NOTE: PLEASE say if you DON'T want your name and/or email address published when sending VDARE email.
From: Paul Mendez [Email him]
Reader Mendez has been working on a Tea Party-driven petition against the State of Maryland's unilateral attempt to legislate a DREAM Act-style amnesty, extending in-state tuition to illegal aliens.
I collected 60 signatures in 5 hours at a shopping center in liberal Montgomery County this weekend. The anger/astonishment/bewilderment of people when they learned of the bill was strong. Black or white, young or old, the majority of people who stopped to talk (most rush on) were against in-state tuition for illegals.
Interestingly, I found it impossible to predict if a person was going to be for or against in-state tuition for illegal aliens just by looking at them! One minute, I'd be getting an enthusiastic reception from a dreadlocked black kid, the next minute being called a racist by a middle-aged white guy.
More surprisingly, I'd estimate 1-2 percent of the people I talked to had ALREADY downloaded the petition and returned it. Remember, we only have to get signatures from 3% of the registered voters by June 30 to force a referendum.
I was initially skeptical, but my experience this weekend and feedback I'm getting from other petition collectors is making me cautiously optimistic we can pull this off.
Keep in mind that Maryland is one of the bluest states there is—Democrats bucked the trend and gained seats in Annapolis in 2010.
This petition drive reinforces some of the favorite themes of VDARE.com:
Politicians are completely out of touch with average voters when it comes to immigration. Even in super-liberal Montgomery County, I had no problem collecting signatures from not just old white people, but Jews, Blacks, and young people.
The GOP can use illegal immigration to energize its base—if it is brave enough to do so. The Maryland GOP was so demoralized, disorganized, underfunded and marginalized that it had nothing to lose by taking on this issue. If the referendum gets on the ballot in 2012, that is going to drive a lot of conservative voters to the polls who might otherwise have looked upon voting in Maryland as an exercise in futility and stayed home. GOP is getting petition gatherers from Tea Party groups and other local organizations
The internet has made it much easier for average person to fight The Man. Maryland GOP does not have money for advertising, paid canvassers, etc. And the Main Stream Media is not going to cover the story on an ongoing basis. I am an independent voter with no ties to GOP or Delegate Neil Parrott [the petition's organizer]. Thanks to the website, I have been able to train myself and take part without attending planning meetings, being mailed materials, etc.
The first milestone is whether we can deliver 18,000 valid signatures by May 31st. CASA de Maryland and other Treason Lobby groups are already vowing legal challenges.
Mendez is active in Help Save Maryland, an organization dedicating to exposing illegal alien corruption in his state. His previous letters are here.
