On April 6, 2011, Ruben Navarrette, Jr., a leading Hispanic journalist and television commentator, wrote: “More and more Latinos are wising up to President Obama’s phony immigration two-step.”
Navarrette opined that Obama panders to Latinos by criticizing Republicans for being too tough on immigration enforcement while pandering to non-Latinos by being even tougher on deportations than Republicans.
Navarrette concluded, “So it is no wonder that Obama is left with this rhetorical hash, and words that don’t match his actions.”
Obama has never made any attempt to keep his six years of promises to the Hispanic community of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). He employs Rule #10 of Saul Alinsky’s (1909-1972) "Rules for Radicals" (1972). Rule 10 is “You (community organizer/activist) do what you can with what you have and clothe it with moral garments,” or adroit obfuscation.
People other than community organizers call it lying.
President Obama’s adroit obfuscation can be traced back to the influence on him of Saul Alinsky, founder of Chicago’s community organizing movement which evolved into America’s community organizing apparatus. As a Chicago community organizer Obama worked for Alinsky’s Chicago community organizing foundation.
Alinsky held that change is achieved by community organizers infiltrating the white middle class. At the same time, he had contempt for the middle class, as do Obama and the Democrats, except for its usefulness in “controlled conflict” to take power from the “haves.”
Alinsky bragged, “Our rebels have contemptuously rejected the values and the way of life of the middle class.”
Today, Obama and the Democrats reference the “middle class” in nearly every speech. His concern for the middle class is only outdone by his contempt for the middle class.
Class warfare is the Obama re-election theme, as the president attempts to pit American against American using envy and jealousy over money. Obama and the Democrats have used the same technique with the Hispanics pitting them against the Anglos over citizenship for illegal aliens.
Obama, even with control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, failed to attempt any immigration legislation. He constantly promises the Hispanic population comprehensive immigration reform with a “path to citizenship” for illegal aliens, but never delivered. In re-election mode Obama now promises immigration reform in his second term.
“The Promise” — as Hispanics refer to Obama’s 2007-2008 campaign promise for comprehensive immigration reform in his first year as president — was never fulfilled. And it will never be fulfilled even in Obama’s touted second term, and Obama knows it.
The president, when speaking to the Des Moines Register editor and publisher off-the-record on October 23, 2012, said that should he win a second term it was due to the Republican’s and Governor Romney’s alienation of the Latino community.
Obama claimed to be committed to “updating” the immigration laws, a vague and ambiguous comment. He reiterated his well-worn blame of the Republicans, but offered the Register editors nothing but refried campaign rhetoric. Whether he gets the newspaper’s endorsement remains to be seen.
Thinking Hispanics see a familiar pattern to Obama’s “off-the-record” interview, that was changed to an “on-the-record” interview after news of his secret interview burned up the Internet, the news media, and talk radio. While he constantly promises immigration reform, his administration outperforms President George W. Bush with alien deportations.
On June 15, 2012, to appease the unhappy Hispanics, Obama offered a weaseling “deferred deportations” two-year program for illegal alien youths. The “deferred deportations” ploy has requirements that actually make it available only to a small number of illegal alien youths.
National polls showed that about 57 percent of the Hispanic voters are favoring Obama, down from his 2008 number of 76 percent. Many factors cause the 2012 Hispanic vote for Obama to be lower. President Obama may have a November surprise for the following reasons:
1. Realization by the Hispanic community that the “Deferred Deportations” ploy isn’t as beneficial as represented.
2. The unemployment among Hispanics is higher than the national average.
3. The Hispanic small business people, especially business women, know they are being impeded and restricted by the Obama agencies’ regulations.
4. Immigration is seventh in concerns of Hispanics. Jobs, the economy, education, healthcare, affordable housing, and business opportunities rank more important than immigration.
5. Hispanics are naturally conservative in family and religious matters. The Obama attacks on the Catholic Church reminds many of the persecution of Catholics in Mexico.
It is estimated that about less that 45 percent of the estimated 50.5 million Hispanics in America are eligible to vote. According to past figures, only about 8 percent of the eligible Hispanics do vote.
Thus, the myth that the news media and politicians have created about a monolithic Hispanic voting bloc is just a myth. Therefore, perhaps a November surprise is in store for Obama.
James H. Walsh was associate general counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1983 to 1994. Read more reports from James Walsh — Click Here Now.