Monday, October 20, 2008

An Appeal to Grass Roots America Part 1

I am writing this because I believe that I have something to contribute to the current electoral situation. I do not have the eloquence or ghost writers of Obama or speech writers like McCain. Yet, I hope that you take what I say in the following essay and give it some thought.

Sometime in the early part of 1962 men with machine guns burst into my house. My mother and I were the only ones home at the time. Out in the front of the house were armored cars manned by uniformed troops. The men were looking for my father. I was just nine years old at the time. The men had been sent by the President of the country at the time to "Invite" my father to speak to him. My mother and I remained under house arrest for a few days. They told us they would remain until they got a hold of my father. They never did of course. A few days later troops allied to my father's "friends" showed up one day and our "guests" left in a hurry. A few months later we immigrated to the United States. Politics is serious business south of the border, it is still played the same way to this day. Those are the last memories of the land of my birth.

America is approaching the same policies and political mistakes that turned my native country (Argentina) from being the 5th wealthiest country in 1900 to 70th place today, according to the World Economic Forum. Countless governments pushed for welfare solutions to inequality and used class envy as a manipulative tool to gain or retain power. Even the right wing military regimes found it politically impossible to dismantle the massive welfare state, indeed, in most cases they also added to it to make themselves favored by the population. The result is an entrenched ideological outlook and entrenched class hatred that remains to this day and makes it almost impossible to introduce free market solutions and move the country forward. But Argentina is not alone. Look at Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela all with socialist governments whose leaders are consolidating power and evolving into dictators exercising arbitrary power. The poverty these governments produce will be blamed on external causes rather than on those in charge. This is the result of welfare statism under a socialist mantle. Capitalism redistributes prosperity, socialism redistributes poverty. The first requires some inequality, the second produces misery and equality.

It is hard for Americans to understand what life is like in countries where even "elected" governments exercise arbitrary power and rule by fiat when the laws they are supposed to obey are inconvenient for them. Where participating in politics means to literally put one's life on the line. Where entrenched elites and oligarchies do whatever suits them to retain their power. Where corruption is a way of life and the majority of the people feel helpless to do anything. Where demagogues are the rule, not the exception.

My journey through the political landscape has taken me from the extreme left to the moderate right in a span of 35 years. I started as a Marxist in high school who evolved into a Stalinist in my graduate school years and gradually changed into a conservative as I left academia into the real working class world.

In less than two weeks American citizens will find their way to the polls in possibly the most important election of this century. While news of the economic downturn dominates the news and seems to be leading many to turn towards the democrats, an issue far more destructive appears to have been left forgotten in the background. Amnesty for illegal immigrants has the potential to change this nation irrevocably. Once the deed is done there will be no turning back, no buyers remorse. Both candidates have promised to address the issue in the first 100 days of their administration. Both candidates have indicated they favor a comprehensive amnesty. This will be the last lethal act that will destroy this country as a constitutional republic if not immediately, then certainly in the near short term.

A more concise case on illegal immigration was made by me here. I urge you to read it, I also urge you to read Samuel P. Huntington's "The Hispanic Challenge To America". Huntington is a Democrat and professor of history at Harvard. Arm yourself with facts so you are informed. Since I wrote my essay other things have come to light. We constantly hear the number 12 million thrown around for the numbers of illegal aliens. I propose that the number is probably much closer to possibly 30 million. One indicator of this is the recent revelation by the Department Housing and Urban Development that some 5 million illegal aliens have mortgages issued by Fannie and Freddie May. Once all of the illegals become "legal" we can expect the number to balloon through the process of chain migration since as legal immigrants they will be able to bring in relatives as well, legally. On study has shown that each legal immigrant under the Family Reunification Act could potential bring in an additional 19 persons. Thus 10 million immigrants can soon balloon into 190 million immigrants legally.

As a native Latin American let me explain that I am not an opponent of immigration. How could I, being an immigrant myself? Rather I am a proponent of immigration reform and sensible immigration policies rather than what is currently on the books since 1965.

One great myth perpetrated by everyone both left and right is the common refrain that we are a nation of immigrants. The fact is that we are not. Essentially this nation was founded by colonists and subsequently all the other migrants that have followed since then have come to colonize this country and join the established colonists. Had this country been a nation of immigrants we would have adopted Amerindian customs, language, culture and mores. The reality is that we did not. Rather, we brought with us a European civilization that has evolved into a unique and singular culture. The current illegal migrants to this country, mostly from Mexico are also colonists, but they are here to colonize us rather than join in our venture. They call their evolving presence in the United States as "La Reconquista", the re-conquest. Most Americans however, refuse to see the colonists in our midst just as the indigenous indians had welcomed the Pilgrims into their midst until it was too late. Assimilation for some groups is not even on their agenda and because we have bought into the multiculturalism myth that different groups can cohabit in peace together, we have facilitated the Balkanization of this country. But the colonization is not limited to just illegal Mexican migrants. Through legal immigration and chain migration, we have been privy to a growing population of Muslim colonists in our midst that also have no interest in merging with the wider Judeo-Christian, Anglo-Saxon, proto European culture. Because the ruling oligarchic elites are comfortable with a Balkanized and divided population whom they believe in their primitive minds that they can manipulate and control the situation does not seem to have a solution in sight at the moment. The irony is that the coming misogynistic and racist majority that will evolve out of this will have brought with them a political culture that little resemblance to the give and take of the current American culture. The biggest losers will be women and blacks as whatever rights they may have garnered will be rolled back to placate the new radical Hispanic majority. The even greater irony is that it will be a black president (if elected) that will bring that about.

I am proud of my Latin cultural heritage, but there are certain aspects of it that are the very reasons that have kept most of Latin America backward and in a state of economic retardation and the very reason my parents emigrated to this country.

Do I believe this is the only issue facing us this election? Of course not, but I know that many of you have recently only given this issue a cursory thought and I urge you consider as an additional factor in making your decision. Economies can always be fixed, they have their up and down cycles and changes in policies can bring about greater prosperity. We can increase taxes and we can roll them back. But once we allow the huge demographic change that amnesty would bring there will be no turning back and it will be the end of our republic, our culture and our way of life.

The oligarchy will learn what other oligarchies before them have. Creating a permanent servant underclass that does not share your culture or values eventually leads to their overthrow. The continued policies of appeasing illegal migration and allowing legal chain migration is akin to promoting a suicide pact that will eventually engulf this country and destroy out democratic republic. We must buy time and reform our immigration laws and try to preserve our republic. This can only occur if we have a condition of checks and balances where one side does not have the monopoly power. Only then can we moderate any radical policies and prevent the destruction of this country. At least one chamber of congress must be in republican hands to moderate and initiate the necessary reform to salvage what is left of our republic and our constitution.

As an apostate Stalinist I can tell you that socialists have no interest whatsoever in prosperity, that is a bourgeois goal and view of the world. Marxists don't do elections, they don't do democracy. When and if they do they "fix" it so they always win. Socialists are interested only in the ideal of equality, even if to achieve it everyone starves. Their model is not modern China, which in their view has lost it's way, but a place like Zimbabwe where equality has almost been achieved. Socialists are interested in the ideal of equality, while the rest of humanity is interested in the materialist concept of prosperity. That is why arguments by conservatives and moderate liberals (in the classical sense) that adopting socialism means a loss of prosperity falls on deaf ears as far as radical leftists are concerned. They have no interest whatsoever in the concept of prosperity. What they want is the power to dictate to everyone their ideal view of the world. Their dream is to socially engineer humanity in their vision of what humanity should be. In their minds, human nature can be changed and molded. A huge legalized permanent underclass will allow them to achieve this goal.

These people believe that they will be bringing in a socialist paradise. All previous failures at instituting socialism are blamed not on the failures of socialism, but rather on the imperfections of the past leaders who tried to implement them. To hear them tell it "they just didn't do it right" and so they keep trying again and again. When it doesn't work they get angry, they see enemies everywhere, they cannot understand why everyone does not share their vision, after all they are so intelligent, smarter than everyone else. Of course, they are also hypocrites, they live in fine houses while the masses starve. They are after all the first among equals and beyond reproach. Wait until the leaders turn against their allies the bourgeois limousine late communists. Just as Stalin turned on Bukharin and Trotsky. They never learn and never will. The unfortunate part is that the rest of us get to pay the price for their failed experiments.

Too many voters believe in slogans and cliches without giving any deep thoughts to what they believe or what the consequences are of policies that are adopted. They never give a though about any possible unintended consequences that result from demanding things from their governments. I implore you to try to understand what is happening here. Politics is not a game, it is a serious endeavor that can and does in many cases cost lives. That is precisely why we cannot give the next president a blank check.

The founders of this country believed in the principle of checks and balances. To give a monopoly to one party in the legislative branch is a recipe for disaster as it has proved to be these last two years. A democratic house and senate is liable to pass an amnesty since McCain is a supporter of amnesty it is unlikely he will veto it. Our only hope is to at least have republicans take the house or prevent a super majority in the senate if we are to defeat amnesty as we did last year.

It was grass roots people, democrats, independents, republicans that the defeated the last amnesty. It was the grass roots that led, it was the "leaders" that followed. And so this time again we are called upon to lead rather than be led. Perhaps it is time to remind people that Hitler, Mussolini, Salazar, Hugo Chavez and Juan Peron were elected to office. They did not start a revolution or march on the capitol or stage a coup. They won office by getting elected and manipulating the system once they took power. Don't think for a minute that it can't happen here, it can and it will if you stay home and expect your neighbor to carry the day for you. The threat to our republic and our very existence is by an entrenched political elite that is increasingly ignoring the interest of the people who sent them there and have become enamored with power and will do anything to retain it at the expense of the people.

I urge you to provide balance and vote republican down ticket. For some of you this is an immense sacrifice. Like asking a devout Jew to eat a serving of pork. But sometimes some sacrifices are necessary to preserve the present and guarantee the future. It is the only way to preserve the republic and our nation.

Turnout will be the key in this election. We must at whatever cost turn out as many people as possible to vote for McCain and a republican congress. With a republican congress it will be much easier to forestall an amnesty that McCain may want to push. In the next two weeks we the common people will have to mobilize all the votes we can to achieve this goal. This is not a liberal or conservative issue, it is an America issue. We must prevent the leftist radicals who have hijacked the democratic party from having a monopoly of power if we are to preserve our nation.

I am reminded of an interview I saw years ago in 1977 after the Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky was released to the west from a Soviet prison. In a hotel room in Paris an American female reporter was interviewing him. Bukovsky had by that time spent most of his teenage years and his adult life protesting the regime. They would release him and within days he'd be protesting in front of the Kremlin. Within days he would be back languishing in the Gulag or some psychiatric hospital. The reporter asked him why after being released and knowing he would return to prison did he persist in protesting. His answer which stupefied the American reporter has remained with me to this day. "If not I, then who?"

Staying home and not voting is NOT an option. You must ask yourself that question. You must make sure your neighbor asks himself that question. Your neighbor cannot cast your vote for you. It cannot be repeated often enough that turnout is the key. If there is an invalid or older person who cannot make it to the polls offer to take them. If there is someone on the fence send them this essay and have them read it. America is not a prefect country, no country is. But imitating the failures of history will not fix our current problems. We must all bring as many of our neighbors to the polls to provide balance and sanity to our government. Only then can we begin to solve our problems in a measured and reasonable manner. start making calls to your acquaintances, remind them they MUST VOTE. There is no election in our history that is as critical as this one. call them on election day and remind them to vote. Offer to take them there. Set up car pools, make a list of people to call. Set up groups to act in concert. The GOP and the local campaigns are doing one of the most horrid get out the vote jobs in recent history. We can't wait for leaders to lead us. We must instead take the reins and lead ourselves.

At the end of the day, only one thing matters, and that is who cast that extra vote. It is particularly important this year as we must not merely cancel out the vote of the opposition, but we must make up for the fraudulent votes that will be cast not just by ACORN, but by those other organizations we haven't paid attention to, MECHA and AZTLAN. Our task is thus doubly critical.

Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Hamilton and the others are looking down at us and chanting Turnout! Turnout! Turnout! . Don't wait for your neighbor, he's waiting for you. Ask yourself. "If not I,then who?