Thread: Demos losing poor Hispanic voters who want effective border

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/147971

Guest Opinion: John Kromko
Demos losing poor Hispanic voters who want effective border security
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.25.2006
In 2004, Arizona voters passed Proposition 200, which cut some social services for illegal aliens. While impacts of this proposition have been frequently debated, one profound aspect has been ignored: the poorer a voter was, the more they supported Prop. 200, regardless of ethnicity.

In heavily Hispanic precincts, about 40 percent to 45 percent of voters voted for Prop. 200, about the same percentage that voted for Bush.
If you're wealthy, an alien probably won't take your job or health-clinic seat. You may even be happy that aliens are paid lower wages at your business. But if you're poor and can't get a construction job or a seat at the clinic, you know why.

Democrats have driven a wedge through their own ranks by alienating poor and middle-class voters of all ethnicities who used to be solid Democrats. Many of these disenfranchised voters turned to the Republicans in the hope that they would enforce immigration laws.

Ironically, Republican politicians talk tough on immigration to pacify their constituents. But they'll never actually do anything because the plutocrats who finance Republican campaigns want Third World competition with American workers. What a joke to see Republican politicians touring the border after having been in power for years and doing nothing.

Even more of a joke is watching Democratic do-gooders unthinkingly working for those same plutocrats. Democrats who would never work to ship jobs to the Third World are doing much worse. Why are Democrats committing suicide with traditional Democratic voters for the sake of people who probably wouldn't vote strongly Democratic if they could vote?

At the core of the Democratic Party are people who really, really believe in fairness and justice for minorities, women, Native Americans and everyone. I agree with them. In 1962, I used my college summer vacation to go on a civil rights freedom ride. I have marched with farmworkers and was a leader in the struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment.

These experiences truly enriched me. But they later caused me to make the error of confusing situations where people were denied what was rightfully theirs and people who were denied what was not rightfully theirs. Many people have made the same mistake.

Two years ago, I needed a medical procedure that would cost $14,000. Desperately, I considered going to Canada and using their national health plan.

Why can people see that it's legally and morally wrong for me to cheat Canadian taxpayers but feel that it's perfectly fine for Mexicans to cheat American taxpayers? Neither Mexico nor Canada gives free service to illegal residents.

Will Democratic candidates seize this moment in history and stand up for the people they used to represent, plus millions of disenfranchised voters? Will Democrats have the courage to merely enforce existing law by saying, "We promise to secure our borders and to aggressively prosecute businesses that hire illegal aliens"? Republicans can't say that because their base won't allow it.

Or is our democracy truly a sham contest between Democratic corporate shills and Republican corporate shills?

Write John Kromko, a Democrat, at jkromko@dakotacom.net.

Wow, this is the first truly honest appraisal of the Democrats' stance on immigration that I've seen. As someone who has voted mainly as a Democrat, their betrayal has been felt very acutely because I had expected them to be advocates for America's poor and unskilled and the middle class. That they have taken the opposite side has been a slap in the face, and in my opinion, makes them worse than the Republicans.

I wish that ALL AMERICANS would realize that neither party has been for us for a while now. Political parties merely succeed in dividing us as a nation. Unfortunately, we do not yet have a third party to offset this disparity so again we are forced to choose the lesser of two evils. I doubt that few if any of the politicians truly care about the American people but instead always choose to do what benefits them on a personal and financial level in order to retain their power and their cushy jobs.

I agree Preaching. I have become very cynical about all politicians and government (and especially our President) and no longer expect them to act in the best interests of citizens. Whenever I hear any politician speak, I immediately question what their motives are, who they are aligned with, and what they are expecting to get out of whatever issue is at hand. Pretty sad, huh? Despite this, I do continue to hope that we be able to identify a few really good, honest people who will resist the temptations of corruption and be true servants of the American public and our nation.

We need to make sure that they know that if they are up for re-election in November and they betray us after the elections, they will be voted out next time. Also, that they will definately lose in 2008. If they betray us and we are going to lose, we need to make sure they understand that they WILL ALSO LOSE! If they are going to vote against us...then there is no point in them being in office! It's time to take a stand and follow through. If they only make moves to put on a show...YOU WILL EVENTUALLY BE VOTED OUT OF OFFICE!