"NRSC Ad Is An Affront to Hispanics In Rhode Island"

LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens, doesn't much care for the Republican TV ads that associate Mexican immigrants with the 9/11 bombers, on behalf of Linc Chafee's floundering reelection campaign.

They've sent a powerful, emotional letter to Liddy Dole and the NRSC demanding that the ad be pulled.  If this issue gets national attention in the Latino community, it could backfire on the Republicans not only in Rhode Island but across the country.  I quote the letter in its entirety, below the fold.

Meanwhile, Linc Chafee continues his cowardly refusal to disavow the ad.  This may help him survive his primary challenge (though I doubt it - the wingnuts will vote for Laffey anyway)... but is that really worth losing the votes of Rhode Island's 35000 Latino citizens (compare: 70000 registered Republicans), not to mention his reputation for integrity?

Wednesday, August 30, 2006
The Honorable Elizabeth Dole
United States Senate
555 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Dole:
On behalf of the League of United Latin Americans, our nation's oldest and largest
Hispanic civil rights organization, I write to you to express our dismay with an
advertisement produced by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. This
commercial is designed to inflame anti-Mexican sentiments among the electorate by
suggesting that those who use the Matricula Consular card are a possible terrorist threat
to the United States. Nothing could be further from the truth and the fact that the NRSC
is attempting to exploit racial divisions in the United States for political gain is
unacceptable.
At LULAC, we believe in advancing the economic condition, educational attainment,
political influence, health and civil rights of the Hispanic population of the United States.
The NRSC ad is an affront to all Hispanics in Rhode Island and will incite xenophobia
and resentment towards Latinos nationwide.
This ad blatantly pictures Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey superimposed upon the
Mexican flag throughout the commercial which attempts to brand all Mexican
immigrants that use the Consular Identification Card as terrorists that endanger our
national security. However, not a single Mexican national has been accused of
involvement with terrorist attacks on the United States in the modern era. Furthermore,
accepting the Matricula Consular, does not jeopardize our national security because the
Matricular Consular is more secure than the typical state drivers license and far more
secure than the US birth certificate or social security card. The Matricular Consular
employs seven different security measures including sophisticated tamper-proof
holograms that make the cards extremely difficult to forge or modify. The bottom line is
that it is far easier to obtain fraudulent US birth certificates, social security cards and US
drivers licenses and those documents are far more useful to would be terrorists than a
Matricular Consular.
Lastly, this ad is a personal injustice to millions of Americans that have a Mexican
heritage, as well as to the law-abiding Mexicans and other immigrants who reside in this
country. They are our nation's hardest workers. They are a family-oriented community
that pays their taxes, strengthens our economy, and only wish to seek a better life for
themselves and their loved ones. They are not criminals or terrorists as this commercial
casts them out to be.

In a time in which both sides of Congress and the Senate should be working together to
draft and approve legislation that supports comprehensive immigration reform, the
National Republican Senatorial Committee should avoid polarizing the country further
with negative stereotypes about immigrant communities. Immigrants should not be used
as scapegoats to our nation's problems, or in this case Rhode Island's.
National Republican Senatorial Committee cannot claim to want to reach out to Hispanic
Americans while comparing them to terrorists in their television commercials. These
commercials will harm the Hispanic community by giving rise to more anti-Latino
attacks based upon the totally incorrect stereotype that Hispanics are a terrorist threat to
the United States. We urge you to do the right thing and have the advertisements removed
from the air and the NRSC web site immediately.
I await your favorable response.
Sincerely,
Rosa Rosales
LULAC National President
Cc: Senator Lincoln Chafee

•  tip me if you want me to stay on this story

  thanks.

  by jab on Wed Aug 30, 2006 at 07:51:42 PM PDT

•  What does the ad...

  ...accuse Laffey of doing? It seems from the screenshots that it's more a pro-Laffey than pro-Chafee?

  by mecki on Wed Aug 30, 2006 at 08:06:55 PM PDT

  •  if you look closely at the picture of Laffey

    you'll see the words "Threat to Our Security" (superimposed on the Mexican flag).

    This is purely an attack ad against Laffey, designed to remind Rhode Island wingnuts of the occasional non-wingnut position Mayor Laffey has taken (accepting the matricula card as valid ID in Cranston).

    by jab on Wed Aug 30, 2006 at 08:19:05 PM PDT

    •  So, basically...

      ...they're running Lincoln Chafee to the right of Laffey?

      What will they dream up next? That Hillary Clinton is some kind of left-wing loon?

      by mecki on Thu Aug 31, 2006 at 06:26:35 AM PDT

•  Sure

  There has been a very obvious effort to equate illegal immigration, especial from Latin America, with terrorism.  It is clearly inflammatory and is being used to promote fear, exactly as do the orange alerts, snakes on planes, and poorly dressed Venezuelans.

  Dems did the same thing with the "Secure" video, but the did pull it.

  by mariachi mama on Wed Aug 30, 2006 at 08:21:59 PM PDT

•  anti-immigrants wingnut

  Its kind of funny because laffey is suppose to be the wingnut anti-immigrants whyle chafee voted for the senate bill...I think that it was a calculated move by the republicans party that would cause every wingnut that was going to vote for laffey, to think twice about it....But when its all set and done, those anti-immigrants voters will vote for laffey instead of chafee.

  by Maria19Rodriguez on Wed Aug 30, 2006 at 09:27:55 PM PDT