August 20, 2003
Brownback Believes Own Baloney! etc.
Senator Sam
Brownback of Kansas is trying to learn Spanish, and
not doing very well, as you might expect of a
middle-aged Kansan. He and other GOP legislators have
been taking a course called “Spanish on the Hill” every
Wednesday morning for ten weeks.
Why is Brownback
taking all these time-consuming Spanish lessons, when he
could be attending to the needs of his (American)
constituents?
Because,
incredibly, he believes his own immigrant enthusiast
baloney that the
Hispanic vote is going to be a major factor in the
Republican Party’s future.
“The reason: Spanish is
increasingly important to their party's survival. So
they're flocking to Spanish classes to communicate, if
only rudimentarily, with constituents - in an effort to
reach into Hispanic homes and relay political concerns.”
[“Why
Spanish is the favored new language of politics,”
By
Kris Axtman,
Christian Science Monitor, August 20,
2003]
Now, I don’t
know if the GOP leadership knows this, but in order for
someone to become a United States citizen, he must be
able
to read, write, and speak basic English.
Those Hispanics
who don’t speak English are mostly not American citizens
at all, and are thus not allowed to vote.
(Although they
are
counted for purposes of apportioning seats. As a
result, in districts where non-citizens are a majority,
a
small group of actual voters often controls local
politics and patronage.)
Aliens do vote illegally, of course. But
that vote is very heavily Democratic.
So:
Those Hispanics
who are eligible to vote are mostly not
registered to vote.
Those Hispanics
who do vote,
vote Democratic.
The few
Hispanics who vote Republican are fluent in English.
And finally, the
Hispanic vote is not
large enough to win or lose a
national election.
Senator
Brownback could find better things to do with his
Wednesday mornings than learning Spanish. Say, attending
meetings of the
Immigration Reform Caucus. Or even taking
math lessons.
Reference the above piece using this permanent URL:
http://www.vdare.com/fulford/brownback_believes.htm#brownback
“Wretched Refuse” On The Border
In May, I
commented on the massive problems illegal
immigration is causing the Tohono O'odham (Papago)
Indians on the southern border. Here’s more: Illegal
immigrants are causing major environmental damage to the
Tohono O'odham Nation, and Representative Jim Kolbe [R]
has just managed to get them $2 million in federal
funds, just to pick up trash in the “pristine Sonoran
desert.”
“An environmental
specialist with the tribe, Ken Cronin, says about 1,500
immigrants sneak through the Tohono O'odham reservation
daily. Each leaves an average of eight pounds of trash
-- totaling six tons -- a day, he said.” [“Illegal
immigrants turn desert into trash dump,” By Luke
Turf, Tucson Citizen, August 18, 2003]
Since Kolbe’s
approach to illegal immigration is to
make it legal, why doesn’t he just pass a law
declaring the litter left by the
“alien crossings” to be not litter at all. He could
call it “undocumented waste” or “guest debris”
or “migrant rubbish.”
Of course, I’m wouldn’t want you to think I’m trying to
compare human beings to trash.
Who do you think I am,
Emma Lazarus?
Reference the above piece using this permanent URL:
http://www.vdare.com/fulford/brownback_believes.htm#refuse
