A report in The Buffalo News seems to show why Jack Davis is ducking the debates proposed by the other two Democratic primary candidates, Jon Powers and Alice Kryzan. In a speech at The Center for Inquiry in Amherst,NY, Davis warned of a coming civil war in the Southwest.
"WASHINGTON — Congressional candidate Jack Davis, in a speech earlier this year, warned that increasing immigration from Mexico could lead to a new civil war between northern states and Mexican-influenced Southern states that may want to secede from the United States.
“In the latter part of this century or the next, Mexicans will be a majority in many of the states and could therefore take control of the state government using the democratic process,” Davis said in the speech. “They could then secede from the United States, and then we might have another civil war.”" http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/421229.html
Its the sort of thing that a Congressional candidate might not want to be associated with and Davis is expectedly trying to walk back from his statements. Sort of.
" Asked this week about his speech, Davis said he no longer believed Southern states would be prone to leaving the union in order to assert Mexican control over what is now U. S. territory.
“I think they’ll do it without a civil war,” he said. “They’ll take control of the state governments and start voting themselves anything they want."
There's a theme that runs through Davis' remarks that is distinct from any inference about his opinions of immigrants and farmers. It seems that Jack might be out of touch. In addition to telling local farmers to forget about immigrant labor , http://thebatavian.com/blogs/russ-stresing/where-am-i-how-did-i-get-here Jack doesn't seem to understand other things about the tough business of farming.
" Many Western New York farmers rely on migrant workers from Mexico to bring in the crops.
After hearing quotes from Davis’ speech, John Lincoln, the president of the New York Farm Bureau, said: “The farmers overall would be really concerned about his statement.”
Told what Lincoln said, Davis replied: “He’s not a regular farmer. He’s one of these big guys . . . I’d call him a multinational farmer.”
Lincoln, 70, is a dairy farmer with 200 head of cattle in Bloomfield, a village of 1,258 in Ontario County, southeast of Rochester. Asked if he had ever met Lincoln, Davis said he had not."
Jack's high paid handlers should be given credit for realizing that the highest level of stagecraft is what serves their candidate best. They are well advised to keep Jack away from spontaneous interaction with voters and to keep tight control over his press appearances. There's little likelihood of a debate or series of debate so long as Jack has the balance of his $3 million self-pledged campaign funds to buy TV ads and radio jingles.
This really shows a
This really shows a disconnect that Mr. Davis has, not only from farmers but from the American dream.
My issue isn't with him arguing for a double-wall around the border, I don't agree with that solution by any means, but it is an argument that you can make a point for.
However, Mr. Davis has said that we need to preserve the "heritage of our fathers", thats the point that is really disturbing to me personally. On this point he isn't referring to illegal immigrants specifically, rather, he is attacking immigration while using ethnicity as a basis to do so.
I'm also not all together clear on what he meant by preserving the "heritage of our fathers" either. I'm American Indian, am I included? Are African Americans? How about the descendent's of millions of Italian and Irish immigrants that were decried from the moment that they reached these shores, are they?
Mr. Davis wants to use ethnicity as a basis to exclude certain people from this country, saying that he wanted to "preserve the heritage of our fathers" is saying so upfront. If he thinks that immigration from Mexico is a bad thing, not just for economic reasons, but for racial reasons, then I wonder what other groups he has a problem with.
Mr. Davis' vision is not the America I was raised to believe in.
The problem Jack Davis has is
The problem Jack Davis has is that he has a history. Not only is it a history of being anti-immigrant, but he also has shown a disrespect for farmers. Saying what he did about the head of the New York Farm Bureau was disrespectful, considering Jack Davis knows nothing about farming. He's not in this to help agribusiness. He's in this to tell farmers who they should hire and who they should not hire. That ties directly into his immigration policy and his "kick 'em out" mentality.
Jack Davis is not a Democrat. His platform and statements prove that.
Robert, you hit the nail on
Robert, you hit the nail on the head, his policies are a far cry from the realities of Farmers needs.
So what? Honestly. All you
So what? Honestly. All you hear from people is what they think you want to hear. Oh No Mexicans!! Oh No Salmonella!! Oh No Taxes!! Oh No Torture!! Oh No Educational System!! Oh NO tax..EduAoh WHAT??? What we have now are political pageants. Is Jack Davis going to somehow ruin WNY? HAHA. I'll vote in Jacks Flap. That's right ..I'll vote in Mr. Pancakes!! Oh No Mr. Pancakes!! Oh No ...
Meanwhile life goes on unchanged
people need jobs and talking, talking, talking, reporting, reporting, reporting seems to be one of the most secure out there
Huh?
Huh?
Having moved here from
Having moved here from California, this entire angle of the debate about Davis has a whiff of familiarity.
In the 2003 gubernatorial race, Democratic candidate Cruz Bustamante came under fire for his college affiliation with a group called MENChA.
Here's some <a href="http://www.stanfordreview.org/Archive/Volume_XXXI/Issue_2/Editorial/edi…; on that group, which spawned the group La Raza (which means The Race).
Note that while Davis's "civil war" remarks sound crazy, it is so only for its unlikely probability, not because there are not radical Mexicans who espouse such views. MENChA's most radical document speaks of return Aztlán (California, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Colorado) back to Mexico. For a look at an extreme viewpoint in this regard, check out <a href="http://www.aztlan.net/">this site</a>.
Here's a relevant <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztl%C3%A1n">Wikipedia</a> entry.
Personally, I support immigration, believe in an open border, love much about Mexico, its people and its culture, so I'm not endorsing anything Davis has said in this regard -- just pointing out that his remarks are not entirely without foundation. But that is how the propagandist works, isn't it -- begin with some basis of truth and use it to incite fear?
Wow - how could Davis be any
Wow - how could Davis be any less likely to get my support? I know, out himself as a nativist! This from the guy who refers to his female employees as "girls" and whose first words to me when I introduced myself to him in 2004 were, "So, you a housewife?" Then, after I ran for office in 2006 and came to the conclusion that a Clean Money Clean Election system was the only hope out there to really fix Albany, Davis goes and pursues a Supreme Court case that results in a decision on the Millionaire's Amendment that will probably kill all forms of public financing. And I have all kinds of professional reasons that his anti-immigrant, nativist schtick is offensive to me. This guy calls himself a Democrat, and he lives in my district, and he's trying to buy a seat as my representative. Maybe that's why I was out all day knocking on doors for Jon Powers, as I have done every weekend this summer. And during the week, I'm making phone calls. This man will never "represent" me.
Howard--How can it be
Howard--How can it be propaganda? He said it himself, he wants to preserve the "heritage of our fathers" by cutting off immigration from Mexico, that goes far beyond advocating a tougher immigration policy, thats using race as a reason to limit immigration from a particular country.
Just watch the video, no spin, no way to take it out of context.
Judith--Amen.
Daniel, isn't that the very
Daniel, isn't that the very definition of of "propaganda" (at least at its most negative connotation) ... using race to incite fear?
Oh, my bad, looks like we
Oh, my bad, looks like we agree then(?) Mr. Davis is using propaganda.
Does anyone here really
Does anyone here really believe Davis holds these opinions? He may THINK about the possibility ..but really believing that mexicans will one day take over/try to take over the country and/or secede? Naw! Not me, bro. He's simply telling folk what they want to hear ..That he will beat back all wetbacks Yee Haw
Mexicans are a joke. Nobody likes mexicans. Mexicans pick cabbage and then get drunk. He's playing this ..and I would say that anyone giving this speech any time of day is playing as well.
What is it you wish to gain by your "speaking out"
All a waste of time, thanks.
I say read between the lines.
Davis gets support of mexican haters
Davis doesn't do anything once in office to actually halt their coming here ..as if Davis himself would actually have the power to do so.
Pandering not Propaganda.
Housewife? Would I be insulted if Davis asked if I were a pooper-scooper? No. I'd smile. What's the big deal?
Clean money Clean election?
What happened to CLEAN PEOPLE?
People get all hung up on the BEST candidate
People are all the same and want the same things. You cannot be mad at a rich dude for wanting to stay rich because a poor guy would want to make himself wealthy at the expense of the affluent man
Jon Powers? I bet HE will change things. ???
People make policy
I will align myself with good people and hope it gets around
One day when we all get out of "the system" for long enough the people who should be there will find themselves there
But WE LOVE THE SYSTEM. Job security. $$
So I don't trust it..which means I don't completely trust anyone involved in its running
WHAT IS THE AMERICAN DREAM? Is it any different than the MEXICAN DREAM?
The American Dream should be
The American Dream should be for everyone that has or will enter the United States of America LEGALLY.
What more can you say ?
I am first generation born in U.S.A.
My parents immigrated here poor but LEGAL and are now citizens.
Guess what I aint mexican !