With 'Friends' Like Lou Dobbs, Who Needs Enemies?

Longtime immigrant basher Lou Dobbs recently declared on Telemundo that he's now one of the Latino community's "greatest friends, and I mean for us to work together."

This comes from a xenophobe, mind you, who has falsely accused undocumented workers of spreading leprosy, once said "Mexico has become our enemy" and has called Latino immigrants an "army of invaders."

But Dobbs is now reportedly contemplating a run for president or a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey. And just like the politicians he's attacked for pandering to "ethnocentric special interests," he's done a complete 180 on the issue of immigration reform.

On Telemundo, Dobbs said he now supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers after years of deriding such proposals as "amnesty."

Dobbs must think we have short memories.

For years, Dobbs has given a platform to right-wing extremist Minutemen. A few of these renegades who have appeared on his show have ties to white supremacist groups.

He, more than anyone else in the media, has been a cheerleader for extreme deportation policies that break up families and tear apart communities. By airing misleading distortions and fallacies on an almost nightly basis, Dobbs shared more responsibility than anyone for the hostile political environment facing undocumented workers.

For Mr. Dobbs to now come asking for Latino votes after leading the fight to have our relatives and neighbors deported is nothing short of insulting.