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    December 12, 2007

    Hispanics are the new gays: Obama

    Posted by: Chris

    Obamainnh In a private meeting with New Hampshire Freedom to Marry activists, Barack Obama apparently offered his assessment that Republicans are now using immigration as the wedge issue that gay marriage was in the last several election cycles. "You guys have been supplanted by the Hispanics" as the new evil group, Obama is paraphrased as having said.

    He's probably right about that, given Tom Tancredo's presidential candidacy and how Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee compete with each other to see who can be more xenophobic. Still, the backlash for writing off the much larger Latino voter bloc is much riskier for the GOP than demonizing the gays. Not a strategy Karl Rove ever would have signed off on; not because of it's divisiveness or immorality, of course, but because it's politically stupid.

    Perhaps that's why the only federal gay rights issue that gives Obama and Hillary Clinton pause isn't marriage -- since that's a state issue and both back repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. It's immigration rights for same-sex couples.

    It's still worth noting that on this, as on so many other issues, Obama is slightly better than Clinton, committing to a full (not half) repeal of DOMA, which would allow gay Americans to seek fiance or marriage visas for their (er... our) non-American partners.

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    Comments

    1. North Dallas Thirty on Dec 12, 2007 7:36:29 PM:

      Unfortunately, Chris, the logic of that rather melts down when one looks at Arizona's vote in 2004 on Proposition 200. This measure requires proof of citizenship to register to vote or to receive public benefits, mandates voter identification at polling places, and requires state agencies and law enforcement to report illegal immigrants to the Federal government for deportation, all of which Hispanics allegedly oppose; according to exit polls, 47% of the Hispanic voters were in favor of the law.

      Why is not too difficult to explain; Hispanic voters in border states are tired of illegal immigrants taking jobs, burning up social services, overcrowding schools, and joining gangs like the Nortenos and Surenos. Oddly enough, their shared ethnic background doesn't seem to protect them; indeed, quite often, they bear the brunt of the problems.

      Obama seems to be under the impression that Hispanic voters are like black and gay voters -- more concerned with pandering to their ethnicity than how things actually affect them. After all, the man's been in Chicago for years, where politicians regularly rob their constituents blind and engage in blatant corruption, only to be re-elected again and again because of their skin color or because they pander to the right groups.

    1. Sean on Dec 13, 2007 12:05:12 AM:

      He's probably wrong. He said that just to push gay people to the side as if our concerns are less pressing. Every politican does that.

      Go to conservpedia and you will see that the top ten most looked at pages involve homosexuality. If conservatives cared so much about illegal immigration Tom Tancredo would be the front runner right now instead it's the social conservative Mike Fuckabee.

    1. Andoni on Dec 13, 2007 10:52:36 AM:

      Es verdad. Y El Senor Obama es muy inteligente tambien.

    1. Citizen Crain on Dec 13, 2007 11:48:54 AM:

      NDT: My point wasn't that some Hispanics support some restrictions on illegal immigration. It was that the vast majority of Hispanics, as well as many Anglos who loathe race-baiting and xenophobia, are turned off by the fear-mongering that underlies many of those on the anti-immigrant side.

      President Bush and some Republicans, including John McCain, deserve credit for trying to develop a workable solution to an intractable problem -- and I'm talking about 11 million undocumented immigrants, not border security.

      Sean, you missed Obama's point entirely. He was saying the opposite -- that gays could push more aggressively this election cycle because Republicans had moved on to a new boogeyman.

      El Señor Andoni: Felicitaciones con tu español!

    1. North Dallas Thirty on Dec 13, 2007 12:55:51 PM:

      Chris, that same "you're all fearmongering racist xenophobes" rhetoric was used by McCain and others during the 2004 Proposition 200 election, and it still garnered a strong majority of votes.

      What people have figured out by now is that "racist" and "xenophobe" are simply terms used by people like McCain and Eastern liberals to describe anyone who doesn't believe in immediate amnesty and automatic citizenship as a prize for coming here illegally, and has nothing to do with whether or not one actually has racial prejudices. As a result, most Americans have gotten past the shock and started to see the problems without worrying about whether or not they'll be called "racists".

    1. Lucrece on Dec 13, 2007 9:01:16 PM:

      NDT and his usual shamelessness, how surprising.

      Taking away the validity out of the term "xenophobe" is another of his antics, I suppose. After all, we all know that we minorities just love to flaunt our status for some sort of gain. Never mind the fact that more often than not, that minority status puts us in a fix.

    1. Sean on Dec 14, 2007 12:19:17 AM:

      Surprisingly I agree with NDT. The pro-amnesty/ illegal immigrant movement use the terms racist and xenophobe to shut down debate and ramrod their policies onto Americans. Illegal immigration has real consequences on life in the US. Hospitals are closing, education is stretched to the max, crime is up, and welfare is on the rise; all caused by illegal immigration.

    1. JD on Dec 14, 2007 6:38:34 PM:

      "Education is stretched, crime is up and welfare is on the rise " to blame that all on illegal immigration is insane!!!!! If you want a scapegoat at least get one that make sense. I don't suppose it could be because the failed republican policy of doing nothing but fear mongering, and laying down for the religious right (which by the way is just a racist as the KKK).

    1. Monster Beats Sale on Nov 26, 2011 2:56:38 AM:

      doing nothing but fear mongering

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