Photo by ChristyFrank.
NOTE: This story first appeared in the Huffington Post.
When did extreme become mainstream?–That’s the question immigrant advocates, labor leaders, civil rights groups, and Latino organizations are asking in a full page ad in Capitol Hill newspapers this week as supporters of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) march into the offices of Congress, demanding an impractical and hateful agenda of mass deportations, worksite raids, and other expensive and ultimately ineffective approaches as part of their “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” gathering.
The September 10 broadcast of CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight program will further stoke FAIR’s flames as it airs live from the site of the annual “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” event, along with dozens (or so FAIR claims) of radio hosts from across the country. Hateful extremism is a difficult challenge and sad reality that our nation faces. However, its appearance in mainstream politics and media marks a disturbing social regression for the United States as hate groups and extremists are allowed to define the debate on immigration.
Controversy over FAIR’s extremist ties dates back to its founder, John Tanton with funds from the Pioneer Fund, a foundation committed to the belief that some races of people are genetically and intellectually superior to other races. Tanton, a pioneer of the anti-immigrant movement and avid supporter of eugenics, continues “defining the debate on immigration” as leader of FAIR and member of its board of directors. The Southern Poverty Law Center has named FAIR a “hate group.” The list of other groups which have earned this distinction from SPLC include: the Ku Klux Klan, American neo-Nazi groups, and the Aryan Nations.
These are the voices which the media is allowing to penetrate the immigration debate with spokesmen like Lou Dobbs to serve as megaphones for their message. Meanwhile, Dobbs is showing his true colors and affirming critics who describe his slanted immigration reporting as being marked by misinformation, extreme rhetoric, hateful attacks, and data from organizations linked to white supremacists. In an extensive report on immigration and cable news, media watchdog–Media Matters Action Network–defined anchors such as Lou Dobbs as overflowing with a “series of myths that feed viewers’ resentment and fears, fostering hostility toward immigrants.”
Dobbs and his allies in FAIR should worry less about holding lawmakers’ feet to the fire, and work instead on getting their heads out of the sand. Immigration policy in America is a pressing domestic priority deserving of sober analysis, not hateful hype. FAIR’s policy agenda is anchored in rounding folks up and keeping them out. An organization so short on policy solutions and so long in stirring intolerance should be getting a cold shoulder, not a warm embrace from CNN and other media outlets.
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4 comments
GOPUndit says:
September 11, 2008 at 1:50 pm (UTC -5 )
Lou Dobbs is a memeber of KKK. He has ties with the racist group Stormfront. He believes in white supremacy and the aryan race,…
He is against humans of other color, religion and creed!
In his personal life he is a loser. He has no faith nor conviction.
Colleen says:
June 11, 2009 at 10:27 am (UTC -5 )
He is America’s nightmare. Read this article from a leading member of the Irish in America, and see why everyone hates him from every corner of the globe.
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/blogs/periscope_blog/?plckPostId=Blog%3A289ee6bf-e062-4e76-a719-d572ae2a951dPost%3Ae8109df9-704a-4ac8-95fa-d2d068c3b6b0&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckController=Blog&UID=289ee6bf-e062-4e76-a719-d572ae2a951d
eb5 Visa Program says:
October 14, 2009 at 3:27 pm (UTC -5 )
Pretty disturbing article. Everyone is entitled to free speech, but to be showing this on major news network CNN is a bit unnecessary. I really hope that this tirade was very non-influential on others across the US.
Eb5 Visa Program says:
June 29, 2010 at 3:34 pm (UTC -5 )
Fortunately, we all know what a fool Lou Dobbs is, so his words should carry very little weight with anyone. It is, however, very sad that a man in his situation chose to use his platform to spread ignorant hate, rather than for tryign to actually help people.