Source: Reuters/MyWay.com
Monday, millions took to the street again in a national day of protest.
The march was on as hundreds of thousands of immigrants expressed their discontent through powerful protests aimed at getting the attention of those on the Hill.
Their message and point: they don't want to be criminalized, and also, they want the same rights as every American.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters marched in U.S. cities from Boston to Los Angeles on Monday, waving American flags and demanding their rights in a powerful show of discontent.
The national day of protest, the most widespread in a series of rallies that some have compared to the 1960s civil rights movement, was provoked by legislation in Congress that would turn millions of illegal immigrants into felons and fence off sections of the U.S. border with Mexico.
"You are never free until you are legal. I came to get a better life. Everyone deserves the same," said Denise Jules, 68, of Haiti, who held a sign at a rally in New York saying, "Liberty and justice for all."
Organized by a loose coalition of mostly Hispanic groups, the estimated 11.5-12 million illegal immigrants working in the shadows of the world's largest economy have found their political voice in recent months.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) makes a strong point comparing these protests to those of the 1960s which were centered around civil rights. This guy is right on key when not too boozed up.
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, the leading liberal voice in Congress, likened the recent protests that have swept the country to the drive for civil rights by black Americans a half century ago.
"Dr Martin Luther King Jr. called on the nation to let freedom ring," Kennedy told the Washington rally.
"It is time for Americans to lift their voices once again -- this time in pride for our immigrant past and in support of our immigrant future.
Kennedy earlier told Reuters in an interview that House Republicans had touched a "very raw nerve" with the bill and predicted the divided Congress would eventually revamp immigration laws.
Susan Wysoki, spokeswoman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform shows the classic "tunnel vision" that many hardcore conservative Republicans have on this issue.
Breaking out a major league case of GOP-proud bigottry and racism in 3...2...1.
The protests were greeted with dismay by critics.
"They are demanding that they be given rights U.S. citizens have when their first act was to break the law by coming into this country illegally," said Susan Wysoki, spokeswoman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Houston television reported that flyers had been distributed in the industrial suburb of Pasadena urging people to burn down the homes of illegal immigrants.
This is an issue that just isn't going away.
The Republicans are turning on each other in droves. It's a hate-filled soundbyte spree with certain veteran party members going as far to threaten other party members.
This is a nice situation to be in if you are the Dems. Sit on the sidelines and watch as the GOP tears itself apart. Don't waste any advertising revenues, and there's no need to gear up the spin machine. Just grab a box of popcorn, and take your front seats in a political battle that is going to get down and dirty before the dust settles.
Loosing voting blocks:
*The African-American vote is gone again. We can thank the Hurricane Katrina fiasco for that.
*The Hispanic vote is all but lost. Hispanic voters, especially those who send money home to families who are poor in Mexico will turn out to vote against the GOP by the millions come November.
*The GOP is still pandering to the extreme right while alienating the core of its support. True conservative Republicans are beyond disgusted at the failure in current leadership, and the fact they are being all but ignored on issues.
If the GOP leans to the fundies, 40% of the voters will stay at home.
If the GOP leans to the core of its party, then the fundies stay away from the polls.
The nice thing about this dilemma is that the GOP can't expect to win by appeasing both sides. It's a really nice and convenient "catch-22," and the Dems have everything to gain while the Republicans have everything to lose.
With the GOP not having a central leader and no central message, this immigration issue will be the straw that breaks the camel's back. It also will be the vehicle to end the "GOP era of corruption" in Congress and bring about much-needed, sweeping changes in the nation.
I say good...the time is now.
I also enjoy the fact that millions of Hispanic people are going to the street, making their voices be heard. They are being good citizens, or if not current citizens, they are showing they deserve to be American citizens.
I wonder why they can go to the streets, and the rest of America has failed hundreds of times to do the same?
Thanks to the GOP, it has become commonplace to "rape" people's civil rights and take away freedoms under the guise of the "war on terror".
In many ways, those who are protesting, even those non-citizens, are better people and more American than many of us.
I don't include myself in this group as I work actively on this blog. I have participated in several action groups and protests. I enjoy debates on several political forums and bulletin boards. I have volunteered time for several political campaigns, and I believe in people's rights and their need to vote. I have vouched for people to vote 2 years in a row, helping people in a shelter to vote and exercise their rights.
So I ask myself, what the hell are you doing right now?
Are you sitting behind your PC or TV, complaining about the state of things, yet failing to act? Are you using your dollars to help bring about change?
Think about this, take a deep look inside, and do something. Use your free minutes on your cell phone. Donate extra cash to a group that will bring about change. Go to your local political office and volunteer. Take the example of our fine Hispanic brothers and sisters, and do something.
It's not the voice of one or two--it's one or two million working together for a common cause.
Don't sit at home, whining and crying about how you hate things. The time to act is now. Go hard, go strong, and give it your all.
Again what are you doing to help the cause and bring about change?
Tags: [immigration issue], [Democrats], [Republicans], [loss of votes for the GOP come Novemeber], [get politically active], [Ted Kennedy], [immigration rights march being compared to '60s civil rights movement], [GOP still doesn't get it]
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