I mailed my early ballot this week for the 2008 General Election. Back on Super Duper Tuesday this past February, I voted directly at the polls in the Democratic Primary as a registered member of the party. In other words, I’m one of you officially. So, I have no problem giving tough love when I feel the need.
Recently, Speaker Pelosi was quoted saying the following:
Pelosi also said Congress would have to tackle the politically sticky job of overhauling immigration laws in the new Congress, after a bipartisan measure collapsed last year.
The estimated 12 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally “are part of the U.S. economy. We cannot send them all home, and we cannot send them all to jail, so we have to address it,” Pelosi said.
Any solution would have to be bipartisan, she said, so it may require sacrificing some of Democrats’ past priorities, such as giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
“Maybe there never is a path to citizenship if you came here illegally,” Pelosi said. “I would hope that there could be, but maybe there isn’t.”
Los Angeles Times (emphasis mine)
In the past, I’ve been called purity troll and dead-ender for calling out the idiocy of politicos who supposedly are “on my side”. This, because I’m not one to give a pass to Democrats when they signal intentions that are antithetical to my belief system. Well, as Duke says over at The Sanctuary: WTF.
At best, Speaker Pelosi’s comments were taken out of context or simply misquoted, but the alternative that I suspect is that she was testing the waters to see if a path to citizenship would be politically expedient to compromise upon when the next Congress is gaveled into session (hopefully under a President Obama). These are seasoned public speakers, and especially when they’re chatting to a member of the press, every single word that exits their lips has a reason behind it.
So let me make it absolutely clear to the leadership of the Democratic Party: There is no compromise on a path to citizenship for the hard-working family members within the borders of this country who have fallen out of legal standing or are simply undocumented. What a bone-headed statement to make two weeks out from the election when there are literally millions of volunteers and dollar bills bankrolling efforts to get out the vote among the latino community.
The enforcement-only policies of this government have savaged communities of color, especially the greater latino community, by gestapo-like tactics of rogue sheriffs and ICE agents. They bust into homes and businesses armed like they’re rading a building in Falujah, snaring hard workers who have the unfortunate and unchangeable suspicion of being “foreign”. The racial profiling, the neglect of connected family members, the malpractice of medicine in the gulag system of prisons are all violations of human rights and it is far past the time that they are stopped.
I have no problem leaving a section blank on a ballot if there is enough of a lesser of two evils-type situation involved. In fact, I did so regarding Arizona’s Proposition 202 this week. I couldn’t, in good conscience, bring myself to vote yes to “take the fangs out” of Arizona’s Employer Sanction Law that I abhor because a ‘yes’ vote would mean that I was saying it was still okay for vile individuals like Sheriff Joe Arpaio to continue to terrorize families. The Minutemen Wing of the Arizona Republican Party (are there any other wings?) want this Proposition to go down because they think it’ll be a roadblock to their master plan to reinstitute Operation Wetback. Well, despite their protestations, I left it blank because I will always sleep better knowing that I held true to my principles.
So let this be a warning to you, Speaker Pelosi, that the voters the Democratic Party are trying so hard to woo this election will not be taken for granted. I look forward to reading any follow-ups to your comments regarding the possibility of capitulation on a path to citizenship. You will be accused of supporting AMNESTY!!!!! no matter what gets passed in the next Congress by the loony, racist side of the political spectrum – don’t shoot yourselves in the foot by shafting those of us who will work our hearts out for you if you truly speak for us and our families.
[UPDATE] Amig@s chime in:
- Pelosi Backs Away from Cornerstone of Comprehensive Reform – Migra Matters
- Pelosi Backtracks on Comprehensive Immigration Reform – Citizen Orange
- Pelosi Puts a Wall Up on Path to Citizenship – Change.org
- Pelosi Sells Out to the Immigration Reform Foes – DreamActivist.org
- Nancy Pelosi Proves that Dems Aren’t Immigrant Friendly Either – VivirLatino
- Pelosi Suggests Permanent U.S. Slave Class – The Unapologetic Mexican
LatinoPolítico.com 