If it’s one thing I’ve learned about the right in the last sixteen years of watching politics it is this: they must be outraged about something. Conservatism thrives on outrage, mad howling upset people enraged at some injustice or indignity. Contrary to the propaganda pushing people like Ronald Reagan as “sunny optimists”, Republicans must use blind, seething outrage to get the conservative base out to the polls.
At the formation of the modern conservative movement in the mid-1960s, it was sufficient to whip up a frenzy against blacks. Those voters who saw the decay of society in equal rights for blacks found a home in the Republican party as a barrier between their white middle-class America and the supposed hordes of poor inner-city blacks – especially the men who were coming for their daughters. As time marched on, the Republicans regularly used this issue to outrage their base, from Nixon talking about law and order to Reagan’s welfare moms and of course George H. W. Bush and Willie Horton. In that time conservatives have also used to varying degrees the spectre of a nation under assault by gays, Jews, and blacks to spook their base into voting Republican. To many of their voters Republican leadership preserves leadership that looks like them and their families.
But things have changed. It’s not okay anymore in America for that sort of blatant prejudice to be a part of acceptable discourse. The Republican strategy of bashing blacks, gays, and Jews has had to move underground and while still a part of the conservative movement, it is used sparingly so as not to attract attention. It isn’t dead, but close to it.
So what to do? Who is left to demonize?
Soon after the 2004 election the decision was made to transform “immigration” as a major campaign issue. Clearly many conservative Republican leaders realized that the close concentration of gay marriage referendums that helped get the vote out in 2004 would not happen again, and even so Americans are increasingly libertarian on the issue of same sex unions. The “Christian” far right somewhat realizes that there’s no way to get an amendment banning gay marriage through the government. So immigration is probably the last gasp of the conservative Republican strategy to divide America by race and get white voters out for Republicans.
The weird thing is, they’ve decided to veer away from the cultural aspects of the issue (their type of xenophobia – discussing racial slurs, making up racist caricatures, etc. – simply doesn’t work in modern America outside of the fevered swamps of Rush Limbaugh or Free Republic) and focus on “security” concerns.
Conservatives claim that 9/11 shows us that our borders were not secure enough. But the 9/11 hijackers did not come into America with a coyote across the U.S. – Mexico border. They were here on visas. They didn’t cross a river. They flew in on a modern airplane. If we had built that ridiculous fence they’re so obsessed about on the southern border in 1995, 9/11 would still have happened. Even worse, they wail “9/11″ when talking about immigration, but are clearly unwilling to make the policy changes needed to actually fight terrorism as outlined in the 9/11 report or even the Baker-Hamilton report. This is of course because they don’t care about terrorism and immigration. “Terrorism” is just magical pixie dust they apply to any and everything, thinking that the halo existing around that magical incantation in 2001-4 still exists. It doesn’t.
The other, more recent argument made by anti-immigration pundits like Bill O’Reilly and Michelle Malkin is that illegal aliens are coming to America to kill us. Without looking up the numbers I think it’s safe to say we have more to fear from our fellow American citizens than someone without their proper papers. Nobody kills, robs, maims and rapes Americans like other Americans. Now they’re also claiming to be upset about illegal alien criminals being released – like in the recent shooting in Newark. But here, for the ten thousandth time, conservative policy is likely to blame. The right advocates harsh penalties for many nonviolent crimes, including possession of marijuana, prostitution, etc. The prisons are overcrowded, and as such we end up with a revolving door on our justice system. And when people commit these crimes, they are regularly sent back out onto the streets, where they commit crimes again. It isn’t just illegal aliens doing this, but all criminals. If conservatives really cared about this issue they would be all over those harsh sentences – but they don’t actually care about solving the issue, just whipping up outrage.
Implicit in these arguments is also the sentiment that somehow a crime is worse when an illegal alien does it. To any rational person, this makes no sense. Murder is murder. Rape is rape. Whether the person committing the crime has papers or not doesn’t make the act any more or less harmful. But conservatives do not care about this. They have elections to win and fear mongering to do. America is going to be a majority minority nation sooner rather than later, and for some people that scares them. For Republicans in particular the fear comes out of how tilted minority voting is in favor of Democrats (Blacks – 90% Dem, Asians – 62% Dem, Hispanic – 69% Dem plus the Jewish vote goes 70% Democratic).
There may be some temporary gain to this backlash vote – right now, the Republican candidates are competing to see “Who Hates Hispanics The Most?” – but beyond 2008 it probably won’t be much of a viable strategy. Heck, there’s a good chance it may not work in 2008. It represents the continuing bankruptcy of the right in America, who is literally on just about their last racial/minority group that they can declare war on. Beyond a few insular enclaves, many Americans now interact with Hispanics. Hispanic culture is firmly integrated into American culture, from food to music to fashion, politics, sports and beyond. The bug-eyed Mexican coming across the border to attack pure white daughters that is the bread and butter of Fox News is increasingly seen for the ploy that it is.
Since the founding of America conservatives have fought tooth and nail against social progress. And they have lost every single time. They will lose this fight too. It’s the American way. Viva America.
Immigration
Great article!
Thank you very much!
I think That If You Made The Illegal Employers Pay $1,000.00 Per Illegal Alien Plus all of his or her Medical,Housing and Transportation Costs The First Time ICE got them and $25,000.00 The second time Plus costs. And on and On. We would probably decrease the Incentive for the Illegals of both Ilks to Do their nefarious business
Great plan, Davy.
Hope your last name doesn’t end in Z – you’ll have a hell of a time getting any employer to take a chance on you–legal or not.
Since the founding of America conservatives have fought tooth and nail against social progress. And they have lost every single time.
Apparently, news of the Emancipation Proclamation (and/or Appomattox) has yet to reach the shores of Maryland. Hopefully, one day…
And as I noted, conservatives have fought against those gains. You think President Lincoln was conservative? Ha.
Conservatism has two related goals:
1. Maintenance of the status quo (Conserving existing status).
2. Justification of greed & selfishness (Conserving existing wealth).
This isn’t exactly new, but for some reason, intelligent people seem to think there’s more to it than this.
It may manifest itself in different ways over time, but essentially all conservative policy and chest-thumping goes back to these two fundamentals. What else could they be “conserving”–the environment?
Conservatives will be on the wrong side of history every time, until we all achieve perfection; then they’ll finally get it right.
Of course Lincoln was conservative, OW. The Republican Party is conservative. It has always been conservative.
Any information you may have to the contrary is doubleplus ungoodthink.
If after sixteen years of observation that is all you can see, then I don’t think you are all that great of an observer. The eye that alters, alters everything.
Today’s conservatives are actually classical liberals, the Republican party of 2007 has more in common with the Democrats of 1960 than the Democrats of 2007.
By the way the Democrats have been on the evil side of every national security issue since 1972. The have been on the evil side of the major moral issue of our day since 1972 as well.
Go Chargers!
Today’s conservatives are actually classical liberals, the Republican party of 2007 has more in common with the Democrats of 1960 than the Democrats of 2007.
Bwahahaha. Tell me another one.
Today’s conservatives are actually classical liberals, the Republican party of 2007 has more in common with the Democrats of 1960 than the Democrats of 2007.
The red pill, dude. Take the red pill.
“Today’s conservatives are actually classical liberals, the Republican party of 2007 has more in common with the Democrats of 1960 than the Democrats of 2007.”
1. The Democrats of 1960 (at least the Southern brand) were racists too.
2. Republicans are 47 years behind the rest of the country.
“By the way the Democrats have been on the evil side of every national security issue since 1972. The have been on the evil side of the major moral issue of our day since 1972 as well.”
It is another level of evil to see the 58,000 names on the Vietnam Wall and say “it wasn’t enough”.
OK you wanted another one:
The Raiders are going to win more games than the Redskins this year. The niners won’t suck and the Chargers win it all.
Why do you think we’re evil, Nick?
Because we don’t worship fetuses?
Or because we don’t spend all our waking hours worrying about “The Central American Menace©”?
Excellently written as usual, thank you very much, I really appreciate this article.
It’s pathetic to see liberals have no leg to stand on in this argument. Instead of arguing the pro/con of illegal immigration, they just cry “racism.” That’s why myself, I don’t even take the allegation seriously. It’s been overused and cheapened to the point that accusing someone of it is no more than calling them a “dummy” to me. The liberal open-borders crowd is stifling immigration crackdown for one reason – votes. They know that if they can let another 14 million “brown people,” which is what they see them as, and isolate them through their disengenuous multiculturalist ideology, they will then be able to pander to them with entitlements, thus making it easier to try and achieve their Marxist utopian wet dream.
Nevermind the fact that his idea, although good on paper, has failed time and time again. To liberals, it’s the idea that counts, not results. And when it fails again, it’ll be someone elses fault. Another boogey man so to speak.
Another question I had about illegal immigration is how many other countries allow this to happen? What other country has taken in 14 million people, allowed them to suppress wages, steal jobs, abuse social services, commit crimes, and then not even bother to assimilate?
Is that not the recipe for the death of a nation or what! Considering that the US isn’t a country based around an ethnic group, there’s not a whole lot binding us. A set of common values and our language is about it. Without both of these, we’re going to see this country fall apart within a generation.
And all this in the name of votes and political power. And worse in my eyes is the greedy pigs that have created the whole problem – souless employers with no sense of civic responsibility. Every one of them ought to have the book thrown at them if they have knowingly contributed to this problem. Damn them.
You can call me what you want. I really don’t care anymore. But here’s a fact, if immigration practices aren’t reformed bigtime, and assimilation isn’t encouraged instead of multi-culturalism, it’s going to be a bigger problem than terrorism will ever be. It will rot this country from the inside out.
It will happen. Rest assured. Whether you think I’m a “racist” (dummy) or not won’t mean a lick of difference when your kids can’t find a job because they only speak English.
The open-borders quacks and the greedy corporate pigs have too much power and they’re slowly but surely wielding the knife that is cutting the wrist of this nation.
Our immigration policy and enforcement is nothing short of national suicide.
Go ahead and call me a racist now, you bunch of disingenuous, closet Marxists.
And I’ll be waiting to see how long it takes for Oliver Willis to delete this comment because he feels the truth must be hidden in order to get more “brown people” to vote democrat by pandering to them.
good night and good luck.
The brownies is coming! Hide yer white wimmin and babies!
nice, well-thought out response.
nothing like a little humor/sarcasm to deflect.
I’ll check back later to see if you can actually give a real response.
Really, your endless use of the “race card” to divide people in order to create sub-cultures in this country that liberals can pander to in order to add to their voting bloc to eventually nationalize and micromanage every aspect of our lives is just sickening.
I stumbled onto this site a while ago, and slandering those that disagree with you as either a liar, stupid, or a racist seems to be your m.o. You never have much else to say aside from your three little smear words, and the immigration issue is a perfect exampe. No debate from you -just “um..uhh……RACIST!”
It’s amazing to me how you can look into someone’s heart and instantly tell what their motivation is. I always thought that those of us for enforcing the laws in place and increasing security really cared about assimilation, our tax dollars, jobs, wages, and security. Sheesh. Silly me.
And I also find it funny that those of you that scream “racist” at every turn seem to encourage people to come to this “evil racist” country full of gringos too. Seems a little strange to me. If it’s that bad, you ought to be telling them to turn around. Hmm. One has to wonder if you even believe your own accusation of racism, if you, like most liberals, always seem to use it as a wedge issue and that accusation as a bullying tactic. Hmmm. I’m on to something here, eh.
So, if you have anything of substance to say, please do, but if not, I won’t bother posting on this site anymore. As it stands now, your debating and arguing tactics are juvenile and about as in-depth and deep as a sheet of notebook paper. And that’s pretty darn shallow.
Smearing people with “stupid, racist, and liar” every time you don’t like what they say doesn’t cut it with the grown-ups.
So again, respond reasonably if you like. I’ll do the same. But I don’t waste my time on people whose debating tactics are essentially nothing more than using one of three ways to call me a “dumdumpoopyheadmeany.” Sarcasm doesn’t win an argument chief.
By the way, Bears win the NFC this year. Saints got a good shot too. Sorry ’bout your Redskins. Not much doin’ there.
Viva Tancredo!
Way to go MM.