John Harris/The Politico offers sham immigration "debate" ("Dear 44: Ideas for the next president")

The Politico is running a series called "Dear 44: Ideas for the next president" (politico.com/dear44) featuring two people on "different" sides debating various issues and offering advice for the next president. The Politico's John Harris offers an introduction to the series at politico.com/news/stories/0608/11113.html and has background on the two "sides" in the running debate.

The topic this week is immigration.

On one "side" is Randel Johnson of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

On the other "side" is Daniel Restrepo of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

On the American side, well, there's no one around to present the views of the great majority of Americans and to present a case that's in the U.S.'s best interests, because The Politico is running a sham debate with both "sides" supporting the same basic thing: "comprehensive immigration reform", aka amnesty. [1]

This is a stock trick employed by those who want to profit from illegal and/or massive immigration: conduct sham "debates" with just one side. For past examples, see the Politico presidential debate as well as the PBS Newshour's treatment of this issue.

[1] From the USCofC (politico.com/news/stories/0708/11690.html):

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports a comprehensive immigration reform plan with the following components: increased border security; an improved verification system that is fast, accurate, and reliable for determining whether an employee is truly authorized to work in the United States; a new temporary worker program that allows employers to recruit workers from abroad when they cannot find U.S. workers; and, under certain strict qualification criteria, a reasonable pathway to legal status for undocumented workers presently in the United States.

From CAP (politico.com/news/stories/0708/11683.html):

Any such proposal must require illegal immigrants to become legal. It is unacceptable to have 12 million or more people living in the shadows of society. And it is impractical to try to drive them out of the country through deportation. The president must work with Congress to establish mechanisms that require the undocumented to pay back taxes, learn English, pass criminal background checks and get to the back of the line for citizenship as keys to legal status.

Aside from minor details, those two positions are identical.

Comments

Political discourse just like the former Soviet Union! Yay!