Glenn Beck throws up a pre-emptive defense of the coming wave of anti-immigrant bigotry
As I noted awhile back, when discussing the violent propensities of the white nationalists who have invaded the Tea Party movement:
One can't help but feel a sense of foreboding about what's likely to occur when immigration reform comes up on the national plate ... These people are already organized and already inclined to violence. If you thought the town-hall teabaggers went nuts over health-care reform, just wait.
We later got a prime example of this in the New Hampshire teabagger who shouted, "We don't need illegals. Send 'em home on a bus, send 'em home with a bullet in the head the second time!"
Of course, the problem isn't just the violence. Accompanying it, at every turn, is an overpowering nativist racism that opposes immigrants of every kind, and not merely the illegal ones.
Right-wingers love to whine that simply opposing illegal immigration brings charges of racism. That's what Glenn Beck was on about yesterday on his show.
Beck: The progressives must reactivate their far-left base, they must smear their detractors. They will call me and Fox News and anyone else if you believe that we are a nation of laws and not of men, you're going to be called nasty names. And they're not going to listen to any of the facts that you have to say.
That kinda sounds like Beck making excuses in advance, doesn't it? Because, heaven knows, the folks at Fox haven't indulged in racist stereotypes when discussing immigrants and crime, or don't reflexively demean them as "illegals", or mindlessly promote nativist operations like the Minutemen. Lord knows Glenn Beck would never do such a thing as help promote the white-supremacist based "Aztlan" conspiracy theory, or let the Minutemen smear the National Council of La Raza by comparing them to the Klan.
Perish the thought that they might continue resurrecting these canards during the immigration debate -- along with whatever new race-baiting memes they can come up with. (No doubt they'll be busily consulting Michelle Malkin on that front.)
You know, we'd love to have a debate about reforming our nation's immigration laws and policies that's sane and logical and free of the emotional taint of racism. But that will only be possible if the right decides to quit indulging it. If, in other words, hell freezes over.
Lou Dobbs was fond of this exact same whine -- even as he indulged in fake stories about immigrants spreading leprosy and attacked efforts to improve legal immigration, while hosting white supremacists and nativists on his program as "experts" on immigration.
It's one thing to hold a contrary opinion – which, despite the claims of Dobbs and defenders, was not what he was attacked for. It's quite another to irresponsibly demagogue and demonize an entire bloc of the American population with provably false information and paranoid conspiracy theories derived in large part from hate groups – which was in fact what he was attacked for. Dobbs wasn't in trouble with the public merely for opposing illegal immigration; a large segment of the public sought his removal because he had become an irresponsible font of false information and fearmongering, for demonizing and belittling Latino immigrants and peddling conspiracy theories; because he had indeed become a major conduit for right-wing extremism into the mainstream of our discourse. That's racism, and a whole lot more.
Of course, there was a special irony in Beck making this claim, especially when he went on:
Beck: Charges of racism deserve to be heard and debated -- if there is evidence. But there usually isn't.
Yeah, Glenn Beck would know all about that. Media Matters has the video:
Any ideas on how to get illegal immigrants and joe six packs to shake hands and work together?
Obvious the Becks and Dobbs don't.
... on jobs.
Illegal hiring is the key.
So Beckie doesn't want to be viewed as a racist? He has a communication problem then.
I think he's real fcuked up and needs lithium or some other form of treatment.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Polarizing and further dividing people obviously isn't the solution.
He knows what the tea baggers are going to say and he's pretty much telling them to go ahead and say it. He's saying be prepared to be called a racist because he knows we recognize them for what they are. I wonder which frontline he will be on when the shit hits the fan in some awful way?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
population keep getting richer and everyone else keeps getting poorer and more desperate and angrier go figure.
... the Beck crowd is also doing quite nicely with religion.
.
This guy is what Harry Truman meant when he said that "He is proof that there are more horse's asses than horses."
Tonight as he continues to show clips of himself to prove that he has said before what he is saying now, he tells the tea baggers that progressives have been planning and scheming for one hundred years to take control of everything and they have almost accomplished their mission. He's kissing up to the baggers by reminding them that they weren't pictured in Time magazine's a year in pictures. I guess he's going to try to woo them back without kissing their birth certificate demanding asses.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100107/ap_on_re_...
Beck just informed his audience that only god can give you rights. He was playing a video showing Sen. Harkin saying the healthcare reform bill will finally give Americans the "right" to healthcare. Then Beck went all batshit talking about man being endowed by his creater with the right to "life, libery and the pursuit of happiness" I guess Beck doesn't feel "life" might also mean health. So if you follow Beck's logic, a woman's right to vote is invalid because god didn't hand it to them. Wonder where god said it was cool to bare arms?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
... when that woman died in a hospital waiting room, and nobody even noticed?
I can't help but notice how diligent you are in using the word "progressive".You and your pals have managed to render "Liberal" pretty much unwearable so now you're busy defiling "progressive".
Like "Environmentalist". or "Intellectual" which I'm sure genuinely scares the be jesus out of you.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
At least he takes his position as "slime merchant" seriously.
And why debate when you can simply denigrate?
I guess you can't blame them.They get away with it on a daily basis.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
"socialist" = n____r
"communist" = n____r
"fascist" = n____r
"racist" = Latina
"radical agenda" = political capital and/or a vagina, i.e. "Nancy Pelosi has a 'radical agenda.'"
Someone should compile a "Devils Dictionary" of decoded rightwing terminology.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
ILLEGAL: Anyone is who isn't a white, God-fearin' Christian conservative.
Seriously. It doesn't matter if I was born in America, I ain't white. I ain't a REAL Christian. Therefore, I should 'go back to where I came from' (China) ... ::: ends with racist mocking of Chinese language :::.
How Bierce defines "immigrant"
IMMIGRANT, n.
An unenlightened person who thinks one country better than another.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
I'm so glad you think my family is unenlightened.
Hey don't blame me blame Ambrose Bierce.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
So, like, you're it. ;)
Re-negotiate NAFTA so Mexico can reclaim its agricultural base, its sovereignty and its people can stay at making a living.
Winners and Losers of NAFTA, here
What is his name, the liar-in-chief, said in the campaign he would do just that, but then he didn't.
NAFTA = SHAFTA
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
Oh how the mighty have fallen.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
THAT, would be immigration reform.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
the only people they are helping is the MIC and the rest of the crooks they bailed out this past year at our expense.
Beck seems to be in a somewhat defensive mode this new year. He goes back to what others have said negatively said about him and then goes on to, according to him, prove them wrong. He is playing the victim. Maybe he's doing this to get the sympathy of the baggers who are turning on him. Just as they are victims of the govt, poor Glenn is a victim of the elitist man.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
"Maybe he's doing this to get the sympathy of the baggers"
Of Bag End.
Let's change Glenn's name to Dildo Baggers.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
Bilbo Baggins, whom you are parodying, lived to be nearly 150 years old!
Seems like Glenn's already been around that long...
Him and Billy Boy.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
the next 10 years. Solid contract deal . . same ol
What happens when the tea parties become aggressively anti-immigrant, and demand an end to the illegal employment that draws them here - employment supported by the very same big business interests that are funding the teabaggers?
Bush and McCain weren't "conservative enough" for some of their base. They knew where their bread was buttered and weren't gonna mess with the endless supply of cheap labor.
I love the way this immigration issue affects the right - it clearly splits the radical base from the corporatists who call the shots.
If there's any desire to end illegal immigration then punish the employers of illegal immigrants, secure the borders, and deport any convicted illegal immigrants, and scrap NAFTA as well!
I don't want amnesty either but ignoring the employers of illegal immigrants is ridiculous if discussing the illegal immigrant problem.
I wonder if any of those topics will be discussed by Beck...
I agree 100%. We need to prosecute employers who knowingly recruit and hire illegal immigrants. There are already adequate laws on the books to properly enforce labor and immigration laws, up to and including State and Federal RICO statutes. All that is lacking is the political will.
But I am also sick and tired of being called a racist because I call illegal aliens "illegal aliens" instead of calling them "undocumented workers". What a load of unmitigated BS. "Illegal" is a non-race specific term describing legal status, or in this instance, the non-legal or extra-legal immigration status. OTOH, "undocumented" is in many many instances a completely inaccurate DoubleSpeak / NewSpeak construct, because the illegal aliens do have documentation -- other people's names, other people's credit histories, and other people's Social Security Numbers, stolen identities without which they could not continue to remain in the USA.
There is, however, a considerable amount of false projection when it comes to calling one's detractors racist -- for example, anyone bother to look up the literal translation (like from Berlitz Dictionary) of the term "La Raza"? Many people associated with this organization have a tendency to quickly cast aspersions of racism upon their critics.
For the record: I am against illegal immigration by any nationality, religious or ethnic group which violates any country's sovereignty and legal statutes, including that of the USA.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
-- John F. Kennedy
On this issue I am with Republicans. Something needs to be done about immigration. Unrestrained immigration where the number of illegals actually outnumbers the number of African-Americans is a problem. A problem that will not be resolved with blanket acts of instant citizenship.
The solution however is real simple. The issue isn't the law (most of it is there, has been been there, and applies to the current situation), there just hasn't been the money and thus the personnel needed to enforce those laws. Bush and his fellow Republicans gutted the budgets of the various immigration enforcement agencies. The solution then is to give them the money and the political will to execute the laws that are already on the books. Thats it.
That is all I and I think ultimately most want - enforce immigration laws. Don't add to them, don't create lots of loopholes and exceptions. Just apply what has really worked for decades when the money and people existed to enforce them.
I concur that we do already have enough laws on the books regarding Border Security and Immigration. We have had so since before the creation of Department of Homeland Security, which is reminiscent more of the Keystone Kops than anything else (judging by this latest airline bomber on Christmas Day). What is needed is the political will, and adequate money, to properly enforce current laws.
This one issue, after 9/11/2001, is the reason why I was an early critic of the GW Bush administration. How can National Security be enhanced without properly secured borders and a very strenuous effort to identify and winnow out the many "bad actors" and potential terrorists among the rather large and growing illegal alien population? Under GW Bush there was a total disconnect between sovereignty issues like immigration and border control and national security -- until I realized that Dubya's non-enforcement had more to do with breaking down labor unions and downward pressure on labor rates for the Globalist Corporate State.
The total number of employers prosecuted for recruiting and hiring illegal aliens for the first five years of the GW Bush administration was less that the number that Clinton prosecuted in one year. The cumulative effect of a vast surplus of cheap and illegal labor over the course of many administrations, all the way back to Ronnie Reagan, is toxic. The 6 Swift Meat Packing raids netted nearly 1,200 illegal aliens, many of whom were using other peoples' identities.
While the employers bleated that "we cannot get enough American workers", the facts emerged that these plants used to be union, with an average pay scale of 35K per year including benefits, but had devolved to $9 per hour and no benefits (and no union). And when Swift advertised to replace the 300+ workers removed by ICE at their Colorado plant, more than 1,000 American workers showed up looking to be hired. Today, that number would more likely be 2,000+, just as a matter of a sign of the times in which we live.
The Corporatist State is winning, big time, and the American Middle Class is circling the drain. But that is they way our Masters like it. When there is no Middle Class with some discretionary income to enable consumerism, the economy will collapse entirely. When the employees of Wal-Mart cannot even afford to shop at Wal-Mart, what is left?
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
-- John F. Kennedy
He's always throwing up one thing or another. It's our job to make sure he doesn't get any of his vile puke on us.
You've got nativist idiots right here on C&L who claim to be liberal progressives.
It's not just a right wing moron issue, it's become an American issue.
Not a color of skin issue, which is the big difference. "It's the jobs, Mr. President". Working people are hurting and have been for 10 years or more. These "idiots" are smart enough to realize that making illegal immigrants legal means more competition for fewer jobs.
I'm all for immigration reform, but as a member of the unemployed, the jobs issue is a concern.
I must have missed the memo that redefined "liberal progressive" as one perfectly willing to not only suborn the rule of law, but also forsake any semblance of economic self-survival. And here I thought that minimalist government and breaking the law willy-nilly was more in the purview of anarchy, one of those cornerstones of Libertarianism.
Of course the issue of immigration, illegal or H1-B, doesn't have anything to do with race. This country was built upon the immigration of people of every race, religion, nationality, or creed. What we are taking about is economics -- the downfall of the Middle Class, and to some extent, national security and sovereignty, but mostly economics.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
-- John F. Kennedy
(and up his ad revenues). Buy gold from his sponsor today!
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