No Wonder Republicans Are Anti-Immigration Reform

Gee, I wonder what Rep. Michele Bachmann has to say about this issue...

It is interesting that here we have a member of the Republican party worried about Democrats getting into power and changing election law when Republicans have come into power in several states and - you guessed it - changed election law. The problem is that when Republicans change election law, there is less access to voting. They eliminate early voting/reduce early voting periods, they pass ID laws that disproportionately affect people that are less likely to vote for Republicans, etc. It is a well known fact that the lower the turnout on Election Day, the better it is for the GOP.

It is also both interesting and telling that the arguments Mrs. Bachmann is making are purely political. The primary reason that she is against the immigration bill has nothing to do with people's rights and has everything to do with how it affects the Republican party. Way to show how much you care about liberty and freedom. Then again, we already know how much (read: little) she cares about liberty and freedom. What she - and the rest of her party - seem unable to realize is that the reason people are not voting for them is because of their policies...and how much those policies suck. If you want to regain power, you have to come up with better ideas than the GOP-led House voting against Obamacare 37 times at a total cost of 55 million dollars to the taxpayers, filibustering everything you do not like in the Senate, and saying that your number one job is defeating the President. These are the "ideas" that have led the GOP nationally. Clearly, America believes it deserves better...and America DOES deserve better.

Also, spanking the President? Those are really the words she wants to go with? No wonder no one takes her seriously (at least no one in their right mind).

And lastly, if Mrs. Bachmann want to know what is wrong with Congress, she need look no further than the nearest mirror.

Sen. Graham (R-SC): We're in a Demographic Death-Spiral

Has the GOP Given Up on Hispanic Outreach?

RNC Director Of Hispanic Outreach Quits Party

From Think Progress: 

When Republicans appointed Pablo Pantoja to State Director of Florida Hispanic Outreach for the Republican National Committee, they hoped he would be able to bridge the sizable gap that only expanded during the 2012 elections, when the state’s 4.3 million Hispanic voters supported Barack Obama over Mitt Romney by a 20 percent margin. 

But after months of inaction by Congressional Republicans on comprehensive immigration reform and stiff resistance by Republican-leaning groups like the Heritage Foundation, Pantoja has had enough; on Monday, he announced via email that he was leaving the party and registering as a Democrat:

Friend, 

Yes, I have changed my political affiliation to the Democratic Party.

It doesn’t take much to see the culture of intolerance surrounding the Republican Party today. I have wondered before about the seemingly harsh undertones about immigrants and others. Look no further; a well-known organization recently confirms the intolerance of that which seems different or strange to them.

Pantoja goes on to specifically cite last week’s revelation — that an author of Heritage’s false report on the cost of the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill wrote a dissertation in which he suggested that Hispanics are at a permanent disadvantage because they have lower IQs — as the final straw in his political evolution.

The Miscalculation of the Heritage Foundation

From the Daily Beast:

...With their report last week putting a huge $6.3 trillion price tag on immigration reform and again calling any attempt at reform tantamount to “amnesty,” DeMint and Heritage were trying for an encore performance. 

The circumstances of 2013, however, are considerably different from the ones of 2007. Then, the Republican Party was convinced of its ability to win elections sans significant support from minorities, and Latinos in particular. Now—after President Obama won reelection with a minority of white voters but an overwhelming majority of blacks, Latinos and Asian Americans—many Republicans are convinced they need to make sustained outreach to minority communities, and Hispanics in particular. A GOP push to pass comprehensive immigration reform, they argue, is a necessary move in that direction and a way to open doors for further conversations. 

Which is why, after Heritage dropped its report at the beginning of last week, a whole host of pro-reform Republicans went after it in a fierce backlash. “The Heritage Foundation document is a political document. It’s not very serious analysis,” said former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour. Likewise, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake—a co-sponsor of the immigration bill—challenged the study’s assumptions. “Here we go again. New Heritage study claims huge cost for Immigration Reform. Ignores economic benefits. No dynamic scoring,” he wrote on Twitter. 

But it wasn’t until the Washington Post revealed the racist ideology of one of the report’s authors, Jason Richwine, that things really began to unravel for DeMint and Heritage. Within a day of the revelation, reporters had combed through Richwine’s Harvard dissertation—where he argues that the IQ of Latino immigrants is too low for them ever to assimilate—and his history. In 2008, for example, Richwine had given a presentation at the American Enterprise Institute where he explained the racial hierarchy of intelligence: “Decades of psychometric testing has indicated that at least in America, you have Jews with the highest average IQ, usually followed by East Asians, then you have non-Jewish whites, Hispanics, and then blacks.” 

Not only did this cause a public relations crisis for Heritage—which found itself pushing a report authored in part by a modern-day phrenologist—but it gave Republican proponents of immigration reform an easy way to dismiss the full report. By giving Richwine a platform and making him one of the prominent voices against immigration reform, Heritage has tarnished its cause; now, it’s even more associated with prejudice and nativism. Immigration reform advocates have gained the moral high ground and a new sense of urgency—they need to pass a bill to show Latino voters that racial animus has no place in Republican politics...

More Conservative Outreach to Latinos

From Think Progress: 

Jason Richwine joined Heritage in 2010, after finishing his PhD in Public Policy in 2009. The Washington Post’s Dylan Matthews dug up Richwine’s dissertation, which was titled “IQ And Immigration.” In it, Richwine argues that Hispanics have and will always have lower IQs than whites. Matthews summarizes:

Richwine’s dissertation asserts that there are deep-set differentials in intelligence between races. While it’s clear he thinks it is partly due to genetics — ‘the totality of the evidence suggests a genetic component to group differences in IQ’ — he argues the most important thing is that the differences in group IQs are persistent, for whatever reason. He writes, ‘No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against.‘

Richwine concludes from this that American immigration policy should encourage high IQ individuals to immigrate, but limit low IQ immigration: as he puts it, “I believe there is a strong case for IQ selection, since it is theoretically a win-win for the U.S. and potential immigrants.” Since this eugenic language is politically toxic, Richwine advocates dressing it up in the language of “high skill” and “low skill” immigration. As Matthews details, the Heritage report does exactly that.

Conservatives are trying to rebrand the GOP back into victory, especially in the wake of the 2012 election. I do not think this guy will help with this attitude. 

How NOT to Win the Hispanic Vote

The Second Term Agenda

From CNN:

New details of President Barack Obama's plans for a second term were given in an off-the-record interview with the Des Moines Register Tuesday but made public only after the paper protested that leaving it private would be a disservice to Iowa voters. 

The interview was conducted Tuesday but made public Wednesday after the Obama campaign gave permission to the paper releasing them from their off-the-record agreement.

~ 

"I'm confident we'll get done next year is immigration reform," Obama said in the transcript of the interview posted online by the paper. "And since this is off the record, I will just be very blunt. Should I win a second term, a big reason I will win a second term is because the Republican nominee and the Republican Party have so alienated the fastest-growing demographic group in the country, the Latino community."

~

He also predicted the two political parties reach an agreement over the fiscal health of the United States, buoyed by a combination of financial factors, including the Bush tax cuts expiring, the sequester and a commitment from himself and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney to reducing the deficit. Obama said he was "confident" about an agreement of $2.50 worth of cuts for every dollar of revenue.

$1.5 trillion in taxes will likely come from allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire, but $848 billion in savings will come from winding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, in addition to $1 trillion in cuts already agreed to in budget negotiations with Congress.

Reaching agreements on these topics in the first year of a second term, the president said, would allow a focus on "some things that really historically have not been ideological."

Marriage News Watch: October 8, 2012

Latina Responds to Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney Cracks Hispanic "Joke"

Latino Groups Supporting Equality

From the Washington Blade:

The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Cuban American National Council, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund are among the 22 groups that have backed the “Familia es Familia” campaign.  The initiative will provide affiliated organizations with trainings, videos, publications and other resources in both English and Spanish on marriage rights for same-sex couples, discrimination and other issues. “Familia es Familia” will also use Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks to further engage Latinos on these issues.

~

 An Arcus Foundation-funded survey that ‘La Raza’ and Social Science Research Solutions released in April shows that 54 percent of Latinos support marriage rights for same-sex couples. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they back civil unions for gays and lesbians, while 78 percent of Latinos support openly gay and lesbian servicemembers. The same poll found that while 83 percent of respondents support LGBT-specific employment protections, only 55 percent said they support adoption rights for gays and lesbians.

~

 “A growing majority of Latinos in this country know that every gay or lesbian person is part of someone’s family — a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a loved one — and the more conversations we have, family member to family member, the more support for the freedom to marry grows,” [Evan] Wolfson [from Freedom to Marry] stressed to the Blade, specifically highlighting marriage rights for same-sex couples. “Latino gay couples seek the freedom to marry to affirm and strengthen their love, their commitment, and their ability to take care of each other and their families; government should not be putting barriers in their way. Freedom to Marry is proud to be supporting the ‘Familia es Familia’ campaign to lift up Hispanic voices and stories as together we make the case for ending the exclusion from marriage.”

I guess the National Organization For Marriage Discrimination trying to drive wedges between the LGBT community and racial minorities is not going so well.

The Wrap-Up: July 3, 2012

CNN is having all kinds of problems (besides the whole Supreme Court debacle that is).

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who pretty much insulted the memory of Matthew Shepard virtually to the face of his mother, went on a tear against "Obamacare" on Twitter.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) talks about her experience with sexism in politics.

Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) thinks repealing the Affordable Care Act is an uphill battle. I'm sure that won't stop the GOP from trying.

What may the future hold for Evangelical churches as the next generation sees growing support for LGBT equality?

Despite touting his education initiatives as Governor, Romney's impact has been dubbed "inconsequential."

The founders of Microsoft have each given $100,000 to support Washington state's recognition of marriage equality. Sounds like time for "One Million" Moms to get angry...again.

And lastly, another Latino civil rights organization has announced its support of marriage equality.

Oh, and apparently some news guy came out yesterday...or whatever.

The Wrap-Up: June 26, 2012

A Pennsylvania Republican spilled the beans on the real reason behind voter ID laws, not that we hadn't already guessed anyway.

The Supreme Court, unfortunately, doubled down on corporate personhood.

Showing that they aren't completely backwards, they struck down most of Arizona's immigration law.

As we await the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare"), Americans seem to have a bad case of cognitive dissonance on the law and its key provisions.

I'm not sure how this (former) naval officer thought allowing an anti-gay hazing which almost resulted in rape fell under the heading "serving America," but at least he's a FORMER naval officer.

I'm pretty sure Chuck Norris has either taken one too many blows to the head, or he's just a paranoid lunatic. Either way, he's highly overrated.

A Republican Hispanic Congresswoman was none too happy about Romney's silence on immigration.

The Salvation Army is attempting something of an about-face against the recent homophobic statement of one of their Australian officials

And lastly, Jerry Sandusky got a song.

The Wrap-Up: June 25, 2012

Incompletely unsurprising news, a recent (and highly unreliable) study on the "perils" having gays parenting is strongly linked to the National Organization For Marriage Discrimination.

As corporate profits hit all-time highs, wages hit historic lows. Coincidence? I think not.

Former Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) has no desire to be Mitt Romney's running mate.

Some rural Washington parents are very upset over the events of a sex-education class.

On of the top witnesses supporting Proposition 8 in court has changed his tune. It's amazing what can happen to someone when their prejudices are questioned.

A proposed governmental dissolution of pro-LGBT groups in Uganda has been tabled...thankfully.

Some financial executives and industry insiders are calling for a financial transactions tax (on stock trades and such) to stabilize markets.

Sam "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher says he didn't mention the Holocaust in a recent YouTube ad even though he DOES mention millions being killed (including 6 million Jews) from 1939 to 1945. What's sad is that some idiots will still vote for this truth-challenged putz.

And lastly, La Raza, America's largest Latino civil rights group, has announced their support for marriage equality.

The Wrap-Up: May 31, 2012

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

Conservative/Republican Super PACs are planning a $1,000,000,000 assault on the Obama administration between now and the November elections.

Despite the extremely un-American moves being made in Florida on voting rights, it seems like the mainstream media is turning a blind eye.

With Wisconsin's gubernatorial recall election this coming Tuesday, someone on Scott Walker's side is playing some dirty (and illegal) tricks.

The looming problem for the Republican party (as I have mentioned before) is the growing power of Latinos...and how poorly the GOP has treated them..

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA)

Currently, there are six states plus D.C. that have marriage equality. Compare that to the states where you can marry your first cousin (SPOILER: eww...).

A Missouri senate candidate doesn't want citizens to be able to vote for him. Maybe the people should take his advice and just not vote for him. Everybody wins that way!

Has Governor Bob McDonnell (R-VA) opposed judicial nominees for being gay? Stammering usually implies guilt and a poorly attempted cover-up. Just sayin...

California is closer to protecting against reparative "therapy." I seriously hope other states take up this call given the damage this "therapy" is shown to cause to its victims.

And lastly, A Texas judge is, well, not a good judge (to put it nicely).

Since today is my birthday, I won't be spending too much time working on the blog and there won't be a Wrap-Up tomorrow.

The Wrap-Up: May 28, 2012

Bedford County, Virginia

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!! While you're out grilling and enjoying the day off, take some time to remember what this holiday is truly about.

The House Republican's Summer wish list read like a how to of taking the country back into recession.

A ballooning Hispanic population may turn North Carolina into a long term swing state.

Perhaps all is not lost with the Republican party as at least GOP candidates are refusing to sign "the pledge." Grover Norquist can't be happy about this, which means it must be a good thing.

When it comes to voting and voting rights, it's all but official that Florida is the worst state in the country.

Monument Terrace in Lynchburg, Virgina

Kansas is the latest state to freak out over the non-existent Sharia Law threat.

In the past two weeks, over 300,000 people have thanked President Barack Obama for his public support marriage equality. I wonder if the opposition even bothered trying a counter petition this time (like their Starbucks failure).

Governor Scott Walker's (R-WI) recall opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D), took him to task on a number of issues face-to-face.

And lastly, after saying he had never been to the home of a same-sex married couple in a resent interview, Tony Perkins has been offered an invitation. A response is pending (which I can't wait to hear about).

The Wrap-Up: April 27, 2012

The Republican Party is looking at Senator Marco Rubio of Florida as the savior to deliver them the Latino vote, which may not be a good (or even possible) idea.

House Republicans are so Hell-bent on renegging on the debt deal reached last year that they are willing to shut down the government and let kids go hungry to get what they want. What a faithless/heartless lot.

You know how right-wingers are always claiming gay people are trying to "indoctrinate" kids into homosexuality? Well, guess who is REALLY indoctrinating who.

The Marine who was discharged for comments he made about President Obama (i.e. the Commander-in-Chief) sounds off on the incident.

A poll from Pew Research Center shows a nice uptick in support for marriage equality over the last four years.

Social media may be the key may be the key to defeating North Carolina's homophobic Amendment 1. Remember to spread the word about ALL of the damaging affects of this amendment. Early voting has already begun and Election Day is May 8.

As into politics as I am, the idea that the 2016 race has already begun is just daunting. First speculation about Rick Santorum for the GOP, now speculation about Hillary Clinton for the Democrats.

President Obama has issued a veto threat against CISPA.

The victim of a brutal homophobic hate crime at Illinois State University is heroically defiant.

And lastly, let's take a look back at Newt Gingrich's best (read: worst) hits during his presidential run.

The Wrap-Up: April 19, 2012

While I may not have precognitive powers, I definitely saw this one coming from miles away. There is a coalition of organizations suing against the National Defense Authorization Act because of the HUGE potential to destroy civil liberties that comes with it.

In yet another massive fit of hypocrisy, Eric Cantor and House Republicans (who are always talking about simplifying the tax code) are pushing legislation that creates more paperwork for small businesses.

There are now six Seattle churches against joining the archbishop's petition drive in an effort to overturn the recently passed marriage equality bill. This shows a growing disconnect between the Catholic hierarchy and rank-and-fill parishioners.

After having to be as far to the right as possible to get the GOP nomination, it's time for Mitt Romney to do the 2-Step back to the center.

One of the main groups being targeted by both Republicans and Democrats is the Latino population.

It is no surprise whatsoever that Republicans will use faith in their political arguments until clergy members speak against said Republicans. This is called ideological inconsistency...or just using religion as a pawn for political gain.

Personally, I don't care how many years of tax returns a candidate releases. However, the least Mitt Romney could do is give an excuse for a low number of years without including a lie.

NOM's Dump Starbucks campaign is not just a domestic flop, but an international one as well. Some people just don't realize when they are fighting the long defeat.

And lastly, a straight male student is running for Prom Queen. I feel like he will be out of his depth...at least with finding the right dress.