Unlike today’s Republicans, George Wallace didn’t act puzzled when Blacks didn’t vote for him."
Love it. You're right - they act so puzzled. It's the insidious kind of racism my mother had. Get this: back in the 60s, she would say, in all sincerity, "I just don't understand why they're so upset. We never mistreated OUR nigras." Swear to god. (and by "our" I presume she meant the people in the tiny Texas town where she grew up.) Hey, this might make a good blog post of my own sometime ...
Anyway, probably the Repos thought they had the Hispanic vote sewn up because of the abortion issue. Surprise!
What a circus.
Its really really last gasp "mobilize the red neck hordes" kind of thinking I guess they had to try and pull some kind of political bogey man out of the closet but this is just sad. I mean heck the registered Hispanic vote is spread alot more broadly then they think across many more states, welcome back to 50's America.
Snave: Yeah, the Republicans have been walking a tightrope by sucking up to ethnic groups and rednecks at the same time. I think they're about to fall off.
Candace: I come from a conservative family and I used to hear those same lines. "The Negroes down South are happy; they don't want all these Northerners going down there and stirring up trouble." Ah, brings back memories.
Damien: Yup, I think a last gasp effort is exactly what they're doing. They've gotten lots of power by pushing all the hate buttons, but I think they're running out of tricks.
This is so familiar. Conservative Republican Strategist do their research and say "Oh look these people go to church, have family values, want tough crime laws, and are not keen on Gays lets recruit them away from the Democrats!"
That was said about Blacks 30 years ago and is now being said about the Latino's
When the Republican's keep blowing it - taking one step forward and 25 steps back and wondering where they went wrong can be summed up simply
"THEY ARE A ALL WHITE MALE PARTY RUN BY SOUTHERN NEAR SEGREGATIONIST (WITH THE REST FALLING IN LINE)WHO REFUSE TO INTEGRATE THEIR OWN AND WHOM (WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN) WOULD RATHER RESORT TO RACIAL FEAR (WILLIE HORTON/IMMIGRATION) THEN SIT DOWN REACH OUT/DISCUSS ISSUES.
Conservative believe the Economic rewards would equalize everybody. The same line they have used over 80 years to oppose any sort of civil rights laws. It is even more B.S. with their deliberate blatant economic preferences to the rich. "Hey idiots, yes these people want tougher crime laws but they also want equal justice something you refuse to even acknowledge! Blocking Gay marriages and abortions do nothing to stop outsourcing, help the health care crises or give real wages!"
Tom Said:
like the fury against school busing in the 1960s and ‘70s (speeding up integration by busing students away from their own neighborhoods and into other school districts).
I'd like to clear this up: THIS WAS NEVER ABOUT BUSING Busing was the convenient (and a very good one) scapegoat, the whole campaign was to remove BROWN and bring back PLEUSSY in other words they wanted to bring back Segregation for the South
I'll explain:
When Nixon was wooing the South with his Southern Strategy it meant to bring Southern Democrats to the Republican Party. To do so he had to promise Strom Thurmond and the Rednecks three things:
1. That the Republican Party would never adopt a Civil Rights Platform (which is still true)
2 A Southerner would be his running mate (Agnew)
3. He would appoint Supreme Court Justices that would overturn Brown (neither were confirmed by the Senate)
The Public was told it was about Busing but the truth was the South was even more angry about losing their traditional way of life then the busing part. With the steady packing of state righters going on now in the Court, I can see that coming true.
Hey these people are still going after the New Deal so they have patience.
Erik
Erik: Excellent comment. I can't think of anything to add to that.
This just in: Rain is wet.
Mike: Hey, there you go. OK, 3 cover stories this month.
Another earth shattering revelation....Rep Peter King wants to infiltrate and survail all Mosques which clearly are aligned with radical Islam...and newsflash...Giuliani knew exactly what he meant and what he said...And while they cried Rep. King was taken out of context, there was a wink and nod to the far right that wants to kill all muslims and bomb Iran.
PoliShifter: All mosques are clearly allied with radical Islam? Sure. And every Christian church is allied with the fanatics who beat up homosexuals and bomb abortion clinics. I've never heard of Peter King but he sure sounds like a winner. (I'll have to Google the name.)
So, after we kill all the Muslims, am I going to have to worry about the Hindu temple that's in my town? So many brown people to hate, so little time.
When I used to think of "Peter King," it was always the shitty SI football guy, but that title has been usurped.
Kudos, Representative Knuckledragger!
Hi tom, The youtube video is on my blog here toward the bottom:
Random News Rant
Direct YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoDpfsQJ-N8
(Youtube seems to be having trouble at the momment)
When you see his Republican mug, you'll recognize him...he makes the rounds on Sundays.
Randal: Ah, yes, so many brown people. And people who dress funny or have kooky accents -- who needs 'em?
PoliShifter: Thanks. I played the video. God what a dunce. I noticed he kept getting tongue-tied whenever he tried to say "civil liberties." I guess it's beyond his capabilities to get through five syllables without fumbling.
R-Wingnut
I almost spit Coca-Cola all over my monitor at that one.
Miss Kitty: Actually, there's a columnist in Seattle (Ron Judd) who uses that; I was just stealing from him. Glad you liked it.
The Repugs are like Bush in they think their urine doesn't stink, and the world deserves them, no matter how poor, how uneducated and what color they may be.
I prefer (W-Jesusistan) for the likes of the Chimpleton white-sheet set, but to each his own.
The gay marriage thing in 2004 wasn't about gays at all! Maybe the "news" organizations pretended that they didn't know it, but the cousin-humpers that marched off to cast votes for Chimpy understood it all too well. Demonizing gays was the opening of a door; it was 100% about allowing the polite people to feel good about being ignorant bigots again. I SCREAMED about this prior to the election, and if you don't believe me, see for yourself the ties between "family" oriented Jesusistanis like James Dobson and the more traditional "values" groups (and by "traditional" I mean people that dress in robes and gather around flaming crosses.)
Larry: Yes, that's what they think, but unfortunately it stinks to all hell.
Jolly Roger: Yup, I remember Justice Sunday from Spring 2005. I pretty much lump all those "family values" types together as a bunch of KKK/Nazi assholes. I know there are millions of Christians who are sincere and well-meaning, but their "leaders" who hog the limelight and spout about "family values" and "traditional values" are nothing more than glorified lynch mobs.
In the 80's Jack Kemp used to write a series of essays on how conservatives can and should embrace Civil Rights. He talks about how the Republicans blew their chance to get on board by Nixon wooing the Southern Rednecks. He also talks about how conservatives could have come up with their own ideas for Civil Rights instead of hurting their statue with Minorities by leaving it up to the Liberals to make the call, becoming followers not leaders. Only then to criticize the liberals when it "didn't work" and still not coming up with their own plans.
Of course you have to believe there was a problem in the first place don't you Conservatives?
Kemp grew up around black people and played with them when he played pro ball and passionately believed you can be a conservative and embrace Civil Rights.
For his troubles he got the Nickname the "Bleeding Heart" Conservative (which is a horrible thing to call a Conservative) and worse, he became Jack "you-know-how-to-talk-these-people" Kemp in the Reagan Administration. Which meant that any time Ronald Reagan was invited to speak at a predominately black organization he send Kemp to do his talking, Kemp would quote one of his togetherness speeches which unfortunately was totally out of step with Reagan's and the rest of the Party's Platform on Civil Rights
"Blast it back to the Stone Age!"
Kemp seems to have dropped his message when he became Bob Doles running mate and I haven't heard from him since.
But it does make me wonder why there is so much scorn over "bleeding heart" and "Compassionate" Conservative titles which implies the opposite is "Uncaring", "Cruel", and "Insensitive" which most Conservatives seem to have no problem with?
Erik
Erik: I always liked Kemp, without knowing that much about him. But he seemed genuine and caring even though I disagreed with a lot of his views. I really think the reason he never caught fire with the Right was that he just wasn't hateful enough.
I guess for Republicans, "you know how to talk to these people" can be a foot in the door but there'll be a glass ceiling.
Also -- it shouldn't matter but it does -- his voice held him back. It was too high or too meek, or something. I don't remember exactly, but the first time I ever heard him speak on TV I realized he wasn't going far.
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