I suppose I have to be really careful right about now. This is a very delicate subject. I don’t want to appear to be using the race card, but, that’s exactly what happened with Priebus’ replacement of Steele in 2011 as RNC chair.

I considered addressing this matter back in 2011 when Michael Steele the former Republican Committee Chair was kicked to the curb by the white, elite, Republican puppet masters during a reelection process for RNC chair. However, given Priebus’ recent rants, and Steele’s continued high profile, I figured it’s still very relevant to the conversation, especially during a hotly contested presidential race.

The Republican strategy was obvious, when in January of 2009, Steele, the first African American chair of the RNC was selected as the token, I mean, the first black to head the mostly white party of obstructionists.

Barack Hussein Obama, the first African American president elected to the presidency of this country swore oath in in the same month that Steele took his position as RNC chair. The Republicans were livid after seeing their old warhorse and the Wasilla Hillbilly defeated in the 2008 election. They figured, if the Democrats can get a black man elected to run this country, by golly we’ll elect a black man to run our party. Well, kinda sorta. They were well aware that Steele was comfortable with playing second fiddle as demonstrated by his position as the first African American Lt. Governor of Maryland. He knew well how to get along with the majority white, he was polished, the talking points were spot on, hell, the only thing that hindered him was his color, but that was an asset for the Republicans in 2009, especially given the fact that they had to somehow counter Obama with someone of his own race that wouldn’t appear to be racist as he pushed the Republican talking points that often border on bigotry, racism and white privilege.

Steele actually did an amazing job for the RNC. This tidbit spells out his accomplishments while RNC chair.

Under Michael Steele’s leadership the RNC broke fundraising records in the 2009-2010 cycle by raising over $192 million; and, for the first time in U.S. history, a party that suffered losses in consecutive elections as catastrophic as Republicans did in 2006 and 2008 rebounded to win a majority in the U.S. House or Senate in the next election. Republicans won 63 House seats, the biggest pickup since 1938, and the largest gain en route to winning a majority since the 1800s. For good measure, Republicans won the greatest share of state legislative seats since 1928.

Not only did Steele do a great job as chair, he far exceeded their expectations. The RNC also failed to recognize that Steel was an effective Pitt bull raging against the Democratic Party and the newly elected president. Not only was Steele a great puppet, a great financial producer, he was great at ad lib. You would have thought that after having accomplished as much as he did, not just the unbelievable fundraising which is extremely important, after all, money is what makes politicians dance, right? But perhaps more important, was the seizing of the house in 2010 and the removal of the Republican’s arch-nemesis Nancy Pelosi.

You would have though that this guy was a shoe in for reelection as RNC party chair. However, by 2011, the Tea Party had all but hijacked the GOP. We’ve all known that the Tea Party is a primarily white movement meant to “return America to what it once was.” We all heard the shouts of “I want my America back.” It was clear that the puppet masters within the Republican party heard that call loud and clear, and besides, they were done trying to be politically correct or counter the black President with a black Chairman.

By now the conversation in America had gotten to the point where you could openly make racist statements and comments on cable news shows, and it was considered just being brazen, bold, and outspoken. If anyone dared call them racists or bigots, they would flip the conversation and point out, that if you brought up race, you must be the racist.

So the selection was obvious, a hand picked and polished white puppet from Wisconsin, With a cheesy name to boot, Reince Priebus. Priebus campaigned on change and a return to what was before Steele.

He said:

“I’m not running for Chairman because I think I’m better than anyone or because I think I have all the answers. I’m running for chairman for only one reason: I believe our country is in a time of great peril and we have to do something about it.”To turn around the RNC, Priebus said, “I will keep expenses low. I will put in strong and serious controls. We will raise the necessary funds to make sure we are successful. We will work to regain the confidence of our donor base and I will personally call our major donors to ask them to rejoin our efforts at the RNC.”

I think the “I will personally call our major donors to ask them to rejoin our efforts at the RNC”, meant, I will work closely with the Koch brothers to ensure we keep the bucks rolling in.

Priebus went on to say:

He believed the RNC is “part of” the Tea Party movement; he believed it is the Republican Party’s mission to “save our country, to save our party and to take back the White House”

That’s all she wrote! Priebus was in as RNC party chair. It was easy as that. You kick the black man to the curb, throw him under the political bus and you move on with the mission of returning America to the days of yesteryear.

Priebus has turned out to be a perfect fit for the Republican party. He’s aggressive, makes inappropriate statements, doesn’t give a damn about being racially insensitive or politically correct. He’s certainly on the warpath. His latest rant according to the National Journal is as follows:

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus attacked President Obama on Sunday, citing issues from negative campaigning to last week’s lukewarm jobs report.

“This president can’t fulfill a promise,” he said, rebutting Democrats who defended Obama’s performance on Fox News Sunday. “They live in Fantasy Land. We are going to put this dream of theirs to an end.”

Priebus called Obama “the most divisive, nasty, negative campaigner this country has ever seen,” but added that voters will likely be focused on Obama’s handling of the economy and jobs growth.

“I don’t think people are begging for another four years of this misery … with a president who acts like he’s not living on Earth,” he said.

I believe Reince Priebus is exactly what the RNC was looking for, he carries all the right qualities needed to run the Republican agenda, more importantly, he is white, and that, to the RNC contributors and the Republicans in general is one of the most important factors. Now they can get to work on electing a white president.

The great white hope!

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

It sure looked like Marco Rubio was going to be the guy that Romney picked to be on the GOP ticket for November. Romney was heavily floating the idea that Rubio might be his man, mostly based on his desire to attract the Latino vote. In turn, Rubio was floating the idea of a Dream Act that would convince the “Dreamers”, that they in turn, should convince others, that he was their savior.

Here in Arizona I heard some of the “leaders” of these Dreamers on Spanish language media outlets stating that they would support whomever gave them the Dream Act. Wow, talk about betraying the Latino community! Judas Escariot betrayed Jesus for thirty pence, I suppose the Dream Act for some of these Dreamers is their thirty pence. I mean, after all, it’s the GOP that has systematically created laws to attack not just the Dreamers, but their parents as well. It was Willard that said he would unequivocally veto the Dream Act. Yet when Romney saw an opportunity to use a “Latino” U.S. Senator to attract the Latino vote, he jumped on it like flies on a steaming pile of dung on an hot Arizona summer day.

Willard & Marco didn’t count on the fact that Obama was plotting and planning to make a move to seize the Latino vote, and in one fell swoop a series of incidents occurred that essentially assured Obama the 2012 Latino vote. It was almost as if the stars had aligned. Obama declares that the Dreamers would be able to come out of the shadows and receive a work permit that can be renewed every two years indefinitely, then SCOTUS rules on SB1070 striking most provisions as unconstitutional and allowing the show me your papers portion of the law to take effect, Obama, as if dueling with Arizona and the GOP, immediately pulls the 287g certification from Arizona’s law enforcement agencies and further states that ICE officers will not pickup undocumented Immigrants being held for suspicion of being in the country unlawfully unless they were being charged with a felony. Romney’s response? An attempt to one up President Obama by stating that it was not enough and that he would seek a longer term solution for the Dreamers.

Very few Latinos believed Romney, well, I suppose their are still those Dreamers looking for their thirty pence, but for the most part Romney is toast with the Latinos. There is less and less talk about Rubio being part of the veepstakes.

That’s not stopping Rubio though. He’s clearly still coveting that spot on the GOP ticket, and he’s making sure that the conservative folk see him. I suppose it would be hard to miss him with his new sales tactic. He’s pounding the street town by town as any self serving politician would do, selling his propaganda, I mean book, “An American Son.” What makes this book tour interesting is Rubio’s attempt to make sure you can’t miss him, he’s cruising around on a huge tour bus with his mug and his name plastered prominently on the side. It might as well say, An American Son looking to be an American Vice President.

Now that Rubio can’t bring Romney the Latino vote, I suspect Romney’s advisors will steer him towards someone who has more experience, can bring in the moderates and conservatives. Shall we say, someone, a bit more vanilla.

Hey, look at me!

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

Well it sure looks like my pro Immigration colleagues missed the boat again. As soon as I heard Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio allege that ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) was working with him on picking up the undocumented Immigrants he has been detaining, I knew there was more to the story than Arpaio was claiming.

I heard a Latino civil rights attorney on a Spanish language radio show blowing it off as just crazy rhetoric, and he further encouraged listeners to ignore the old man. He said they give him too much credit and that what he was claiming was hogwash. The cooperation between ICE and MCSO that is.

No matter how much Latino “leaders” and “activists” want to use the “just ignore Arpaio tactic”, that’s certainly not the way to deal with him. It’s best to understand the man and his tactics in order to know how to counter them or at the very least to know how to inform the unprotected Immigrant community who has zero information at their disposal and who clearly depend on their “advocates” to keep them informed. Telling the community to ignore the old man certainly is not in any way helpful to the Spanish speaking Immigrant community who utilizes radio programs and Spanish language television to get what little bits of information they can for purposes of survival. Remember Sun Tzu’s advice,
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

I had a pretty good idea how it was Arpaio was able to get ICE out to pick up the undocumented Immigrants even after President Obama had made it clear that ICE would not pick up those identified as undocumented Immigrants unless they had committed a felony.

In order to understand how Arpaio is gaming the system, you have to understand the prosecutorial tool he’s using. It’s a controversial law that was conjured up in 2005 for purposes of pursuing human traffickers. The law, A.R.S. 13-2319 is meant to target those human traffickers who make it a business to transport America’s labor force across the border and across that unforgiving desert to drop houses where they are often held for ransom until a friend or family member coughs up the additional bucks requested.

I don’t think any of us have a problem with the prosecution of human traffickers commonly referred to as “coyotes”. It’s precisely that “coyote” law, A.R.S. 13-2319 that has allowed Sheriff Joe to brag about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s cooperation with his deputies. In the last few days Arpaio has netted over 20 undocumented Immigrants and it appears all have been picked up by ICE.

Let’s take a closer look at the method in which the “Coyote” law is being misused by Arpaio and the Maricopa County Attorney’s office. In 2006 as the law came to be applied against those being smuggled as co-conspirators, all hell broke loose. Here is an excerpt from an AZbar article:

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office interpreted the new law as creating liability
for such individuals under Arizona’s conspiracy statute, A.R.S. § 13-1003. On June
9, 2006, this interpretation was upheld by the Maricopa County Superior Court after
the defendants arrested under the statute moved for dismissal under various grounds.
The court found jurisdiction and venue were proper in Maricopa County because
overt acts in furtherance of smuggling occurred there. The court found the defendants
“may be prosecuted for conspiracy to smuggling themselves” if it is proved they
provided themselves as “human cargo” and agreed to be transported as illegal aliens.

Despite testimony from one of the bill’s sponsors that A.R.S. § 13-2319 was not
intended to be applied to the aliens who were being smuggled, such exclusionary language was not included in the statute and the legislature is presumed to have
known and intended the conspiracy statute would apply to a violation of A.R.S. § 13-
2319.

As mentioned in the article, the intent of the law as written and later confirmed by one of it’s authors former state lawmaker Jonathan Paton, was not to pursue those being smuggled, but to punish those doing the smuggling.

The inappropriate use of the law was challenged in a lawsuit by Somos America Coalition and ironically ex senator and political opportunist Kyrsten Sinema was a plaintiff in that lawsuit. Yes the same “Democratic” senator who later created an anti-Immigrant law titled SB1225 in which she hypocritically utilizes A.R.S. 13-2319 as her prosecutorial tool.

So now you know, what I know. Arpaio simply has to get a Spanish speaking investigator or officer to ask these timid undocumented immigrants if they paid a coyote to be transported. By the time they are questioned, their morale is shot, they more than likely have traveled days across a desert that takes it’s tolls in lives. Perhaps they witnessed some of their group get left behind and die next to a bush in the desert, they suffered thirst, hunger and their body has been ravaged by the elements. So when asked a basic question, “did you pay a coyote to bring you here?”, they’re quick to answer, “si señor, le page a un coyote $3,000.00 para cruzarme” Which interprets into, “yes sir, I paid a human smuggler $3,000.00 to transport me. That’s all she wrote! Joe Arpaio now has enough to charge them with conspiracy to smuggle themselves which under A.R.S. 13-2319 is a class four felony. Don’t take my word for it, take a look at Joe Arpaio’s press release outlining the details as I just articulated.

So it’s a no brainer, Obama’s recent policy change indicates ICE will not pickup undocumented Immigrants from police officers in Arizona unless they are being charged with a felony. Well, given the aforementioned information, it appears ICE will be forced to cooperate with Joe and his MCSO goons, thanks to the misuse of A.R.S. 13-2319, another piece of poorly designed legislation by Arizona’s inept Republican lawmakers.

Joe Arpaio upset

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

Ever since Barack Obama took office Latinos have been pounding on his door. It seems to me that President Obama could hear them, after all they have been vocal enough. The problem was, the general feeling of dislike for Latinos by the majority. Keep in mind, the President is the President of the United States, not of just the Latino community, the gay community, the African community or of women. However, it sure seems like the groups I just mentioned were much more valued than the Latinos.

I suppose that if you’ve been depreciating something for years, it simply loses it’s value. If you bought a brand new car and over the years you allowed people to walk by and hit it with a bat, plug some buckshot into it, broke the windows and keyed it, and on top of that, from the day you bought it, you claimed it was a gas hog that cost you dearly, that it was draining your budget, it was inefficient, it smelled, it looked ugly and you just couldn’t stand it’s color, it would surely depreciate. It just wouldn’t have the value that other same model cars of a different color might have, now would it?

The same is the case with Latinos throughout the United States. Especially immigrants! After years of beating them up, defaming them, frowning at the color of their skin, calling them disease carriers, lazy, job thieves and leeches, to name a few, the Latino has been devalued.

This is akin to the 1700′s, when slave owners wanted to count their slaves in order to broaden their representation in congress. The more populous the state, the more representation in congress. They found themselves with a dilemma. These were slaves! Their white slave owners didn’t treat them or consider them to be a man. They were simply sub human beings, that if rated at all, would rate on the lowest rung of the social ladder. They were used to create profit for the wealthy white plantation owners.

I suppose I’m starting to sound a bit militant, using words like white masters and black slaves and stirring up the ugly history we all want to forget. I’m simply trying to put into perspective the reasoning behind the desire to determine the value of a “sub human.” Well, after a knock down drag out fight, congress, in order to appease the wealthy white slave owners, decided to value these slaves as 3/5 of a man, changing the dynamics of the representation these slave owners received, and allowing them to further profit financially from their black skinned property.

Fast forward to modern times and examine the much depended on immigrant labor and what many of us call the modernized slave labor force that responds in a very similar way to their white employers.

In 2010 the U.S. Census was heavily banked on by local, state and federal government entities. The census is a decennial financial windfall for state and local governments.

An astounding $340 million dollars was spent to promote the U.S. Census in 2010. Everyone tried to get a piece of the pie. The local radio and television stations were littered with ads promoting the census. More importantly, and related to this article, the Spanish language media was all over it. The ads targeting Latinos, and specifically undocumented Latinos, were trust specific. They assured the Spanish language viewer or listener that their information would be kept completely private and confidential. The modern undocumented immigrant who they were targeting and enticing to participate, has traditionally had zero trust in a local and federal government that has been part and parcel to their exploitation as this country’s labor force.

The Census Bureau used truckloads of propaganda material, like trinkets, placards, backpacks, handbags, etc., all with the U.S. Census prominently displayed. The material was given away at stores frequented by Latinos and immigrants. People love giveaways, and immigrants are not an exception.

I would venture to say that very few of these immigrants were aware of the U.S. Census’ betrayal of trust during the 1940′s census campaign involving the Japanese Americans, who by virtue of their participation were rounded up and thrown in concentration camps after the Census Bureau gave specific information as to their addresses and ethnicity to the Secret Service. Had they known this, I imagine, the census, to these modern day Spanish speaking immigrants, would have been akin to being willing participants in their own deportation process.

The hype to participate in the census reached a crescendo as the anti-immigrant crowd argued that the census should not taken into consideration “illegals” who had no right to be here. On the other hand, the pro-immigrant groups for the most part, pushed for an absolute enumeration of the undocumented community, arguing that they wanted that representation in congress, new congressional districts, and the federal funds that would be distributed upon determining the amount of immigrants, mostly Latinos that are hiding in the shadows.

The undocumented immigrant community was railroaded by their own “advocates.” They were told that their children would have better schools to attend with the money that would be given to their communities, that they would have better roads to drive on, and that they would have a better infrastructure with the additional funds. Very few of us opposed these snake oil salesmen who profited from the census as they sold the immigrant community an elixir that would not only, not work, but they wouldn’t even get a chance to sip, in most cases.

What they didn’t tell the undocumented Immigrants is that since they don’t have a drivers license, and because they run a risk in just driving on the roads, they would not benefit from better roads. Those roads could very well lead to their deportation after being stopped and asked for their papers. Not only that, if deported, their children in all likelihood would have to join them in their native country, and they certainly would not enjoy that better education they were promised. The only benefit that was received, was for the politicians and the pseudo Latino activists and pseudo Latino leaders that sought additional congressional districts and funding to be distributed on their pork barrel projects which in most cases would not even get to the average Joe, let alone the undocumented Immigrant.

I think you would agree that the 2010 U.S. Census was very much like what occurred in 1787 with the three fifths compromise. What everyone considered and considers to be an unwanted sector of the general populous is used for political and financial gain.

Enter SB1070 in the same year as the census, and you not only had an outright hatred for the “illegal” a term coined by the racist, Tea Party members and Nationalists. You had a desire to violate the rights of those who looked like they might be an “illegal.” The concept behind SB1070 was to put a band aid on a border issue by pursuing those that might appear to fit the “look” of an “illegal border crosser.” Just about every one of the state house members that voted to pass SB1070 stood up and said they didn’t think it would resolve the border issue, but, it was a start.

With SB1070 under scrutiny by the District Court of Arizona and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court, Latinos were depreciated more and more. I remember having a chat with more than one Tea Party activist that said they had no problem with people being stopped based on what they looked like, if they fit the bill. They explained it by saying, “if you aren’t here illegally, then you got nothing to worry about.” One fair haired blue eyed gentleman in his fifties said, “well, if you’re looking for oranges, you go to the orange orchard, not the apple orchard.” To me it was obvious, the violation of a U.S. Citizen’s rights by and through racial profiling was A okay with supporters of SB1070, further depreciating the Latino, documented or not.

By the time 2012 rolled around, the Republican debates were littered with attacks on Latinos, U.S. born children of undocumented parents offensively called anchor babies, and the “Dreamers”, kids brought at a young age by parents who arrived seeking to fill those jobs most of us wouldn’t dare work.

As soon as the Republican primary ended, the prevailing candidate Mitt Romney, did an about face. After taking a look at his dismal standing with the Latino community, he began floating the idea of a Dream Act. He partnered with a “Latino” and banked on Latinos having short memory syndrome. The problem with his strategy is that Marco Rubio son of a Cuban Immigrant doesn’t completely qualify as a Latino in the eyes of many Latinos. You see a Cuban and a Puerto Rican would never be in the dilemma that a Mexican, Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran etc. would be in. The wet feet, dry feet policy that the U.S. has for Cubans provides for a fast track to permanent residency and U.S. Citizenship. So as Romney struggled to sell Rubio as a Latino, and Rubio struggled to sell his fictitious Dream Act, President Barack Obama made his move.

President Obama granted a reprieve for kids who had been brought to this country by their parents at a very young age. By and through an executive order Obama made it clear, these kids would not be subject to deportation. Almost one year to the date from his change in prosecutorial discretion by and through a memorandum issued by Immigration & Customs Enforcement director John Morton, Obama lowered the boom on the Republicans.

The race was on! The Latino vote was the most desired vote. It was the game changer. All of a sudden that same sector of the community that had been devalued, kicked around, called names, and frowned upon, was a high value pawn in the political game. Without a large percentage of the Latino vote, a candidate can’t win the presidency of the United States.

Ten days later the Supreme Court rules the majority of SB1070 unconstitutional and allows the show me your papers portion to take effect. Once again, Obama comes to the rescue of the Latino and the undocumented immigrants which form an integral part of our Latino communities. Obama strips Arizona law enforcement agencies of their 287g certification rendering them helpless in trying to verify the legal status of a person who may fit the “look” of an “illegal immigrant.” Not only does Obama strip law enforcement of their 287g, he goes one step further in ordering that those determined to be unlawful Immigrants will not be picked up unless they have committed a felony. Essentially granting your average undocumented immigrant that is not a felonious criminal freedom to continue washing your cars, cleaning your houses and mowing your lawns.

So while my colleagues, the Immigrant activists complain about President Obama, it appears, it’s Obama that has done the most for Latinos and the undocumented community.

Although I don’t think our value as Latinos will bounce back overnight, I think this is certainly a start to making us whole again.

However, nothing will take away the pain that we have endured, the dirty looks, the filthy names, the inferior treatment for us and our children. As a child bussed to all white schools as part of the desegregation of America, I have been enduring this pain and abuse for many years.

A word to the wise, we Latinos don’t suffer from short memory syndrome, but as good Americans we are willing to forgive, and when we become the majority, I promise you, we will not treat you, the way you have treated us.

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

The Supreme Court has decided on SB1070 and it appears that little by little the most aggressive anti-immigrant legislation created in U.S. history is being dismantled. It was born in a laboratory called Arizona and was carefully nurtured in a bright white petri dish branded with the ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) logo and bought and paid for by the giant private prison industry.

The masterful art of taking the fear of others who don’t look like you, who talk different than you, perhaps maintain different customs, coupled with the outright racism of others, the ardent desire to preserve the white race by yet others, and profiting from that fear by cashing it into votes and laws is impressive. The concept is basic, yet Machiavellian and diabolical. You scare the hell out of the voters with fictitious talk of decapitated bodies in the Arizona desert and an alleged invasion of this country using key elected officials like Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona and ex Arizona state senate president Russell Pearce, and you end up with a terrified voter willing to cast their vote over and over for those who they think will protect them from this “invasion.” But why would these politicians be so hell bent on using the immigrant as their whipping post? Simple, they love the title and the power that comes from holding an elected position. Senator X, Legislator Y, the Honorable Z, etc. It commands respect and grants you unbelievable power, and we all know what happens when you allow power to swell your head. As Lord Acton put it, “Power corrupts, and absolute power, corrupts absolutely.”

That’s exactly what’s happened to Arizona’s politicians. The whole lot of them! After all, most of those politicians supportive of SB1070 took money from the private prison industry.

There is big business at play here. What we’re looking at is a multi-billion dollar business that is simply not going to go away. These private prisons are here to stay. It falls right in line with the privatization of our education system and our health care system. Perhaps even the social security system at the rate the Republican controlled congress is headed.

To give you an idea of the impact the private prison industry has had on the political landscape, I’ve taken a section from an AZ Central article that thoroughly explains it.

Political footprint

The nation’s largest and oldest corrections company, CCA runs more than 60 prisons and immigrant-detention centers across 19 states and the District of Columbia. It has by far the largest political footprint of the dozen or so companies that operate private prisons in the U.S.

CCA has spent about $17.6 million lobbying Congress and federal agencies over the past decade, according to records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that tracks the effect of money on U.S. politics. The agencies include the Department of Homeland Security and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, which contract with private operators such as CCA for immigration-detention centers.

Thirty of CCA’s 35 lobbyists on Capitol Hill previously worked for members of Congress or for federal agencies. Two CCA senior executives are former directors of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, including Harley Lappin, whom CCA hired in June as chief corrections officer a week after his retirement from the bureau. CCA is a major bureau contractor. Another CCA vice president, Bart VerHulst, previously worked as chief of staff for then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee.

Since 2000, the company has won $3.84 billion in federal contracts, including just under $546 million for federal contracts in Arizona, according to government records. CCA’s six prisons in Arizona hold inmates from other states, federal prisoners and immigration detainees. Its bid calls for moving out prisoners from Hawaii and California at its existing Red Rock and La Palma prisons in Eloy and moving in Arizona prisoners.

CCA lobbies heavily on the state level, employing 178 lobbyists in 32 states over the past eight years, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, a nonpartisan group that gathers lobbying and campaign-finance data.

In Arizona, the company has cultivated high-level connections. Former U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini sits on CCA’s board of directors. Perhaps the highest profile among CCA’s 22 registered lobbyists in Arizona belongs to Chuck Coughlin, president of HighGround Public Affairs Consultants and a senior political adviser to Gov. Jan Brewer. Besides CCA, HighGround’s 23 lobbying clients include Maricopa County and Salt River Project.

Coughlin served as chairman of Brewer’s transition team when she took office in 2009 and as her campaign manager in 2010. He also has managed election campaigns for Senate President Russell Pearce.

Other heavy hitters with ties to CCA include Paul Senseman, a lobbyist with Policy Development Group, who served until last fall as Brewer’s spokesman and whose wife, Kathryn Senseman, lobbied for that group while he worked for Brewer; and Bradley Regens, who joined CCA in 2007 after nine years as an Arizona legislative staffer, including two years as director of fiscal policy for the state House of Representatives.

Brewer has advocated for privatizing Arizona prisons. But even other privatization supporters say her CCA connections raise red flags.

“I’ve questioned Brewer’s choice of staff in the past for the same reason; she has a lot of contract lobbyists, and I have a problem with that,” said Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City. “At the very least it gives the public the appearance that these companies have too much influence, and you have to wonder what’s going on when they leave Brewer’s office and go right back into lobbying.”

Brewer’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Since 2003, CCA employees and affiliates have given nearly $2 million in campaign contributions to state-level candidates and ballot issues across the U.S.

In Arizona, CCA associates and its political-action committee have reported giving about $35,000 in political donations over the past decade to Brewer, Pearce, former House Speaker Kirk Adams, House Speaker Andy Tobin and many others. A big chunk of that, $11,520, was given for last year’s election campaigns.

Arizona lobbying firms that represent CCA made about $35,000 in political contributions in the 2010 election cycle. Whatever influence contributions may bring, they are wielded on behalf of many clients.

Given the recent Supreme Court decision on SB1070, President Obama’s executive order regarding the Dreamers, The fact that ICE pulled the 287g certification from 7 law enforcement agencies, including the one previously granted to the Department of Public Safety, and to add insult to injury, ICE made it very clear that they would not pickup anyone suspected of being in the country unlawfully unless they had committed a felony.

It’s obvious that the private prison industry is being dealt a serious financial blow. The less undocumented immigrants captured and detained in CCA’s prisons, means a smaller invoice that can be tendered to the Feds for incarceration of individuals who the states feel is the Feds responsibility. This is shocking to me given the amount they spend on lobbyist. Does this then come down to a war behind the scenes that hasn’t been exposed by the media? The Obama administration has to be aware that they are dealing the private prison industry a big financial hit. The private prison industry has to have voiced their opposition to this administration’s recent immigration policy, and it’s applications.

The question remains, how will CCA and Geo Group, the two largest private prison industry purveyors explain the dramatic loss in revenue to their investors? Will CCA and Geo Group take advantage of Citizens United and get behind Romney with substantial backing for the Super PACS in the hopes that a President Romney would reverse these executive orders?

Allow me to float an idea that the general populous should be very concerned about. These private prisons that have traditionally held what many call “illegal aliens”, may soon be holding your brother, your sister or your neighbor. We could soon see harsher penalties for crimes committed, longer prison sentences, and, there’s a great likelihood that those sentences will be carried out in private prisons. To quote the AZ Central story, “CCA lobbies heavily on the state level, employing 178 lobbyists in 32 states over the past eight years.” I ask, what do you think they’re going to do with an army of lobbyists when the amount of immigrants they have been incarcerating diminishes? It’s obvious that state legislatures will be lobbied for specific laws with harsher penalties creating a new breed of prisoner.

I don’t think CCA and Geo Group, really care about the color of your skin, they just care about filling their jail cells for profit.

I imagine there’s a lot of disappointed investors, legislators, racists, xenophobes, white supremacists. They all had their personal reason for supporting SB1070, and they all worked in tandem to ensure it’s preservation, but in one fell swoop on June 25, 2012 they all took a serious hit from SCOTUS and the Obama administration.

Private Prison Industry Giant

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

I just want to point out that Barack Obama’s executive order regarding the Dreamers was the most politically astute move I have seen to date. President Obama not only did what many wanted, he was politically astute in doing so. I don’t think anyone would argue that it was done for political reasons, although I must also add that he had from the very beginning said he supported the Dream Act, which would also lend itself to the idea that he did it because it was the right thing to do.

However, here enters the astuteness of the move, he not only forced the Republican’s hand on the immigration issue, he has Romney talking “long term solution” for the Dreamers. This, after Romney said he would veto the Dream Act if he were the sitting President.

The Republicans have been trying to find a way to spin this as a negative, but they won’t dare say they would repeal the order recently granted by President Obama, they know that to say so, would surely be the defeat of Romney and would leave them scarred for a decade to come.

So, the Dreamers got what they and what many of us wanted, a relief for youngsters brought here at a very young age who have kept their nose clean and have managed to weave themselves into the fabric of this great country. Meanwhile the President got the dialog on the table in a bold move to give relief to Immigrant children and with a very promising future for their parents.

This President and his advisors are consummate professionals and astute politicians. It doesn’t hurt that President Obama is a Harvard graduate and that he grew up poor and as a commoner. This allows him to feel what we feel and relate to things as we relate to them.

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana Arizona. Carlos Galindo is a founding member and President of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

Jan Brewer seems poised and ready to strike once the Supreme Court renders it’s decision regarding SB1070. Brewer just issued an executive order directing the AZPOST (Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board) to issue material previously given to officers enabling them to determine who might be in the country legally.

AZPOST, the agency that oversees police officers in Arizona was commenced 44 years ago under a Republican administration and according to their website their purpose in part is as follows:

The Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board was created by an act of the 28th Arizona legislature on July 1, 1968 as the Arizona Law Enforcement Officer Advisory Council. The name was officially changed to its present form on July 17, 1994.

The Board was originally created to address the need for minimum peace officer selection, recruitment, retention and training standards, and to provide curriculum and standards for all certified law enforcement training facilities. The Board was also vested with the responsibility of administering the Peace Officer Training Fund.

So now AZPOST’s job is to determine what an “illegal looks like”. Well at least that’s what Jan Brewer, Arizona’s illustrious governor thinks their job is. While signing SB1070, Brewer was asked by a reporter what she thought an “illegal immigrant” looked like. Brewer stuttered as she struggled to answer the very basic question this law hinges on. After all, if you’re signing a law into effect that is meant to be used to chase down and prosecute undocumented immigrants, you should have a good grasp on what the person you’re targeting looks like.

It’s obvious that Jan Brewer never considered what an “illegal immigrant” looks like, just as she didn’t consider the repercussions that signing this law into effect would create. Most importantly the loss of life it caused in the case of Juan Varela who was shot by his neighbor Gary Thomas Kelley just two weeks after the signing of SB1070 and a concealed weapon law. Kelley approached Varela asking him if he was on his way to, or returning from, a protest against SB1070. When Varela, a fifth generation American Citizen told him to leave him alone, Kelley pulled the concealed weapon from his waistband and brandished it while calling Varela a wetback and telling him to go back to Mexico. Kelley, viciously, and in a criminal act of hate, took Varela’s life in front of Varela’s seventy eight year old mother and his brother.

The effect of SB1070 on the State of Arizona has been great and diverse, from a mass exodus of lawful immigrants fearing harassment based on their prominent indigenous features, to the loss of jobs based on large businesses’ refusal to set up shop in Arizona because of the hostile and polarized environment.

Jan Brewer did what was politically expedient and fruitful for her flailing political career. Brewer was not concerned about how Arizonan’s might be affected, or to what extent they might take this law into their own hands.

As Brewer called Arizona’s traditional immigrant migration, an invasion, as she fabricated stories of decapitated bodies and exclaimed, “it’s out of control, it’s simply out of control”, border militia’s like J.T. Ready’s U.S. Border Guard were formed, and a get him, he’s brown, mentality prevailed. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve been told to go back to Mexico, even though I’m a light skinned Mexican Immigrant and a naturalized citizen who speaks perfect English.

Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson on Tuesday said, “The governor is optimistic that the heart of SB 1070 will be upheld and implemented,” he went on to say, “The governor thought this was an appropriate time to revisit the issue and make sure Arizona law enforcement is as prepared as possible for partial or full implementation of the law.”

So as we await the Supreme Court decision, AZPOST prepares to issue updated manuals on what an “illegal immigrant looks like” in order to facilitate police officers in determining who they should stop while driving brown.

There is of course someone else that’s preparing for the onslaught of immigrant arrests. The detention officers who work in the private prison industry who make certain that those determined to be “illegal immigrants” are stuffed into cells like sardines in a can, ensuring that the private prison industry gets the maximum bang for their buck, after all they invested a great deal of money in these local politician’s political campaigns to ensure they had the “right” people in place. That of course includes Governor Brewer’s right hand man, top advisor Chuck Coughlin, the equivalent to George Bush’s Karl Rove aka “The Architect”.

Coughlin is a lobbyist for CCA (Corrections Corporation of America), CCA in turn is a giant in the private prison industry and a specialist in detention of brown skinned folks. The influence that Coughlin has on Brewer is astounding. On his own website, “High Ground Public Affairs”, Coughlin brags about the influence he has had in putting the right people in place within the Brewer administration.

Coughlin’s bio states:

Coughlin was asked to serve by then-Secretary of State Jan Brewer as the Chairman of her Transition Team when she became Governor in 2009. As the Transition Team Chairman, Coughlin assembled a diverse team of business and community leaders who recommended to the Governor her executive management team, senior policy positions, cabinet recommendations and coordinated her swearing in ceremonies. Coughlin chaired the search committee which recommended the succession of Secretary of State Ken Bennett into the role left vacant by Brewer’s ascension to the office of Governor.

The Supreme Court decision could come as early as Monday, and as the immigrant community prepares for the onslaught, Brewer’s mouth and arms move about barking and signing executive orders, while Coughlin and the private prison industry pull her strings. Why does this remind me of the song from the sixties, “I’m your puppet.”

Carlos Galindo talking to white protester during SB1070 protests

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is President & Founder of The Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, a non-profit corporation in good standing.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

I think this is a great photo. Many of you have lost sight of the fact that we not only have a Black president with a wonderful wife, and gorgeous children that clearly represent the true fabric of America, but they are also our first family. We are living historic times! If you were able to go back in time and show this picture to Americans from a previous era, citing, that this is the first family, they would laugh at you. Given all the racism, we have come a long ways, yet, we have so much more to do!

The first family

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

It’s disgusting to see the Republicans in Arizona still using smoke screens to confuse the uninformed and primarily conservative voters. This years legislative session includes legislative bills that are meant to pursue, or single out undocumented Immigrants who have made Arizona their place of abode.

Amongst the bills are ones that want undocumented children counted in the classrooms and a report generated that would go to the senate president and the governor as well as the chairman of the appropriations committee, who as many of us know is Don Shooter (R) Mesa, who donned a sombrero, a sarape and a half-filled bottle of tequila on the first day of the special session last year, making a mockery of the special session that was meant to direct legislators to the request for extension of unemployment benefits for Arizonans. Given the unemployment rate in Yuma Arizona, Senator Shooter should have not only taken his job serious, but taking into consideration the Mexican population in his district and the fact that he is pro SB1070, this was a slap in the face to not just Mexicans in his district, but Mexicans in Arizona. When confronted with his inappropriate behavior, shooter responded “Anybody who knows me, knows I’m a cutup, a jokester, but I also play hard and I work hard” Well, I’ll be, that certainly isn’t behavior conducive with what then senate president Russell Pearce called, “maintaining decorum within the senate building.”

Another example of irresponsible behavior from Arizona’s failed leadership is that of Frank Antenori (R) Tucson. As women prayed at a vigil outside the senate building, Antenori, who is currently running for congress, accompanied by senate majority leader Andy Biggs (R) Gilbert, stood inside the senate building, door open, body half way out, and with bullhorn in hand, turned the siren on while pointing the bullhorn at the women in prayer, later screaming through the bullhorn, “how do you like it?”

This irresponsible and childish behavior on behalf of Arizona legislators and our governor who claims to be part of Arizona’s “leadership”, is not uncommon. Many of us saw the recent images that made their way around the world with our inept governor wagging her finger dangerously close to President Obama’s face while reprimanding him for questioning distorted facts within her book.

I could go on and on about the insensitive comments like those of Lori Klein (R) Anthem who yelled “go back to Mexico”, to voters protesting in front of the senate building, but let’s move on and take a look at Arizona’s failed leadership from an incontestable series of facts.

Rather than using their creativity to conjure up laws that promote attrition of Arizona’s Latino and Immigrant community, Arizona’s legislature and it’s governor should be focused on attracting corporations that can bring jobs to Arizona. They should be finding a way to allow small businesses to thrive in Arizona which would stimulate the economy.

Arizona’s “leadership” has many years ago lost their way. They compromised any good intent they may have originally had as legislators for political gain. They have been much more interested in their reelection than reinforcing Arizona’s economy. The creation of unfunded mandates is one clear example of not only their hypocrisy, but their irresponsibility in legislating for Arizona.

Arizona’s lawmakers rant and rave about the cost of Immigrants to Arizona, yet any law created to date, meant to be used as an attrition tool, has been an unfunded mandate.

I interviewed Sheriff Ralph Ogden (R) Yuma, he generated a report many years before the passing of SB1070 that used specific numbers to explain the cost involved with trying to implement an SB1070 type law in his county. Taking his costs from thousands to millions based on the need to incarcerate, prosecute, and further incarcerate post conviction, and that’s only for a misdemeanor charge. Utilizing mandates within SB1070 a second arrest for unlawful presence would require felonious charges therefore creating an exorbitant amount in to the hundreds of millions to incarcerate, adjudicate and subsequently imprison these immigrants whose original intent in Arizona was simply to fill those much needed low skilled labor jobs.

Where is the hypocrisy you may ask? It’s clear that if you preface the “do you support SB1070″ question with, do you consider yourself a fiscal conservative, time, and time again, these legislators and most “conservative” Arizonans will quickly confirm both. Yet, if you follow up with the fact that SB1070 is an unfunded mandate, their blanket response is one that lends credence to the belief that these are racists whose only intent is to eliminate people who come from a cultural background that they simply cannot accept as equals.

The average Republican and legislator in Arizona will consistently respond by saying, “I don’t care what it costs, we just have to get rid of the “illegals” in Arizona.” Fiscal conservative? I truly doubt that! Multiply the “Yuma County factor” by fifteen counties in Arizona and you have a financial dilemma like one never before seen in Arizona.

Now you may be quick to spit out the usual conservative rhetoric or repeat the well known Arizona Republican mantra that was for years promoted by the now disgraced Russell Pearce. “It costs millions to medicate, educate and incarcerate illegals.” If that was even remotely true, consider the costs added from an unfunded state mandate.

There is absolutely no doubt, and as I previously pointed out, there is no refute to the argument that Arizona’s politicians are not interested in making Arizona a more sound state, but in fact are more interested in performing political stunts that will cause their reelection time and again at the expense of a deeply divided and broke Arizona.

I recently became aware of a “Recall Jan Brewer” campaign that was launched by a group of activists that are looking for a change in Arizona. Unfortunately, I know that a recall of Jan Brewer is an uphill battle, especially since you’re looking at a statewide movement that would need thousands of volunteers and hundreds of thousands of dollars to pull off. Believe me, the recall Pearce effort was a cake walk compared to what would be required to recall Arizona’s inept and damning governor, Janice K. Brewer. I wish them well, at least they’re doing something other than complaining.

Given Arizona’s apathetic voters and failed leadership on both the right and the left, perhaps Arizona has what they deserve. The way I see it, most of the legislature and the governor should all be recalled, yes even most on the left who utilize the pro immigrant topic to get reelected, yet lack the political mountain oysters to propose and push for sweeping changes.

Arizona's House of Horrors

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

Every day I return home from the daily grind to turn on the television and watch my recorded programs. The DVR has become an intimate friend who shares moments with me I may otherwise miss, and that might otherwise relegate me to searching through the Internet to capture tidbits of what I am looking for amongst the hundreds of thousands of items that pop up when I use a keyword search phrase.

I am sure that the hottest search word this past week is CPAC or Conservative Political Action Conference as it is otherwise known.

A tidbit about CPAC:

The conference was founded in 1973 by the American Conservative Union and Young Americans for Freedom as a small gathering of dedicated conservatives. Over the years it has grown to thousands of attendees annually. Roughly half of those in attendance in the past few years have been college-aged.

Speakers have included Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Pat Buchanan, Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tony Snow, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Allen West, Michele Bachmann, and other conservative public figures. Before, during, and after his presidency, Ronald Reagan spoke at CPAC a total of 12 times. In his 1985 speech, he referred to CPAC as his “opportunity to dance with the one that brung ya”, referring to CPAC having been a contributing factor to his political success.

CPAC has featured “groups at odds with conservative orthodoxy in years past—including the American Civil Liberties Union,” and, more recently, the gay Republican group GOProud, which has attracted major controversy.

Okay, enough of the Wikipedia crap! Let’s get to the nuts of this blog. First of all, if the damn conference couldn’t already be appropriately defined as a boatload of extremist Republicans meeting once a year to teach their hypocritical followers how to spin the their lies, it certainly can be defined in that manner this year. This year, more than ever, CPAC has gone completely extremist and anti-Obama.

As if that wasn’t bad enough the contraceptive controversy surfaced just as CPAC launched it’s misinformation conference. Boy howdy, they grabbed this one by the horns and they been riding it for all it’s worth. Some of the titles on the right wing blogosphere are “Catholic Bishops: Obama‘s Contraception Mandate Change “Unacceptable”, “Limbaugh on So-Called HHS ‘Accommodation’: There‘s no ’Compromise,‘ It’s all BS!”, “Pastor Rick Warren: “I’d Go to Jail Rather Than Cave to Contraceptive Mandate”, “Gloves Off: Sen. Rand Paul Blasts HHS Mandate as “Authoritarian” & “Totalitarian.” Well, you get the drift.

Those titles are like red meat for the right, of which there are no longer what could be considered “reasonable Republicans” if there was ever such a thing, but simply put, these are extremists who’d rather see this country divided and failed, rather than allow a successful presidency under a black president.

As they tried their best to spin the contraceptive controversy into a wedge issue, successfully getting even some Democrats to criticize the president, The 2012 candidate and sitting president Barack Hussein Obama (yes I used his middle name) did what he always does, he stood back, observed the mayhem and effectively took the wind out of their sails by modifying his mandate to accommodate the religious organizations that care less about their flock than their supposed “religious principles.”

We are into day three of CPAC and the stink emitting from the conference is intolerable. I can smell it all the way here to Arizona. It’s so bad, it’s almost overshadowing the stink coming from the Arizona State legislature. Let me clarify, I said almost, since the Arizona State Legislature is putrid with hate and rancor towards it’s underprivileged, Latinos, Immigrants, women and children.

The speakers at CPAC are as classic as the previous years, one tries to top the other, until I’m sure one of them will go so far overboard, as they always do, that everyone will act offended and supposedly repudiate the offensive rhetoric as they giggle amongst themselves at their mixers or in their hotel rooms while their wives down their contraceptives and the husband makes a pass at the housekeeper that enters the room to turn down their bed covers.

Alas, observe the Republican creature in his natural environment, it’s called CPAC.

Something stinks to high heaven

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed col