Thread: ALIPAC in Chicago Tribune immigration debate goes worldwide

The radical left blogs are going ape this morning about this article. It appears they did not appreciate what I had to say! lol

Citizen Orange Mentioned in the Chicago Tribune
By kyledeb on June 4, 2008 12:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Minutes after word broke about a Nickelodeon TV special on children affected by Immigration raids, messages like "What part of illegal don't you understand!?!" and "Deport them all!" bombarded Web sites and blogs.

Then, in an increasingly common reaction, bloggers from "pro-migrant" sites such as Citizen Orange and The Unapologetic Mexican countered by ridiculing the show's critics.
Antonio Olivo - Chicago Tribune (4 June 200

From then on, the article is all down hill. It makes the pro-migrant sanctuarysphere sound defeated. It makes William Gheen sound like the commander of a million person army, while we struggle with our last dieing breaths. If people like Gheen really are winning, why do anti-migrant politicians keep losing elections? Why is it that my blogroll has so many pro-migrant blogs? Why is it that Citizen Orange comes out near the top of a google search of "attrition through enforcement"? We're starting to take the web back from nativists like Gheen, and this article doesn't do our fight justice.

The Sanctuary has been mentioned before, but if you're coming here via the Chicago Tribune article, please check out this pro-migrant space made up of some of the best voices on the net. The Sanctuary will be a spot free from a lot of the noise an misinformation spread by folks like Gheen at ALIPAC.

http://tinyurl.com/5pxmtj


and....

The Sanctuary

They just don't get…do they?
by: Duke
Wed Jun 04, 2008 at 03:35:55 AM EDT

The Chicago Tribune today has an article about "war of words" happening on the web over immigration reform and migrant rights. And as almost all web analysis done by old media and Washington punditry, it demonstrated once again that they simply just don't get it.

While rightfully acknowledging that the right-wing has been extremely effective in using the web to rally their troops and dominate debate with the dissemination of propaganda and misinformation, the role played by pro-migrant web activists was totally misunderstood and underestimated by both the article's author and the pro-migrant Washington strategists he consulted with for the article.
Duke :: They just don't get…do they?

The dominance on the Internet of conservative groups like ALI-PAC has moved pro-migrant groups to get more active, prompting conservatives to escalate their efforts.

After failing last summer to win legalization for the country's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, advocates realized the battle was lost largely on the Web.

A study by The Opportunity Agenda, a New York-based social justice organization, showed the presence of anti-legalization groups last summer on social networking sites was twice that of pro-immigrant groups. Some conservative discussion forums on Facebook have dwarfed the opposition with as many as 18,000 members.

"We haven't yet been able to win the hearts and minds of the average American, and that has to happen before legislation passes," said Jacquelyn Mahendra, who coordinates a Web campaign for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Chicago Tribune

Mahendra did hit the nail on the head when saying that winning the hearts and minds of the average American is the linchpin to moving this debate in a positive, pro-migrant, pro civil-rights, pro-human rights, direction, but the only way to accomplish that task is through efforts to educate the public.

The anti-immigrant forces have put all the forces of the traditional right-wing noise machine behind their efforts to frame the debate and disseminate misinformation, or in some cases outright lies. With their dominance of talk radio, media outlets like FOX news, and powerful media allies like Lou Dobbs, it's no wonder that the perpetual echo-chamber of the web is dominated by anti-immigrant voices. Add to this the large web presence of FAIR with their affiliate groups, CIS and NumbersUSA, to provide propaganda and political direction, grassroots groups like ALIPAC have found fertile ground upon which to build their organizations.

In the Tribune article ALIPAC founder William Gheen brags of his army web warriors of "80-year-olds that are . . . Internet fighter pilots, ... yet admits his group is part of what he claims is a "populist movement" of conservative talk show hosts, legislators and others ... But in reality this "grassroots populist movement" is no more than a modern reincarnation of the top-down, right-wing, organizing efforts first established nearly thirty years ago by the Republican Far-Right. Their message and talking points being carefully crafted and decided upon by anti-immigrant leadership, then filtered down to pool of highly motivated "worker bees" to disseminate and spread.

Was NumberUSA's highly successful effort to thwart CIR last year through faxes, e-mails and letter writing really that different from Jerry Falwell's efforts in the eighties with the Moral Majority to wage various boycotts against TV shows or movies deemed immoral, or the Religious Rights various efforts to effect legislative action on social issues.? ...not really ....it's an organizational model that has been serving the Right very effectively for quite some time and allows the views and concerns of a relative minority of very vocal and motivated activists to dominate issues in ways far greater than their numbers would normally allow.

But this top-down hierarchical model, while working well in the days before the web, and particularly web2.0, we are currently at a crucial turning point where those that can harness the new free-flowing and uncontrollable flow of information and interaction that marks the web2.0 environment will ultimately be the ones who dominate the debate.

And it is here that the Washington pro-migrant strategists have failed to see the real possibilities and power of the web.

While (current efforts are) small, such efforts are cumulatively weaving a Web network that can be used for political organizing and fundraising, said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, a Washington-based strategy group for Immigration reform.

"It's just such a potent tool," said Sharry, whose staff has been meeting with political Web firms to devise a national strategy. "Over time, what we'd love to see happen is have bloggers who swarm the way anti-immigrant bloggers do and, eventually, challenge lawmakers to act and debate strategy and policy."

The true power of the pro-migrant blogosphere, like that of the more established liberal/progressive blogosphere, is not in its ability to "swarm" like the Right or to be directed to follow "marching orders" handed down from on high. This is not what the left-leaning blogosphere is all about.

And if we ask where the true power of the left-leaning blogosphere comes from it's not in its ability to organize "worker bees" to follow orders, or even to raise money for candidates, it's in its ability to move information, educate and shape debate. This is why it has become so powerful and far eclipses its right-wing counterpart in scope, reach and influence.

In the established progressive blogosphere great pride is taken in the notion that they represent an alternative to the traditional power structures of Washington.

And while as the power of the blogosphere has grown, and the clout of certain "A-List" political bloggers grown with it, concession have been made, and some have become what they originally railed against, but the left-leaning blogosphere continually grows and the true spirit of it lives on beyond the confines of the now "mainstream" progressive blogs. And it is here where the pro-migrant blogosphere exists,

This is the most important aspect of the blogosphere that those in Washington and the MSM can't seem to get a handle on. Political activists of all stripes continually court the blogosphere as if they were just another traditional interest group or constituency. They craft talking points, press releases, e-mails, and outreach efforts that differ little from the junk mail candidates and advocacy groups have flooded mailboxes with for years. All this in hopes that bloggers will somehow magnify their messages.

But in doing so, they are missing the whole point of the blogosphere. It is an equalizer. It allows for the free flow of ideas and information. If those in Washington truly wish to harness the power of the pro-migrant blogosphere, or the left-leaning blogosphere in general, they need to foster and nurture that free flow of ideas. They need to help build networks and communities of like-minded web activists. ...then trust them to do what they do best ... Think .... Write .. Persuade ...Educate ...Investigate ... Come up with new ideas ....in a word: Communicate.

Until the pro-migrant strategists and advocates in Washington realize the difference between the left-leaning blogosphere and their right-wing counterparts, and start to effectively utilize the amazing strengths, talents and commitment of the left side of the web, the current paradigm of right-wing domination will not change, and the pro-migrant web will always be, as William Gheen gloats, "light years behind" the Right.

http://tinyurl.com/6y87vf

Looks like we have really stirred them up.

What these radical left websites fail to realize is that they cannot get as many people involved as we can because...

1. Only a small minority of Americans support their radical Amnesty and Open Borders agenda.

2. Their position is wrong on legal, ethical, and moral grounds.

because of these factors, several polls show more Americans are willing to get more vocal on the enforcement side rather than their side of the issue about 2 or 3 to 1!

Thems the facts jack!

W

I get tired of hearing how we are "anti-immigrant", nothing could be further from the truth!

I am a first generation immigrant and I am completely against illegal aliens, "undocumented workers", illegal "immigrants", visa overstayers who become illegal aliens, etc, etc, etc being in the US.

Looks like we have really stirred them up.

What these radical left websites fail to realize is that they cannot get as many people involved as we can because...

1. Only a small minority of Americans support their radical Amnesty and Open Borders agenda.

2. Their position is wrong on legal, ethical, and moral grounds.

because of these factors, several polls show more Americans are willing to get more vocal on the enforcement side rather than their side of the issue about 2 or 3 to 1!

Thems the facts jack!

W

....AND it is obvious that they are very jealous of your army of 80 year old worker bees.................WE ROCK!!!!!

In the Tribune article ALIPAC founder William Gheen brags of his army web warriors of "80-year-olds that are . . . Internet fighter pilots, ... yet admits his group is part of what he claims is a "populist movement" of conservative talk show hosts, legislators and others ... But in reality this "grassroots populist movement" is no more than a modern reincarnation of the top-down, right-wing, organizing efforts first established nearly thirty years ago by the Republican Far-Right. Their message and talking points being carefully crafted and decided upon by anti-immigrant leadership, then filtered down to pool of highly motivated "worker bees" to disseminate and spread.

The illegal aliens and their supporters really do not like the suggestion that a great grandmother could be kicking their butts right?

W

Immigration debate grows from Web roots
Blogs, forums rife with opinions from advocates, opponents

By Antonio Olivo | Tribune reporter
June 4, 2008

Minutes after word broke about a Nickelodeon TV special on children affected by Immigration raids, messages like "What part of illegal don't you understand!?!" and "Deport them all!" bombarded Web sites and blogs.

Then, in an increasingly common reaction, bloggers from "pro-migrant" sites such as Citizen Orange and The Unapologetic Mexican countered by ridiculing the show's critics.

By the end of the day, a Google search for the documentary was more likely to highlight the pro-legalization side of the debate than the anti-immigrant side. Victory, for the moment, was theirs.

But the war is just getting started on this increasingly influential front in the Immigration debate.

In what is becoming a rhetorical echo chamber for anyone who types the word "Immigration" into their search engine, the Internet is filling up with clashes—often racially tinged—over deportations, border security and the country's general future in the face of changing demographics.

Both sides hope to build popular momentum for a renewed fight over Immigration reform during the next presidential administration.

Squaring off in blogs, on Facebook or in YouTube videos, they see themselves immersed in a cultural battle for the ages and are enlisting students and seniors alike in volunteer squads charged with advancing their side of the argument whenever and wherever possible.

"I've got 80-year-olds that are . . . Internet fighter pilots," said William Gheen, president of the North Carolina-based Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee, a conservative group whose Web campaign helped derail Immigration reform legislation in Congress last year by prompting thousands of faxes, e-mails and phone calls to legislators.

"Some of them, when they first came on, were scared to death to even interact in this media," Gheen said. "But I've watched them grow. Necessity is the mother of invention, and we're inventing tactics as we go."

The dominance on the Internet of conservative groups like ALI-PAC has moved pro-migrant groups to get more active, prompting conservatives to escalate their efforts.

After failing last summer to win legalization for the country's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, advocates realized the battle was lost largely on the Web.

A study by The Opportunity Agenda, a New York-based social justice organization, showed the presence of anti-legalization groups last summer on social networking sites was twice that of pro-immigrant groups. Some conservative discussion forums on Facebook have dwarfed the opposition with as many as 18,000 members.

"We haven't yet been able to win the hearts and minds of the average American, and that has to happen before legislation passes," said Jacquelyn Mahendra, who coordinates a Web campaign for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Generally, both sides fall into three categories: e-advocacy blogs calling on readers to pressure legislators, human interest sites that tap into frustrations over federal raids or illegal Immigration, and creative, sometimes comical, games and videos meant to win over the unsuspecting Web surfer who may still be undecided on Immigration reform.

The latter group ranges from conservative TV and radio host Glenn Beck's 2006 cartoon "History of Illegal Immigration in a Couple of Minutes," attracting nearly 200,000 YouTube views, to the Web video game "ICED"—a 3-D journey of the pressures faced by deported immigrants that has been downloaded more than 90,000 times since last summer.

Meanwhile, "Great Immigration Debate," a cartoon that mocks both sides, has reaped nearly 3 million views on YouTube and a 2007 Webby Award nomination.

Immigrants themselves, frustrated by how they're portrayed, also have entered the fray. In Chicago, one such blogger is Flor Crisostomo, an illegal immigrant who has sought sanctuary inside a Humboldt Park church since January. She also has a MySpace page.

From her Northwest Side perch, Crisostomo, 29, has begun posting bilingual screeds against federal raids, news of her personal stand, and critiques of U.S.-Mexico trade policies that, she argues, have spurred border-jumping.

"This site will be for the whole world, including groups who are anti-immigrant," said Crisostomo, who once loaded pallets in Pilsen. "More than anything it will be to educate people why we're in this resistance."

Prenal Lal, 23, a Fijian immigrant in northern California, is among a growing number of "Dreamers" hoping to show the debate's complexity. Their site, A Dream Deferred, is built around the Dream Act, which proposes temporary legal status for undocumented college students. The bill has languished in Congress.

Among the site's links to blogs and videos, an online petition calls on each of the presidential candidates to make the Dream Act a top priority during the first 100 days of a new administration. So far, it has just more than 8,100 signatures—a response that has Lal wondering how much influence she and other Dreamers wield. "I would like to see more people get active in this."

While small, such efforts are cumulatively weaving a Web network that can be used for political organizing and fundraising, said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, a Washington-based strategy group for Immigration reform.

"It's just such a potent tool," said Sharry, whose staff has been meeting with political Web firms to devise a national strategy. "Over time, what we'd love to see happen is have bloggers who swarm the way anti-immigrant bloggers do and, eventually, challenge lawmakers to act and debate strategy and policy."

To all such pro-migrant ambitions, Gheen and other conservatives say: Bring it on. "We are light-years ahead of the competition," said Gheen, a former political consultant who said he sees his group as part of a "populist movement" of conservative talk show hosts, legislators and others who report what mainstream media do not about Immigration.

ALI-PAC has been a persistent voice on the Web, posting videos and receiving 5 million hits on its Web site in May, Gheen said.

Such aggressive efforts on both sides have attracted extremists who have charged the debate with a rising level of hateful, violent speech.

"You look at these blogs and there's some horrendous stuff going back and forth," Gheen said, emphasizing that his staff of 14 moderates language on the ALI-PAC site. "You've got [militant Latinos] posting 'Kill all whites' and you've got white nationals over there posting 'Kill all browns.' It's out of control. It's crazy."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... ory?page=1

added to the homepage with new title and note..

ALIPAC in Chicago Tribune: We dominate illegal alien supporters!

ALIPAC Note: The radical left blogs are going nuts this morning in reaction to this article. They are agitated by what ALIPAC had to say. ALIPAC is not "anti-immigrant" as this article suggests and we greatly value our ALIPAC supporters that are LEGAL immigrants.

Please follow the links at the end of the article to vote in the Tribune's slanted online poll.

http://www.alipac.us/article3249.html

ALI-PAC has been a persistent voice on the Web, posting videos and receiving 5 million hits on its Web site in May, according to Gheen.

With other aggressive blogs on both sides, the group has attracted extremists who've charged the debate with a rising level of hateful, violent speech.

This makes is sound like Alipac has "attracted extremists" who use hateful, racist, and violent speech. Alipac has been careful to keep those elements out of the debate.

Ive seen some prety heated point of views here, but nothing like whats on the unapologetic mexican, not even compareable.

why do anti-migrant politicians keep losing elections?

The above is a common falsehood spouted by the radical open borders pro-amnesty cabal, e.g., McCain won the GOP nomination in part by intentionally hiding his views on amnesty and talking tough on border security, and Dems who have been winning in special elections and in conservative districts are (at least sounding) tough on illegal immigration and opposing amnesty for illegal aliens (such as Heath Shuler).

This is a tough year for Republicans, no doubt, but this primarily has to do with other factors such as a poor economy and a backlash against eight years of GWB.

Well done!..........my favorite which I have heard before is "bring it on" we as American citizens have the right to fight for our country and the "rule of law" until the pro illegal activists, the politicians and corporate America admits this whole problem stems from people coming into our country illegally, and not through the "golden gates" which shows respect for our country and our laws, we will keep on fighting to restore America to the great country generations of Americans have fought and died to protect.

We as a group also can not control what radical extremist groups say and do, we can only account for ourselves. Alipac which is a group that has the ability to distinguish between the difference of legal and illegal, and illegal is what we are fighting. We also do pretty good at keeping out the riff raff or radicals.....one might sneak in every once in a while but anyone who pays attention to this site knows these types are not around for long, and their actions are not condoned or tolerated.

Great Job ....William, glad you are on our side