I have been hoping barack Obama would start using his prodigious persuasive and rhetorical skills to speak out on one of the most troubling problems in America today, the demonization of illegal immigrants. he's most often done a passable job on the issue, only using a little of the "secure our borders" rhetoric while supporting comprehensive reform. he upped the ante recently by saying he thinks drivers liscenses should be a part of that reform.
But yesterday, he picked a BIG fight, and one that is vital to stopping the hate that is growing against immigrants, legal or illegal. on the issue of unfair treatment of illegal immigrants, he directly linked Lou Dobbs to Rush Limbaugh. Lou Dobbs is much more dangerous than Limbaugh, because he's on a formerly reputable news station. and it is a risky attack. a famous rule of American politics is "don't pick a fight with someone who buys their ink in barrell." Lou Dobbs uses TV, not newspapers, but he has a huge megaphone, and he's been using it to whip Americans into a racist fever. no doubt, now he will begin to throw attacks at Obama whenever he attacks immigrants. so it's risky for Barack, but vital for the nation.
someone has to stop the hate. Obama seems to be the perfect person to do it.
UPDATE:
Obama said "now people like Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh think we should just deport the millions of people here illegally. that's not going to happen." to me, it's simply the linking of the 2 hatemongers that's important. Dobbs is just like Limbaugh, his position at CNN obscures that.
i believe Lou Dobbs is one of the most dangerous idealogues in American history. his place on what used to be and is still considered by many to be a pre-eminent news organization gives him a mighty megaphone. and he's used it to whip up some of the most vitriolic hatred we've seen in America since the civil rights era. for nearly an hour, nearly every single day, CNN turns into to the "blame illegal immigrants for all America's problems" channel. and because of his place on CNN, he gets an audience that might never listen to Limbaugh, or consider themselves to be racists. but they are infected by his racist fearmongering.
it is sad that almost no one at CNN contradicts him. he has turned the whole business news section into flaming bigots, as former jounrnalists like Kitty Pilgrim have begun to mimic his hateful bile. gotta please the boss i guess.
Obama is taking a big risk. demagogues on this issue have had some success tarring anyone who's in any way moderate on this issue as an anti-American wacko. perhaps the nomination of McCain has given Obama an indication this demagogery isn't working as well as the Haters think.
whatever the reason, there could not be a better spokeperson for the idea that we need to deal with this issue rationally, and treat ALL human beings like human beings.
thank you Senator Obama. by virtue of his position at CNN Dobbs has been able ot get this far without being tarred as the Limbaughesque hatemonger that he is. by explicitly linking the 2 of them, Obama has begun to shine needed light on the harm Dobbs is doing to the idea that all people have worth and dignity as human beings. it's about damn time someone did it.