Immigration

Marco Rubio – Just Another Weasel

April 30, 2012 By mario piperni 4 Comments

Romney’s VP-in-waiting, Marco Rubio, is perfecting the conservative sleaze play.

He has proposed his version of the Dream Act in which people who entered the country illegally as children will be allowed to remain in the U.S. if they attend college or enter the military. It differs from the Democrat’s original Dream Act in that it does not lead to citizenship. It would instead issue non-immigrant visas allowing certain undocumented immigrants to remain in the country.

Unfortunately for Rubio, his Dream Act Lite which was concocted as a way to gain favor with Hispanics and con them into voting for the Republican Party in November, is meeting resistance within the GOP where a hard line stance on the issue of illegal immigration is still the order of the day.

John Boehner:

There’s always hope. I did talk to Sen. Rubio about his idea, and he gave me some particulars about how this would work. I found it of interest. But the problem with this issue is that we’re operating in a very hostile political environment and to deal with a very difficult issue like this I think it would be difficult at best.

Translation: Congress’ Tea Party wingnuts will never vote for any plan which proposes anything other than herding up all undocumented workers and shipping them back home in cattle cars.

So with his Dream Act doomed to failure, Rubio turns to conservative’s tried and proven fix of relying on low information voters to believe anything they say. In this case, it’s to lay the blame for failure to pass the Rubio Dream Act on President Obama. Of course.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is angling to blame President Obama for the looming failure of his watered-down DREAM Act, and the White House is strongly objecting to that implication, insisting that Rubio’s problem is with his own party, not the president.

“The notion that somehow the president or Democrats would be the roadblock to any progress on immigration is ridiculous,” a White House official told TPM. “If this proposal fails, the reason will be the Republicans.”

Conservatives have no shame. Not only is Rubio hoping to lay blame on Obama for his own party’s extremism on immigration (and every other issue) but he’s been blatantly bullshitting his way through this while attempting to sell his plan to both Spanish and English-language audiences.

…Rubio has emphasized different aspects of his plan to different audiences. During interviews on English-language media, for instance, he has emphasized that his proposal does not include citizenship; while appearing on the Spanish-language La Opinion, he played up the fact that it opens up possible “access to citizenship.”

More Rubio sleaze on a different issue.

Senator Marco Rubio, the Republican rumored possible running mate for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney today voted against the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which has passed time and time again in a bipartisan fashion for decades. this year the VAWA became a partisan nightmare for Republicans, who opposed extending protections to LGBT people, immigrants, and Native Americans. Because violence against some women is deplorable, but apparently, not all women are equal in the eyes of the GOP.

Meanwhile, the man who claims he isn’t interested in the VP job has been hanging out with Romney in Pennsylvania and recently moved up publication of his autobiography from the fall to June. Jeff Parker nailed this one.

Here’s hoping Hispanic voters see right through this self-serving, slimy politician.

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( The Marco Rubio source photograph is a Creative Commons licensed image from photographer Gage Skidmore.)

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Filed Under: Immigration Tagged With: Marco Rubio

The Nasty Mr. Santorum

December 9, 2011 By mario piperni

Here’s Mr. Family Values guy talking about what he’d do with illegal immigrants and their families.

“You can’t be here for 20 years and commit only one illegal act … because everything you’re doing while you’re here is against the law …” Santorum said. “I understand Congressman Gingrich saying, ‘Well, you know, people have been here and they’ve been good citizens and paying taxes.’ Yeah, under somebody else’s Social Security number because you stole it.”

Families should be broken up when the law is broken, which includes illegal immigration, he added.

Rick Santorum would have made a wonderful 17th century Inquisition judicator.

In the race to determine who of the GOP’s primary candidates is the nastiest and most heartless, Rick Santorum has just taken the lead. Behind Santorum’s pious, holier-than-thou, Jesus-loves-you facade, there is something horribly ugly and callous about the man. Breaking up families, illegal or not, when other solutions exist, is enough reason to pray that bible-thumping Rick never again holds political power of any kind.

Hey, Rick, Jesus would have been so proud of you.

On the bright side, all small-minded, gay-bashing, immigrant-hating Americans certainly have no shortage of politicians to support. There’s an entire political party out there made just for them

UPDATE:

This is worst than ugly. Michele Bachmann sees no problem in dragging illegals on to buses in front of their children.

What the hell is the matter with these people?

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Filed Under: Immigration, Madmen and Losers Tagged With: Santorum

Republican’s Search For the Anti-Romney Coming To An End

October 5, 2011 By mario piperni

In a few lines, Chris Cillizza perfectly sums up the Republican primary.

Since the start of the Republican race, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has been regarded as the frontrunner — if a somewhat weak one.

Conservatives — particularly those aligned with the tea party movement — have spent much of the year looking for an alternative to Romney, a nomadic journey that has led them to latch on to reality TV star Donald Trump, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and, most recently, businessman Herman Cain.

Each of those anti-Romneys have proven to be something less than advertised — with the possible exception of Trump who performed roughly equivalent to the lowest possible expectations that people had for him.

That’s where it stands and most likely will remain. Christie did the smart thing by bowing out of the race. Once the vetting began, he knew he’d be hit hard in much the same way that Perry was. The Romney camp would have been all over Christie for his stand on illegal immigration. Christie has stated in the past that, “[The President and Congress] have to put forward a commonsense path to citizenship for people” and “Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime.”

Those are definitely not the words that the base wants to hear from the ONE who will slay the Obama dragon/anti-Christ beast thingy, monster, Hitler-like, socialist, communist , black guy. What is a crime in Republican circles is any hint of being soft on illegal immigration. The base likes their leaders rough, tough and mean and besides, everyone knows that the only reasonable solution to illegal immigration is to build a mile high, electrified, “dang” fence surrounded by a mile wide moat filled with man-eating crocs bred to favor Latino blood.

With ~~Bush~~ Perry quickly fading and Cain basking in his 15 minutes of delusional glory, it’s Romney’s again to lose. Five dollars and my Johnny Cueto 2008 Topps Rookie card says it’s going to be a Romney/Rubio ticket. Christian conservatives are not going to like it but the time for Republicans to start loving the one they’re with is quickly approaching.

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Filed Under: Immigration, Republican! Republican! Tagged With: mitt romney, republican primary

The Growing Influence Of U.S. Hispanics

March 19, 2011 By mario piperni

Here’s a shocker for you </sarcasm>. In a new poll conducted by a GOP pollster, it was found that…get ready for this…Latino voters do not trust the Republican Party. Who would have thought, right?

Apparently, Latino voters have figured out what white middle conservative are still clueless about – namely that the GOP doesn’t give a damn about them except when it comes to soliciting their vote at election time. Numbers show that the percentage of Latinos who hold a favorable view of the Republican Party stands at a dismal 26% compared to 47% holding an unfavorable view. The fav/unfav numbers for Dems by the same group is 62/22. A full one third of Latinos say they would never vote for a Republican.

The big issue is of course immigration reform and matters such as the Arizona immigration law have only helped in pushing Latinos further toward the Democratic Party. Latinos are looking for true reform and a reasonable pathway to citizenship for illegals. There is nothing Republicans are saying these days which would indicate that that’s about to happen. The overall tone from conservatives in terms of immigrants (Latino and otherwise) tends to come off as pure disdain and racist in nature. The Republican ‘big tent’ approach isn’t working for Hispanics as much as it does for white, Christian, gun-loving, minority-hating, Americans.

Here’s a list of concerns and complaints which Latino have about the GOP. They know them well.

So why is any of this a big deal? Well because Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the United States comprising a full 16% of the population. That means 1 out of every 6 people living in the U.S. is of Hispanic origin and the numbers only get worse for the GOP. The median age for Hispanics is 27.4 years compared to 36 years for the general population. More than 1 out of every 5 American children is Hispanic (22%) and by the year 2050 that number is projected to be 39%. By that same year, 1 out of every 4 people in the U.S. will be Hispanic.

Republicans might not like it but 48.4 million people living in the United States are Hispanic and they’re not fond of the policies and rhetoric they’re hearing from conservatives. Unless Republicans drastically change their views, they’re looking at full time minority statues in the years and decades ahead.

Filed Under: Immigration Tagged With: Hispanics, polls

Immigration Reform or Bust

February 15, 2011 By mario piperni

Is there anyone in the GOP keeping an eye on the big picture?

Read the census data that have been coming out over the past couple weeks and you’re compelled to a stark conclusion: Either the Republican Party changes totally, or it has a rendezvous with extinction.

What the census shows is that America’s racial minorities, aggregated together, are on track to become its majority. The Republican Party’s response to this epochal demographic change has been to do everything in its power to keep America (particularly its electorate) as white as can be. Republicans have obstructed minorities from voting; required Latinos to present papers if the police ask for them; opposed the Dream Act, which would have conferred citizenship on young immigrants who served in our armed forces or went to college; and called for denying the constitutional right to citizenship to American-born children of undocumented immigrants.

And here’s a stat that should make every minority-hating, white bigot quiver in fear: when it comes to Americans aged 3 and under, whites are now a minority (49.9%). That does not bode well for a political party which has worked so hard at alienating Hispanics, Muslims and most other minority groups.

As we’ve noted before on these pages, one in seven Americans is currently of Hispanic descent and by the year 2050 that number will be 1 in 4. While Republicans gain short term success in spreading xenophobia and fear, the long range forecast is not looking good. Winning on the national level is not going to be possible without Latino support. This is clear.

So what choices does the GOP have?

It can defy its base and work with the Democrats to craft a policy that offers legalization to undocumented immigrants, and by so doing gain a chance to rebuild its support among minority voters. Or it can continue down its current path and try to cling to power by denying citizenship and voting rights to as many minority Americans as it possibly can. It can become a slightly kinder and gentler version of the old Southern segregationists, or South Africa’s apartheid white nationalists.

Defy its narrow-minded base? Nah. I don’t think that’s something Republicans are ready to do anytime soon.

Filed Under: Immigration Tagged With: census, latinos, Republicans