We are two weeks out from the election, and silly season is in full bloom, from a candidate in Delaware who does not understand the Constitution, to a candidate in Kentucky, who may or may not have worshiped Aqua Buddha, to perhaps the wackiest candidate of all in Nevada, Sharon Angle (the first “Asian” in the Nevada State Legislature).
This week two significant things happened that bring home how the immigration “thing” remains a strong undercurrent to this election.
First, Sharon Angle told a group of Hispanic youth at a Hispanic youth group meeting over the last weekend (trying to defend her anti-Latino/anti-immigration ad), that some of them “looked Asian” to her so how was she to know who was Hispanic anyway:
Second, a Republican funded and led group, Latinos for Reform, has run an ad in Nevada urging Latinos not to vote (for Democrats) because Democrats have not delivered on their promise of immigration reform.
While is it true that the Democrats blew their chance (perhaps their only chance) to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform, urging people not to vote as a solution to who they voted for before (clearly Latinos for Reform could not urge Hispanics to vote for Sharon Angle) smacks of voter suppression. The last thing the Republicans need to be seen doing right now is suppressing the Latino vote.
As these two cases in Nevada demonstrate, once again the Immigration issue raises its ugly head. You would think that politicians of both parties would be tired of dealing with the consequences of not dealing with immigration reform. Yet, neither party appears willing to compromise and do what is right for America. The truly sad part here is that the issue of immigration politics is publicly degrading an entire race of people. Using words like “illegal” to really mean Mexicans, regardless of immigration status denigrates people, real people, and cheapens the debate.
