Our Star-Spangled Banner

[Photo by Albert of the Philly blog - more great photos here]

With all their talk about invasions and threats to U.S. security, the American nativist right thought the traditional Republican melange of fear and flag would create a groundswell on immigration reform.

It did. But the flags are flying over millions on the march in L.A., in Phoenix, on the streets of Philadelphia, here in New York, and all across the national mall in Washington DC. They're American flags for the most part, brilliant red, white and blue in the spring sunlight. And they're swirled by the hands and arms of those who do a good bit of our manual labor - immigrants, legal and otherwise. Americans, new and not, proud of their myriad heritage but even prouder of being Americans.

The outpouring was not from the right-wing base, as hoped. Oh, immigration reform is in the wind alright - but it's not moving in the direction that people like Tom Tancredo, James Sensenbrenner, and JD Hayworth intended. It's moving the other way, entirely. By stirring the pot in a desperate attempt at a galvanizing issue in what is shaping up as a disastrous election year for the home team, the Tancredo Wing has pretty much ensured that immigration reform in the United States will lead to a liberalization of current law. One more trip to the well with the old fear-laden, us-versus-them cultural themes of Ronald Reagan's craven Southern Strategy has yielded disaster for nativist conservatives.

The Bush Administration, meanwhile, has handled this issue with all the characteristic skill it applied to creating a new civil society in Iraq. That is to say, badly - although the President himself favors liberalized immigration law, his neo-Reaganist political calculations always tilt toward the precious base - a base, by the way, that is sick of being played and not all that loyal or motivated going into November.

Blogger Maskow from USworldcast [via Steve] writes a smoldering, full-on blast on race and the voting right - dead-on, in my view:

White, fundamentalist, voters of the lowest Republican income-brackets have been feasted on God, guns, and gay-bashing. Finger-lickin' good distractions as their jobs and sometimes whole factories were sent overseas, their sons and daughters to war, their treasury into the pockets of profiteers and speculators, their legal protections into the shredder. Even as their incomes shrank they were exhorted to spend lest the terrorists win, fattening the credit card companies that eventually took away even the hope of bankruptcy. 

Long suckered into believing that they made enough money to be Republicans, there is the creeping realization that someone has made off with the till and they will be much poorer than when love was new. The sense of betrayal is rising. First to sense trouble in the herd is their long time leadership: talk radio.

The raw meat talkies may not sense that immigration has backfired, but keen Republican politicians like Senator Lindsay Graham and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie clearly know it's a loser in a losing year. Here's Gillespie [via Joe] on immigration and the GOPs electoral strategy:

Hispanic voting percentages are increasingly decisive in swing states like New Mexico, Nevada, Florida, Colorado and Arkansas. Mishandling the immigration debate today could result in the Republican Party struggling in these states and others in the same way it now does in California. People who come legally to this country with nothing and labor in the most menial ways to get a new start should feel at home in our party. As a rule, they are hardworking, law-abiding, freedom-loving and patriotic Americans.

The so-called mainstream Republican center is also between a rock and hard place with another huge sector of the electorate: Catholics. Liberal, ethical, welcoming treatment of immigrants is a core guideline in the American Church, and has been endorsed strongly by the Bishops conference. Republican candidatess have seen massive gains nationally in Catholic voters over the last two decades. Fumbling immigration can roll that back, especially as leading Democrats march to the center on abortion rights.

If the GOP needed any reminder of this, there was Cardinal Theodore McCarrick front and center on the Mall yesterday. In his address to the crowd, delivered mostly in Spanish, according to the right-wing CNSNewsService:

McCarrick compared the protest to civil rights marches of the 1960s. "We must still fight against racial discrimination in our land," he said, adding that Catholics are in "prayerful protest against discrimination ... of the immigrant who comes to our country seeking a better life for himself and his family."

Cardinal McCarrick may as well have delivered a tough, blunt message to the Sensenbrenners and the Tancredos on the Hill: You want to make this a cultural battle? Game on!

UPDATE: Conservative pundit Michael Savage does not, er, agree: "And I say...to the politicians, I warn you personally. You will not be re-elected. If you take to the streets with the vermin who are trying to dictate to us how we should run America, even though they're not even entitled to vote or be here, you're going to be thrown out of office. The people will throw you out of office. There are not enough of them to re-elect you. You will be out of a job. You will not have a living. You will be hunting for a job. Maybe, you'll be picking the vegetables." Nice.

UPDATE II: Neither does Jack Cafferty: "March through our streets and demand your rights. Excuse me? You have no rights here, and that includes the right to tie up our towns and cities and block our streets. At some point this could all turn very violent as Americans become fed up with the failure of their government to address the most pressing domestic issue of our time ... where's the immigration service? Why don't they pull the buses up and start asking these people to show their green cards? And the ones that don't have them, put them on the buses and send them home." Very nice.

UPDATE III: Strangely, neither does James Farrah, founder of the intolerant (but widely read) WorldNetDaily conservative site (via Wolcott): "Every day now, it seems, hundreds of thousands of ungrateful human parasites rally in American cities condemning their host country's lack of hospitality...These invaders have made it easy for drug dealers, criminals and terrorists to hide behind the skirts of ordinary civilians." Very, very nice.

Comments

[Jake Jacobsen]

Tom, with all due respect I think you're delusional. Yes, I understand as a lefty you probably wouldn't understand the basic concept of love of country, but if you think Lindsay Graham is speaking for anything other than elite asshats, um, okay?

Here's a link to some of Mr. Grahams wisdom on the illegal immigration issue...

http://freedomfolks.blogspot.com/2006/03/hangem-high.html

[Geeno]

The protestors aren't the illegals. The protestors are legals who have illegal family and friends. Illegals generally lay low no matter what happens. They don't take to the streets in numbers.
So the people in the streets ARE americans and eligible voters. This is gonna cost the republicans the swing states for years if they don't find a way to put the genie back in the bottle.

[Tony Alva]

That's the ticket Tom, tee this subject up using wacko extremists from both corners to inspire meaningful discussion on this topic. I'm sure you're not worried about find the money to send your kid to private school because your public one is bogged down and over run with ESL students. When was the last time you scrubbed MS13 graffiti off of fences in your neighborhood? Me, last fucking week.

Hell yeah, we want immigrants coming to our country. We also want to control it and want the best of what they have to offer. Why is a sovereign nation taking action to protect its sovereignty so abhorrent to you and so many others?

But, you know its all about votes isn't it...

[Tom W.]

Tony, I don't think there's a wacko extremist quoted in this post - possible exception being Tancredo. Quotes represent mainstream opinions on this.

Are ESL students the major graffiti vandals in the U.S. - I don't get the connection? Was it all in Spanish, or Korean, or Czech - what?

Who's "we?" Many if not most of millions of marchers are Americans.

[Tony Alva]

Here are the hard cold facts Tom... My county here in Georgia (Gwinnett) has one of the fastest growing illegal immigrant populations in the country. Don't believe me? Look it up. I built my house in a smack dab center, middle class neighborhood ten years ago before the influx began. STEADLY, the problems associated with illegal immigrants began to proliferate as their population grew: crime, vandalism, education and school system issues such as ESL students, Mexican gangs, etc... to the point where it is now. You can look elsewhere for causes but facts are facts. The last time I took my kid to the emergency room on a Friday night the place was packed with immigrants. Talking to the staff about it as they treated my daughter they only confirmed what you already know.

Let’s rip the band-aid off another misconception: “They only do the work nobody else will do”. Crap. There are plenty of small business owners who live in my neighborhood whom I count amongst my friends that will tell you the real story. CRIMINAL businesses EXPLOIT illegals to gain market share. These honest guys have no problem competing for jobs whether it be landscaping, hanging drywall, framing, etc..., but if you’re an above board contractor, it’s impossible when you’ve got unscrupulous competitors who are paying their workers sub-minimum wages. Not to mention all the taxes, insurance going unpaid and uncollected.

The constant threat of being deported causes illegal immigrants to live very risky lives. Many do not acquire vehicle insurance. A cop friend of mine will tell you that whenever he arrives at an accident, or when he pulls over a vehicle driven by illegal immigrants nine times out of ten they carry no insurance. Not because they can’t afford it, not because they can’t get it, but because who needs it if their just going to be deported anyway.

You can write me off as some sort of racist xenophobe and dream up visions of Mississippi Burning old south bigotry all you want, but the problems are REAL and the open door status quo policy is only making the situation worse. Like many others here in my county here in Georgia we just want to know what happened to our neighborhoods and schools.

I have absolutely no problem with immigrants coming to work in our country, staying, and gaining citizenship. I’m smart enough to understand the need for immigrant labor and am NOT a proponent of closing our borders. I welcome any and all of them assuming they've not broken the law to get here, aren’t criminals in their home country, AND that we are allowed to control the flow of immigrants based on our actual needs.

WE, the United States, not the citizens of Mexico or anybody else should decide who gains entry to our country. It is our sovereign right and I do not find this to be radical or unreasonable.

[Bill Johnson]

I live near Detroit, Michigan. The best thing to happen to that city in a long time wasn't the Superbowl, MLB All-Star game, the Pistons or the Red Wings. The best thing that happened to that city is the illegal immigrants that are working extremely hard and remaking some of the city--in a much better way.

I would find it a bigger crime to export or criminalize these people who are making a lot of America better, who the rich have used and abused as cheap labor. What this debate is really about is the continued slave labor of businesses and corporations in the USA.

[Tom K]

*Many if not most of millions of marchers are Americans.*

Love the alliteration, but this comment is vapid or worse, in at least two ways.

First, since everyone seems to agree that the overwhelming majority of the marchers are ethnically south or central american, they are virtually all AMERICANS. American is different than U.S. citizen. People and governments overlook the distinction at their peril, and sometimes insult those they are trying to support in the process.

Assuming you meant "Many if not most of millions of marchers are U.S. Citizens (or legal residents)", what does that mean? If there were a million marchers, "many if not most" could mean anything from, say, 10,000 to 1,000,000. This sort of incontestible (because meaningless) statement doesn't add anything to the debate.

[Slappy]

No. Lets make the debate about semantics. That's even better.

[Slappy]

Major U.S Corporations don't give a shit about sovereignty. They'll ship your job overseas no problem. They'll set up HQ in the Carribean and avoid all taxes. Where are the politicians attacking this attack on America? Nowhere. Because big business rules the day. Bill Johnson nails it when he says: "What this debate is really about is the continued slave labor of businesses and corporations in the USA." This is a battle between Racist Republican vs Big Business Republican. And they're taking each other out in a way only an evil (racist) and corrupt (big biz) organization can. It is a thing of beauty and I bask the glow of their imploding star.

I grew up a minority in an immigrant neighborhood in Manhattan. Almost all my friends were first borns and the first to speak english. From my experience immigrants are mostly hard working people wanting a better life. Period. With poverty comes the issues that Tony Alva addresses. No amount of law enforcement will change that. And no amount of law enforcement can shut the borders. A war on immigrants is like a war on drugs. Impossible.

All people should be treated to a fair wage, health care and education. Be they American or not because that is what a decent society would do.

[Tom K]

*Major U.S Corporations don't give a shit about sovereignty. They'll ship your job overseas no problem. They'll set up HQ in the Carribean and avoid all taxes. Where are the politicians attacking this attack on America? Nowhere. Because big business rules the day.*

On this, Slappy, we agree. But if, as you say, this issue puts the "Racist Republicans" against the "Big Business Republicans", and their views are diametrically opposed, can it be that one of them is essentially right? And if so, which?

[Slappy]

They aren't diametrically opposed. They very often agree with one another. If this wasn't so, the Republican Party wouldn't have the success in elections that they have had. On this issue they are incompatible. They are in fact both wrong.

You can't get 3 liberals to agree on much. Three conservative, on the other hand, all know they hate ______(fill in the minority du jour) and all think they are entitled because their mother's vagina happened to be placed in North America when she shat them out. Screw the environment, health care, immigrants, education. "I want mine!" THe 80's are known as the deacade of greed for good reason. The rise of Reagan and conservatism in its most putride form. And the years of feeding Big Biz with cheap labor (union breaking) and feeding the racists (Strom Thumond and the like) have resulted in this fight over immigration. The chickens have come home to roost.

Bush has taken lefties around the world and given them a common cause. They hate Bush. South America will be fully Socialist very soon. Europe has but one national leader left who is behind Bush and his madness. And he has now taken Mexican/South American Americans and united them against the Repubs. The Republicans were gaining ground with Hispanics and they blew it. Katrina blew it for the black vote. Hate and incompetence will eventually expose itself.

[Laurence Burton]

My wife and I (both citizens) joined the march in Atlanta. It was perhaps the proudest I have ever felt to be an American. I have never seen so many American flags. The overall feeling was "Let us become Americans. We are not criminals. We work hard. Please let us become Americans." It was an over-powering message. I wish everyone could have been there.

[Tom K]

Thanks for elaborating on your views, Slappy. I'll take this opportunity to retract my agreement.

[brendog]

As a corollary point: I think it's interesting that anyone would worry that any issue at all will deprive the Republican party of any elected seat in this country.
As long as Diebold and its ilk make the machinery of voting, fair elections can't exist.

[Brad]

First of all, it was too early to say for sure if Republicans were gaining ground with Hispanics. Bush got at most 40% of the latino vote in 2004, and while that was an impressive showing for a Republican, its effect was overstated, as Bush gained much more from his 4-point boost among white voters. But anyway, there was no reason to believe a significant shift, that would outlast Bush, had occured, regardless of the current debate over immigration.

The charges against 'racist Republicans' are simply absurd, and nothing but a cynical attempt to poison debate. The question I'd like answered by those making these bogus charges is whether or not they think its possible for one to oppose mass immigration (legal or illegal), and not be a racist, xenophobic bigot? Because you must know that an answer in the negative would be an indictment of a vast segment of the nation, which includes not only the white Southerners you hate so much, but also large numbers of Democrat whites, blacks, and latinos. (In a similar way, I wonder what you think about how most Hispanics and blacks vote to ban gay marriage when given a direct vote on it, because afterall, you can't very well hate them and remain a good liberal, can you?

[Tom K]

Good questions, Brad. From my experience, don't hold your breath on *responsive* responses in this space, from the blogmeister or his minions.

[Tom W.]

Brad, who is this "you" that you keep referring to. It certainly is not me. And I have no minions, TK.

[Slappy]

"Racist Republicans"absurd? Not every Repub is racist but every racist is a Republican. This is a vast generalization but for all prectical purposes it is the truth. Every racist I've ever met voted Republican. Jesse Helms, Thurmond, David Duke. All Republican. To deny the link is silly. Why is every outright racist a Republican? Because they feed off of the the racist vote. Why? Racists are Republican. And when you vote Republican, you only help the racists because that is who you are handing the power to. And yes, when you vote Democratic you are helping the welfare cheats and unwed mothers and pornographers and every other low life conservatives hate. I prefer pornographers to racists.

And yes I have a problem with redneck confederate flag waving racists. Be they from the South or not. Every been to the South? I drove through it once. Every other radio station had a preacher screaming about fags with AIDS and the such. I've never heard anything like it on either of the coasts. And plenty of Confederate flag waving too. There really isn't much dfference between the philosophy behind the Rebel Army and the Third Reich. There IS something fucked up about the South. And guess what? The South votes Republican. Shocking.

And I don't accuse every non-immigrattion person as being a racist. Never said such a thing. I have said here before that there are legitimate argument sfor both sides. However, much of the right wing attacks on immigratiopn is NOT based on what is just but is based on rasict views of Mexicans.

And about Hispanics and blacks who are against gay marriage? I am not so stupid as to believe that being black or Mexican or white makes you smart or wise or funny or good looking or anything else. I do not attribute characteristics so broadly based on race. There is plenty of stupidity and hate going around that all people share this trait. Heck, it even finds its way onto this very blog. And yes, I do hold it against somebody, be they black or white, if they are willing to take away a person's rights because they find the same sex attractive.

And I believe you are wrong about a "vast segment of the nation" being against immigration.

If anybody os not responsive on this blog it is you Tom K. You and your arguments over semantics. Completely meaningless. And you rarely have a point. You prefer to try and puch holes in somebodys point of view without your own opinion being put forth. And yet you are the wise one. You are weak and your positions are weak.

[Slappy]

P.S.

And when you vote Republican you are also giving power to not only the racists but to the holier-than-thou born-again wackos who wish to turn this into a "Christian" nation and wish to teach our children that science is a lie. That's who is calling the shots behind the Republican party. Name me some Democrats who have come for segregation or creationism. You have Repub leaders who have had to step down out of disgrace for being racists. They weren't forced out for being racists but for a slip of the toungue exposing their true beliefs. Nobody was surpised by Trnet Lott's statement. Only that he was willing to make it openly. And there are plenty of Republicans who claim to be creationists.

[Ralph]

Well Slappy, I don't know who you are but...thanks for saying what I was thinking!

[Kate Grunauer]

i love tiffany&co

[steve]

I am a naturalized citizen to this great country. My family and I immigrated here 21 years ago legally and followed and obeyed the laws of this land (still do). I am grateful to what the U.S., my country, has provided for me and my family.

I believe in abiding the law and assimilating to one's new country. But, not everyone can learn a new language as quickly as others. When was the last time any of us (with the exception of children, who have greater ability to learn new things at an accelerated level) learned how to speak a new language in less than 1-2 years? I am willing to bet that, most of us, during junior high or high school took foreign language courses and to this day still not able to speak that language fluently. The point that I am trying to make is that it takes time for an average person to learn how to speak English (after all, how many of us really do speak this difficult language properly). However, that does not dismiss the responsibility for immigrants not to work actively to learn. I know too many immigrants who feel too comfortable only associating themselves with others who speak the same language and do not try to step out of their comfort zone and learn the official language of this country.

If translating the Star-Spangled Banner into Spanish could help some people in learning the National Anthem, more power to them. I don't expect any of us are able to learn how to sing any foreign songs without translating them into English first, right? As long as the motive behind the translation is a right one, why not.

Everyone that comes into the country should obey the laws of this land. With that said, illegal immigrants, whether they are from Mexico, Spain, U.K., or China, have broken the laws of our country and should be punished/prosecuted according to the law. A person cannot (or should not) say that illegal immigrants are vital to the economy of this nation (or whatever else the reason may be) and therefore they should be pardoned from what they have done and allow them to become citizens. What kind of message does that send out to those that would like to come into the U.S. and not able to do so legally? Well, if I brake their law and work hard everything would turn out fine at the end. I think this makes us hypocrites-enforcing laws only to those we think it applies. Why make laws if we don't obey them? If one is not happy with the law they should lobby to change it, not work around it.

With regard to some of the other comments on this blog, in order for this country not to swing to one side of the extreme, we need liberal, conservatives, and moderates be able to voice their opinions and represented in our way of life. Not all liberal ideas are good and not all conservative opinions are right. Respect and understand one and another. We may not all agree on every issue, but that is what's so great about this free and amazing country.

It saddens me to see anyone mock our country, especially those that are protected and served by the laws and ideals that able them to do so. If they are really unsatisfied and unhappy with how things are going, lobby their representatives to make that change. Don't just sit there are whine and not do anything.

I love this country. I am proud to be an American and all those that work so hard, and at times give up their lives for me, to provide the great nation that I live in today.

Thanks for the blog....been wanting to voice my opinion for a while....

[Bruce Larson*Moore]

Star*Spanglish Banner

37 years ago a young black man stood before a crowd of nearly half a million and performed his version of the star spangled banner on electric guitar.

There were no lyrics nor language involved other than the universal language of music and the individual expression of an artist and poet who sees and feels far beyond the petty squabbles of that current moment in history.

The performance was an overlay of many issues, not the least of which was a statement on the war being waged at that time.

Yet it was first and foremost, and has since become a defining moment in human history when one individual took the liberty which was paid for by the blood of many generations and said to the world, this generation can be the one to lay the path and point the direction for future generations toward the way of truth and the glory of sustainable global harmony and peace.

The world is a multi lingual environment, and most countries have always been at the very least a bilingual environment. For anyone to think that a symbol of national expression should be confined to one language, or version of culture, ethnic or narrow political form of a specific expression, is simply showing their lack of tolerance and acceptance of the very values and creed of which they claim to stand for and uphold.

Just as flying over a flooded disaster area and not landing due to security issues, and then several months later, surrounded by a bevy of security suits and making every effort to be seen with your arm around the poor ethnic survivor, walking through the remains of her shattered life is a glaring example of how the clouded mind of the oppressor deems himself the savior of the very people whose suffering and deaths he profits from.

Change for the greater good involves including and accepting all the diversity which makes up the greater whole, while embracing the languages and arts which express the dreams and desires of the greater collective heart and mind of the people.

The one common thread which weaves all others into the entire fabric of life is that of kinship, brothers and sisters living together on a fragile blue rock adrift in space, desiring to cease the cycle of rockets red glare and bombs bursting everywhere, and to vanquish the fear and petty issues of the past for the harmony, humanity and peace of our future.

©Bruce Larson*Moore
The Last*War

[panasianbiz]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. I've heard of people wrapping themselves in the flag in order to justify their viewpoints, but even I think this is going too far!

[maskow]

Tom,

Long time since Steve died.

www.yanquimike.com.ar

I've been invited/considered for blogging from the convention floor. If my most recent post doesn't qualify me, nothing will.

Please help if you can.

Maskow