Last week, a G-O-TEA Member of Congress told us a secret. No really, he went on live national TV and told everyone the secret. And even though this secret was never well kept to begin with, party bosses were embarrassed.
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Alabama) seemed to think he landed the perfect attack against President Obama with his "War on Whites" tirade. Instead, he revealed to all of America why Republican "leaders" abandoned comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) after 18 months of duplicitous promises and 12 months of letting a bipartisan Senate CIR bill die a rather ignominious death in some darkened corner of a House committee room.
In recent weeks, we've been digging deep into the anti-immigrant movement and how it's influencing federal immigration policy. While John Tanton, Jim Gilchrist, William Gheen, and the late Barbara Coe have never served in Congress, their presence on Capitol Hill looms large. Over the years, they've squeezed their hate into political juice. And in turn, they've twice succeeded in killing CIR in Congress (first in 2006, and again now).
Oh, and speaking of Jim Gilchrist, he made a big splash on the brand new Newsmax TV network last week. Since Newsmax TV strives to be "Fox News" on steroids, cocaine, LSD, and Ecstasy all rolled into one, Gikchrist must have figured this would be a very friendly interview. But when Newsmax's Ed Berliner asked Gilchrist about Shawna Forde, Chris Simcox, and other unsavory moments in Minuteman history, Gilchrist clammed up.
So why are we talking about Gilchrist and his magnificent militia fantasies again? And why are we talking about the criminal record of his past close associates again?
See above. Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) just wrote an op-ed for WorldNetDaily (which is on par with Newsmax in the bats--t crazy department, yet incredibly "respected" on Capitol Hill) demanding "we should all stock our ammunition shelves and join a militia" if President Obama isn't impeached. Meanwhile in Fox-land, G-O-TEA media spinners have been trying to turn an ex-Marine on trial in Mexico for gun smuggling charges into the new Cliven Bundy. And Former G-O-TEA Presidential Candidate (& current CNN pundit) Newt Gingrich went on NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday to claim "Venezuelan Style, Anything I Want Is Legal Presidency" is somehow right around the corner if President Obama takes any further executive action on immigration.
G-O-TEA Congresscritters and their favorite media pundits have been taking queues from the anti-immigrant movement for years. They blocked CIR. They're threatening legal action against the President for taking any executive action on the issue. And they've been engaging in the most toxic fearmongering imaginable.
So is it any suprise that radical right militia activity is on the rise (again)? This may very well be the worst kept secret in DC. Words have consequences, and actions have even more consequences. And it's time to completely rip the lid off this poorly kept secret.
Showing posts with label Barbara Coe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbara Coe. Show all posts
Monday, August 11, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Decoded
Yesterday, they reached a new low. We've been tracking their dog whistles for some time. But yesterday, one of them finally dropped the whistle and spoke it in plain English.
While other G-O-TEA politicians have continued with the coded language based attacks on President Obama, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Alabama) decided to simply decode the dog whistles. Of course, supreme G-O-TEA dog whistler Laura Ingraham begged him not to decode the dog whistles to the general public. But alas, he didn't listen to her.
And now, the reason for Republicans' hardening opposition to comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) has become crystal clear.
Believe it or not, Rep. Brooks then doubled down on his "War on Whites" platform this morning. And why not? This isn't the first time Rep. Mo Brooks spilled all the beans on what the real G-O-TEA immigration plan is.
This also isn't the first time we've heard a G-O-TEA politician repeat verbatim the misleading and xenophobic rhetoric from John Tanton and the late Barbara Coe.
This was just a rare instance when a G-O-TEA politician accidentally gave us a sneak peek of what's happening behind the curtain. This is a chance for us to examine what's behind the veneer of "rebranding".
Back in April, Cliven Bundy decoded the G-O-TEA dog whistles. That's why they quickly cut him loose after that media fire storm. They stuck by him while he was bringing in dangerous Patriot Movement militia outfits to Southern Nevada to fight his "Range War" against the rule of law. They stuck by him when he brought in Richard Mack for "security". No, they only cut Cliven Bundy wanted to tell everyone "something about the negro".
Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) was publicly campaigning alongside notorious anti-immigrant Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) yesterday. He's also done plenty of his own pandering to the 21st Century Know Nothings by doing everything possible to kill CIR. But when two DREAMers showed up to decode their anti-immigrant dog whistles, Senator (and likely 2016 Presidential candidate) Rand Paul ran away from them while Rep. Steve King grabbed a DREAMer Erika Andiola's arm and yelled aboutconspiracy theories John Tanton had whispered into his ear gibberish.
G-O-TEA politicians are all too happy all too often to communicate in coded dog whistles to their "TEA" addicted base (cases in point: Sharron Angle & Mitt Romney). But when one of them forgets to do the dog whistle and instead cracks the code to all the rest of us, the rest of them panic... Not because of the policies they're all espousing, but because their revelations make for "bad optics".
Unfortunately for them, they just decoded themselves. And we can all see what's truly behind their "tough talk on immigration".
While other G-O-TEA politicians have continued with the coded language based attacks on President Obama, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Alabama) decided to simply decode the dog whistles. Of course, supreme G-O-TEA dog whistler Laura Ingraham begged him not to decode the dog whistles to the general public. But alas, he didn't listen to her.
And now, the reason for Republicans' hardening opposition to comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) has become crystal clear.
Believe it or not, Rep. Brooks then doubled down on his "War on Whites" platform this morning. And why not? This isn't the first time Rep. Mo Brooks spilled all the beans on what the real G-O-TEA immigration plan is.
This also isn't the first time we've heard a G-O-TEA politician repeat verbatim the misleading and xenophobic rhetoric from John Tanton and the late Barbara Coe.
This was just a rare instance when a G-O-TEA politician accidentally gave us a sneak peek of what's happening behind the curtain. This is a chance for us to examine what's behind the veneer of "rebranding".
Back in April, Cliven Bundy decoded the G-O-TEA dog whistles. That's why they quickly cut him loose after that media fire storm. They stuck by him while he was bringing in dangerous Patriot Movement militia outfits to Southern Nevada to fight his "Range War" against the rule of law. They stuck by him when he brought in Richard Mack for "security". No, they only cut Cliven Bundy wanted to tell everyone "something about the negro".
Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) was publicly campaigning alongside notorious anti-immigrant Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) yesterday. He's also done plenty of his own pandering to the 21st Century Know Nothings by doing everything possible to kill CIR. But when two DREAMers showed up to decode their anti-immigrant dog whistles, Senator (and likely 2016 Presidential candidate) Rand Paul ran away from them while Rep. Steve King grabbed a DREAMer Erika Andiola's arm and yelled about
G-O-TEA politicians are all too happy all too often to communicate in coded dog whistles to their "TEA" addicted base (cases in point: Sharron Angle & Mitt Romney). But when one of them forgets to do the dog whistle and instead cracks the code to all the rest of us, the rest of them panic... Not because of the policies they're all espousing, but because their revelations make for "bad optics".
Unfortunately for them, they just decoded themselves. And we can all see what's truly behind their "tough talk on immigration".
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
How About Those "Family Values"
It's something they always talk about. It's something they want us to believe they care about. So why does it all too often seem like they don't really give a flying f--k about it?
Of course, we're talking about the G-O-TEA's relationship with "family values". Even as "TEA" flavored politicians have boasted about their "pro-family record", they've stood by and allowed millions of American families to be ripped apart. And on top of that, they want to rip apart many millions more American families.
And now, they're targeting children. Oh, yes. That's right. The alleged "pro-life party" is now speaking of refugee children as if they're a horde of terrorists and/or walking diseases.
In recent days, we've been investigating the source of all this vitriol that's now being directed at Central American migrant children. John Tanton and the late Barbara Coe essentially planted the seeds of this hate with their rabidly xenophobic campaign against immigrants. Jim Gilchrist then took fueled this hate and powered it up to a whole new level when he launched the Minutemen Project. He also furthered the ambitions of Shawna Forde, JT Ready, and a number of neo-Nazi radicals.
Jim Gilchrist is now seeking to take advantage of the current refugee crisis by relaunching Minutemen militia patrols along the US-Mexico Border. And now, he has the official seal of approval from Cliven Bundy and the "Patriot Movement".
They're going after families. They're going after children. And they're pointing guns at people because "measles" and "prayer rugs".
Earlier this year, some Republican Members of Congress (cough- Joe Heck- cough) tried hard to have it both ways on comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Now, they're not even trying to sound "pro-reform". They're not just turning hard against CIR. They're now pandering to those who want to point guns at refugee children and impeach President Obama for actually enforcing the law on handling these refugee children.
It's something they always want to talk about... But what are they actually doing? What do they want to do to millions of American families? And what are they aiming to do to the children coming here seeking a better life? And we're supposed to believe they're "the family values party"?
Of course, we're talking about the G-O-TEA's relationship with "family values". Even as "TEA" flavored politicians have boasted about their "pro-family record", they've stood by and allowed millions of American families to be ripped apart. And on top of that, they want to rip apart many millions more American families.
And now, they're targeting children. Oh, yes. That's right. The alleged "pro-life party" is now speaking of refugee children as if they're a horde of terrorists and/or walking diseases.
In recent days, we've been investigating the source of all this vitriol that's now being directed at Central American migrant children. John Tanton and the late Barbara Coe essentially planted the seeds of this hate with their rabidly xenophobic campaign against immigrants. Jim Gilchrist then took fueled this hate and powered it up to a whole new level when he launched the Minutemen Project. He also furthered the ambitions of Shawna Forde, JT Ready, and a number of neo-Nazi radicals.
Jim Gilchrist is now seeking to take advantage of the current refugee crisis by relaunching Minutemen militia patrols along the US-Mexico Border. And now, he has the official seal of approval from Cliven Bundy and the "Patriot Movement".
They're going after families. They're going after children. And they're pointing guns at people because "measles" and "prayer rugs".
Earlier this year, some Republican Members of Congress (cough- Joe Heck- cough) tried hard to have it both ways on comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Now, they're not even trying to sound "pro-reform". They're not just turning hard against CIR. They're now pandering to those who want to point guns at refugee children and impeach President Obama for actually enforcing the law on handling these refugee children.
It's something they always want to talk about... But what are they actually doing? What do they want to do to millions of American families? And what are they aiming to do to the children coming here seeking a better life? And we're supposed to believe they're "the family values party"?
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Full Circle of Hate
Already, it's gone from a humanitarian crisis to a political football. And now, the usual G-O-TEA suspects want to make #Murrieta into their new rallying cry.
Just keep in mind that this didn't start with the Murrieta bus blockade. This didn't even start with the growing media attention to the Central American migrant children. No, the 21st Century Know Nothings have been around for some time. And they've been making the same arguments against scores of immigrants that they're now using against the migrant children.
In Murrieta last week, the Mayor and anti-immigrant protesters were claiming fear of "diseases". This didn't come from nowhere. For many years, the Federation for American Immigration Rwform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and Numbers USA have been spreading their signature message of hate. And it's no coincidence that they're all so eerily on message like this. They can all trace their origins to one John Tanton, a well known racist/white supremacist who's been attacking communities of color since 1969.
During the early years of Tanton's anti-immigrant advocacy, he operated in the dark shadows of American politics. But in 1994, one Barbara Coe launched a campaign that would forever transform California and American politics. In 1994, Coe launched both the California Coalition for Immigration Reform and the campaign for Proposition 187. Suddenly, John Tanton's radical xenophobic "philosophy" was making national headlines and California public policy.
That's because Prop 187 passed in November 1994. But soon after it was passed, it was halted in federal court and later invalidated. Barbara Coe would then go on to embrace "fringe of the fringe" conspiracy theory powered extremism (Hello, Orly Taitz!) before she passed away last September. And as a result of the California Republican Party's then unapologetic support of Prop 187, it's becoming increasingly irrelevant in the multicultural California of today.
Yet even though Prop 187 and its #1 cheerleader have met their demise, their legacy lives on. Barbara Coe essentially launched Jim Gilchrist's political career. Jim Gilchrist encouraged the "unique brand of activism" pushed by Shawna Forde. And the anti-immigrant movement built by the likes of Tanton, Coe, & Gilchrist encouraged Sharron Angle to shock Nevada & the nation with her incredibly xenophobic US Senate campaign.
Oh, and John Tanton hasn't gone anywhere. In fact, Tanton's network of anti-immigrant outfits succeeded in convincing most Congressional Republicans (and even a few conservative Democrats as well) in 2006 to kill a comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) proposal that then President George W. Bush championed. And John Tanton's network has deep ties to the Minutemen movement that Jim Gilchrist founded.
Even Gilchrist himself later admitted that his Minutemen movement attracted a number of fringe characters. Those fringe characters include neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and convicted murderers J.T. Ready & Shawna Forde.
The Minutemen movement has also "graduated" "movement leaders" like Connie Foust. She had been part of the Minutemen vigilante patrols along the Arizona Border. But now, she's in charge of the Virgin Valley TEA Party. And earlier this year, her Virgin Valley TEA Party rallied hard behind Cliven Bundy and his radical right militia fueled "Range War" against federal law.
Is it really any surprise that Cliven Bundy is now endorsing the Murrieta bus blockade? Both have been merrily endorsed by Fox "News". Both have embraced dangerous extremists and their radical anti-government ideology. Both are angling for an epic political comeback. And both celebrate extreme xenophobia.
Now, the full circle of hate is complete.
Just keep in mind that this didn't start with the Murrieta bus blockade. This didn't even start with the growing media attention to the Central American migrant children. No, the 21st Century Know Nothings have been around for some time. And they've been making the same arguments against scores of immigrants that they're now using against the migrant children.
In Murrieta last week, the Mayor and anti-immigrant protesters were claiming fear of "diseases". This didn't come from nowhere. For many years, the Federation for American Immigration Rwform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and Numbers USA have been spreading their signature message of hate. And it's no coincidence that they're all so eerily on message like this. They can all trace their origins to one John Tanton, a well known racist/white supremacist who's been attacking communities of color since 1969.
During the early years of Tanton's anti-immigrant advocacy, he operated in the dark shadows of American politics. But in 1994, one Barbara Coe launched a campaign that would forever transform California and American politics. In 1994, Coe launched both the California Coalition for Immigration Reform and the campaign for Proposition 187. Suddenly, John Tanton's radical xenophobic "philosophy" was making national headlines and California public policy.
That's because Prop 187 passed in November 1994. But soon after it was passed, it was halted in federal court and later invalidated. Barbara Coe would then go on to embrace "fringe of the fringe" conspiracy theory powered extremism (Hello, Orly Taitz!) before she passed away last September. And as a result of the California Republican Party's then unapologetic support of Prop 187, it's becoming increasingly irrelevant in the multicultural California of today.
Yet even though Prop 187 and its #1 cheerleader have met their demise, their legacy lives on. Barbara Coe essentially launched Jim Gilchrist's political career. Jim Gilchrist encouraged the "unique brand of activism" pushed by Shawna Forde. And the anti-immigrant movement built by the likes of Tanton, Coe, & Gilchrist encouraged Sharron Angle to shock Nevada & the nation with her incredibly xenophobic US Senate campaign.
Oh, and John Tanton hasn't gone anywhere. In fact, Tanton's network of anti-immigrant outfits succeeded in convincing most Congressional Republicans (and even a few conservative Democrats as well) in 2006 to kill a comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) proposal that then President George W. Bush championed. And John Tanton's network has deep ties to the Minutemen movement that Jim Gilchrist founded.
Even Gilchrist himself later admitted that his Minutemen movement attracted a number of fringe characters. Those fringe characters include neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and convicted murderers J.T. Ready & Shawna Forde.
The Minutemen movement has also "graduated" "movement leaders" like Connie Foust. She had been part of the Minutemen vigilante patrols along the Arizona Border. But now, she's in charge of the Virgin Valley TEA Party. And earlier this year, her Virgin Valley TEA Party rallied hard behind Cliven Bundy and his radical right militia fueled "Range War" against federal law.
Is it really any surprise that Cliven Bundy is now endorsing the Murrieta bus blockade? Both have been merrily endorsed by Fox "News". Both have embraced dangerous extremists and their radical anti-government ideology. Both are angling for an epic political comeback. And both celebrate extreme xenophobia.
Now, the full circle of hate is complete.
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