It is very disturbing that candidate Dave Brat is repeating the John Tanton-ite talking points against legal immigration, especially coming from the candidate in his own words. Mr. Brat, who is running as a Republican for Congress, has a problem with people leaving their own native countries to come to America for the pursuit of freedom, liberty and opportunity.
“We shouldn’t take the very people, the high skilled PhDs and masters out of the home country, they need to stay there, take care of the political corruption and dictators back home, so we can all trade and get rich together.”
For quite some time I have been talking about the failure of conservatives to understand that the toxic message of Nativism will destroy the Republican Party and our conservative ideals.
I wrote a guest post last year when many “conservatives” walked hand in hand with progressives for immigration reform, most notably Ted Cruz and Allen West and some Tea Party groups, at the DC March for Jobs. They were voicing support for job protectionism under the guise of opposing immigration, both illegal and legal.
It will be our fault that rejecting legal immigration will become part of our perceived philosophy as some campaigns like Brat’s continue to reject and insult legal immigrants.
Comments like “THEY TAKE JOBS FROM AMERICANS” are frustrating. Is there only one pie for jobs? Or are we believers in making many pies? We used to hear that kind of protectionist language from unions, syndicates of labor who are protective of the jobs they control, preventing the free market of labor to enter into competition.
Protectionists spew the same talking points as John Tanton’s groups of FAIR and NumbersUSA and Progressives for Immigration Reform. These Tanton groups say the same things Dave Brat says – that immigrants with high skills would benefit America best by staying back in their countries to fight corruption in order to “make us all rich.”
Can we say Irving Berlin, Samuel Goldwyn and Joseph Pulitzer, and the hundreds of thousands of other immigrants who are part of the creation of this great nation should have stayed back in the “German oven” and never have become part of America? Or stayed in England? Ireland? Poland?
I take issue with Mr. Brat’s statements because too many members of MY REPUBLICAN PARTY, REJECT us IMMIGRANTS, who come here legally – who work hard, build businesses, create jobs, pay our taxes and still it’s NOT ENOUGH. We are still treated like second class citizens by the David Brats in our party.
We are not welcome according to Brat’s own economic theory.
If I followed Dave Brat’s twisted line of thinking, I should have stayed “home” in Colombia and been jailed or killed by the corrupt politicians there.
I wonder if Mr. Brat’ would have made the same statement to the slaves who escaped the South or the Pilgrims and the many first immigrants who were escaping European tyranny and persecution had he been around back then. But, then again, he didn’t have to – plenty of people made those arguments. They were called Democrats.
I’m sorry, my fellow Republicans and fellow conservatives, but these kinds of nativist talking points have to be rejected and denounced by our party, the party of liberty, freedom and opportunity.
Those are our Republican values. Those are the principles of conservatism and they have long been the backbone of our America. It’s time to stand for up for America and stop this nonsense.
Tito “The Builder Munoz is a Republican activist and former State Senate candidate from Prince William County
