Victory tour ‘06: Vicente comes to California
posted at 7:49 pm on May 21, 2006 by Allahpundit
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He’ll address his constituents on Thursday afternoon, then let Schwarzenegger kiss the ring at a state dinner. Arnold’s got no choice, really: the stench of identity politics hangs heavy in the air and Democratic leaders are doing some heavy breathing. Time for some turbo-charged Hispandering, as Kaus might say.
Drudge has all the best immigration links today, including the adversary culture’s version of Minutemen, how illegal immigration has now reached the scale of population transfer, and the hysterical xenophobia of Mexican law compared to its American counterpart. I’ll add a few, though. Here’s Waffles explaining why he was for a fence before he was against it. Don’t laugh too loudly: “flip-flopper” is a bipartisan charge these days, and rightly so. Meanwhile, illegal immigrants from Central America are taking civics lessons so that they can pass as citizens. Of the United States? Guess again:
Non-Mexican Hispanics entering the United States illegally are studying up on Mexican history and geography, even learning to whistle the national anthem, to beat U.S. plans to fly them home…
Mexicans, who make up most of the almost 1.2 million immigrants detained crossing the border illegally in 2005, are given a criminal background check and then sent over the frontier, usually within a day. Many often try crossing again immediately.
But so-called Other Than Mexican, or OTM, illegal immigrants mostly from Central America, are increasingly being flown back hundreds of miles to their home countries, which can effectively end their dream of entering the United States to earn a better life.
So, many pretend to be Mexicans.
Finally, here’s Mark Steyn’s latest, which complements the Chronicle piece in emphasizing the sheer scale of what’s happening and the WaPo piece in imagining what role identity politics might play in it:
[A] “worker class” drawn overwhelmingly from a neighboring jurisdiction with another language and ancient claims on your territory and whose people now send so much money back home in the form of “remittances” that it’s Mexico’s largest source of foreign income (bigger than oil or tourism) is not “immigration” at all, but a vast experiment in societal transformation. Indeed, given the international track record of bilingual societies and neighboring jurisdictions with territorial claims, it’s not much of an experiment so much as a safe bet on political instability.
Exit question: if you took Vicente Fox’s brass cojones and enlarged them a thousand times, what would you have? Answer: America’s least-favorite welfare queen, who, when he’s not jailing political dissidents, beating the hell out of protesters, and happily cashing billion-dollar checks, spends his time whining about U.S. efforts to promote democracy in the Middle East.
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Vicente Fox will never make it as a comedian.
His timing is atrocious.
normsrevenge on May 21, 2006 at 7:57 PM
Tammy Bruce was talking about El Presidente’s visit. Remember the brouha-ha over Bush’s fundraising visit in LA? Lots of people whining about the freeway being blocked off for the Presidential motorcade. Now we’re going to have the freeways blocked, on Memorial Day Friday, for the disgusting, corrupt head of a nation that actively invading this country. Una dia sin immigrantes? No, cinco anos sin immigrantes, por favor.
Angus on May 21, 2006 at 8:37 PM
Mark Steyn has it right on. That man can write.
bucktowndusty on May 21, 2006 at 8:55 PM
“So, many pretend to be Mexicans.”
And an added benefit is, you’re less likely to be shot or raped by Mexican guards if they don’t realize you’re a non-Mexican illegal.
Alex K on May 21, 2006 at 8:56 PM
— Hispandering —-
I love it! Perfect one word description.
LegendHasIt on May 21, 2006 at 9:00 PM
Vicente Fox is going to visit California? Why? Does he want to see for himself how Mexico’s “welfare program” is working?
Dodo David on May 21, 2006 at 9:11 PM
Maybe someone will have the intestinal fortitude to hit *HIM* with a pie, instead of Michelle or Anne!!
:/
VonHelton on May 21, 2006 at 10:14 PM
Steyn’s slowly getting there, but this rhetorical gimmick he’s using, saying “it’s not really an immigration issue”, is just confusing and counterproductive. I guess it’s to make it sound like no one has a problem with immigration per se, because that would be evil, there’s just a problem with outright invasion.
But the illegal problem (or the societal transformation problem, if he wants to call it that) is an appendage of the *legal* immigration problem. Steyn’s examples of the ethnic mix that make legal immigration no problem in his mind just show that he’s ignorant of the nature of current legal immigration: it too is mostly Spanish-speaking and within that mostly Mexican. This is because the current system, essentially the 1965 Immigration Act, is broken in a way no one anticipated and no one has wanted to fix. Put simply, it’s not really any different than illegal immigration.
And all those smaller groups don’t automatically assimilate just because they’re proportionally low. As long as their absolute numbers are high and the host society tolerates and encourages it, they simply turn into entrenched little foreign nations: There’s a Muslim school in Chicago that won’t let the girls play intermural basketball unless the other schools ban males from the gym (I’m passing over the more obvious consequences of Muslim immigration), there are tens of thousands of Somalis in and around Columbus OH who do not speak English and are catered to by the local government through translators, there’s that whole Hmong thing in Minnesota that Vdare.com has done like a thousand articles on.
It’s nice to see everyone’s favorite conservative columnist notice that Europe isn’t the only continent with an immigration problem, but Steyn’s got some reading to do still.
Alex K on May 21, 2006 at 10:21 PM
Reading the article about the state dinner, I could not help but feel like we are france and Mexico is Nazi Germany. Our own government and that of California is honoring a man who seems to want to annex the south-west to reap all the bennifit with none of the resposibility. How can the man(?) dictate to us how we are to treat invaders of our country. It amases me that the leader of a country speaks to local and state leaders about issues that affect the entire country. I for one seem to be at a loss. People in the country need to get off their @$$ and take control of our situation because our leaders sure aren’t. We must send a message with our votes and get some real leaders with backbones to do the right thing for the people (leagal citizens and immigrants)who make this country what is was.
skippy1 on May 21, 2006 at 10:55 PM
“The Mexican president will then fly to Los Angeles on May 26 for a private meeting with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa…”
Private meeting. No doubt to deliver marching orders to Antonio.
I saw a post on another site asking which was the best state to live in. As a future former resident of So Cal, I’d like some input on that. I can’t see remaining here more than a couple more years.
speed647 on May 21, 2006 at 11:04 PM
We appreciate Allah’s link (see “state dinner” above). Gracias, as they say.
If you have any suggestions on what Arnold should tell Vicente during their visit, we’re taking comments and delivering them.
California Conservative on May 21, 2006 at 11:38 PM
As you know, the Left is great at the art of Newspeak.
Illegal aliens = undocumented workers. But I guess the undocumented worker tag is not getting as much traction as before. Heard the other day on Air America that the illegal aliens are now being called – and get this – “economic refugees”.
Jeeez,
WC
WC on May 22, 2006 at 12:59 AM
Illelegal immigration is the new tool of conquest. A country like Mexico has reconuesta aspirations with the United States because the values of the Left have become dominate. We need to enforce immigration laws, fence off the Mexcian Border, and deport illegal alien infiltrators now.
Fox is coming to see how his infiltrators are doing and the response of politicians to reconquesta – especially in Los Angeles.
omegaram on May 22, 2006 at 2:26 AM
Vicente Fox is sly like a fox!
Vicente Fox should be banned from the U.S. as an enemy of the state! For those who think not, let’s examine this sly Fox’s means and motives. . .
He issues Matricula Consular cards as bogus ID for illegal alien Mexicans (and many U.S. entities accept them!); he printed comic books directing illegal aliens how and where to cross the border surreptitiously and illegally; he threatened to sue us if we prevent illegal alien Mexicans from crossing our border; he makes no effort to prevent Mexican Federales, Mexican troops, and smugglers human and other from escorting and facilitating human smuggling and drug-running across our border; he makes repeated demands for payments, benefits, social security, medical care and billions of AMERICAN dollar expenses for illegal alien Mexicans. . .
I could similarly fill this blog, but I am sure everyone gets it by now.
Vicente Fox and the country of Mexico have become ENEMIES of the United States because friends do not act out, threaten or intimidate in a manner indicating that the goal is to take over and control another nation’s culture, destiny and people.
George Bush and Vicente Fox can pontificate all they wish in their Spanish-spoken Cinco de Mayo celebrations, but a rose by any other color is a rose is a rose. . . but unfortunately, this one STINKS!
ForYourEdification on May 22, 2006 at 9:16 AM
I found the comment about Central Americans taking civics lessons so they can pass off as mexicans. I work on the border, I see what happens everyday. All the illegals, except El Salvadorans, attempt to pass themselves off as mexicans. (El Salvadorans get special treatment due to the Orantes decision from many years ago.) Actually, it seems that the illegals know when all the detention centers are full. They know that if there is no space in detention they will get walking papers, “Permiso”, and a Notice to Appear. Of course it is really a notice to disappear. We still get lots of illegals, OTM’s, turn themselves in so they can get the papers and walk, sometimes with a ride to the bus station. Now, have you ever wondered what the mexicans do with OTM’s that enter Mexico from the US? They bring them back to the US and hand them over to us. Why don’t we just escort all the OTM’s to mexico and hand them to the mexicans? After all they came from their country. I know, they don’t want the OTM’s anymore, they already took all their money and raped all the women, (thats just the mexican police and military).
I am watching this travesty taking place in the Senate. It seems to me that the only Senator that knows what the truth is is Senator Sessions. Maybe we should fire all the rest, including the president that I voted for, and make him President Sessions.
immigration inspectr on May 22, 2006 at 2:51 PM
I sent an email to the Govenator via rightmarch.com telling him to stand up to the Fox.
I suggest all you other Kalifornians do the same. I think you have to get on their email list to get sent the link, I couldn’t find it directly through their site.
I second the Sessions nomination!
NTWR on May 22, 2006 at 3:58 PM
I agree that Mexico is an enemy of the United States! We should not spend a dime of our hard-earned money on anything that would benefit the government of Mexico! We should hold the Mexican government responsible for the corruption and incompetence that has allowed its people to illegally move to the United States for economic relief. What a disgrace when a population has to move out of the country to get a job! But the State of Mexifornia and its governor celebrate this corrupt Mexican president. Is there really any hope for this country….
JonR on May 22, 2006 at 5:11 PM
blogging is not going to change anything.
while the illegals march in our streets making their voices heard…we blog
the govt knows how you feel…they just dont care…we blog
as long as we blog and nothing more…nothing will be done
where are the calls for mass marches?
where are the calls for economic boycott’s
the socialist left have main stream media to get their word out…but i have yet to hear a peep from the conservatives
like fox news(even michelle-as much as i love her work!!!)
what we need is a voice in the media!lets get something going…make them fear our voices…then and only then will something happen. i heard on a fox show on sunday that when asked why the govt wouldnt listen to the people,the reply was…because they know once there is a vote(any vote)
the people will simply forget!!!
mike hale on May 22, 2006 at 5:45 PM
Most of our politicians have nothing but contempt for their constituents, obviously. They figure, “if someone votes for a cipher/crook/demagogue like me he must be an idiot.”
Meantime, most conservative voters are loath to use the tactics of the Left to get the attentions of the politicians. Conservatives are too busy working to pay their TAXES to take to the streets.
We’d better find a way to be heard other than through the internet and a precious few conservative media types because if we don’t we get what we deserve.
BeeCharmer on May 22, 2006 at 7:48 PM
ok-i dont understand the “we have to work” excuse(how my places do not have vacation/sick days).
we can say make them pay with the vote(but who will be hurt worse?) not counting the options we have to choose from in the first place)seem to me both parties sold out america and american values a long time ago!
nero fiddled while rome burned…
mike hale on May 22, 2006 at 8:01 PM
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