January 12, 2006
Immigration, The GOP, And The Modern Mehlman
Monstrosity
By Bryanna Bevens
“In the further interest of
American workmen we favor a more effective restriction
of the immigration of
cheap labor from foreign lands.”—The
GOP Platform on Immigration…in 1900!
It is safe to say that, as of late,
I have become
disenchanted with Monsieur Le Président
George II.
However, on the off-chance I left
you with the impression that my displeasure stopped with
Bush II, let me assure you, it extends to the
contemporary
RNC-at-large.
The Republican National Committee
is supposed to
raise money for Republican candidates/causes and
promote membership…well, that is what it normally does.
Under Ken Mehlman—the former Bush
White House staffer who is current President of the RNC—it
seems to be on a different mission: raise money and
promote
Bush love.
On the whole, as a Republican
consultant, I don’t even recognize the RNC anymore.
Just over a year ago, the late Sam
Francis wrote a column,
Discredited Hispanic Vote Share Myth Goes Marching On At
RNC (December 6 2004), about Ken Mehlman
and the RNC.
Needless to say, Mehlman was
spouting off about how the Hispanic vote allegedly
carried the ‘04 Bush II victory—an idea we at VDARE.COM
had already thoroughly debunked. From the Francis
column:
“As
the Washington Post reported, Mr. Mehlman argued
that Mr. Bush won largely by ‘broadening his appeal
among key swing constituencies, including
Roman Catholics,
Latinos and suburban
women.’ Predictably, he maintained that ‘the single
most important number that has come out of the election’
is the 44 percent Hispanic support the president
supposedly won this year. [GOP
Governors Celebrate Party Wins |Tutorial on Bush
Campaign Strategies Shows What Went Right, By Dan
Balz, November 19, 2004]
"
‘Future Republican majorities will depend in part on the
party's ability to expand its
support among Hispanic voters, and 2004 may have
been a significant step in that direction if GOP
candidates can build on it,’ the Post reported
him as telling the national meeting of Republican
governors in
New Orleans last month.
[Hold on…blech, puke, retch…ok,
just had to get that out.]
In December, RNC Chairman Mehlman
spoke at the Republican Governor’s Association meeting
[December 1, 2005, speech transcript
here] in Carlsbad, California. He was still at it.
He said:
"Today,
somewhere in this country, there’s a family new to
America. They might be a family of migrant workers, or
day laborers.
They
might be here in California—or Texas—or Florida. They
woke up today and went to work. They will come home at
the end of the day to spend time with their children.
They will eventually
buy a house—or start a
business—or write a
book.
They
are building a new life.
And
that’s what America is all about.”
(My nausea is back…thanks, Ken.)
The proof is in the pudding.
Successive GOP platform planks on immigration reform are
perhaps the starkest example of the differences between
the modern Mehlman monstrosity and the Republican Party
of old:
From the
1912 GOP Platform:
“We
pledge the Republican party to the enactment of
appropriate laws to give relief from the
constantly growing evil of induced or undesirable
immigration, which is inimical to the progress and
welfare of the people of the United States.”
From the
1920 GOP Platform:
“The
immigration policy of the U. S.
should be such as to insure that the number of
foreigners in the country at any one time shall not
exceed that which can be assimilated with reasonable
rapidity, and to favor immigrants whose
standards are similar to ours.”
From the
1928 GOP Platform:
“The
Republican Party believes that in the interest of both
native and foreign-born wage-earners, it is necessary to
restrict immigration…(we support) the restriction of
immigration which not only prevents the glutting of our
labor market, but allows to our
newer immigrants a greater opportunity to secure a
footing in their upward struggle.”
From the
1932 GOP Platform:
“The
restriction of immigration is a Republican
policy…provisions of the law have enabled the President
to suspend immigration of foreign wage-earners who
otherwise, directly or indirectly, would have increased
unemployment among native-born and legally resident
foreign-born wage-earners in this country.”
Side note: Between 1932 and 1972
the Party platform maintained a continuous stance of
immigration restriction—I simply didn’t have room to
include all of the quotes.
From the
1972 GOP Platform:
“We
stand for an equitable, non-discriminatory immigration
policy…and the selective admission of the specially
talented. The immigration process must be just and
orderly, and we will increase our efforts to halt the
illegal entry of aliens into the United States.”
The
1980 GOP Platform (Reagan election year!):
“We
believe that to the fullest extent possible those
immigrants should be admitted who will make a
positive contribution to America and who are willing
to accept the
fundamental American values and way of life.”
And more to the point…
“Immigration into this country must not be determined
solely by
foreign governments or even by the
millions of people around the world who wish to come
to America.”
I miss Ronnie.
From the
1984 GOP Platform:
“Those
[immigrants] desiring to enter (the US)
must comply with our immigration laws. Failure to do so
not only is an offense to the American people but is
fundamentally unjust to those in foreign lands patiently
waiting for legal entry.”
“With
the estimates of the number of illegal aliens in the
United States ranging as high as
12 million…”
Yeah…even in 1984 the estimate was
12 million.
The
1996 GOP Platform was probably the last example of
respectable guidelines within the Republican Party.
Whimper, whimper…that was
the end—the bitter end.
And, by amazing coincidence, that
was the last convention I attended as a consultant for
the Republican Party…
After the Dole/Kemp days ended, so
did any pretence at conservative principles and well…rational
thought!
To wit—
From the
2000 GOP Platform:
“To
ensure fairness for those wishing to reside in this
country, and to meet the manpower needs of our expanding
economy, a total overhaul of the immigration system is
sorely needed.”
Meet the manpower needs or jobs
Americans
won’t do…wait a minute—yep, I’m going to be
sick again.
The 2000 GOP Platform carried the
first message—albeit subtle—of
guest worker programs. In 2004 however, even
subtlety was abandoned.
From the
2004 GOP Platform:
“A
growing economy requires a growing number of workers,
and President Bush has proposed a new temporary worker
program that applies when no Americans can be found to
fill the jobs.”
The new GOP also “addressed”
the pressing problem—that would be the gazillion
illegal aliens already living here:
“This
new program would allow workers who currently hold jobs
to come out of the shadows and to participate legally in
America’s economy. It would allow men and women who
enter the program to apply for citizenship in the same
manner as those who apply from outside the United
States.”
Yeah…20 million law-breaking
illegal aliens get the same place in line as that woman
who sits in the
Sudan, year after year, applying for legal entry
only to be denied because we don’t have room.
If that isn’t compassionate
conservatism, what is…?
Alright, that’s enough…I
can’t take anymore without IV fluid to circumvent the
nausea-induced dehydration…or a rope to simply hang
myself.
This might explain why I spend very
little time in campaign work anymore—I have neither the
inclination nor the patience to deal with quacks. (Well,
I mean other than those I am directly related to and
therefore cursed to …mom.)
Then again, more than one
politician throughout my brief tenure in politics
commented on my
quirky and oh,
disagreeable way of putting things.
Let me explain:
I love pearls, ok? They make
everything look good—I wear mine even with cut-off jeans
and a Pink Floyd t-shirt (circa 1969) when I work in the
garden and it works, people.
But I would never put pearl
earrings on a shark hoping to soften the gruesome image
given off by their ten rows of large, razor sharp teeth.
Why not? Because even a man in coma
would sit up any say “wait a second…”—well, that
and sharks don’t have ears. (Jeez…do I have to explain
everything??)
On that note, this is my über
professional advice for the current RNC regime:
1. The sitting President of the United States is a
termed-out Republican. You RNC people have one job—one—to
find another (as in different) Republican candidate and
get him elected…Bush ain’t your man no mo’, m’kay?
2. The RNC was never designed to be some Madison
Avenue, it’s all about the pay-out so let’s create a
pop star and forget the real talent kind of
organization.
3. The RNC is not supposed to be a warehouse of
reward jobs for loyal, lucky and
leftover lackeys
from the Bush II reign.
Speaking of Mehlman…
Interestingly enough, according to
a recent US News story on immigration reform and
the RNC, a GOP insider said:
"Mehlman is concerned that we
might become the party of
Tom Tancredo…” [White
House Watch: RNC chair plans Hispanic outreach
By Kenneth T. Walsh December 13, 2005]
Yeah…I’m counting on it.
Bryanna Bevens [email
her] is a political consultant and former chief of staff
for a member of the California State Assembly.
