John McCain's Cowardice, the DREAM Act, and the Fasters

[pampango]

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2010/12/john_mccain_the_dream_act_and.php



Three days into her pro-DREAM Act fast outside the Phoenix office of Republican U.S. Senator John McCain, 23-year-old Dulce Juarez has a message for the ex-maverick. "You supported the DREAM Act once," said Juarez when asked what she would tell the senator if she could. "Open your heart and support it again."

Asking Arizona's Tin Man to open what he doesn't have is problematic, though I admire Juarez and the handful of other DREAM Activists hunger striking outside McCain's offices as the DREAM Act heads for a showdown in the Senate. Yesterday, when I stopped by the sidewalk camp the DREAMers have set up nearby McCain's office, Juarez told me she's prepared to go a week or longer, and is surviving only on water for the moment.

Brought to this country from Mexico when she was five, Juarez is a couple of weeks away from scoring her masters in higher education from ASU. The irony is, she can't really use it, because she can't work legally in this country. She's applied to remain, an application that's been pending for years. So she's still "illegal" in the eyes of the authorities.

"I can't stay in the country because I don't have a permit, because immigration hasn't given me one," she explained. "And I can't leave the country because I'll lose my case. They leave you permanently stuck in limbo to see how long you last." Why do the Republinuts want to boot this intelligent, educated young lady from the country? I mean, if she were legal and scored a job with her sheepskins, she'd likely be paying as much in taxes or more than I do.

[OHdem10]

1. An old old old piece of history is rearing its ugly head.

At least two things are happening. This is not to create
dissension but rather help us try to understand what is going on.

Way back during the Civil Rights battles and even after the
laws were enacted, there developed an attitude among some
white working class that special treatment was being given
blacks because of programs that were developed especially
to try to pull them out of poverty, or give them a break
in trying to get a decent job. Some Republicans, not all
of them, played on these "resentments" giving the impression
they (WWC) were correct and had been wronged. When neither
party did anything to either clarify what was going on or
find ways to help poor whites (neither party), we have permitted
a boil to fester. Look, I am not saying this correct. I am
saying what we all know. PERCEPTION is REALITY.

Fast forward, the Immigration Story is becoming the old civil
rights story. Listen to Congress (C-Span). The same old
game is being played out. Just yesterday, a House Member
was giving one of those "morning speeches". His topic
the Dream Act. Here is his take: Poor and lower income
Americans are going to be denied assistance with college
education because the children of illegals are being given
special privilege. He put it this way: What am I to ell
tell this poor mother whose kid cannot afford college???

When we wonder why the Working Class vote Republican.
They have been led to believe that when Republicans cut
taxes, less money will go to these "special" people.
Yes, they cut off benefits to themselves and their
families and they will continue to do this until our
party can figure out how to handle things and deal
in such a way as to not make some people "special"

I am not against the Dream Act or any other benefit.
We need working class votes,

[pampango]

2. Interesting viewpoint re. the civil rights battles vs. immigration reform (DREAM Act).

"...during the Civil Rights battles and even after the laws were enacted, there developed an attitude among some white working class that special treatment was being given blacks because of programs that were developed especially to try to pull them out of poverty..."

"When neither party did anything to either clarify what was going on or find ways to help poor whites (neither party), we have permitted a boil to fester. Look, I am not saying this correct. I am saying what we all know. PERCEPTION is REALITY."

Repubs indeed were able to use WWC perceptions of "special treatment" for blacks during the civil rights battles to gain electoral support from a traditionally Democratic group. If Democrats at the time had either "clarified what was going on" or "found a way to help poor whites", repubs would not have been able to work the perception, if not reality, to their own electoral advantage.

As you wrote now the repubs are using the same "special treatment" argument to oppose immigration reform and the DREAM Act. As I think you meant, we shouldn't oppose the DREAM Act now any more than we should regret pushing through civil rights legislation against repub opposition, even though they were able to use the WWC frustrations that resulted from civil rights legislation to their own partisan advantage and are successfully doing so during the immigration debate so far.

The key now, as it was then, is to "either clarify what was going on or find ways to help poor whites" so that we do not "a boil to fester". Do we avoid taking action because we are afraid of losing the resulting "perception" war with the repubs or do we work harder to "clarify what is going on" so that perception is much closer to reality?