2008: One Last Reason to Be Grateful
Written by David on December 31st, 2008I fully expected immigration and “immigration reform” to be one of the key issues of the 2008 presidential campaign. The Republican candidate was going to emphasize policy proposals and use jingoistic euphemisms that told the white, black and Asian people, in coded language, that they’d better be afraid of Mexicans and that we should send as many of them as we can back to where they came from. Regardless of who won the election, this would have caused a large number of obedient Republicans who otherwise might not have worried too much about Mexicans to see our latest wave of immigrants as a people to fear and hate.
But this didn’t happen.
For this, I must say–eh-hem–thank you, John McCain.
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31
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can i be grateful that jm lost, too?
31
PM
Americans should be concerned about upholding the Constitution and existing laws on immigration. When we turn a blind eye towards any nationality that chooses to break the law, even if they are doing the jobs Americans “don’t want to do,” shouldn’t we turn a blind eye towards any lawbreaking? Perhaps that would include those that may be breaking the law in drowning squirrels?
These illegals are trying to get here to make a better life for themselves since they see our way of life and economy as functioning–for the most part. Our way of life and economy have been upheld by laws and citizens’ willingness to work together and respect those laws. If we allow a dissolution of those laws, wouldn’t our way of life be compromised and the very thing those people are coming here for disappear? BTW, dissatisfaction with the current “amnesty” consensus runs strong with both obedient Republicans and obedient Democrats.
2
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The problem is that the anti-”amnesty” crowd so easily and frequently crosses over into xenophobia. The laws as they now stand are useless and must be changed so that they bear some resemblance to reality. But the danger is in demonizing Mexicans in the process, just as the lazy, drunken, violent, wife-swapping Irish were once demonized.
8
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The fact that talk radio branded (successfully, unfortunately) the 2008 immigration reform bill as “amnesty” stems from the xenophobia and from the related fear that has been manufactured surrounding immigration. We need secure borders but primarily we are in absolutely dire need of making the process of legal immigration much more efficient. A five to ten year wait (if you qualify) and enough bureaucracy to make the DMV seem like it was designed by German engineers is both exacerbating the immigration problem, and is expected to contribute to future domestic labor shortages.
8
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Agreed, Diogenes. Can’t argue with that.