Read the following statements:
These voters were obsessed with the threat of immigrants. The flood of new immigrants only heightened their fears that the number of Democratic voters would vastly increase. One critic claimed: “(they) compete for the coarsest and generally the most repulsive conditions of labor.” He believed they suffered from drunkenness, crime, disease and government dependency.
The American Protective Association, a powerful political force …, attributed America’s economic downturn to (immigrants) who sought to destroy the economic system…
If Anglo Saxons are the only people capable of maintaining republican government, on what grounds could any other people be admitted to America?
You may be thinking these statements were written by a Tea Party supporter. They were not. They were written about the Irish immigrants who came to the U.S. in significant numbers during the 1830’s thru the 1860’s. The quote was written by Sir James Tenet in 1860.
But, the Tea Party operates from the same place of fear.
According to a recent study by Greenburg Quinlan Rosner Research, Tea Partiers fear Democrats are using “giveaways” like unemployment benefits, food stamps and most egregious, health care to build a minority voting bloc.
- Tea Partiers fear they are losing control of a government they believe they once controlled.
- Tea Partiers fear immigrants threaten their culture, values and the American economy.
- Tea Partiers fear President Obama is only pushing healthcare reform to help minorities. (Note: similar criticisms were levied against FDR’s push for the Social Security Act of 1935)
- Fear historically rears its head with every cultural change. It’s important to recognize that fear is a powerful driving force, no matter how irrational.
- Unfortunately, fear makes Tea Partiers easy targets for politicians and “news” outlets to exploit. They know they can make money by saying Tea Party fears are justified. (Can we say Sen. Ted Cruz and Fox?)
What the Tea Party has yet to realize is that history has already proven immigration does not destroy our country. Just ask our Irish descendants.
[References: The Columbia Guide to Irish American History by Timothy J. Meagher; Shades of Difference: A History of Ethnicity in America By Richard W. Rees; Inside the GOP by Greenburg Quinlan Rosner Research; Understanding The American Promise, Volume 2: From 1865: A Brief …, Volume 2 by Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage, Alan Lawson, Susan M. Hartmann]
