Know someone who hates immigrants and wants ‘em all rounded up and kicked out of our country?
Well be sure to let them know about tomorrow’s rally in Frankfort because they aren’t going to want to miss it. It’s a catalyzing moment for the anti-immigration movement!
(Of course, if your bigot friends who hate immigrants actually cared about this issue they’d already know about this rally. Then again, your bigot friends are probably really lazy.)
A Detroiter who heads a national neo-Nazi group said members have permission to march against illegal immigration at a weekend rally at Kentucky’s state Capitol in Frankfort, where state authorities said they plan heightened security.
Jeff Schoep, 38, who calls himself commander of the Detroit-based National Socialist Movement, said Wednesday he hopes to have 200 people march Saturday in uniform.
The rally will be about “illegal immigration, rampant crime, the recession and white civil rights,” the group says on its website, which has a swastika superimposed over an American flag.
Read on… especially to find out about how they “scurry into this country like roaches.”
And by “they” obviously I mean the anti-immigration activists who are literally swarming Frankfort this weekend.
[Later this afternoon/early evening, Mitt Romney will be in Louisville for a fundraiser hosted by the Papa John's guy, and the Tea Party is rallying down the street... Sonka has a preview.]
Mitt Romney spoke at a private fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida over the weekend and most all of what he said was overheard by reporters. Romney explained that he was going to eliminate large swaths of the government — like the Department of Housing and Urban Development — but that he wasn’t going to reveal his true plans before taking office.
Romney did allow that he wouldn’t fully demolish the Department of Education but instead would leave just enough of it standing so that he could fight the teachers who teach your kids and keep them from getting to uppity or asking for a little more money to educate America’s children.
The former governor also addressed how he might make strides toward winning back Hispanic voters, another crucial voting bloc with whom he and other Republicans lag, according to recent polls.
Predicting that immigration would become a much larger issue in the fall campaign, Romney told his audience, “We have to get Hispanic voters to vote for our party,” warning that recent polling showing Hispanics breaking in huge percentages for President Obama “spells doom for us.”
Romney said the GOP must offer its own policies to woo Hispanics, including a “Republican DREAM Act,” referring to the legislative proposal favored by Democrats that would offer illegal immigrants a limited path to citizenship, to give Hispanic voters a real choice between parties.
While Romney might be reading the set-up of the problem correctly, the idea that he’s going to lead a Republican DREAM Act to gain back Hispanic voters from the Obama campaign would be dumb enough on the surface even if you didn’t consider the wild-eyed reaction that plank in the Romney platform will inspire in the Tea Party controlling base of the Grand Ol’ Party.
Just days after the closed-door meeting with Florida fundraisers, Romney went on a conservative talk show and claimed there was a “vast left wing conspiracy” working to destroy him:
“There will be an effort by the quote vast left wing conspiracy to work together to put out their message and to attack me,” Romney said in response. “They’re going to do everything they can to divert from the message people care about, which is a growing economy that creates more jobs and rising incomes. That’s what people care about.”
Unfortunately for the directionally challenged Mitt Romney, his biggest problem clearly comes from the Right.
Romney’s “Republican DREAM Act” whisper-campaign to Florida fundraisers echoes Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s recent “Republican DREAM Act” bill… which alienates Hispanics and Republican voters alike (much more from the Right spectrum here).
Indeed, in the wake of Romney’s closed-door comments, his top immigration advisor told the Washington Post:
I just got off the phone with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an adviser to Romney on immigration. He stated flatly that he didn’t think Republicans — or Romney — should, or would, support any version of the DREAM Act that provides undocumented immigrants with any kind of path to legal status.
If Romney sticks to this — and Kobach said he would — there’s very little room for him to moderate his approach to immigration. In addition to advising Romney on immigration, Kobach is a national GOP voice on the issue, suggesting the right would not permit any move of this kind.
“I’d absolutely reject any proposal that would give a path to legal status for illegal aliens en masse,” Kobach said. “That is what amnesty is. I do not expect [Romney] to propose or embrace amnesty.”
This all sets up an interesting electoral math equation.
Could Mitt Romney pick up enough Hispanic votes to offset the wave of lost Tea Party votes and still break even?
Where do you move when what you’re moving from
Is yourself?
If you’ve ever listened to Lexington talk radio or read the comments on pretty much any article on the Herald-Leader website, you understand that underneath the sheen of pretty horses and basketball hoopla, there exists a layer of Lexingtonians who despise immigrants and harbor deep, misplaced resentment toward Blacks.
Well good news for them! On April 21st — that’s next Saturday! — the Kentucky branch of a Michigan-based neo-Nazi group will invade the state capitol and rally for “White Rights” on the steps beneath Frankfort’s rotunda.
Rise up, Racists! It’s time to make your voices heard on the important issue of illegal immigration and black kids in threatening hoodies. White people in America really have it tough, and these good folks have your back:
BlueBluegrass has a lot on this lovely subject so head on over.
On its Web site, nsm88.org, the group posted a video featuring the state’s “Welcome to Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit” logo.
Sandra E. Coy submitted a rally application on Jan. 17. Coy listed her title as “KY East Coordinator, National Socialists Movement” and described the purpose of the group as “protest against illegal immigration.”
Coy listed the group’s address as “703 3rd St., Shelbyville” which is also the address of farm supply company Bob’s Hay Barn, where Coy is listed as manager in various business social media groups. According to its articles of incorporation, the business is owned by Marvin Leighton Sparrow, also known as Marvin Bob Sparrow. No one answered the phone at Bob’s Hay Barn late Wednesday or at Sparrow’s residence.
According to the group’s application to the Finance & Administration Cabinet, they expect about 200 people to “march up to the Capitol steps and give several speeches on illegal immigration and what it is doing to America.”
Kentucky’s Secretary of State candidates got their debate on last night at the KET studio. Republicans Hilda Legg and Some Dude Named Bill Johnson went head-to-head, as did Democrats Elaine Walker and Alison Lundergan Grimes. (watch the full debate here)
On the Democratic side, I would say that Grimes’ performance was better. While there wasn’t really any difference in policy between the two, Grimes really drove home her answer on the phony Republican voter-ID nonsense that Legg/Johnson and other Republicans around the country are using to scare voters. She called it out as a transparent attempt to suppress votes and threw out some MLK, while Walker took a more diplomatic “not sure we need to”. While they had the same answer on restoring felons’ voting rights, Grimes again had more fire. These two issues will be big in the general election, and Democrats will be best served by someone who comes out swinging.
What I did NOT like about Grimes’ performance was her repeated insistence on telling everyone (in fact, it was the first thing she mentioned) that she was born here and Walker wasn’t, and that’s one reason you should vote for her. It’s not only bad pandering, it’s ineffective pandering. Is someone really going to vote for her because she came out of the womb inside state lines? And as one of the many Democrats currently living in Kentucky who was not born here, is she saying that I’m somehow less qualified, or less Kentuckian? It’s just one of those unnecessary acts of political pandering that makes my skin crawl.
Nevertheless, Grimes still performed better, in my opinion. Just not quite enough to get me off of the fence in this race. The number one factor for me in this race (since they appear indistinguishable in terms of policy) is which candidate will be the strongest against Legg/Johnson, as either of the Republicans as SoS will be a conservative nightmare. While the debate performance would seem to give the edge to Grimes, we don’t know what the money situation for each candidate is yet. Both candidates’ fundraising reports for the first quarter should come out later this week, so we’ll see if there’s a big winner or loser in that category. The Republicans are going the throw a ton of money at this race, and the Democratic candidate needs to show an ability to raise money. Until someone stands out as the stronger candidate, I’ll stay on this comfy fence.
On the Republican side, Hilda Legg actually slid to the right of Some Dude Named Bill Johnson, which is a pretty damned hard feat to accomplish. She once more advocated a birth certificate in order to register to vote, then cited the shady claims of the Colorado Secretary of State that “4,000″ illegal immigrants voted there in 2010. You know, even thoughhe hasn’t proved that one illegal immigrant voted in that election. But why would a Birther need “facts” and their liberal bias. Anyway, Hilda Legg actually made Bill Johnson appear somewhat moderate, which may be a first in American political history for a candidate allied with Alan Keyes. And you know what happens when a GOP primary candidate appears moderate in 2011? They lose! Congrats Hilda, you won the debate with your fearless devotion to fear of Mexicans and the truth.
Now let’s see those KREF reports! Who’s gonna make it rain?!
(again, the full debate is here, I suggest that all Democrats watch it and come up to their own conclusion)
KY GOP Secretary of State candidate Hilda Legg sat down with Ryan Alessi recently and told him that Kentucky must be protected for the scourge of foreigners stealing our elections. Bring that birth certificate to the county clerk’s office, Kentuckians!
“More so than just the photo ID at the polls, is to show your proof of citizenship when you register to vote,” she said.
That would include bringing a birth certificate or passport when someone registers to vote either at the county clerks office.
“When our young people go in to register to vote, I want them to know it’s important. Having to show you are, in fact, a citizen of the United States, that helps to make it more significant that you are now a voter,” she said.
Alessi asked her if she was a Birther, and she declined to answer:
“The American people have spoken and they have elected Barack Obama,” she said. “I can’t do anything about that. So I’m not moving in that direction. I’m moving to help ensure that Kentucky voters are those who are legal.”
Here’s your PSA for two forums in Lexington next Monday, April 11th.
The ACLU of Kentucky UK Chapter will be hosting a forum on immigration laws at the UK Law School Courtroom (620 South Limestone) at 4:00.
ACLU attorney Cecillia Wang will be joined by local activists Isela Arras and Pedro Santiago as well as Professor’s Melynda J. Price and Roberta E. Harding and Maxwell Street Legal Clinic Director Jonathan Bialosky. Cecillia Wang is the Managing Attorney for the California office of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. Her practice centers on the intersection of immigration and criminal law and the impact of U.S. national security policies on non-citizens. Wang is a graduate of the Yale Law School. She clerked for Judge William Norris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Harry Blackmun of the Supreme Court of the United States. Both Arras and Santiago work locally on immigration policy.
Also of importance to Lexington is the BUILD ((Building a United Interfaith Lexington through Direct-Action) annual action assembly at Imani Baptist Church (1555 Georgetown Rd.) at 7:00 that night. KFTC is urging members to go, so that they can “put pressure on Mayor Gray to make the following problems a priority: employment of ex-offenders, health care access for the uninsured, and affordable housing.” Mayor Gray has not shied away from taking tough challenges head on during his first three months, so we hope he continues this trend and shows up to talk to the assembly. The crowd there is notoriously demanding and not afraid to speak their mind, and Gray would be certain to get an earful. But considering that this crowd will be made up of people that put him in office, I thinks it’s important that he faces them, even if he is the bearer of bad news (budget problems out the wazoo). He hasn’t been afraid to confront the Lexington Good Ole Boys Club, so we hope that he faces BUILD with the same kind of honesty. I think he will.
There were few true victories in Frankfort during the regular session. But one of them was the defeat of David Williams’ Worse-than-Arizona Papers Please Immigration Bill. Arizona has found out over the past year that blatant racism isn’t good for business, as they’ve perhaps lost up to $150 million in tourism revenue.
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour will be in Lexington on Thursday, headlining a fundraiser for the Republican Party of Kentucky.
Which is interesting, considering that Kentucky Republicans are trying to ram through an immigration bill that is even worse than Arizona’s “Papers Please” bill. Why interesting? Well, Haley Barbour used to be a lobbyist for Mexico, advocating for (what most conservatives would surely call) “amnesty“.
Awkward.
Sounds a little too sane to be the Republican nominee in 2012, in my opinion. Sorry, Haley.
SHE WON'T GO!
THE DAILY YONDER
