Digby's Hullabaloo

Raiders Of The Lost Wingnuts

by digby

I think if there is one thing I find more infuriating than anything else in politics it’s obvious, phony spin that fools no one but which everybody nonetheless pretends is normal discourse. It’s insults the intelligence.

Here’s an example. Last night the Lehrer Newshour did a report on the meat packing immigration raids. They quoted Michael Chertoff at the big press conference saying:

Now, this is not only a case about illegal immigration, which is bad enough; it’s a case about identity theft and violation of the privacy rights and the economic rights of innocent Americans.

It’s so beautiful to see one of the architects of America’s new police state suddenly so concerned about the privacy rights and economic rights of innocent Americans, don’t you think? He’s keeping the babies safe and at the same time looking out for our rights, which is so inspiring. I feel like singing “We Shall Overcome.”

Gwen Ifill then interviewed his adorable crony and (former head of the joint chiefs of staff) Dick Myers’ completely unqualified daughter Julie, who is now head legal counsel for DHS. (Even Holy Joe opposed her!)

JULIE MYERS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Yesterday’s actions, however, were about ICE enforcing the law. Each and every one of the individuals that were arrested yesterday on administrative charges was using a stolen, a real Social Security number of a U.S. citizen.

We took appropriate action; we behaved appropriately. And until the law changes, we’re here to enforce it.

GWEN IFILL: I was confused about the identity theft argument. There were 1,200, almost 1,300 people arrested; 65 of them — maybe 5 percent of them — were charged with identity theft. Yet that was the emphasis today at your news conference about why this whole thing was being pursued. Was that the main impetus for this raid, this series of raids?

JULIE MYERS: Well, this action started as a worksite enforcement action. And as it was noted in your initial segment, it was the largest worksite enforcement action we’ve ever had.

GWEN IFILL: Enforcing what, immigration laws or…

JULIE MYERS: Enforcing immigration law. But what we’re finding is that a number of people who are here illegally, working illegally, they used to use just phony documents. And now they’re using real documents, documents of U.S. citizens who in many cases may not know they’re being used. And that’s providing real harm to these U.S. victims.

There was an example this morning about a victim who was pulled over and was arrested because someone who was working at a Swift plant had been using his Social Security number and got a criminal record under his name. These people have gone out, they’ve gotten telephone bills under their fake identities, and all sorts of problems.

GWEN IFILL: Is this an organized ring which has been trying to do this, that has been selling this stolen information, or is this just something which has sprung up over time?

JULIE MYERS: In the Swift instance, we actually found a number of different document vendors and document rings, and it’s very important to us that we track down those rings and prosecute those individuals.

Last month in Minnesota, we tracked down one that was actually providing U.S. birth certificates for individuals from Puerto Rico and Social Security cards, and they were all ending up for individuals who then went to work at the Swift plants.

Even Ifill seems a little non-plussed and she’s usually right with the program. There is only one reason to spin this like this. They are trying to create a belief among the American people that there is a big problem with Mexicans stealing their identities. They are going out of their way to create a more substantial and identifiable sense of victimhood and in the process are stoking resentment and racism. I don’t know if they’ve focus-grouped this or if they’re operating purely on instinct, but it’s going to hit the primitives hard: “Mexicans are trying to steal my life!!!!”

I don’t doubt that there is some identity theft going on. But it is not rampant and it’s not going to affect average white Republicans named Bubba. (It’s far more likely that it would hit Mexican Americans named Ricardo.) By making it the major emphasis of the story and conflating it with the fact that they arrested more than a thousand undocumented workers who spend their days up to their knees in blood and sinew so that we can enjoy our cheap hamburger, they betray their real agenda. Right wingers just don’t feel alive if they aren’t being victimized by somebody or other.

It reminds me of the old “Saddam had WMD and ties to Al Qaeda” dodge. They don’t come right out and say it. But look for polls to reflect the idea that identity theft is mainly perpetrated by illegal immigrants very soon.

To be clear, I think identity theft is a very serious problem. As a major privacy advocate I’m all for enforcement of the laws against it. But the problem is huge and getting bigger in the US not because of illegal immigration but because of con artists and nasty relatives. By trying to turn this into an immigration problem they are misleading the public and unfairly targeting the immigrats with something that most of them don’t even know exists.

The good news, however, is that even though the Mexicans are stealing their lives, there are now available a whole bunch of those great jobs working with cow and pig guts all day so they can improve their lives and get rich like all the Republicans promise them! Is this a great country or what?