councilor.org
| Source | Louis Proyect |
| Date | 06/03/26/23:40 |
| (In light of my comments about the need to avoid a kind of economic determinism formula in terms of understanding the Israel lobby, it might make sense to see the fight over immigration rights in a similar vein. It would appear that the xenophobic campaign is being driven by factors that transcend simple economic calculation. The article below discusses the role of a shitbag Congressman from Colorado in pushing for Draconian measures, despite any compelling economic factors peculiar to a state like Colorado which ostensibly does have a large number of undocumented workers. John McCain, whose Arizona shares Colorado's demographics, has lined up with Ted Kennedy to sponsor legislation that many trade unions and immigrants rights group supports, which is not to say that the radical movement should automatically endorse it. Colorado has the distinction of being a kind of hotbed for ultraright movements and trends. It is where high school and college teachers get witch-hunted, where Protestant fundamentalism has big foothold and is also the home of the Air Force academy, which is becoming a kind of haven for cryptofascist tendencies. If capitalism were a rational system, then the politicians would simply act on the bottom line imperatives of the Fortune 100 corporations. But as this system continues to decline, there will be more and more of a need for scapegoats as there was in Nazi Germany. It occurred to me, btw, that the "Vietnam syndrome" has played an important role in shaping politics today, despite the tendency for leftists to flagellate themselves for not having done a good enough job. The Bush administration simply cannot put together the fighting force it needs to stabilize Iraq because it would take a draft. However, a draft would blow the country sky-high. Could you imagine a powerful antiwar movement that involved students acting on their own material interests--staying alive--hooking up with a burgeoning immigrant's rights movement?)
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