Marisa Treviño has done a great job of covering the opposition to the Texas border wall among the border communities for us at FDL. These border towns now have Tancredo's pale ass pretty chapped:
"These mayors are jeopardizing national security with their not-in-my-backyard attitude," Tancredo said. "Congress approved the border fence with the overwhelming support of the American people to protect our nation from terrorists and illegal aliens and it will not be thwarted by a handful of rogue mayors."
The outspoken Tancredo, who is polling in the low single digits in national polls, also offered his solution to the problem, which is to "build the border fence north of these communities."
"These mayors have already demonstrated that their hearts and loyalties lie with Mexico -- perhaps they'd feel more comfortable if their cities were geographically located there as well," Tancredo said.
So sad to see kreeping dhimmitude infect the the chief Klansman in the Konservative Kongress, giving away US sovereign territory and all. Of course, as the race baiting destroyer of the California Republican Party (and Giuliani endorser) Pete Wilson should now know, this is all suicide for the GOP nationally. From The American Prospect (h/t LiveFromSilverCity):
Republicans' viability among Latino voters is even worse given the party's anti-illegal immigration stance. Tancredo's "Third World country" remark hasn't done much to help his image among Latinos, and neither have other candidates' promises of building border walls, shunning amnesty, and sending people back to Mexico. But despite the fact that "values voters" appeals have a chance to fare just as well among this heavily Catholic group, a recent Gallup poll found that only a third of Latinos are backing Republican candidates this election, and only 11 percent of Latinos now identify as Republicans, down 8 percent since 2005. The number that identify as Democrats has jumped from 33 percent to 42 percent, and most cite immigration as the chief issue driving them away from the GOP.
What should really worry Republicans is that the number of eligible minority voters is growing. More than 16 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in 2004, a 20 percent increase from 2000, according to the Pew Research Center. And while only 47 percent of eligible Latino voters went to the polls in 2004, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, voter registration drives by organizations like the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and galvanizing issues like immigration, are expected to increase those figures. Growth in African American eligible voters isn't as rapid, but it is still increasing faster than the number of eligible voters in the general population, and the number of African American voters who turned out on Election Day increased from 57 percent in 2000 to 60 percent in 2004.
As people of color in the country continue to organize and build coalitions for progressive policies, and as a new generation of leadership takes hold in communities of color and their respective caucuses in Congress, a national progressive majority becomes inevitable, with real social justice and economic justice achievable. There are threats to alliances among different identity groups, but the more I talk with emergent groups of organizers and leaders, the more I think there's real potential to build better unity through a combination of enlightened self interest and shared progressive ideology.
For example, here's a story about some positive coalition building across class lines within a local latino community. Frequently, it's the fractures within groups who can support progressive policies that keep them from coming together across narrowly defined interests to develop collective power. Latino communities in Northern Virginia are coming together to recognize that soft ethnic cleansing in Prince William country is killing the local economy.
It's this kind of incremental awakening that is helping progressives begin to organize for collective progressive power in congress.
The responsibility to build coalitions is shared on all sides, for sure, so readers involved in their local communities should continue to look actively to build allies among local progressives, including communities of color. Ultimately, it's from the grass roots that movement building like this happens. As you see ICE stormtroopers bang on doors, awaken and arrest citizens in the middle of the night in your local communities, creating a climate of terror among people of color, stand up, get connected with others locally and be counted. One night it's your neighbor's door, the next night it may be yours.
Meanwhile, any time immigration comes up in politics, it actually hurts the GOP, no matter what Bush Dog Rahm Emanuel says.
And thank you, "reconquista" supporter, Tom Tancredo!
Pachacutec blogs at Firedoglake.