Posted on 04/22/2013 8:40:59 AM PDT by robowombat
I Have Seen Shameful Things By: Erick Erickson (Diary) | April 22nd, 2013 at 04:30 AM | 30
I am an immigration squish.
There are jobs Americans won’t do at the existing price point. We have a real need in this country for unskilled workers who will pick domestic crops and do jobs Americans will not do for a low wage. I know a number of people who came here illegally who are harder workers than me, who love this country, and who just want a job.
More specifically, I know a number of illegal immigrants — a few of whom I represented as a lawyer — who have no intention of staying in the United States, but work here and send money back home. Most of them wind up staying because of the difficulty of coming back into the country. Contrary to the opinions of many, it is not an easy thing to come and go as an illegal alien.
I think we need a program that is easy to administer, easy to apply for, and easy to use for individuals to come and go as they please during seasons of work to do jobs Americans won’t do at the price point these immigrants would.
Saying all of that, I am deeply, deeply disturbed by the games being played by pro-immigration advocates on the right, including staff in Senator Marco Rubio’s office, Grover Norquist, and others.
They are attacking other conservatives who disagree with them as racists, slavery supporters, bigots, haters, baby killers, un-Christian, etc. They are waging a coordinated attack between Senator Rubio’s office and others against conservative stalwarts like the Heritage Foundation and Jim DeMint.
They are proposing a plan that thus far appears to be unworkable, is wholly too complicated, and is a distraction from issues that we could all agree on in the name of getting a plan acceptable to Democrats. In the process, their attacks on conservatives designed to intimidate, browbeat, and silence them opens old wounds and does exactly what the Democrats hoped to do — divide the right and play directly to the fears of Hispanic voters who have for so long seen political leaders of both parties demagogue the issue.
Many of the people who want an immigration solution frankly could care less about hispanic voters. They see this as an issue the GOP has to get right on and they will do whatever it takes to get right on the issue. They are playing political games. Seeing self-styled conservatives and libertarians trying to pass any legislation that is labeled “comprehensive” should always be a red flag.
I have seen friends paint others as racists, as sympathizers to abortion advocates, and as haters all to try to steam roll through their preferred policy solution. I have seen good conservative organizations attacked and lumped in with fringe groups. I have seen mainstream groups characterized as fringe. I have seen people whore their faith in the name of immigration reform.
I have seen shameful things. What will be the cost paid in these attacks? These are not liberals attacking, but other members of the center-right. They now claim that maybe Boston would not have happened had this bill been passed or, at worst, at least with this bill millions of new immigrations coming into the country will be known instead of unknown. I’m sure the dead eight year old and his family will be consoled by that.
I want an immigration reform plan that will solve the problems we now have with unskilled workers who come here illegally. I am not sure that the proposed plan will do that. What I do know is that conservatives should be deeply skeptical of Republicans who call upstanding conservatives racists and baby killers while allying themselves with the race baiters and baby killers of the left on this issue.
The damage Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and Bush staffers did in 2005-2006 has not been undone. They called many Republicans bigots and racists who were not, but who stood in the way of their comprehensive approach to immigration. That created a great deal of distrust and animosity on this issue. Instead of trying to understand the legitimate concerns of those who opposed their plan, they tarred and feathered them all.
Without ever trying to heal those wounds, those behind this latest push are tearing open new wounds.
I think Senator Marco Rubio wants to do the right thing. I think he set before himself a good, but unpopular task. He should be commended for trying, at least, a Nixon goes to China moment on immigration. But I think the actions of some members of his staff coordinating attacks on solid conservatives is undermining the cause he and I both believe in. Ultimately, they are playing right into the hands of President Obama and the Democrats.
Count me out. The cost of this to those who should be united against the Democrats is too great.
For those with long memories on this site the following quote should resonate:
,The damage Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and Bush staffers did in 2005-2006 has not been undone. They called many Republicans bigots and racists who were not, but who stood in the way of their comprehensive approach to immigration. That created a great deal of distrust and animosity on this issue. Instead of trying to understand the legitimate concerns of those who opposed their plan, they tarred and feathered them all.'
Back then a number of us marveled at how massive slam and flame attacks could be mounted here minutes after a posting critical of the (so far) unarmed invasion and those in the GOP who wished to enable this process. I think most who were interested figured out that a number of Freeper accounts were zombie identities used either by certain (read McNut and Lindsay McGrovel) so called GOP 'conservative' senate offices or some K Street lobbyist law firm. Also a number of supposedly legitimate Freepers were clones of these people and were sent electronic hit mail to post. Whether there was some financial arrangements here is impossible to know.
One commenter on this piece made hits the nail on the head about the opportunistic Rubio , who, I am convinced has been throughly co-opted financially and otherwise by the Roveite 'sell your mother for a deal in the Senate' Vichyites:
Marco Rubio is a big boy and knows what he is doing. He is trying to win the ''media primary'' for 2016 by playing up to the liberal media elite on a cause they are deeply committed to, amnesty for illegal aliens. By pandering to the liberal media elite on one of its major political causes, Rubio hopes to be annointed by them as ''the frontrunner'', ''electable'', and ''inevitable'' just like the big media annointed Romney and before him McCain. This is all an opportunistic gambit by a Senator who puts ambition ahead of principle, his country, or his party. Before he got involved in this snow job, Marco Rubio was my choice for nominee in 2016. I contributed to his Senate campaign. Now, I would not vote for him, no matter who the opposititon is. Rubio is completely and totally unaccaptable. As far as I am concerned, Rubio is the Senator from La Raza.
I really do think, that if there are indeed jobs Americans won’t do, not even the low skilled, the temporary, the high school/college students, etc. -
that employers should raise the wage offer until someone does want to do it. Also, improve working conditions, etc.
That is how the free market is supposed to work.
Yes, our lettuce may cost more. But, we will have tax paying Americans picking it, which saves lots of money on lots of things. Whether it all breaks out evenly, who can tell?
But this is how the free market works! Not by importing “slave labor,” an insulting term to those who have really been slaves, but still.
If we’d paid doctors $10/hr, we’d have no doctors. We have to pay what they are worth. Likewise your skilled contractors, your cops, whatever - we pay what the market will bear. We don’t import illegal immigrants to get them all for minimum wage.
Actually, we'll just import lettuce from Mexico.
People who do this can pay their own medical bills.
The unions will of course, demand and GET all sorts of outrageous wage increases for these ‘unskilled’ people.
My first job was in a steel factory and I was considered ‘unskilled’.
I didn't mind because I was not going to make that a career.
The union of course has made THOSE jobs a rarity for young people. Too bad... it's the natural place to start out so you can get enough money together for night school or college
No one is supposed to REMAIN unskilled their entire lives... or start and end their work career in ONE place.
The union demands and gets crazy wages for these people. Employers are squeezed too hard on this and either go out of business or cut their work force.
I have seen a lot of shameful things too, just go look at any Democrat stonghold slum.
If you gave me $100,000 and asked me to help ‘poor people’, and at the end of the year I told you I gave $30K to one family, and kept $70K for myself to ‘administer the program’ you would be FURIOUS.
But that is exactly what the government does with Welfare money.
If you gave me $100,000 and asked me to help ‘poor people’, and at the end of the year I told you I gave $30K to one family, and kept $70K for myself to ‘administer the program’ you would be FURIOUS.
But that is exactly what the government does with Welfare money.
I thought sure the author had finally been reading my emails until I got to this line:
“I think Senator Marco Rubio wants to do the right thing. I think he set before himself a good, but unpopular task. He should be commended for trying, at least”
Anyone who thinks Rubio is innocent in any of this, just isn’t paying attention! But at least he hit some of the right notes about Norquist, et al.
Who is Cesar Conda?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3007546/posts
Marco Rubio’s chief of staff is an associate of Grover Norquist and worked for George Soros.
Marco Rubio has an interesting staff. I read this last weekend:
History repeats itself, and this time, we are the NATIVES! Who is Cesar Conda? - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3007546/posts
Meet Cesar Conda, chief of staff, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., close associate and fellow amnesty pusher of Grover Norquist, who last week called all of us who want our borders secured, “Bitter enders”, He might as well have called us ‘Savages’.
Here is detailed some of the undermining of immigration law these two have accomplished over 3 decades, including working closely with Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, Conda circulated a statement against Prop. 187 of California in the nineties. The race baiting they pulled on Alan Simpson when he tried to enforce the borders in the 90’s was nothing but disgusting.
Conda, an immigration lawyer, was Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief domestic policy adviser. After leaving there, Conda went to work for George Soros on the editorial advisory board of the Soros publication, The International Economy Magazine.
Even amnesty pushers on the left like Conda!
“Before he got involved in this snow job, Marco Rubio was my choice for nominee in 2016”
Me, too, robowombat, me, too, I had such high hopes for him, until I heard who his chief of staff is. Rubio was handpicked. A big player like Cesar Conda doesn’t go to work for a lowly state representative. Rubio went to work for Norquist and Conda and the big $$$ (microsoft, Koch bros, unions, foreign govt’s) they lobby for!
Keep spreading it, Perseverando, some of the pundits are finally picking this SCANDAL up!
Get rid of food stamps, welfare, subsidized housing and all the other freebies that pay more than picking crops and I'll guarantee Americans will start working for whatever wage they can get. It worked in the '30s and it will work here again when we run out of other people's money.
I think we need a program that is easy to administer, easy to apply for, and easy to use for individuals to come and go as they please during seasons of work to do jobs Americans won’t do at the price point these immigrants would.
I think we need to encourage those citizens who don’t work to work and take those jobs.
I don’t know any Americans who would bend over in the hot sun and bugs and sweat to pick crops as fast as they can all day. I can’t imagine many Americans who want to kill and gut chickens all day (as immigrants do around here). Anyone strong and healthy and dependable enough to do these jobs could find other, more pleasant work. I would not kill and gut chickens all day for $20 or more, and about 2 days picking crops would probably have me at the chiropractor or the morgue. Unfortunately, immigrants have moved into other industries due to the comparative “laziness” of the locals. One carpet factory manager in north GA said “I love my Mexicans, they work hard all day, are never sick and never complain. The young people around here just quit or called in or demanded something else. They wouldn’t do the work.” It’s the same with roofing and construction; you see these Hispanic crews that can strip and roof a big house and clean up and be on to another job in a few hours. They got those jobs because they worked harder and cheaper. That is unfortunately capitalism, although if they are illegals, it is still not right.
Yes, many illegals love this country and only desire to live in a socialist America. They will work hard and vote hard to make their dream come true. When it does come true then they won’t have to work any more because the riches of America will be redistributed to them.
Do you understand the GOP SCANDAL this author has outlined....none of this has to do with poor Mexicans, it has to do with $$$$$. Amnesty profits two groups...unions and Lobbyists.
And I’m sorry YOU don’t know any Americans who will do that kind of work...WE do it around here! All the Mexicans around here do is run drugs, driveby shootings, rape children and paint grafitti all over EVERYTHING! THEY HATE AMERICA and they hate you!
Cut the welfare, get the kids back in the fields, off the couch and they’ll stay out of trouble.
Millions want to come to America. Most try legally and fail. Yet we are considering those who came ILLEGALLY with citizenship?
Depart then all and there will be plenty of law abiding immigrants that will gladly take their place.
Thats not the same thing as saying Americans won't do it.
I disagree with you. The Free Market is supposed to employ worker, not pay them to sit home.
Cut back welfare, Unemployment, Food stamps and Disability for those not disabled and you will find plenty of Americans willing and able to work.
When we are paying millions of people to sit hoime for 2 years on unemployment, and encouraging generations of welfare recipients, whe people run out of unemployment and go on disability instead, why should they work?
That isn’t free market, it’s buying votes with my tax money.
We both know people who say they will not work for less than they made before they were laid off.
Well: Stop giving them free Gubmint money and when they get hungry they will work./
I am not in any way saying that we should not help people who get laid off for a while, but these people are sucking off the government and it has to stop.
I do realize that the article was about the GOP infighting and I didn’t mean to be a cheerleader for illegals. I was responding to another poster who said that if we raised the wages and improved conditions, lots of Americans would do those jobs. Perhaps they would. Things would definitely be more expensive and soon we would have a Crop Pickers Union with cushy benefits. Is it the right thing to do to give Americans jobs first? Absolutely. But as for myself, I’m not doing those jobs if I can get other work.
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