Strickland and Iraqi refugees
According to the AP, Governor Strickland "said Ohioans cannot be expected to have open arms for Iraqis displaced by the war." His actual quote, per the Lorain Morning Journal was,
''I think Ohio and Ohioans have contributed a lot to Iraq in terms of blood, sweat and too many tears. I am sympathetic to the plight of the innocent Iraqi people who have fled that country. However, I would not want to ask Ohioans to accept a greater burden than they already have borne for the Bush administration's failed policies.''
Not sure what to think, so... I'm reserving judgement on this one until the Governor has a chance to more fully respond to the issue. (And I'm certain he'll have that chance).
UPDATE: Before the rightwing hate machine gets in full swing... SHUT UP. Immigrant-bashing xenophobes shouldn't bloviate on this one. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Jihadi Guy and Nauglehide.
UPDATEx2: From the comments. Modernesquire intimates the following: Strickland doesn't think Bush should saddle Ohioans with the cost of this influx of immigrants because we've already paid enough for his failed policies. I can somewhat agree with Modernesquire's assessment. Now the question is how most Ohioans will view the Governor's position.
Strickland appears to have a total blind spot when it comes to immigration, starting with his vote for HR 4437. That bill would have, among other things, made felons of & imprisoned clergy & social service agencies who provide assistance to undocumented immigrants. Our great governor was one of only 16 Dems to vote for the bill.
We should be happy *anyone* wants to move to Ohio as we continue to hemmorhage jobs, population, and college grads. I'd love to see the Governor set up a program at the state level to encourage immigrants to move to Ohio & re-energize our urban areas.
Instead, this so-called compassionate "man of God" waves his middle finger to refugees from a country we destroyed.
Gov. Strickland, would it help if their faces were white instead of brown?
This aspect of Strickland does not sit well with me. As a Methodist minister he seems to forget the biblical tradition of welcoming the strangers among us.
Now, if he couched his comment in terms of what W has wrought in Iraq and added a request for the money it will take to support these folks, that might play better to my ears. Otherwise, local and state governments along with under-resourced social service agencies will have to bear the brunt of enculturating newcomers and settling these poor people into schools, housing, etc. This seems to be yet another cost of the war that W just wants to pass off and act as if there's no fiscal impact on the rest of us.
my hope is that strickland will flesh out the cost piece -- i.e., we've paid our due; bush needs to foot this bill. unfortunately, i don't quite see the second point in the quotes that are now available.
as for strickland's record on immigration -- that's a place where we can respectfully disagree (just as i disagreed with hackett on the same issue). my hope is that, as guv, he will be able to focus on enforcement of existing labor laws against employers rather than demonizing immigrants, legal or illegal.
Nevertheless, this is a reall mixed message.
Oh well, I never thought Ted was from the Bleeding Heart wing of the Democratic Party.
How do you justify his actions when it comes to HR 4437 and the Iraqi refugees? I'm eager to hear the spin. Please enlighten me.
If he's racist, it doesn't mean he's a David Duke-type. He might just have a typical white guy blind spot when it comes to matters of race. Or, at a minimum, he panders to racists (HR 4437).
Either way, the result's the same. And unacceptable (at least to this voter).
Only in blogs are you apparently allowed to make an outrageous allegation and expect the otherside to prove you're wrong.
You're the one pulling the old race card, you prove your case, don't expect me to waste my time and energy trying to disprove a negative.
Newsflash!: Not everyone against illegal immigration is a racist. Many legal immigrant communities are against illegal immigration and amensty, too.
One can be against illegal immigration without voting for mandatory prison sentences for those providing basic human services (food, clothing, shelter) to undocumented immigrants.
If former Rep. Strickland were so gung-ho about illegal immigration maybe he could have tried to do something constructive about it while in Congress. You know - like fix our ass-backwards immigration system. Or introduce a bill to properly fund ESL classes. Or any number of other things.
What I'm saying is that Strickland statements are being misconstrued. He's not suggesting that he, as Governor, can, or even intends, on blocking the placement of Iraqi refugees in Ohio. That's just a conservative "myth" created by Naugle and his crew to take the statements out of context.
Instead, what he's saying is hasn't Ohio (hello, Lima Company?) taken enough of a hit for Bush's failures in Iraq that they shouldn't be asked to provide more?
And here's an editorial from today's New Philadelphia Times-Reporter:
______________________
Show some compassion
Gov. Ted Strickland delivered a message to President Bush Wednesday – don’t send any refugees from the war in Iraq to our state.
We also have a message for the governor – show a little compassion.
The Bush administration has agreed next year to take in approximately 7,000 refugees fleeing the violence in Iraq. So far, the government has allowed in just 463 refugees since the war began in 2003.
Special consideration will be given to those who helped the United States topple Saddam Hussein and might face retaliation once U.S. forces leave.
According to the Associated Press, Strickland said Ohioans can’t be expected to welcome these refugees with open arms. “I think Ohio and Ohioans have contributed a lot to Iraq in terms of blood, sweat and too many tears,” he said. He added that he doesn’t want Ohioans “to accept a greater burden than they already have borne for the Bush administration’s failed policies.”
Though the state’s economy is struggling, we don’t think these refugees will place an undue burden on Ohio. It’s unlikely we would be called upon to take in more than a fraction of the 7,000 refugees.
Besides, our country has a moral obligation to help foreigners who have helped us in time of war. In the 1960s, the Hmong people of Laos fought against the communists in their country on behalf of the United States. When America pulled out of Southeast Asia in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War, our country took in thousands of Hmong refugees who likely would have faced retribution from the victorious communists.
We should do the same thing for Iraqis who helped us.
Strickland’s comments are puzzling and downright uncharitable. If Ohio can’t absorb a small number of refugees looking to escape war and find a better life for themselves and their children, then we’ve truly reached a sad state of affairs here.
Yes, Ohio has paid a high price because of the war in Iraq. But we think Ohioans won’t turn their backs on people in need, especially those who fought alongside us in time of war. We’re better people than that.
We urge the governor to rethink his position on this issue.
At the risk of beating a dead horse - the Plain Dealer & Cincinnati Enquirer both opine against Strickland today regarding this issue. As did the Middletown Journal on Friday.
On top of that, the Plain Dealer states it's the Dems in Congress pushing to accept more Iraqi refugees. (Whoops!)
Are there any other Dems in power *anywhere* who have spoken out against this plan other than Strickland?and the GOP news media in Ohio would have criticized him no matter which side of the issue he came down on.
Get used to it. The news media in Ohio is going to criticize Strickland no matter what he does and they'll spend the next 4 years inflating issues, controversies and scandals that don't exist. They're going to pull this trick time and time again over the next four years. Get used to it.
Ohio must be one of only few states remaining where its progressive blogosphere still allows itself to be spoon-fed news from the corporate controlled news media. Rather than worry about what the fools think, telegraph the message that Strickland is right, that Bush is continuing to put the burden of so many of his ill conceived ideas on the backs of states and governors. If Ohio Dems don't start defining their own issues and holding the news media accountable now, they can forget about 2008.
Our leaders are fine, their policies are fine, they're going to get criticized no matter what they do or say. Get used to it and, if you're really a progressive, fight the news media.
On edit: When will the Ohio news media get around to covering the real issues in Ohio - like access to health care, job losses and a broken public education system. Stay focused, folks, stay focused.
First, it's far from certain *any* of the proposed 7,000 Iraqis would even come to the U.S. And, in turn, how many of those would even come to Ohio?
But let's say, for debate's sake, all 7,000 come. And let's say Ohio gets 800 of them. That averages to what - less than 10 Iraqis a county?
Whatever the scenario, the ideal situation would be for the feds to cough up some money for states/cities/counties absorb them. But I also say that, among the 7,000, would be plenty of working professionals & students who wouldn't become a burden on our social welfare system. Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of immigrants who come here more than willing to work & contribute much to our communities.
Unfortunately, Strickland's knee-jerk response was less than thoughtful & an overreaction