Blind Obama Leading the Blind

 

WASHINGTON & SANTA FE, NM (By Jon Garrido, The Jon Garrido Network)) April 30, 2011 —  "The blind leading the blind" is a metaphor used in antiquity, notably by Jesus in Matthew 15:13-14 and Luke 6:39-40.

In Matthew, Jesus responds to a question about the Pharisees saying:

He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

 

The use in Luke has a different context:

He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher."

 

The Katha Upanishad says it best using today's updating: Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, Obama, television anchors, radio personalities and a Latino actress, all fools, go hither and thither, like blind led by the blind."

 

Obama assembles all-star cast to talk immigration

 

Barack Obama tried to win support of a growing and increasingly disenchanted Latino community by inviting to the White House yesterday a dozen influential Spanish-language television anchors, radio personalities along with Latino actresses.

Among the high-profile Latinos was Eddie “Piolin’’ Sotelo, who in 2006 helped mobilize hundreds of thousands of protesters in Los Angeles and across the nation against enforcement-only immigration proposals. Actresses Eva Longoria and America Ferrera and television figures Don Francisco of Univision and Jose Diaz-Balart of Telemundo were also there. Also attending along with Francisco and Diaz-Balart were Bárbara Bermudo, Lily Estefan, Vanessa Hauc and María Elena Salinas, all hosts or anchors of Univision or Telemundo, the primary Spanish-language channels in the United States.

 

I doubt any of the above will have any influence on the Hispanic community. I am not aware any of the summoned high profile Latinos are knowledgeable in Immigration law or policies. Many of the above are Cuban Americans who could care less about Immigration Reform which is primarily an issue for Mexican Americans and others from Central and South America.

 

Selection of these "high-profile Latinos" reinforces Obama has no clue on which Hispanics, Mexican or Cuban, are affected by Immigration Reform.

 

The only one above I respect is Maria Elena Salinas who has depth rather than the superficial Longoria.

Participants said Obama stressed his determination to change immigration laws, but they said when pressed to do something about the record 393,000 undocumented immigrants forced to leave the country last year, Obama indicated without congressional action his hands were tied. An obvious lie as detailed in Obama Plays Shell Game with Hispanic Deportations.

“The president and his administration told us that there are certain things that he cannot and will not do unilaterally,’’ Diaz-Balart said.

 

Speaking to reporters, Longoria said: "We like to blame Obama for the inaction, but he can't just disobey the law that's written."

 

Alfonso Aguilar, the executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, said the meeting with actresses Eva Longoria, Rosario Dawson and others was “outrageous and insulting.” He added Obama’s increased visibility is just for show.

“These are all theatrics to give the impression to Hispanic voters the president is doing something on immigration when we all know he hasn’t done anything,” said Aguilar.

 

With his immigration overhaul stalled, President Obama instead of enlisting congressional representatives who are well versed in deportation data such as Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez, enlisted Latino entertainment and media stars to help jump-start legislation and reassure crucial but restless Hispanic voters he has not abandoned his campaign pledge to change the law.

What should be an embarrassment to all Hispanics is to have Eva Longoria, an actress, defend Obama with “We like to blame Obama for the inaction, but he can’t just disobey the law that’s written.’’

 

Obviously, Longoria doesn't have a clue, Obama in his first year in office directed Janet Napolitano's ICE to deport 387,790 immigrants — far more than during George W. Bush's last year in office. If the trend line Bush’s enforcement structure set in motion continues, Napolitano is on pace to deport around half a million people a year by 2013.

 

Worse still, in their zeal to demonstrate toughness, Janet Napolitano's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its enforcement partners have dragged many law-abiding undocumented immigrants and legitimate businesses into the system, shattering Obama’s promises of more humane treatment.

Napolitano has set controversial new quotas for agents. At the same time, officials have stepped back from an Obama/Napolitano commitment to focus enforcement efforts primarily on undocumented immigrants who are dangerous or have violent criminal backgrounds. Now, any one with a brown face is suspect!

 

Obama’s political advisers see tremendous potential in a growing Latino electorate. But Obama, who won 67 percent of the Latino vote in 2008, faces a disenchanted Latino community angry over a rise in deportations and an impasse on revamping immigration laws and fearful of tough state immigration laws such as those in Arizona.

In a summary describing the meeting, the White House said Obama stressed his commitment to a comprehensive overhaul and pledged to intensify his efforts "to lead a civil debate on this issue in the coming weeks and months."

But immigration legislation that would have provided a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants stalled even when Democrats controlled both  chambers of congress in 2009 and 2010. Immigration Reform ts much more remote now that Republicans control the House.

Obama also voiced disappointment in Congress' failure to pass legislation that would have provided a path to legal status for law-abiding young people brought to the United States as children who either plan to attend college or join the military. He asked the Latino media and entertainment figures to use their influence to help "elevate the debate."

Participants said Obama was pressed to do something about the record 393,000 undocumented immigrants forced to leave the country last year, but Obama indicated without congressional action his hands were tied.

 

The session comes a week after Obama invited about 70 elected officials and religious, law enforcement, business, labor, and civil rights figures to help build support for a long-stalled overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws.

The flurry of immigration activity at the White House illustrates both the desire by Obama and his advisers to show engagement on the issue and halt the slide in Hispanic support but unless Obama dramatically lessens deportations, Hispanic support for Obama in 2012 will only continue to decrease. ,And without Hispanic support, Obama will not win re-election in 2012.

Obama political advisers believe Latino voters if they participated in the 2012 election could reconfigure the political landscape shoring up support in swing states such as Colorado, Nevada, Virginia and North Carolina and providing a stronger foothold in states John McCain won in 2008 but that have grown more Hispanic in recent years, such as Arizona, Georgia and Texas.

"We've got a lot more work to do to fix an immigration system that's broken," Obama told donors in New York City on Wednesday evening.

"The Democrats at this point are losing an incredible opportunity," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum and a participant in last week's White House meeting. "You have a Democratic administration deporting more people than ever.'"

Immigration Advocates Criticize Obama Immigration Reform Efforts

Immigration advocates bemoaned the Obama administration's failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation and "ferocious" emphasis on enforcement at a panel today at American University's Washington College of Law, warning that it could cost the president reelection in 2012.

“We came in with high hopes when Obama was elected,” said Angela Kelley, vice president for immigration policy and advocacy at the Center for American Progress. “But we couldn’t even get 60 votes to pass something as sympathetic as the Dream Act.”

The Dream Act would have allowed children who were 15 or younger when they came to the United States to earn conditional permanent residency after completing two years of college or two years in the military.

Obama “can’t win reelection without the Latino vote,” Kelley said, noting the Latino population is the fastest-growing in the United States. “Demographics are destiny...and right next to the economy in terms of Latino concerns is immigration.”

At this point, she said, there is “no hope for comprehensive immigration legislation. It’s not going to happen.” The result may be a patchwork of state laws. “States are grappling with a broken immigration system,” she said. “Federal lawmakers need to get out from under their desks and show some courage.”

Sarah Paoletti, who is the director of the Transnational Legal Migration Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, said rather than focusing on “massive worksite raids that don’t project a good image” – the approach favored by George W. Bush – the Obama administration has used I-9 audits, which she called “more insidious.” Employers use the forms to verify a worker’s eligibility for employment in the United States.

“When there are more audits, more employers will switch to a cash economy, paying people off the books,” Paoletti said. “It’s pushing people further underground.”

The panelists, which also included American University history professor Alan Kraut, noted the Obama administration has deported more people in its first two years than the Bush administration.

 

Some content from former Jon Garrido editorials and news wire services