Profiles in Courage

Poor Prince William County just can’t afford to be racist

Here’s a dilemma for you: Let’s say you’re a mean-spirited municipality that doesn’t cotton much to outsiders, and prefers to scapegoat a powerless group of caramel-colored folks for all of its (largely self-inflicted) problems. Now, let’s say you pass an ill-conceived law transparently designed to harass and demonize anyone with a healthy tan and a spicy, south-of-the-border accent. So far, so good, right? Now let’s say that, during the all-important implementation phase of said law, it turns out that these new programs are going to cost a boatload of taxpayer dinero. Unfortunately, this metaphorical cash-filled boat has suddenly sprung a massive leak, because—surprise!—it’s a houseboat, and plummeting property values have compromised both its seaworthiness and fabled ability to support untold amounts of cash.

Oh, what’s a poor, illegal immigrant-bashing Board of County Supervisors to do?

after watching and listening to the Republican debate this week, I want to revisit an issue on which I took some flak before.   After the Virginia elections I commented in a number of places, including one of my own diaries, that I expected we should expect to continue to see the Republicans attack on immigration.  In Some good news from Virginia, written on election night, I noted

Now the bad news.   It looks like the attacks on illegal immigration had some salience, especially in Prince William County.   Thus I expect to see Republicans across the country start trying to use this as a weapon.

 And in comments on that thread and elsewhere I pointed out that things like the races in Prince William County and a few other places would give some Republicans hope that the issue of immigration could still serve as a magic bullet.

Great job by filmmakers (and "Real Virginians for Webb" superstars) Annabel Park and Eric Byler, as always.  So far, their YouTube channel has been viewed 11,524 times, with their most popular video having been seen 37,493 times in just two weeks.  Go check it out, and learn all about "the power of fear politics" in Prince William county and throughout Republican America.