Immigration speaker sparks controversy at CPAC
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WASHINGTON -- Controversy over an immigration opponent who spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) blind-sided conference organizers who say they didn't know who he was before this week.
Al Cardenas, director of the American Conservative Union (ACU), which organizes CPAC, said he had never heard of Peter Brimelow, editor of VDARE.com, who has been labeled a white nationalist by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"I don't really know what his values are," Cardenas said. "I have asked my staff to delve into that."
"I want to personally see what he precisely said or written before forming judgement," he said.
The liberal group People for the American Way released a statement condemning CPAC organizers for giving Brimelow a platform. Liberal websites have also attacked CPAC over his inclusion.
"It's shocking that the CPAC would provide a platform for someone like Brimelow," said Michael Keegan, president of People For the American Way. "Responsible GOP leaders should speak out against the bigotry and hatred that Brimelow and VDARE push on a regular basis."
Brimelow participated on a panel discussion called "The failure of Multiculturalism: How the pursuit of diversity is weakening American Identity" at CPAC on Thursday. During the panel discussion, Brimelow and other panelists said immigration is polluting America.
In an interview with Hotsheet, Brimelow, an immigrant from Great Britain, said he's opposed to not only illegal immigration, but legal immigration too. He said it is creating a "Spanish speaking underclass parallel to the African American underclass."
"These are people who are completely dysfunctional. They're on welfare; they're not doing any kind of work - at least not legal work - and their children are having a terrible time. They're dropping out of school; there's an increase in teenage pregnancy," Brimelow said.
Brimelow told Hotsheet California is "rapidly turning into hispanic slum." He said California used to be "paradise" but is now "totally overrun by barrios of illegal immigrants."
Cardenas deflected responsibility for Brimelow's presence at CPAC. He noted that Brimelow spoke at a side panel discussion an not in the main ballroom and that he "was not invited to participate in any of the events that ACU takes responsibility for."
The sponsor of the panel that hosted Brimelow was Robert Vandervoort, executive director of ProEnglish, an organization advocating English as the official language.
Vandervoort did speak at an ACU-sponsored panel in the main ballroom of CPAC, where he also spoke out against immigration. "Now our nation is balkanizing through mass immigration," he said. "America's always been a Judeo-Christian nation."
Cardenas promised to look into the controversy surrounding Brimelow. "If we find... grounds offensive to what American ideals stand for, I will talk to the sponsor and take it from there," he said.
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2. CPAC is clearly lying when they say they didn't know who Brimelow was when they invited him to speak on immigration.
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A nice little piece of slander and when you look at People for the American Way, you really need to get a net on him.
Rather, their elite would prefer to send their peasants north and sit back and collect the remittances. Good deal for the rich in Mexico; bad deal for the Middle Class in America.
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Somehow, I am not surprised at that you would think that the rich in Mexico would need peasant's remmitances........although it's totally ludicrous.
Finding a bigot at CPAC?
Incredible!
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Got to this point and just skipped everything else. Dumb Dumb Repugs !!
They brought him in to confirm the racist in the party of the repubs and the tea party.
They have a strong following from Klan and white racist groups,and they try to pretend that they did not know it lol..
Have you forgotten that those type of people and organizations are the majority of their base!!
Remember,if you see anyone with repub or tea party bumber stickers on their car,or signs in their yards or if u see them on tv at the conventions or at cpap,that these so called americans are hate filled people will lie and pretend that they believe in god just to get the softer side of the party to go along with them and let them know its ok for them to hate and go along with their racists beliefs..
Sad but its true!
As further detrimental to the taxpayers the law says a child born in the US, gets instant recognition as a citizen, therefore the taxpayer must pay for everything. EVERYTHING! In the majority of cases the female US pregnant mothers is denied and are coerced into paying fees, when hunted down by bill collectors. With Obamacare gathering momentum millions of more desperate migrants and immigrants will invade this country looking for that free ride. Certainly under this administrations cavalier socialist philosophy, there is a pending opportunity to pass a new blanket amnesty. Whether its 11 million people according to our defective government statistics or more believable 20 to 30 million persons already here; the price tag is in the Trillions to complete such an obnoxious venture? Once accomplished"Chain Migration" will intensify, adding even more people to the original permanent residency approvals.
People don't have any idea of the implication of both Republican and Democratic platform on illegal immigration. It's not just jobs and futures society becoming Balkanized? It's not just about language, which has caused wars around the world? The major fear should be is OVERPOPULATION? The Southwest already suffers from a scarcity of drinking water? Then there are the serious energy issues, because of the spread of concrete sidewalks? Overpopulation, traffic overcrowding, urban sprawl, pollution, environmental damage, water, oil, gas, energy diminishing resources, contagious diseases, lack of affordable housing, depressed wages of US citizens, an underground economy caused by illegal aliens, fraudulent documents, identity theft, Sanctuary cities, predatory businesses tax evasion, soaring nationwide crime rate growth , increased taxpayer burdens, $40 + billions of Dollars wired across the borders and overseas, overcrowded schools, uneducated legal children, overcrowded prisons, insufficient health care for legal residents, but free health care for illegal immigrants and paying out Child Tax Credits for children of illegal aliens, who by ersatz are given citizenship. Then recently revealed $10 billion dollars that is returned to foreign nationals using IRS issued ITIN numbers or stolen Social Security numbers.
A bill, newly introduced by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) a Comprehensive Immigration Reform package, granting legal permanent residence status to the nearly 11 million illegal immigrants (more like 20 to 30 million) already for reading in the United States Congress. Additionally, the bill's language also fully incorporates the DREAM Act and the Agricultural Jobs Act (Agjob), providing two further avenues to amnesty for illegal immigrants. This country already under a current strain of rapid spending by the Democrats will speed us into oblivion and insolvency.
Our future shows summary promise in Congress, should voters demand a nationwide mandatory process, called "The Legal Workforce Act." With easy access through any computer any person can be identified through federal data bases. With 9 percent unemployment, thousands of illegal aliens unable to claim a job once processed then thousands of Americans can be hired.
. It is exactly the same with 'Birthright Citizenship Act' Smuggling babies by foreign women onto these shores, is by far the most expensive deficit engineered by the Liberal activist judges, using an inept 14th Amendment that needs to be revised. Without it 400.000 pregnant illegal alien females yearly will keep turning up in our overcrowded emergency rooms, gaining the free ticket that's available under the present law.
NOTHING WILL PREVENT THIS TRAVESTY, UNTIL AMERICANS WAKE UP AND CUT OFF BENEFITS FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE UNLAWFUL ENTRANTS. America has also become a dumping ground of human criminal garbage of every poor country in the world. In the last 10 years criminal activity involving illegal migrants and immigrants has escalated, and one of the prevalent crimes is drunken driving and hit and runs; bring human animals that prey on our unsuspected victims. In California this is a daily occurrence of "hit and Runs" spiraling out of control. The Secretary of Homeland Security says the border is secured, then why are drug cartels taking over land adjacent to the Mexican border fence?
I did not read that anyone in the panel disputed the racist, stereotyping lies that he told. The other panelists must have approved too. Nor did I read that the audience jumped up in dismay and drove him from the stage. The audience all approved.
CPAC only started taking backward steps after their bigotry was exposed.