NEWS ITEMS:
- California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman wants the government to crack down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
- Whitman is found to have employed an undocumented immigrant as a maid for years.
REACTIONS:
Liberals: Knowing smiles, snickering, high-fives, and/or mutterings about “hypocrites.”
Conservatives: The Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, a conservative group against illegal immigration, is calling for Whitman to be arrested and stand trial, and her former maid to be deported.
That’s a quick summary of Whitman’s predicament. To this writer, a sensible reaction to the Whitman “revelations” would be “So what?” Don’t get me wrong: It’s a legitimate political argument that Whitman is a hypocrite who panders to anti-immigrant feelings in her state while employing undocumented immigrants herself. But as far as the fact that she hired an undocumented immigrant, I still say, “So what?” Let he or she who has never used the services of undocumented immigrants cast the first stone. At our house, we had a new roof installed and a couple of rooms painted recently. I’m pretty sure some of the workers were undocumented immigrants; I didn’t ask, and what’s more, I don’t care.
Chances are that if you’ve hired a lawn service, or a maid service, or, say, hired “some guy a friend knows” to clean out your gutters, or had some painting or roofing done — or eaten vegetables or fruit from your grocery store (such as those strawberries we now get year-round?) — then some of your money has gone to at least some undocumented workers. And face it: They did a pretty good job, didn’t they?
If American immigration policy made even a little sense, there would be a legal channel that workers from Latin America could use to come here, work temporarily at jobs not many Americans want to perform, and then go home. Instead, we spend a fortune trying to keep out workers some sectors of our economy need — and then demonize the workers who find a way to get here anyway, to pick those berries and oranges, clean those gutters, paint those houses, clean our bathrooms, etc., etc. I say more power to them. The current climate of heaping venom on these folks is frankly shameful, and more of us who feel that way should say so.
This article appears in Sep 28 – Oct 4, 2010.
Despite what you read above, Whitman hasn’t “pander[ed] to anti-immigrant feelings”. The pandering she’s done is race-based, to Hispanics. And, she admitted that she and Brown mostly agree on immig. matters. You can read what John Grooms doesn’t know about her here:
http://24ahead.com/s/meg-whitman
Regarding the TokyoRose-style support for just a little illegal activity here or there, that helps illustrate why countries like Mexico are the way they are. Just a little bribe here, a little bribe there, a little bit under the table here, a little bit under the table there, and pretty soon you’re on the list as a top corrupt country.
“Nicky” is an illegal who seemed to have a pretty good job which paid more than the minimum wage. She provided proof she was legal when she got the job. She is now upset because she was fired for lying?
Who paid for those anchor babies?
Whose id did she use to get the job?
A thief and a liar who should be deported.
Poor Meg Whitman got her hand caught in the cookie jar. It is VERY hard to believe someone can work for you in your house for MANY YEARS and you not knowing the person was illegal alien. Is this the same Meg Whitman who forced many ebay sellers thoughout the years with strict guidelines and selling practices and code of ethics? What is even worse is the money spent in salary throughout all those years could have went to an AMERICAN USA CITIZEN.
http://www.RentALawyer.com
It is pretty funny that Democrats are moaning about Whitman’s illegal maid claiming that she got a notice from Social Security about the maids fake Social Security number…. but…. then locally the same evidence of illegality is OK when receiving welfare benefits.
If an employer checks the name and SSN they can get arrested for hiring an illegal.
If DSS checks the name and SSN they are to hide those facts and allow the illegal to receive dough for their Anchor Baby.
It is pretty funny conservitards would rather take shots at their liberal betters instead of admitting the blatant hypocrisy and stupidity that runs rampant throughout their own party. Petulant children, all of you.
Right wing America is a disease – liberalism and progressive thinking is the cure.
Gosh, what a surprise: Bill James posted something bigoted.
Bill:
This country as we know it was built by immigrants. Immigrants built our early railroads that opened the west. Immigrants built out early rocketry programs. Immigrants lead our nuclear bomb program. Our current military is full of immigrants.
The Hispanic immigrants who have you in your current state of panic are only the most recent in a long line of people who ignorant people in this country have been convinced were over running this country that we stole from the natives who were here when we “discovered” it.
There were the Irish, the Chinese, The Hungarians, The Italians, The Haitians, the Cubans, and, of course the black people that we brought here in chains.
Isn’t it odd that no pandering politician is building a multi billion dollar fence along the entire Canadian border. Maybe if Canada had more brown people…
Xenophobia seems to be another name for Conservative.
Meg, Meg, Meg, where do I start, you have reportedly spent $119 million of your own money to get elected Governor but you personally went out, interviewed and hire yourself a 15 hour a week maid/ housekeeper instead of hiring a service like Maid Brigade, Merry Maids, ServiceMaster Clean, talk about being a cheap bastard (or better yet clean your own house and raise your own kids). But it does not stop there, after she worked for you for nine years you would not help her in getting legalized? Wow, what a WITCH, of course I meant it with a “B”.
But your comments on holding employers accountable for hiring undocumented workers real takes the cake, I assume you exempt yourself and your husband, or will you be turning yourself in.
Meg on holding employers accountable:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4fWLHiw8zA
Meg, nine years this maid was in your house, in your house and you failed to learn this major thing about her, come on this sounds like a huge lie on your part, especially when you admit that your husband signed the notification letter.
Meg you think you can buy the election, but what puzzles many is if you real cared and loved California then why not do your civic duty and vote, seems more rhetoric than anything else. In good times we might give you a try but not in our disaster mode that we find ourselves in after that so-called outsider Independent Republican, named Arnold Schwarzenegger (sold to us by radio personalities John and Ken), ruined our state, yah we will trust another one of you liars, think not. And another thing nine years this maid was in your house, in your house and you failed to learned this major thing about her, come on this sounds like a huge lie on your part.
Ebay paid out $200,000 because Nutmeg assaulted an employee, so it’s not the first time she has mistreated an employee. Good luck winning Nutmeg, money won’t buy you admiration from the majority just from the Gay Old Party (GOP).
From B.James: “It is pretty funny that Democrats are moaning about Whitman’s illegal maid claiming that she got a notice from Social Security about the maids fake Social Security number…. but…. then locally the same evidence of illegality is OK when receiving welfare benefits.”
Bill, your comment is basically irrelevant in terms of this blog post; you don’t seem to understand the arguments being made. Democrats aren’t moaning about Whitman’s illegal maid and her ID problems — the moaning is about Whitman’s hypocrisy. There’s a big, big difference between those two things. I don’t know any progressives (which, granted, does not cover all Democrats) who care whether or not someone has an undocumented maid. The issue in Whitman’s case, again, is her hypocrisy. Get it now?
And contrary to what 24ahead wrote, Whitman has run on campaign positions that declare “no amnesty, no drivers’ licenses, secure the borders,” and – a direct quote, “prosecute illegal aliens in all of our cities” — hardly what you’d call cozying up to the Latino community, although she has opposed Arizona’s police-statish “Show Me Your Papers” Act.
And just to reiterate, beyond the issues of legality and borders and white men’s notion that this is their world, the manner in which many on the right are demonizing undocumented Latinos is just plain morally repugnant (never mind hateful, xenophobic and a waste of time).
So, if the issue is hypocrisy then Jerry Brown and his shill won’t have a problem deporting the illegal maid, right? They are for ‘securing our borders’.
Talk about hypocrisy. Ol hump’n Jerry and Gloria throw an illegal maid under the bus to get Whitman (and are now hiding her from the authorities)?
Now that it is known she is here and is illegal how long until she is found and shipped across the border?
Sure, I can understand your point about Whitman’s hypocrisy but I think you (and Jerry and Gloria) have a ends justifies the means appproach to try and garner hispainc votes.
Don’t you think the illegals (and their friends) in Calfornia have figured out what Jerry Brown did to them?
Now the choice is between someone who hired an illegal maid and refused to fire her until she had absolute proof she was an illegal or…. vote for a Democrat who claims to be for illegals while outing them for political gain.
Sort of like being for homosexual rights while outing those that are and supporting their arrest for breaking the law. Not sure this sort of approach builds must trust for ol’ Jerry but time will tell on Nov 2nd.
Either way – the maid gets deported. Even if Jerry wins he has to, otherwise he is soft on illegals.
The Republicans are so funny, when the economy is good you say let’s all celebrate “Cinco de Mayo, my brothers” but when the economy is down “it’s all your fault, you damn immigrant”. When most Americans (with Latin America roots) go to the polls this November we will remember that the GOP has gone on a nationwide rant in proposing and passing several anti-immigration legislation (that our US Courts continue to strike down) and have continue to blame the immigrant for the flat economy or worse. We will remember who stands with us and who stands against us, so trying to stop it now is somewhat funny, but go ahead, you will not change our minds.
Plus the more radical of the GOP are now attacking our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, in their crazy notion of wanting to take away rights that all of us take for granted in their misguided attempt to garner some much needed votes, they really are fools, and leading the GOP towards obscurity because they are no longer a party of ideas, just of empty suits. Your hate made you do it, in November; you will reap what you have sown. I wonder what Abraham Lincoln would say about todays GOP, he unlike the current GOP was a man of ideas.
Benito seems to think that his votes against the GOP should count. Well, if I bring in thousands of unlawful votes, his vote may become meaningless. So I think Benito would be able to draw a distinction between a legal vote, and an illegal vote.
Why then is he unable to understand the distinction between a legal immigrant, and an illegal immigrant?
He also seems startled by the fact that some are more resentful of illegal immigration during a time of high unemployment. To the contrary, I am shocked that the people put up with being jobless while others employ illegals.
Illegal immigration is ruining our legal system by causing a total disrespect for the law.