Political Right Reacts With Fury to Obama Immigration Plan
Broad swaths of the far right reacted with outrage and accusations of looming dictatorship to President Obama鈥檚 announcement last night of unilateral moves to allow some 5 million undocumented immigrants to remain in this country 鈥� and some of the most inflammatory rhetoric came from the political 鈥渕ainstream.鈥�
Even before the Thursday night speech, people like Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) 鈥� a conservative, but known as a personal friend of the president 鈥� were sounding apoplectic as details of Obama鈥檚 planned executive actions leaked out. Coburn warned that they聽could lead to 鈥渁narchy鈥� and 鈥渧iolence鈥� in the streets. U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said the actions might warrant a 鈥渏ail penalty鈥� for the president, and U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann said they聽would legalize millions of 鈥渋lliterate鈥� people 鈥� the same Latinos many GOP leaders have said they want to reach out to.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, another Republican well known for his strident opposition to immigration and efforts to suppress minority votes, agreed with a caller to a radio show that Obama鈥檚 plan might amount to 鈥渆thnic cleansing,鈥� presumably of white people, adding that it appeared to be an effort to 鈥渞eplac[e] American voters with newly legalized aliens鈥� to create a 鈥渓ocked in vote for socialism.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 that Obama鈥檚 moves didn鈥檛 anger the radical right along with many of those in the ostensible polirical mainstream. Stewart Rhodes, leader of the radical antigovernment group Oath Keepers, said that if Republicans do not impeach the president for his actions, then people would seek out 鈥渙ther options鈥� to take on the man who 鈥渧iolated his oath, grossly.鈥� Television extremist Glenn Beck warned that Obama鈥檚 executive actions, along with a possible decision to not indict Ferguson, Mo., officer Darren Wilson, would lead to a 鈥渞ace war.鈥� And Larry Klayman, leader of the extremist Judicial Watch organization, filed a suit within hours of Obama鈥檚 announcement on behalf of Arizona鈥檚 infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio, claiming that the executive actions were unconstitutional and would cause 鈥渋rreparable harm.鈥�
But most of the fury did seem to come from politicians and others closer to the political center. For instance, Mark Krikorian, the head of the Washington-based anti-immigration Center for Immigration Studies, likened Obama to Richard Nixon and said he saw himself as the nation鈥檚 鈥渦ltimate ruler.鈥� U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Penn.) said that the president鈥檚 actions would lead to a national 鈥渋nternal crisis鈥� comparable to the period just before the Civil War. And House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused Obama of 鈥渁cting like鈥� a king or an emperor.
It鈥檚 not clear if all the sturm und drang will continue to heat up as awareness of the president鈥檚 new initiative spreads. But there are real signs that the nativist extremist movement, which swept the country between 2005 and 2011 with Minuteman and other radical 鈥渃itizen border patrol鈥� groups, may be roaring back to life. Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center released a examining how the anti-immigrant movement has swelled in recent months, beginning with the blocking of buses carrying undocumented children in Murrieta, Calif., in early July. President Obama's new moves may well exacerbate that apparent rebirth.
