April 18, 2006--Chads and Chopped Liver

My family gathered in Florida last week for a Seder. Twelve of us. At my 98 year-old mother’s. We had not done this in many years and thus it was full of sweet memories tinged with a hint of melancholy. After dinner all of us convened in her living room and as in the past discussed the meaning of Passover--then and now. About the “then” we were all pretty much in agreement; about the “now” things were decidedly more complicated. Especially on the topic of immigration, a subject about which all Jews should have opinions derived from near-in experience.

Then as now we Jews are not of one mind on this or any subject. Opinions ranged from “If-they-are-here-illegally-they should-be-sent-back-to-where-they-came-from-or-put-in-jail,-and-their-employers-should-be-fined,” to “Americans-benefit-from-a-flexible-immigration-policy-because-immigrants-contribute-to-our-country-culturally-and-economically.-They-are-picking-lettuce-and-washing-dishes,-jobs-“real”-Americans-won’t-do.”

I admit to being of that latter persuasion, but my argument was substantially weakened when a cousin cited a NY Times article (an op-ed piece by Nick Kristof) in which Kristof, a “liberal” changed his position when he read studies that indicated that illegal immigrants are undercutting the wages of low-income citizens, especially African Americans.

If we were reconvening this week for the eighth night of Passover and if we were to return to this hot subject I would have been able to refer to a second Times article, from Sunday (linked below), in which Eduardo Porter cites more carefully constructed studies that reveal that the claims from the earlier data are at best overstated.

However, I couldn’t help but marvel at the brilliance of how effective conservative Republicans have been at pressing the emotional issue of immigration just months before what promises to be a close mid-term election. How by floating wedge issues they are effectively distracting us from more pressing and dangerous issues such as our broken public education system, inadequate health care for the working poor, environmental degradation, global warming, and of course our preemptive foreign policy.

I perceived brilliance within their brilliance. Have you noticed how every two years in key swing states such as Ohio and Florida Republicans manage to place statewide initiatives on the ballot that are certain to mobilize their base to come out and vote? Last year there were at least a dozen referenda on gay marriage; this year there are more on that divisive subject as well as on that other grabber--Intelligent Design.

Perversely I admire their craft. As evidence of how well it was working In Lauderhill, Florida last week, my family spent just 30 minutes on Iraq and education (including how immigrants are getting a free ride and refuse to learn English) but at least an hour and a half on immigration, immigration, immigration.

In the past Democrats could count on Jews to vote the straight party ticket; more recently, a growing number in Florida are punching their chads for Republicans because fifty gay couples in Dade County want to get married.