Letters to the Editor
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Another fissure
Blumenthal did not discuss this but I'm wondering what the GOP-endorsed invasion of personal privacy by the NSA and the FBI is doing for the Libertarian-GOP alliance which also contributed to Bush victories in 2000 and 2004.
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We are all immigrants
If you are not a full-blooded native American, you are an immigrant to this country. So: Why shut the doors now? Who's the last person to get in?
You talk about how immigrants don't/can't pay their way... and that might be true initially. But eventually they do, and they contribute more to the nation than the nation had to give them to get them there. It's part of the beauty of being American.
Of course, part of the Beast in that beauty is our continuing resistance to new people. When new people come along, things change. When things change, my security and economic power may change. If it changes, it may change for the worse. It could change for the better, but the anxiety that things may get worse seems to be the only emotion some people feel.
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"rumors of my death..."
Mark Twain famously quipped that "rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated, " or some words to that effect. So it is with the collapse of the unstable Republican coalition: I'll believe it when it happens. If the fractious grassroots are getting restive then a booster shot of fear will rally them around the flag once more. Rover and Cheney haven't been indicted yet.
Meanwhile the Dems say little, do nothing, and can't think their way through a game of tit-tat-toe. In fact the word is spreading that losing the 2006 mid-term elections is a winner for them. They will win by losing. Thats' the DNC for you. Even some of my intelligent friends are buying into that one. I don't see how letting the Bush and his fascist posse do two more years of irreparable damage to the country and our standing in the world is a winner for anyone. let alone progressives or the Dems.
As far as I'm concerned anything bad for Bush and the Repugs is good, and the sooner the unholy fascist alliance of bible thumping freaks, nativist know-nothings, and corporate greedheads implodes the more likely it is there will be some remnant of democracy left in this benighted country.
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Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss
The problem with the American practice of goverment is that elected officials usually don't face competitive races. Your local congressman was selected by the party, and will either win or lose based on your district's demographics, not his/her views or competance. The result is a bunch of corrupt, lazy, and largely imcompetant people in congress who are fiercly loyal to the party. I believe that this set of traits is the root cause of the current implosion of the Republican party.
Now, the Democrats are going get their chance to waltz into power without really trying. The Republicans are so bad that most voters seem willing to vote for ANYBODY else. In this 2 party system, "anybody else" means a Democrat.
The new batch of leaders will proudly wear [D] instead of [R], and just the same they will value party loyalty over the national interest.
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Native Soil Argument
We are all immigrants
If you are not a full-blooded native American, you are an immigrant to this country. So: Why shut the doors now? Who's the last person to get in?
Amspeck, I'm sure you are a good hearted person who only wants what's fair and just, however every time there is a discussion about illegal immigration someone pulls out a variation of this old argument:
Native Americans were here first. White settlers massacred them and stole their land. Non-Native Americans should feel guilty about this injustice and have no right to live on American soil or have any say about who lives here either. If someone else illegally settles in America it serves all Non-Native Americans right. If any Non-Native American sets a limit on immigration they are racist hatemongers.
I think it's fairly straightforward to dispute this line of argument. First of all, I agree that Native Americans were treated horribly and unjustly and for the most part their land was in effect stolen by white settlers and pioneers. However, recompense to the Native American peoples is an issue to be dealt with separately and has been an issue for over a hundred years. The fact that we have a shameful part of our history does not mean that the USA and its borders cease to exist. We have a Constitutionally based sovereign country which has every right to set its own laws and the right to internationally recognized borders. Every nation has the right to decide who is a citizen of their country and thus entitled to the benefits of being a citizen. Every nation has the right to regulate traffic across their borders. Even Germany and Japan have those rights.
To look at it another way, to truly abide by the "native soil" line of thinking, all countries should make a DNA test of the oldest bones found in their soil and that "tribe" or genetic line would have first rights to the land. Where do you think that would get you in Europe or the Middle East where land was invaded and conquered over and over throughout the ages? Shouldn't the decendants of the Sumerians and the Akkadians have rights to some land?
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"bible thumping freaks"
Another ignorant Leftie moron spewing hatred at America's majority religion. Yeah, it takes a lot of balls to bash Christians. Just remember: it's our Biblle-thumping freaks who keep America from becoming an Euro-secular society -- which is just a brief transitional phase to rule by Koran-thumping freaks.
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I'm not a 'Native American', and I'm not an immigrant either
I used a dictionary. My great great grandparents were immigrants to this country. I'm not. Not by any definition. Sorry
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A missed parallal and underlying point
nice article, but one huge issue is glossed:
bush's victories in 2000 and 2004 can be superficially attributed to building this or that coalition of supporters and voters. but it's possible and probable that the main and HUGE issue underpinning both of his victories was electoral fraud via electronic voting machines with no paper trail or other means of verification. it's amazing to me how this issue has gone so unaddressed by mainstream political commentators. those who control the voting machines and therefore the ability to rig them are the ones who will continue to pick our "winning" politicians.