Washington, DC – NDN, a leading think tank and advocacy organization, joined with Media Matters to create the DropDobbs.com coalition several months ago to hold CNN anchor Lou Dobbs accountable for the rampant intolerance promoted through his nightly news show. The coalition was later joined by several prominent organizations to promote this effort.
Today, less than two months after the launch of our online and grassroots campaign, Lou Dobbs has announced he is resigning from CNN because “it’s become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country, and affecting all of us…”
Andres Ramirez, Senior Vice President for NDN and coordinator for the DropDobbs coalition stated, “This is a great victory for all of us who have been working on this effort. We believe that Lou Dobb's intolerant style of politics is inconsistent with the powerful and respected CNN brand. We are glad to see him go."
We want to thank and congratulate all the organizations who participated in this coalition.
A year ago, millions of voters across America flocked to the elections polls to elect Barack Obama as our nation’s president. I remember that night vividly, as it was a culmination of the longest American presidential campaign cycle in history. A campaign cycle in which a candidate, who was virtually unknown just 5 years before the election, inspired Americans to renew their Hope. He inspired Americans to renew their Hope in government, to renew their Hope in politics, to renew their Hope in each other and to renew their Hope in America.
I remember sitting in the war room for the Nevada State Democratic Party in Las Vegas analyzing exit polls and tabulating results from states across the country. The numbers coming in were indicating that this election would be won by our nominee, but having been fooled in the previous two election cycles, I waited frantically until I knew this victory was certain. As the results continued to move Obama closer to the victory margin, I ran from the war room to join my fellow Americans in celebration. I laughed, I shouted, and I even cried that night as I was so moved by what had just happened. As an American who has been fighting for civil rights and human rights for so long, and who was on the verge of losing all Hope in our country, that night changed so much for me.
That Americans were in need of Hope was no mystery. America was taken to the brink of ruin under failed leadership and governance by the previous presidential administration. The situation left Americans with not much else, but Hope. To summarize briefly, millions of Americans were without jobs or losing their job, millions of Americans lacked health insurance, our educational systems were underfunded, our infrastructure was literally collapsing, our financial systems collapsed, our auto industry collapsed, our energy sources are outdated and insufficient, and thousands of Americans were sacrificing their lives in the two wars overseas. There was not much left in America but Hope.
When the President was elected, the NY Times published a piece detailing the historic win of President Obama and noting:
The election of Mr. Obama amounted to a national catharsis — a repudiation of a historically unpopular Republican president and his economic and foreign policies, and an embrace of Mr. Obama’s call for a change in the direction and the tone of the country.
Despite this reality, Republicans leaders have been desperately attempting every method possible to prevent President Obama from moving America in a different direction. Engaged in what I call “Operation Obstruction,” they have stalled the President’s agenda to lift this country out of the ruins that he inherited. However, they have not prevented President Obama from enacting several significant pieces of legislation in his first year in office as reported in the Wall Street Journal yesterday.
Last week, Mr. Obama signed defense-policy legislation that included an unrelated measure widening federal hate-crimes laws to cover sexual orientation and gender identification -- 12 years after it was first introduced. The same legislation also tightened the rules of admissible evidence for military commissions, an issue that consumed Congress in debate in 2007 but received almost no attention this go-round.
Other new measures signed into law since the administration took office, all of which kicked up controversy in past congresses, make it easier for women to sue for equal pay, set aside land in the West from development, give the government the power to regulate tobacco and raise tobacco taxes to expand health insurance for children. Congress and the White House, in the new defense-policy bill, also killed weapons programs that have survived earlier attempts at termination, among them, the F-22 fighter jet, the VH-71 presidential helicopter and the Army's Future Combat System.
So what has all this obstruction accomplished for the Republicans? Not much. America is still largely where it was on election night a year ago.
If we look at the graph above, it shows that despite all the efforts of Republicans to persuade Americans to abandon their call for change, Americans remain committed to steering away from the failed policies of the previous administration. In short, America is still holding on to Hope.
We have seen several examples from Republican congressional leaders willing to alienate Hispanics in the past few months. Senators Vitter (R-LA) and Bennett (R-UT) introduced an amendment to exclude millions of Hispanics from being counted in the congressional reapportionment process, Congressman Joe Wilson interrupted President Obama in a national address before the joint chambers of Congress to make a point about excluding Hispanic immigrants from a healthcare reform bill, and now even as something as innocent and patriotic as this, Republicans continue their quest to oppress and discriminate against Hispanics.
The story states:
In the case of the current resolution, however, there are obvious political sensibilities at stake. The Hispanic community, which has felt demonized by harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric from congressional Republicans and conservative media personalities, has gravitated further and further from the GOP tent. By declining Reid's efforts to sign on to a rather milquetoast resolution, the party may only exacerbate the alienation.
Senator Reid has been a frequent champion of the Hispanic community and issues important to the Hispanic community. Congressional Republicans decided long ago that they would implement Operation Obstruction, and attempt to block anything pushed by Senator Reid. What they fail to understand is that attacking Reid when he is fighting for Hispanics is also an attack on Hispanics. Their ignorance has led them to massive decline in support among Hispanics. The latest Research 2000 poll shows that Congressional Republicans enjoy just 8% favorability among Hispanic voters.
I guess it is true that you just can't teach an old dog new tricks.
A few days ago, our DropDobbs coalition sent an appeal to our supporters asking them to engage CNN and address their Lou Dobbs problem. As CNN is set to air their series Latino in America, I think it is important for people to express what Lou Dobbs has done to Latinos in America. A copy of the letter is below, and I hope you will join us in this movement.
Dear Friend,
With your help, we've been forcing a national conversation about why CNN needs to drop Lou Dobbs. And the pressure is clearly getting to Dobbs himself, who has lashed out at what he calls "ethnocentric interest groups [who] are trying to destroy me." Now we have a golden opportunity to keep the pressure on and take that conversation directly to CNN.
Together with our allies over at BastaDobbs.com and Democracia Ahora, we're organizing an action to force CNN to publicly answer for its Dobbs problem. CNN is asking people to submit pictures and videos to its "iReport" website in response to its special, Latino in America. This gives us a chance to call out CNN for supporting Dobbs' dangerous rhetoric right on CNN's web site! If enough of us act, we can get other news outlets to cover the story, and keep the momentum against Dobbs going.
Will you submit a picture or short video demanding that CNN deal with its Lou Dobbs problem? With the simple online tool, uploading just takes a few minutes, and we've provided suggestions of what you can say:
http://bastadobbs.com/lia/org/dropdobbs/
Dobbs has long been known for his anti-immigrant hate speech, but his venom has not been confined to proponents of immigration reform. Just last week, he unleashed a rant against African-Americans in Chicago over recent horrific violence, saying that the "black community is not being responsible" and that "the black churches, the black school leaders, the black community leaders, the black community organizers, the black parents of that community" should "quit whining" and fix the problem themselves.
http://bastadobbs.com/lia/org/dropdobbs/
We really appreciate all you've done so far. But we can't rest now. Please join us in calling out CNN, and ask your friends and family to do the same.
Laura Esquivel and Andres Ramirez Drop Dobbs Coalition
As the US Senate gears up to vote on Vitter-Bennett SA 2644, NDN offers some key commentary and information regarding the intent of this amendment and the problems that could occur as a result of this amendment.
Earlier this year, several Republican senators expressed outrage over the perception that the new White House Administration was playing politics with the Census. The outrage was so deep that US Senator Judd Gregg withdrew his nomination as US Secretary of Commerce citing concerns over this perception to politicize the Census. Now these very same Republican Senators are resorting to the very same techniques they decried earlier this year. This amendment only serve serves to politicize and delegitimize what is expected to be a very nonpartisan process. The result could cost billions of dollars, and will complicate efforts to inform and prepare state and local governments for the changing demography and characteristics of this nation.
You can watch Senator Bennett's making his case for adding an 11th question to the census here:
Las Vegas, NV - In a piece published in the Washington Post today, Senators Vitter and Bennett once again reveal their motives for their Census legislation.
“If the current census plan goes ahead, the inclusion of non-citizens toward apportionment will artificially increase the population count in certain states, and that will likely result in the loss of congressional seats for nine other states, including Louisiana,” Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said in a statement issued Thursday.
It goes on to say:
Though Bennett has no issue with the Census counting everyone living in the U.S. regardless of citizenship status, he does not want illegal immigrants to sway Congressional representation.
Las Vegas, NV - The United States Senate is getting enmeshed in a very serious conversation at the moment that may appear to be innocent and practical. The debate is over a proposed amendment, SA 2644, to the Commerce, Justice, & Science Appropriations bill that is under consideration in the Senate.
The amendment seeks to force the US Census to redo their questionnaire to include an 11th question that would require everyone to identify their citizenship or legal status in this country. The stated purpose of the amendment is to gather an accurate count of the undocumented population in this country so that they can be excluded from the population count in the reapportionment of congressional districts after the Census is concluded.
They make many flawed reasons as to why this should happen, but the reality is that this is just another trick out of the old GOP play book to strike fear into their base by using race and scapegoating immigrants. We have seen this tactic several times this year and throughout the GOP history over the past 50 years. Simon has talked about this tactic calling them proxy wars for the eventual debate over fixing our nation's broken immigration system.
I will take some time to dismiss some of their reasoning for supporting the amendment, but want to make sure that everyone is aware of what the real debate is about with this amendment. What Vitter/Bennett are asking Americans to do is to establish a society in which we value some people more than others based on their race. They would like America to revert back to a time in which not all people were equal. They ask us to consider moments in our nation's history in which we only counted African Americans as 3/5 of a person, and to a time in which Native Americans were still excluded from society. These chapters of American history are long in our past, and America has done much to overcome the injustices of these eras. This debate is not just about protecting electoral votes and federal funding for their home states, this debate is about persuading Americans to think that it is ok to discriminate and punish peoples.
Any US Senator that doesn't see this is simply not paying attention. There is a reason so many organizations are rallying against this proposal-- including the NAACP, an organization that is well-versed in fighting proposals of discrimination. I applaud US Senator Harry Reid and the Obama administration for taking this issue seriously, and working to eliminate it from the bill. If Senators Vitter and Bennett want to have a discussion about race and equality in this country, then let's have that debate, but let's not disguise the issue and pretend that we are having a simple debate about adding an additional question to the Census form. Man up, and let's have this discussion in its proper setting and its proper time.
Now, so that people don't think that I am evading their reasons, lets pick them apart right here. First, let's not forget that the GOP was attacking the Obama administration earlier this year for what they claimed was a power grab to play politics with the Census. The issue led Senator Gregg to withdraw as a nominee for Secretary of Commerce. Vitter/Bennett have made it very clear that their motives are purely political for this amendment: to exclude undocumented persons from the count for the reapportionment of congressional seats. Second, the GOP has attacked the Administration for not being fiscally conservative, yet they have no problem with wasting up to an additional billion dollars to enact this scheme. Talk about Hypocrisy! Third, they claim that our country has precedent for not counting all people. Again, do you really want to have this debate? Finally, they claim that the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that when drawing congressional districts, they should be comparable in number of voters according to Reynolds v Sims. Well Senator Bennett, you should hire a new legal counsel. The SCOTUS case regarding Reynolds v Sims was in relation to state legislative districts not congressional districts. That issue was dealt with a year later by SCOTUS in Wesberry v Sanders, in which they determined that congressional districts need to comparable in POPULATION.
So now that we got that over with, once again we will ask all US Senators to stand against this amendment. I understand that some members may see supporting this amendment as a short-term political gain for their states, but ultimately this is a long-term loss for America. Our nation has a great history of overcoming its past to build a better future, and I am confident that we can continue that tradition.
For more background on this subject, please read the following posts.
I am writing to you in regards to your recent column in “The Americano” titled “The Misguided Drop Dobbs Now Latino Campaign.” It is amazing to me that a Latino who chooses to work for an outfit funded by Newt Gingrich would call any other Latino efforts “Misguided.” In case you have forgotten, Newt Gingrich had one of the worst records in supporting Latinos during his tenure in Congress. In fact, during his last term in Congress, he received a score of 0% by the nonpartisan National Hispanic Leadership Agenda Congressional Scorecard.
You also mention that our efforts are “another tactical mistake just like they did a few years back when they organized major street protests.” How funny! Let me enlighten you again. The major protests that occurred during the heated immigration debate led to the largest increase in citizenship applications by Hispanic immigrants, and then translated into record turnout by Hispanic voters in the 2008 presidential election. You can learn all about it in our report Hispanics Rising II. The only tactical mistake going on here is that Newt thinks that simply by taking Spanish lessons and starting this website, that he will be able to deceive Hispanics into supporting his presidential bid.
“I am sure he would be more than happy now to have a leading Latino from La Raza come on his show so he could try to show them up.” What???? It seems as if you have no knowledge of anything that has been occurring in the Latino community for the past several years. Then again, that would make you a perfect choice for Newt’s new publication. Tell you what Ricardo, I would be more than happy to have you come to an NDN event so that you can try to show me up. If you are going to come after our efforts, you are going to have to come at us with more than that. Talk about misguided efforts.
Las Vegas, NV - I recently posted about the Census data that shows huge opportunities for millions of new Hispanics to register to vote before the next presidential. You can read the post here. It has been very clear that over the past couple of election cycles the GOP brand has been severely tarnished among Hispanic voters. This is an issue that we discuss in detail in our report Hispanics Rising.
The most recent poll by Research 2000 shows that the Republican Party is viewed favorably by just 8% of Hispanic voters. Yes that is correct 8%, and to further complicate the situation for Republicans another Hispanic elected official has quit the party. Ivan Marte who is the Chairman of the Rhose Island Republican Assembly quit the party as a result of US Representative Joe Wilson's infamous outburst duirng President Obama's address on healthcare reform to a joint session of Congress. We know that Representative Wilson's outburst was as much as an attack on Hispanics as it was on President Obama.
According to Research 2000, the Republican Party began the year with 20% favorability among Hispanic voters. During the past year, Republican leaders have sought to demonize Hispanic immigrants in the Economic Stimulus debate and the Healthcare debate, and they attacked Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor for being too Hispanic. Which brings us to the current 8%. So has the Republican Party decided to abandon any efforts to pursue support among the Hispanic electorate, or have they just forgotten how to do that? The next election is slightly more than a year away, and I guess we will find out very soon.
Las Vegas, NV - John Brummett published an interesting column on the debate regarding coverage of immigrants in the healthcare reform package.
Whether we should erect a border wall or execute a roundup of illegals or establish a path to earned citizenship -- these are important matters to debate. But whether it's better for the people working and living here to have health insurance while they're here so that we can spread our costs and limit our collective exposure, which is the very point of universal coverage -- that's an entirely different question and one not at all hard to answer vigorously in the affirmative.
Especially when the guy just wants to pay for it himself.
Las Vegas US Representative Shelley Berkley also joined the discussion being quoted in the Review Journal as stating:
"It is very insulting when the finger is pointed at you. All of a sudden it is demanded you show your citizenship before you get health care," she said. "What if you can't get your hands on it? What form of identification would be adequate."
She said it's especially exasperating when reform opponents demand the inclusion of restrictive amendments without any intention of ever voting for a bill.
Indeed, it is disconcerting to see so many Congressional leaders seek to appease radical legislators who dont have any interest in supporting a bill on Healthcare Reform. Operation Obstruction wins again.
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