The hate myth in the immigration debate

Michael Gerson is the latest to buy into the myth that those Republicans who oppose illegal immigration hate immigrants and that Hispanics will see themselves as the focus of that anger and hate.

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One gets the impression of decent men, intimidated by the vocal anger of elements of their own party.

That anger is pushing Republicans into some powerful symbols of indifference to Hispanic voters. The Univision Republican debate, scheduled for last Sunday with simultaneous translation into Spanish, was postponed when only Sen. John McCain agreed to show up. Rep. Tom Tancredo objected to the event on principle: "We should not be doing things that encourage people to stay separate in a separate language" -- which raises the question: Is saying "Viva Cuba Libre" no longer permissible for Republicans? And this snub came on the heels of conspicuous Republican absence at a forum held by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, and at the National Council of La Raza convention.

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Take a breath people. Encouraging assimilation is an act of kindness and compassion, not anger and hate. I have been living around Hispanics for most of my life and there is one thing that is blatantly obvious about the many successful Hispanics. They can all communicate with ease in English. They do not need the crutch of being pandered to in Spanish. There should be nothing wrong about encouraging assimilation and discouraging illegal immigration. In fact many of the Hispanics who are hear legally resent the fact that those coming here illegally have a negative impact on their opportunities. There should be no reason that a stand for the rule of law would be a negative in an election.

Until the government can persuade the majority in this country that it is serious about enforcing the rule of law, there will be no political advantage in pandering to those here illegally.