Nativists & Birthers: Two Sides of the Same Wooden Nickel
On November 25, Dr. Orly Taitz, a persistent figure from the small universe of people who believe that President Barack Obama is not a native-born American, will be the featured speaker at a meeting of Barbara Coe's California Coalition for Immigration Reform. This event, planned for the Women's Club in Garden Grove, represents another example of the shared agenda of nativists and so-called birthers, (regular TPM readers will remember our previous discussion of the intersection of "birther" congressmen and the House Immigration Reform Caucus, a Republican-dominated group of 93 representatives opposed to passage of any humane policy.)
Now that President Obama has declared his intention to tackle immigration reform next year, understanding the nativist opposition becomes more important than ever.
Coe and her California Coalition for Immigration Reform has stood at the crossroads of much of the anti-immigrant activity plaguing discussion of this hot-button topic. CCIR supported Prop. 187 in 1994, and was widely credited with helping it pass with an overwhelming 59% of the California vote, including 65% of white votes. If enacted, this measure would have barred entire families from receiving any type of public assistance--including medical care; and teachers would have been required to screen their students for parents without proper documents. The courts ruled that Prop 187's most stringent clauses were in violation of existing federal law, but its success at the polls helped launch the contemporary anti-immigrant movement.
Coe herself has pushed the most conspiracy-ridden views of the topic, talking often and loudly about a so-called plot by the Mexican government to re-conquer those lands taken from it in the 1847 US-Mexican War. Immigrants from Mexico, with and without documents, are supposed to fuel this reconquista, in Coe's mind. She also counts herself as a member of the Council of Conservative Citizens, according to a November 27, 2005 report in the Denver Post. The Council is the lineal descendent of the old white citizens councils which opposed desegregation and supported Jim Crow racism in the 1960s. Today it is a white nationalist organization headquartered in the St. Louis area, its declared purpose is to oppose any effort to "mix the races of mankind."
In a letter to Orly Taitz about the coming meeting, Coe wrote, "you are welcome (and encouraged) to bring as much of your literature as you wish." While there is no evidence that Taitz is a member of the Council of Conservative Citizens, Coe's white nationalist politics adds a twist to this budding political relationship.
Taitz herself is an immigrant. Born in Moldavia she went first to Israel, where she became a dentist; and when she came to the United States she passed the California bar after "attending" a non-accredited law school. She is also a promoter of racist conspiracy theories, including the idea that Barack Obama was "born and raised in radical Islam, all of his associations are with radical Islam," and that he is "the most dangerous thing one can imagine." (Coe has claimed that Obama is worse than Hitler.) Taitz has filed numerous lawsuits to support her claims--none of which have succeeded. In the process, she has run amok in the California court system, been chastised and fined by a judge, and fallen out with other "birthers."
Her turn towards the nativists to find allies for her cause should demonstrate to one and all that nativists and birthers are simply two sides of the same wooden nickel.
I'm not sure they're two sides of the same counterfeit coin. As opposed to the birthers, a lot of the nativists, if you listen to them, have legitimate complaints about how the economy treats them. That they choose to blame this on well-meaning immigrants is a problem that must be addressed, but we can make some progress on that by better managing the economy. The birthers, meanwhile, are more loony.
November 17, 2009 4:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if Orly will have a Q&A session. It would be hilareous if someone could go there and nail her to the wall on her stupid birther theories.
November 17, 2009 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope she brings a "copy" of the certified Kenyan birth certificate.
November 18, 2009 6:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
@destor23: how many nativists are willing to admit that the child of an illegal immigrant, born in the U.S., is qualified to grow up to be POTUS one day?
November 17, 2009 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Until we elect a Native American president, they'll have to admit that all of our presidents have been the descendents of illegal immigrants.
November 17, 2009 6:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a load of silly name-calling. Of course there are overlaps between birthers and nativists. There are also overlaps between marijuana smoking and herion addiction. Doesn't mean they two sides of the same coin. Neither are Nation of Islam and Arayan Nation, even though both rely on fear and racism.
The great common denominator of nativism, an ideology with a history going back centuries, is fear or strong dislike of and/or prejudice towards foreigners. The quintessential trait of birthers, who go back less than decade, is a very low IQ.
November 17, 2009 4:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
FYI some more info in the ever fun Orly Taitz saga
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22664105/Rivernider-22-Plaintiffs-Response-to-3rd-Order-to-Show-Cause-11-16-2009
LOL
November 17, 2009 8:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
One day this document will be exposed. The way our country is be rag dolled that day may not be to far off.
It is just a DOCUMENT. That is all. It is not something to be afraid of...... Is it?
November 17, 2009 9:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Something to keep you quiet for awhile.
Pick your batshirt crazy here:
November 18, 2009 12:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Immigration and border policy with Mexico are complicated, overlapping issues. Ridiculous labels like "nativist" don't help. Immigration politics are so intentionally polarized that anyone advocating anything less than open borders on our southern international frontier is "nativist" or "racist". Extremists like Coe's group are propped up as typical opposition. Doing so, the Left does nothing but marginalize itself even further, render itself irrelevant.
Unfettered, illegal immigration is disastrous to our domestic workforce; it's impossible to improve working conditions or unionize when cheaper labor is available and ready. The illegal immigrants themselves are the biggest losers, since the set-up allows them to be worked long days at peanut wages. Occasionally, there are reports of such abuses at "big box" stores and in rural factories. Then the dust settles - and nothing. Employers go right on exploiting. Meanwhile, the Left, yapping endlessly to itself, does everything it can to maintain this ugly status quo.
November 18, 2009 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
The claim that so-called birthers have low IQs is only contradicted by the facts: witness Orly Taitz, who passed the California bar with little formal education in the law. The are not stupic, they are WRONG. In my book, Blood and Politics: The History of the White Nationalist Movement from the Margins to the Mainstream, I mounted a considerable amount of evidence that showed white nationalists, by income and social status, looked much like a demographic slice of whites in America. They are wrong. Their politics are ugly. But they are neither dumb, poor, or jobless illiterates. That makes the problem more dangerous, not less.
Leonard Zeskind
November 18, 2009 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
GET--YOUR--POSTCARD WRITTEN OR PHONE WASHINGTON. TELL FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS TO DO THE SAME?
I KNOW IT'S DANGEROUS TO SPEAK OUT? I HAVE MYSELF BEEN THREATENED, BUT ANYWAY WE MUST WIN THIS ONE..?
The open border movement has started a drive to get those who approve of another disastrous AMNESTY, to send postcards to Washington. Well anti-illegal immigration, pro-sovereignty and--NO--Comprehensive Immigration Reform can do-one-better? Opponents of AMNESTY should call their politician at 202-224-3121, or go there in person to their offices. SPELL OUT TO THE SCREENER OR AID, to take your name and phone number, stating decisively--NO AMNESTY. Then every American, black white, red or brown person, who see this as a treasonous portrayal of American and legal immigrant workers, should also buy a postcard and bombard your Senator or Representative. We can stop this travesty to our immigration laws, because under President Obama, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Sen.Gutierrez D-IL, Sen.Harry Reid (D-NV), Speaker N. Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Diane Feinstein D-CA, and the rest of the cast of Un-American characters, will have us paying billions of dollars, to support the 20-30 million plus already here, and then the rolling uncountable numbers that will attack the border once the word is heard from Belize to China.
Another Amnesty will just start a stampede, which all taxpayers will have to support. As the fence is now, the underfunded barrier will not stop the human deluge. It is a catastrophe waiting to happen and a matter of survival in America. A majority of tourists who overstay their tourist visa are illegal aliens. Neither crossing the border or overstaying tourist visas, is a violation against THE RULE OF LAW. Unlike other countries--entering America without permission is a minimal offense/'.This is thanks to globalists, business organizations that politicians have catered to for generations. If our laws--WERE ENFORCED--from the beginning, not weakened or dismantled by previous White House occupancy we would not have been--INVADED? NOW WRITE YOUR POSTCARDS AND REMEMBER TO PUT A STAMP ON IT. GOOGLE--your local and state policy makers or find their electoral address, email address and phone numbers. Even your local phone book has this information. THE OTHER SIDE THINKS WE DON'T HAVE THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE, TO STOP THIS CRAZY MOVE TOWARDS THIS ILL-CONCEIVED AMNESTY? THEY WILL SOON FIND OUT THAT THEY ARE--DEAD WRONG!
We can derail the open border zealots, ACLU, Council of Foreign Relations, Catholic Church, and other congregational faiths and the business owners--NOT FORGETTING FOREIGN NATIONALS--AS WE CAN BEAT THEM AT THEIR OWN GAME? Want to save America from OVERPOPULATION, rising illegal immigrant crime, paying for all their education, health care and other unrevealed government ENTITLEMENTS? VOTE THE MORONS OUT! VOTE SEN. HARRY REID, JOHN McCAIN OUT NEXT YEAR Demand E-Verify as a permanent addition to 287 (g) local police restriction, ICE audits of piratical business. Demand E-Verify to eject illegal workers taking your jobs, so they will leave when unable to obtain a job. EVERYBODY IN THE WORKFORCE MUST BE IDENTIFIED--THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED FOR YEARS--AND NEW HIRES--EVERYBODY? OTHERWISE IT'S A GOOD EXCUSE FOR OPPONENTS TO FILE A DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT AGAINST BUSINESSES WITH DEEP POCKETS. THAT WAY THE COMMUNIST (FOUNDER) ACLU WILL BE UNDERMINED BY THEIR RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF DESTROYING E-VERIFY, 287 G, ICE RAIDS AND OTHER ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES.
This is a battle we must--WIN--against illegal immigration, but we must have an orderly flow of legal newcomers specially professional people in the highest pinnacle of Engineers, computers and other skills. We cannot, shouldn't accept anymore poor people, when our nation has millions of mixed gender at the bottom rungs of the employment ladder living in poverty. NO AMNESTY, but amendments to the 1986 (IRCA) can achieve this goal, even though the American people are constantly lied to by those in power. Prior to any new laws all those potential immigrants waiting in other lands, already processed should be given first priority in receiving a work visa. While we spend billions of taxpayer dollars on the incessant wars, some of The People's money should have been appropriated for the originally designed border fence, not the single-layer barrier that was underfunded, with no intention of stopping the rush of desperate humanity to satisfy the money-craving business community.
NUMBERSUSA will show you the illegal immigrant costs and the enforcement gradings of those in Washington. CAPSWEB will explain irreversible population growth in California and nationwide. Other sites of interest on Immigration enforcement is ALIPAC and AMERICAN PATROL and THE DARK SIDE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. OH! DON'T FORGET THE 28 CENTS POSTCARD TO THOSE WHO THINK THEY CONTROL US.
PS: Has Lou Dobbs, the people's savior turned into a Benedict Arnold and committed an act against--THE PEOPLE--who followed his auditory without question on CNN (Cable) ? Now I have lost interest in CNN broadcasts and only occasionally watch parts of the evening news. It's like being betrayed by our own brother and sister?
November 27, 2009 9:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
The great common denominator of nativism, an ideology with a history going back centuries, is fear or strong dislike of and/or prejudice towards foreigners. The quintessential trait of birthers, who go back less than decade, is a very low IQ.
rus sikişi
December 29, 2010 3:59 PM | Reply | Permalink