Tuesday, January 31st, 2006...8:25 am
I Don’t Know About David Lara, But Ethelred the Unready Should Be Ticked
Okay kids, remember the spin: deep differences among Republicans indicate they are an inclusive “big tent.” Any differences among Democrats are a civil war within the party and indicate that those darned liberals are unfit to govern.
-sigh-
The latest hoo-hah that the local media is trying to overblow is a supposed row over immigration between Raúl Grijalva and Janet Napolitano. This all stems from an interview that Grijalva gave to Bajo el Sol, a Spanish-language publication out of Yuma. Particularly one paragraph:
Nos quitó mucho de las alas que teníamos para hablar de un proceso comprensivo para una reforma migratoria, y nunca consultó con nadie que no fuera ese grupo cercano a ella que son los hombres anglosajones que hacen la estrategia para ella.
Grijalva was expressing his frustration that Napolitano didn’t seem to consult many leaders in the Hispanic community before dropping her “National Guard” bombshell in her State of the State address. Other leaders, such as Rep. Steve Gallardo and Democratic National Committeeman Joe Rios have expressed similar frustrations.
As much as I admire Napolitano, Grijalva has a point here. This is an issue that Grijalva has been passionate about his entire life (his father was a bracero), and he feels a bit betrayed by an ally.
I realize that Napolitano is only asking for the federal government to pay for part of the cost of immigration enforcement. There are already 140 members of the Arizona National Guard who are supporting enforcement, what Napolitano is asking for is for the feds to expand that and pay for it.
Of course, we all know that Donald Rumsfeld will say no. The Feds need the Arizona National Guard to support border enforcement, enforcing that border between Syria and Iraq.
That isn’t the point here though. Napolitano’s people put this into the State of the State address without talking to her party’s Hispanic leadership. Anyone could have told you that the first thing that any reporter would do is run to Gallardo, Grijalva or at worst, some publicity hound like Ben Miranda, and ask for their opinion on the matter. What sort of reaction did the Governor’s office expect when they weren’t consulted, or even warned?
I hope this wasn’t done as some cynically clever way to assure white East Valley voters that somehow she isn’t owned by the Hispanic community. It’s bad enough that we have people like J. D. Hayworth and Jon Kyl doing that, we don’t need an otherwise good Democratic friend playing that game.
Which brings me to my favorite reaction. A fella named David Lara, who is a Vice-Chairman of the Yuma County Republican party, objected to Grijalva’s use of the term “Anglo-Saxon” when talking about Napolitano’s advisors. He says the term was racist and demands an apology. Since when is the term racist? And, if it is, since when are Republicans angry about insults being thrown at Napolitano and her crew? Good luck waiting for that apology. In the mean time, could you look around at your own party’s rhetoric on this issue and say something about it? ‘Specially since it is directed at folks like you.
By the way, I don’t think this will result in anything aproaching a long-term rift. Grijalva and Napolitano are still close. Napolitano needs Grijalva to turn out her vote, and Grijalva needs an ally in Phoenix. Now, if only the media will take a look at the rifts in the Republican party on this issue. They’ll see them in the CD 8 primary soon enough.
17 Comments
January 31st, 2006 at 10:43 am
What was wrong with that comment? Let’s take a look, shall we?
Was it racist? possibly. what difference does it make what ethnicity the governor’s advisors are? as your post shows, there are hispanics on either side of the aisle … and the issue. It doesn’t really matter what color skin her advisors have so long as they are intelligent, thoughtful and respectful of all sides of the issues before coming to a conclusion.
Was it sexist? possibly. By saying that she has Anglo-Saxon males making policy for her, Grijalva implies she doesn’t have a mind of her own and simply adopts whatever the white boys tell her to do. I seriously, SERIOUSLY doubt that’s the case. Perhaps Grijalva should get to know our governor better.
Was the remark hypocritical? Definitely. After all, there are several members of Grijalva’s advisors including his chief of staff who are white.
What’s the difference there? Ah, yes. The color of HIS skin and HIS gender automatically make him an expert where poor little Janet remains igornant and lost without big strong Hispanic men to tell her what to do about illegal immigration.
Nice.
January 31st, 2006 at 12:46 pm
Wow Anonymous # 1,
You hit the nail right on the head.
Anonymous # 2
January 31st, 2006 at 3:55 pm
Grijalva speaks for me. I think while the Gov. was working so hard to outsmart AZ GOP (which isn’t that hard of a task), she forgot to consult Dem. allies. Spilt milk if you ask me. We should be worrying about and trying to resolve the problem rather than wondering who’s talking to who about the problem. I think by the time you finish reading this comment, the Sonoran claimed another life. ::sighs::
January 31st, 2006 at 4:26 pm
Well, it’s nice to know that racist, sexist hypocrites speak for liberals, too.
How refreshing!
January 31st, 2006 at 5:58 pm
This post has been removed by the author.
January 31st, 2006 at 9:26 pm
Rep. Grijalva is right to call out the Gov. on this. Her plan to further militarize the border is a mistake.
January 31st, 2006 at 11:11 pm
there are far too many leaders who don’t know a thing about the border that she invited to a meeting to talk about her national guard idea. unfortunately, none of them have ever been to the border, ie gallardo.
kyrsten sinema has seen more along the border than any of the state leg’s, including those who represent the border and refuse to talk about it.
when the minutemen were in full force in douglas we only saw sinema and lopes down there. no gallardos, no meza’s, no alvarez’s, etc.
who knows who the gov considers hispanic allies. if grijalva and gutierrez aren’t in there, its nothing.
February 1st, 2006 at 7:00 am
Actually Rep. Gallardo was on the border during the Minuteman mobilization. I know because I was with him.
Rep. Alvarez has worked in Cochise County for much of his life. He lives in Elfrida, which, while not excactly on the Line, is in full sight of it. I have found him knowlegdeable about border issues, and he always votes the right way concerning these things in committee and on the floor.
As for me, I worked for the Tohono O’odham Nation for five years. In that time, I experienced the results of our silly, ineffective and hypocritical border policy first hand. I even got to experience harassement by an especially stupid border patrol agent with chewing tobacco stuck between his teeth.
I was also one of the Mexican-American legislators who criticized Napolitano for the National Guard idea. This was not at a meeting of “hispanic lawmakers,” but at a special House Democratic Caucus, in other words, an open, public meeting. I expressed my concerns about using the military on the border, and included a reference to the U.S. Citizen who was killed in Texas while guarding his sheep because someone thought it was a good idea to use the Marines for border enforcement. The Governor was clear that the Guard would play primarily a support role, in other words, an expansion of what they were already doing. This is a far cry from the shoot-on-sight policy that others seem to want, though, admittedly, it still presents some problems. I trust that the Governor is more thoughtful about these things than most of the demagogues on the other side of the issue.
I consider Rep. Sinema to be one of my best friends in the House, and I am certain that she would tell you that she is not the only member who understands or cares about what is happening on the border.
February 1st, 2006 at 9:00 am
Just because it’s fun to correct Tom:
Ezequiel Hernandez was killed herding goats.
February 1st, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Anon #1 and #2:
Hmm, Raul is neither racist or sexist and he does know the governor pretty well.
He wasnt lying when he pointed out that anglo-saxon men make the policy for her. Uh, her chief of staff and her chief of finance are well, anglo-saxon men.
And how do you know that Raul has a white COS? Have you been around them or is it just something you heard while typing from your desk in Phoenix?
February 2nd, 2006 at 1:37 pm
ana ma’s white? whoa.
February 2nd, 2006 at 4:03 pm
Anonymous #1 is right: Janet Napolitano IS “igor-nant” (or is that just you, anonymous?)
February 2nd, 2006 at 9:06 pm
Non only is Ana Ma not white, but she isn’t Raúl’s chief of staff.
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:14 am
Raul Grijalva’s chief of staff is Glenn Miller. Hispanic? Doubtful.
Janet Napolitano’s chief of staff is Dennis Burke. Burke is Irish. So Grijalva wasn’t just racist, he was wrong and also managed to insult Burke too. After all, there are few things more offensive to an Irishman than to call him Anglo-Saxon seeing as how they have oppressed the Irish for hundreds of years. In any event, I don’t think Burke or anyone else is “making strategy for her.” She can do just fine (and has done pretty damn good) on her own.
Perhaps that’s the problem. This uppity little white woman doesn’t need Grijalva. Poor Raul.
February 3rd, 2006 at 10:06 am
really? i had no idea that janet didn’t need anyone to turn out southern arizona hispanics for her.
this is about remembering who got you there. do the people around her think that east valley whites got her elected?
February 3rd, 2006 at 10:23 pm
Overheard from Napolitano’s crew: They think her speech gained so many Republican votes, they don’t need as many Democrats. Let the pandering begin!
February 4th, 2006 at 1:50 am
Unfortunately, Arizona and Napolitano have been put in a very bad situation and there is little hope of the feds doing what needs to be done. I don’t know how much that would change even if the DEMs were in control because this issue cuts across party lines. Pandering is coming from all sides of this issue.
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