Et Tu, DSCC?
The AP is reporting that the DSCC has removed from its website an ad that featured an anti-immigration image much like the above one, taken from the website of Republican wingnut/congressional candidate Vernon Robinson.
As far as the Latino vote is concerned, Democrats’ one significant advantage over Republicans is the perception that Republicans are more discriminatory than we Democrats are. But if we keep pulling boneheaded stunts like the DSCC ad, that advantage will disappear.
Interestingly enough, Latino voters are for strong border protection, too. But for Latinos, it has nothing to do with the metaphor of an invasion that conservatives use to pander to working class Anglos. Instead, it’s about fairness. If we had to be patient and play by the rules in order to earn our citizenship, Latino voters are saying, then new immigrants should have to do that, too. But that’s not the message that an ad like the DSCC’s sends to Latinos, whether citizens or non-citizens, voters or non-voters.
That’s why every policy pronouncement - indeed, every political image - needs to be viewed through the cold, stark prism of racism. The Democratic Party can call for stronger borders without being racist. But we have to be smart about it.
