Lou Dobbs Resigns from CNN: Could His Harsh Immigration Rhetoric be to Blame?

A couple of weeks ago, CNN played a four-hour special called "Latino in America."

By 2050, the U.S. Latino population is expected to nearly triple. CNN's Soledad O'Brien explores how Latinos are reshaping our communities and culture and forcing a nation of immigrants to rediscover what it means to be an American.

This documentary helped fuel a cry from activists, calling on CNN to fire its well-known anchor, Lou Dobbs for his fiery anti-immigration rhetoric.

An array of minorities held small protests in New York and other cities on Wednesday, the first night of CNN’s presentation. They are trying to highlight what they say are years of lies about immigration by Mr. Dobbs, who anchors the 7 p.m. hour on CNN.

Critics claimed that it is hypocritical for CNN to "woo Hispanic viewers with a prime-time documentary," while at the same time giving Lou Dobbs his own nightly show to rant about his exaggerated, myth-based views on immigration.

Well it looks like the grassroots effort may have worked. Lou Dobbs announced his resignation from CNN last night.

The surprise announcement by Dobbs, whose fervent opposition to illegal immigration has come to define his career, stunned most staffers at the network he helped launch in 1980.

Perhaps Dobbs realized that his harsh immigration rhetoric was out of touch with today's GOP!

Comments

If this is the position of the Texas GOP Vote, I am very confused. Mr. Dobbs is articulate and respected in his own right, you seem to be marginalizing him for being Politically Incorrect, is this really your position?

If it is, then you have really faked me out along with bunch of others.

Please reveal who writes this, what is the hidden agenda?

Personally, I think the "Latinos In America" show was so slanted I stopped watching it; the producers of that program have an agenda too.

Whose interest are you espousing? 

Our bloggers are listed on the right hand side of the page.

A large part of the reason that the GOP has failed to capture a substantial majority of elected positions in recent years is due in part to the shifting demographics in the United States and inflammatory rhetoric that has driven our friends and neighbors into the arms of the Democrats.

Our interest is the future of the Texas Republican party. Our agenda is to restore, renew, and reunite the GOP.

You can view Texas GOP Vote's view on immigration here: http://texasgopvote.com/immigration

 

Yes, Sam, we are taking this position and we think all GOP types should also. Dobbs was let go for using harsh rhetoric. More than that, he was often factually incorrect, deliberately so, and also demonstrated his bias and his bigotry motivated agenda. Despite your assertion to the contrary, his conduct and those of a vocal minority in the party have divided the party, caused us to loose the last election, and put a Neo Communist in.

Let's be certain on one thing. The GOP platform does not contain Isolationism. Conservatism is NOT Isolationism either. Sam, you should dismiss the bigotry driven non-sense you've been feed on Facebook, CNN and Fox News for the past several years. Isolationism is a part of Libertarianism not conservatism and I object

When I pointed all this out more than six months ago, persons with similar sentiments as yours called me crazy and said I had not done my research. But now, they “have come out of the woodwork” so to speak and now dominate the “Tea parties” and are hard at work trying to convince GOP types that libertarianism is the real conservatism. It’s not. Their agenda is a loser and that is a fact. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something. Don’t buy it.

When you say, "WE" are you speaking for the entire Texas GOP Vote bloggers or just yourself? Just you, I am sure.

You claim Libertarianism has infiltrated the GOP...in a two party system, where would you rather they go?
Under your premise, the election was lost because of the "Latino" vote. I disagree with that premise. The vote was lost because of a tired message and weak candidate. I stand with the idea that you (GOP) never had the Latino vote. Look at the numbers, my Hispanic brothers and sisters do not exercise their right to vote in large numbers anyway. How many stayed home? If they did vote, for whom would they vote? Probably not the GOP. Why? They are either not interested or do not feel their vote counts or worst yet they choose to be uninformed, and frankly, for the last group, I’d rather they didn’t show up anyway, because they dilute my vote.

Jokingly, you should concentrate on lining up free food at the polling locations and perhaps some beer to entice them to come to the polls. This would be a better approach...albeit not legal ...but c'mon...to say the rhetoric drove them away is shallow and a waste of effort. Stop looking backwards, look to the future. We don't have much time.

Nothing else seems to have worked yet. Let us try a novel approach. How about teaching the non –citizens  the importance of becoming American Citizens and providing citizenship classes free to them, for the illegals would could provide a outreach or advocacy group to guide them to begin the immigration process. This would give us a platform to work from and better use of our time.

Once we have earned their respect and have lowered their fears we could also teach, how their votes work and the small numbers needed to effect change they might be more inclined to get involved. 

When I worked as a consultant, I learned that by letting people discover for themselves the error of their ways was a much more powerful tool to motivate change than me preaching my way. Of course, I had to guide them to this point, because they cannot see it for themselves, it requires a little massaging. If you only preach Pro-Life, Pro-defense, Pro-Capitalism to this group you will loose them again, it doesn’t resonate with them. Giving them the power to effect change is explosive. The truth hurts…but is real! If Pro-Life was the magic bullet, then we would have them already and we do not!

Below is the Mission of the Tea Party:

I do not see anything here that reflects the things you refer to, regarding the Tea Party rhetoric, Lauro.

Regards

The Woodlands Tea Party Patriots Core Values and Mission Statement<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Mission Statement

Our mission is to organize, educate, and inform our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our core values. We will unify and exercise through all legal means available to us, our power to effect the election of local, state, and federal candidates who espouse our core values.

Principles of the Tea Party Patriots

 The Tea Party Patriots is a non-partisan grassroots organization of individuals united by our core values derived from the Constitution of the United States of America, the Bill Of Rights, the Federalist Papers, and the Declaration of Independence.

CORE VALUE: Uphold the Constitution

The core values of Tea Party Patriots are the same values upon which the United States of America was founded and are rooted in our belief in Natural Law. They derive from a belief in free will, the primacy of individual responsibility. We will uphold and follow the original intent of the Constitution of the United States.

CORE VALUE: Free Markets

A free market is the economic consequence of personal liberty. The founders believed that personal and economic freedom were indivisible, as do we. Our current government's interference distorts the free market and inhibits the pursuit of individual and economic liberty; therefore, we demand limited government.

CORE VALUE: Limited Government

We regard the Constitution of the United States to be the supreme law of the land. We believe that it is possible to know the original intent of the government our founders set forth, and stand in support of that intent like the founders, we support states'rights for those powers not expressly stated in the Constitution. As the government is of the people, by the people and for the people, in all other matters we support the personal liberty of the individual, within the rule of law.

CORE VALUE: Fiscal Responsibility

A limited government, designed to protect the blessings of liberty, must be fiscally responsible. Our current governments' actions have resulted in onerous burdens of taxation. This increasing taxation unjustly restricts the very liberty limited government is designed to protect and abrogates the rights the Constitution is designed to secure. In addition, the increasing national debt is a grave threat to our national sovereignty. We therefore demand from our governments: fiscal responsibility, a plan of reduced spending, and balanced budgets without the creation of further debt.

Political Action

We, the people of the Tea Party Patriots, will take political action to secure a government that is constitutionally limited, and will actively oppose all government officials, elected or appointed, that violate their oath of office. To that end, we are committed to work with any party or group of individuals who are in support of our core values, thereby leaving social issues to be decided at the state or local level as the Constitution intends. We are not in support of, or supported by, any political party. We will not be influenced by any special interest. We will accept nothing less than a government that operates under the strict limitations contained in our Constitution, which best serves and protects its citizen's liberty.

Our Philosophy

 We believe that social issues are best decided at the state and local levels. We recognize and support the strength of grassroots organization powered by activism and civic responsibility at a local level. We hold that the United States is a Republic conceived by its architects as a nation whose people were granted "unalienable rights" by our Creator. Chiefly among these are the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Tea Party Patriots stand with our Founding Fathers, as heirs to the republic, to claim our rights and duties, which preserve their legacy and our own. We hold, as did the Founders, that there exists an inherent benefit to our country when private property and prosperity is secured by Natural Law and the rights of the individual.

_____________________________________________________________

Thanks again for taking the substantial time and effort required for such a lengthy and well considered response. I am grateful for your comments additionally because you echo the thoughts of several influential but not necessarily mainstream members of the GOP community. In effect you exposed their thinking and prove my points very well.

First, let me thank you for reprinting the Woodlands area Tea Party Patriots platform which was irrelevant to our conversation because I did not say the Tea Parties were Libertarians but that they were full of libertarian types according to several persons who have attended functions recently.

Thank you also for admitting that libertarian types have actually infiltrated the GOP as I have alleged for the last several months. When I first did so, I was called an idiot and various uncomplimentary types of liberal. Yet it seems that I was correct. Furthermore, America does not have a two party system and the Libertarian party is well organized and has a well articulated platform and as I said in early October, 2009, the libertarian types can go there if they are unhappy with the GOP.

In the next paragraph you said, “I stand with the idea that you (GOP) never had the Latino vote. Look at the numbers, my Hispanic brothers and sisters do not exercise their right to vote in large numbers anyway.” That’s very powerful and I’m glad you said it, rather, admitted to it, as it also echoes the thoughts of other powerful voices who are also not mainstream GOP types but arrogantly think they are. Here’s my analysis of what you have said.

There is an axiom, “If you proceed from a false assumption and you proceed logically, you will invariably arrive at an erroneous conclusion.” You ignored the facts and assume that the GOP never had the Latino vote when survey after survey clearly show that in 2004 that George W. Bush and the GOP enjoyed a majority of Latino voters. Then you said that they (Latinos) are uniformed and would prefer they stay home and not “dilute my vote.” Thus, you admit that you don’t want the Latino vote and you don’t care for Latinos in general suggesting that they are “not interested or ….choose to be uninformed…” Thus, you suggest that Latinos are both apathetic and ignorant. I object to all these assertions.

I could stop there because you’ve said enough but the uglier side of this conversation, not just between you and me, but among the Republican voters and the verbose and bellicose radio voices arrogantly preaching the “new conservatism” which isn’t conservatism but isolationism and a loosing agenda for us all. Here goes.

You said, “Jokingly, you should concentrate on lining up free food at the polling locations and perhaps some beer to entice them to come to the polls.” Do I really have to analyze this suggestion to expose its ugliness for everyone? I hope not. Then, we have, “to say the rhetoric drove them away is shallow and a waste of effort.” Let’s try this on for size, “Round them all up and send ‘em back to Mexico!” “Maybe you don’t like him because he spoke only in English.” “They’re all criminals anyway…they’re ruining our schools, destroying our culture and they bring diseases.” You even admit that rhetoric has insulted and frightened by saying, “Once we have earned their respect and have lowered their fears…” These, my friend, are just some of the comments I have read over the months on Face book and have heard in the media. Does that not insult you also? I’m Mexican American too and if you insult my relations as though they are criminals and sub-human, then you insult me also, because while my nationality is one thing, my heritage is another and immutable.

Lastly, true to the libertarian agenda to draw the GOP from the Pro-Life agenda, you assert that it is not a “magic bullet.” On my radio show, I read article after article regarding the Pro-Life issues and how it affects the very center of American political discourse. Secondly, you suggest it is not an important issue for Latinos and I simply dispute that by telling you that Pro-Life issues are important to Catholics and most other devout Protestant groups in this nation. The vast majority of Latinos in America are Catholic and are the fastest growing ethnicity among American Catholics. So, if you can get the Catholic vote then you can have the Latino vote. Even our good friend Barry knows this. Why don’t you?

The good news here is that neither you and the voices you have subscribed to for some time now do not represent the core values of most Republicans nor the party platform which, despite your assertions to the contrary, are Pro-Life and not pro-isolationism. You are correct about one thing though, time is very short and if we are to have success we must honestly look at our mistakes, correct them and then move forward. You would have bull our way through as though we never failed. We did and rhetoric like yours, ugly and scary, caused it. You have proved it quite well.

TexasGOPVote
 

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