Beekeeper

SACRAMENTO BEE MISREPRESENTS AND ATTACKS SCHWARZENEGGER'S POSITION ON IMMIGRATION

The Bee engaged, yet again, in mischaracterizing Governor Schwarzenegger's position on illegal immigration as "kicking around immigrants." First, notice that the Bee labels the governor's purported angst at "immigrants," not "illegal immigrants."

What has Arnold done that equates to beating up on immigrants? Well, as much as can be discerned from the Bee's editorial, he gave an interview with the "John and Ken Show" on KFI Radio in Los Angeles, which apparently has "xenophobes" who listen to the show. There is an attenuated connection if there ever was one.

Oh, and Arnold approved of the Minuteman project. According to the Bee, Arnold "went out of his way to endorse the Minutemen brigades that are now patrolling the Mexican border." Can't you just smell the radical, immigrant-hating persona Arnold gives off?

Lastly, the Bee states the "governor endorsed a campaign to take down billboards in Los Angeles that promote a Spanish-language radio station." This is the same billboard that the radio station had crossed out the word "California" and written in "Mexico." Of course the Bee didn't explain why the governor endorsed the change in the billboard ad. Perhaps the governor's explanation was entirely too balanced and reasonable sounding to fit into the Bee's pre-packaged labeling of Arnold as bigot/anti-immigrant. The Bee is not alone in lying about Schwarzenegger's statements, as Chris Kelly at The Immigration Blog points out.

The Bee makes one comment that is outright silly:"it is fantasy to think that tougher federal patrols (and fewer billboards in Los Angeles) will have much impact on [illegal immigration]." By that logic, perhaps reducing the number of border patrol agents will not have much impact either, or have we reached that magic number of border patrol agents where we have maximized their value. The Minuteman Project has inspired local private groups to form similar projects and illegal crossings along the stretch patrolled by the volunteers has virtually stopped. The Bee editorial writers are clearly predetermined to a view in spite of the empirical data. I suppose increasing police presence on city streets has little discernable impact on crime.

The Bee ends the editorial the frequently used business blaming fashion. The better solution to controlling immigration is to crack down on . . . yup, businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The Bee implies Arnold will not do that because he would anger the construction industry and "corporate farms" that have contributed to his campaigns. According to the Bee, Arnold is simply engaged in politics and is not serious about illegal immigration.

To summarize, Schwarzenegger "kicks around" illegal immigrants by approving of citizen patrols along the border. This also means, by definition, that he is not serious about curbing illegal immigration because, as the Bee notes, that will do nothing to curb illegal immigration. The Bee continues to wallow in intellectual dishonesty.

Posted by Apiarist at May 1, 2005 11:34 PM