Keeping it pure

By Mustang Bobby

There are probably a number of good and principled reasons to oppose immigration reform: it’s going to be expensive, it could enable scams by people who figure out how to exploit the immigrants, and it may be only a stopgap where those who are determined to get around the laws will find new ways to do it.

But some well-connected people are putting out a reason to be against immigration reform, and it has nothing to do with principled reasons… unless you happen to be a Klansman. George Zomick of The Nation has the story.

Ken Crow, who used to be president of Tea Party of America until he bungled logistics of a Sarah Palin speech and is now affiliated with Tea Party Community, got up and started talking about “well-bred Americans.”

Here is some video of what followed, in which he made a straightforward case for racial purity. (Apologies for the quality; I didn’t anticipate something that crazy to about be said and so I wasn’t well-positioned. But the audio should be clear.)

The transcript:

From those incredible blood lines of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington and John Smith. And all these great Americans, Martin Luther King. These great Americans who built this country. You came from them. And the unique thing about being from that part of the world, when you learn about breeding, you learn that you cannot breed Secretariat to a donkey and expect to win the Kentucky Derby. You guys have incredible DNA and don’t forget it.

Not only was this said in the presence of hundreds of people on Capitol Hill, but many important Republican politicians were present. Senator Jeff Sessions, who helped lead the opposition to the immigration bill in the Senate, was directly behind me, glad-handing attendees, as I shot this video. Congressman Steve King, who is taking up Session’s mantle in the House, was also there. Both men spoke (Sessions is the keynote), and Senator Ted Cruz is also on the roster. The rally was promoted by major conservative media figures like Laura Ingraham.

In other words, the rally and its place on the political landscape is impossible to ignore. Last month, another hard-right rally featured Representative Michele Bachmann holding up a white baby and talking about the “future of America”–not quite as explicit, but mainly a difference in degree.

This is not to say that everyone who is opposed to immigration reform is a racist in pursuit of racial purity. But if you are against it, you might want to look around and see who is on your side.

(Cross-posted at Bark Bark Woof Woof.)