On Tuesday, September 15, 2009, the Washington Post, featured a story entitled, Lots of Fear Remains Over Economy, Job Losses [By Jon Cohen and Jennifer Agiesta] while on Page A4 it reported that Immigration, Health Debates Cross Paths (by Spencer Hu)—a story which seems designed to show that mudslinging is the only weapon left to immigration enthusiasts who want open-border importation of low wage employees or more members for their ethnic or religious factions. [VDARE.com note: The original headline on the web page was Immigration Overhaul Supporters Ratchet Up Rhetoric, which puts the blame on America's Voice [email them] but it was changed for some reason.]
The Fear article notes that Americans are apprehensive about the economy. Gee, not surprising. The Post says, "Lower-income respondents have felt the brunt of the economic contraction more directly, with more than a third of those with annual household incomes under $50,000 reporting a job loss at home, compared with about two in 10 of those with higher incomes."
Not a great time to bring in a bunch more low wage workers, eh?
Then take the main point of the Post Immigration/ Health article: To say that those people who think immigration should contain simple features like, oh, enforcing present laws and making sure legally resident workers get employed by businesses, are "racists".
Yes, patriotic immigration reformers are concerned that health care money goes to illegal aliens. So are the vast majority of Americans. The studies on this issue are very clear and without major overhaul of the present bills the problem will not be fixed.
However, this quote from Hsu's article tells you what's happening:
"Trying to beat back a furor over whether President Obama's centerpiece initiative would subsidize health care for illegal immigrants, liberal supporters of an immigration overhaul on Monday called a main proponent of that claim a hate group,' citing its founder's ties to white supremacists and interest in racist ideas, such as eugenics."
This "founder", John Tanton, a retired ophthalmologist, from a small Michigan town, perceived years ago in the 1970s that importing without need or care another 50 million aliens and their offspring would not be sound policy. Essentially, the Washington Post is giving ink (again) to the Southern Poverty Law Center smears.
Now, apparently, the time has come to pull out all the stops to tie this gentle, caring intellectual, whose perspicacity on the immigration issue has been incredible, to Joe Wilson, who shouted "You lie!" during Obama's speech to Congress.
Tanton has for many years been expounding real immigration arguments which make sense for the good of the entire country–see my piece Democrat Says: Without (Patriotic) Immigration Reform, All Reforms Are Imperiled—Including Health Care.
For those totally reasonable, practical and patriotic ideas, Tanton is now being targeted for ad hominem attack—the only weapon those who want cheap labor and open borders have left. Here is a section headed in bold type so you can't miss it:
"In a series of reports, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League have focused on Tanton, who founded FAIR in 1979. The groups quote from Tanton's correspondence with Holocaust deniers and white nationalist thinkers, his expressed interest in anti-Semitic writers and the study of eugenics, and concerns about the "educability" of Hispanics and the loss of a 'European American' majority.
"We want to keep that drumbeat going so politicians know when FAIR lobbyists speak to them, this is who they represent," said Heidi Beirich, an SPLC researcher."
At least WaPo's Hsu quoted Dan Stein, FAIR's President, but it almost seems like "When did you stop beating your wife"?
"Stein defended FAIR's track record, cited its diverse membership and said the group 'stands four-square against discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion.' He said attacks on Tanton are taken out of context and 'simply do not reflect the true character of the person,' whom Stein described as a 'Jeffersonian or Renaissance man or intellect' whose interest and writings span a wide range of issues.
"He criticized America's Voice and allied groups as 'juvenile mud throwers who seem unprepared to engage in serious public debate.'"
Let's have a real debate. Health care reform of course should not mean tax dollars to illegal aliens. Saying that is reasonable, although it is frankly being used by the opposition to call Dr. Tanton and other real reformers "racists". The vast majority of thinking Americans which include so many citizens of Hispanic heritage, understand that trying to bring in more and more unneeded people, blowing our population up to 500 million by 2050, is simply madness and must be stopped.
As the Post's Cohen and Agiesta tell us: "Nearly six in 10 Americans are now concerned about job or pay losses in the coming months, little changed since February, and there has been no increase in the percentage who see the federal government's stimulus efforts as having an impact, even as the pace of layoffs has eased in recent months. And there is lukewarm public confidence that the government is enacting measures to stave off another financial crisis."
What better time for real patriotic immigration reform?
As Dan Stein so often and eloquently notes, when asked about what to do about the millions of illegal aliens now in our midst, patriotic reformers have never argued for rounding up and deporting all these folks. If we simply enforced our laws and made it impossible for people here illegally to get a job, then they would melt away over time.
The deportation bogeyman was the creation of the same people who are now resorting to ad hominem arguments.
The key to starting real reform is the permanent extension of E-verify—the website through which, in short order 99% of the time, the legal residence of job applicants can be verified.
E-verify is now inserted into various bills in the Congress. Hopefully, it will be permitted to function beyond its present expiration date of September 30.
Donald A. Collins [email him], is a freelance writer living in Washington DC and a former long time member of the board of FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. His views are his own.
