After Bill’s Fall, G.O.P. May Pay in Latino Votes

Many Republican lawmakers returned to their home districts in triumph this week, having beat back a comprehensive immigration bill that many of their constituents had denounced as untenable.

But the bill’s demise may have greatly damaged the party’s ability to meet its enduring goal of attracting a large percentage of the growing number of Hispanic voters — thousands of whom are ostensibly in line with the party on a host of other issues, said many Republican lawmakers, consultants and Hispanic voters.

“There may be some short-term gain from this,” said Linda Chavez, who served in the Reagan administration and is now chairwoman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative public policy group. “But in the long term, it is disastrous for the Republican Party.”

The nasty rhetoric of the Republican Party during this debate could only be viewed by Latinos as bigotry. The problem they had with the bill was not the guest worker program, that would benefit big business at the expense of both the immigrant and the working poor, but the so called amnesty provision that would have given them a path to citizenship.

This is the same party that wants to make English the national language by statute. How can they expect to sway legal immigrants to the Republican party with such bigoted positions?

Those so opposed to amnesty need to ask themselves exactly what did these people do that was so horrible that it can not be forgiven? They simply came for a better life from places where life is tough and feeding your family is a struggle. There are ways to express your views without being a bigot. The Republican party does not know how to do with with immigrants, minorities or the Gay and lesbian population.

If the Latinos were smart they would never vote for any Republicans until the party is reclaimed from the fanatics that now control it.

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a leading opponent of the measure, at one point in the debate, said, “The bill would provide amnesty and a path to citizenship for people who broke into our country by running past the National Guard.”

That quote is one of the examples of the bigoted rhetoric during the debate on this issue. Is it any wonder why the Latino vote will surely swing Democratic?

I was not in favor of passage of this bill either. I felt it lacked the necessary teeth to secure the borders and punish the employers who hire illegal immigrants but it was not out of any prejudice for the immigrants. I don't think the Republican party can say the same thing.

Infant Mortality Grows In The South

Are cuts in welfare and Medicaid responsible for a leap in the rate of infant mortality in the South? No one is sure but the trends are alarming as the infant mortality rate skyrocketed in Mississippi.

To the shock of Mississippi officials, who in 2004 had seen the infant mortality rate — defined as deaths by the age of 1 year per thousand live births — fall to 9.7, the rate jumped sharply in 2005, to 11.4. The national average in 2003, the last year for which data have been compiled, was 6.9. Smaller rises also occurred in 2005 in Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee. Louisiana and South Carolina saw rises in 2004 and have not yet reported on 2005.

Most striking, here and throughout the country, is the large racial disparity. In Mississippi, infant deaths among blacks rose to 17 per thousand births in 2005 from 14.2 per thousand in 2004, while those among whites rose to 6.6 per thousand from 6.1. (The national average in 2003 was 5.7 for whites and 14.0 for blacks.)

The Republicans constantly talk about being a culture of life yet every day we see results of their policies whether it is the War in Iraq, the lack of Gun Control or the cutting of social programs that lead to more and more death. I think it is time that they stop using the term "A Culture of Life". It is false advertising at the highest level.

The White House E-Mail Troubles

The Presidential Records Act made Presidential records including e-mail public domain. By using off site GOP e-mail systems and avoiding the official White House E-Mail system did the Bush administration violate the law? It would appear they did because this was a deliberate attempt to circumvent the law and not allow their E-mails to be part of the public record. It seems the one major mistake they made was being caught. It will be highly unlikely that Presidential Privilege can be claimed on these e-mails. Its nice to see the rats caught up in their own web of deceit. When will the lies and deceit of this administration finally cause it to crumble? Why were lies about personal behavior during the Clinton years so horrible yet the same people who called for the impeachment of President Clinton have remained noticeably silent or have defended this administration. I am the only one who sees the hypocrisy. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, last week formally requested access to broad categories of RNC-White House e-mails. I for one would be very interested in reading these e-mails. Who knows what other illegalities would be uncovered? It is nice to finally have oversight of an executive branch gone wild.