Why we are losing - Part 7056

Below is another example of they type of right wing email campaign that targets the least sophisticated among us. I get them from a person who lives in a small town and belongs to the Moose Lodge. I don’t think people realize the extent to which this kind of virulent propaganda is disseminated among what we call the working classes. It is very effective. Just look:

This a REAL EYE OPENER!!

Hope these 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again
until they are read by the majority of Americans. Then they
will have something to yell at their U.S. Congress
members.

14 Reasons to Deport Illegal Aliens...

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal
aliens each year. http://tinyurl.com/zob77

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance
programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches
for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for
illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and
secondary school education for children here illegally and
they cannot speak a word of English!
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the
American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor
babies.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal
aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal
aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for
Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html

9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American
wages are caused by the illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime
rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal
aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a
huge additional crime problem in the United States .
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION
illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as
many as 19,500 illegal aliens from ist Countries. Millions
of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroine and , crossed
into
the U. S. from the Southern border. Homeland Security
Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht

12. The National Policy Institute, "estimated that the total
cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230
billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion
annually over a five year period."
http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in
remittances back to their countries of origin.
http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm

14. "The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One
Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The
United States ". http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

So using the LOWEST estimates, the annual cost OF ILLEGAL
ALIENS is $338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR! So if deporting
them costs between $206 and $230 BILLION DOLLARS, Hell get
rid of em', We'll be ahead after the 1st year!!!
Please pass this on. Americans need to wake up!

Please excuse the long quotation. I think it’s necessary to see the whole thing in order to appreciate its corrupting power.

Of course it’s not difficult for people like you or me to pick this kind of thing apart. The blatant logical fallacy of the close--the idea that it is even possible to deport all illegal aliens in a year--is ridiculous. But the 14 reasons that come before add up to more than just money. They provide a thin veneer of scholarship, of pseudo logic and statistics. They don't have to stand up to close examination to bolster the point.

What is the point, you ask. Actually following the links provides some answers.

For example, the National Policy Institute, which estimates the total cost of mass deportation, welcomes visitors to its web page with this:

WHO SPEAKS FOR US?

White Americans have been led to believe that "diversity" and "multiculturalism" are sacred. We're conditioned to be shy when it comes to standing up for our own beliefs. But doesn't every race, ethnic subculture, and special interest—from left-handers to lesbians—have all sorts of organizations working for them?

Isn't it about time someone spoke for us?

And the Dark Side of illegal immigration referenced in reason #14?

They are highly mobile, work in low skilled jobs with their hands, use drugs and alcohol, are generally promiscuous, have little family stability, and choose victims who are easy to attack.

Yes, of course, and they are unkempt as well. Dark side indeed.

But it could be much worse in the future. This link from rense.com that supports reason #13 ponders fates much, much worse than remittances.

If all 535 candidates for Congress were Muslims, and became U.S. senators and House members-- they would dismantle our Constitution in a heartbeat and install Sharia Law. How stupid are we as a nation? How naïve? How bankrupt in our apathy toward Islam and its prime directive?

Yes, that couldn’t be more true. If we elect radical Jihadists to every position in American government, the future will be dark indeed. And egads! That’s not the only danger! Ponder Rod Serling!

Although that's a loony link of the ages, many of the others are transcripts of Lou Dobbs shows or relatively respectable right wing sites. At least one clearly contradicts the point it is supposed to make.

But who reads that deeply anyway? Not the people who get these emails. They don’t click on many links and don’t spend a lot of time pondering them if they do. They see a bunch of statistics proving that they are being ripped off and raped by the dark folk. What's to ponder, ese?

The thing that makes this such a powerful example of why we are losing is that we have no equivalent strategy. Why don’t progressives target these same people with persuasive arguments for progressive positions? As is often noted, it is people living in small towns, the Moose’s, the Elks, the Kiwanis Clubbers, etc. who lose the most from Republican policies, yet they continue to vote for Republicans. We sip our wine and wonder how they can be so stupid out in Hicksville. Propaganda campaigns like the above example provide strong clues.

If the tide is ever going to really turn in this country, organizations like Move On need to put together mass emails targeting those same people, only instead of “14 Reasons to Fear the Darkies,” they’ll need titles like “12 Reasons why your jobs are being shipped to China” or “10 Reasons why your Health Care Sucks” or “15 Reasons why your kids are dying for Haliburton.” As is, only one side is fighting for the hearts and minds of common folk. Is it any wonder that they are winning by such a large margin?