Special to WorldTribune.com
By Grace Vuoto
Re-published with permission
On a sweltering Saturday in July, approximately ten thousand protesters gathered on the steps of the Massachusetts state legislature and beyond in order to send a message to Gov. Deval Patrick and President Barack Obama: No more illegal immigrants.
"The rally was an obvious sign that even here in ultra-liberal Massachusetts, there is a major political rebellion brewing against the corrupt, arrogant and dangerously disconnected political elites of our country," said rally organizer Jeff Kuhner in an interview with Worldtribune.com. Mr. Kuhner is the host of WRKO's morning radio talk show, The Kuhner Report. He is known as "Boston's Bulldozer" for his brazen defiance of the state's liberal policies and its politically correct culture.
See Video. Anti-illegal immigration rally in Boston on July 26. /Twitter/Marc Lombardo
"Massachusetts has become ground zero in Middle America's effort to stop the massive invasion of illegal immigration that threatens to bankrupt and destroy America," he said. "The original revolt against British tyranny began here in Boston. I honestly believe that the revolt against Obama's tyranny is beginning here."
[Disclaimer: Let the record show that I, Dr. Grace Vuoto, am also proud to be Mrs. Kuhner!]
The rally was barely over before a controversy erupted in the blogosphere: How many activists were in attendance? A report by CBS's Bree Sison states that "about a thousand" were present. Instead, The Blaze featured pictures of the event disproving that estimate and a headline highlighting the impressive size of the rally: "Boston 'Teeming with Protesters' in Giant Rally Against Housing Illegal Immigrants in the State."
"The discrepancy in the numbers regarding how many showed up in the rally is a stark example of how the liberal media is trying to marginalize and suppress the extent of the opposition to Gov. Patrick's plan. It won't work: the pictures of the event speak for themselves," said Kuhner, citing several estimates provided to WRKO staff by state troopers and Boston police that the size of the crowd was about 10,000.
Holding banners stating "Send them Home" and "Stop the Invasion," the protesters railed against Mr. Patrick's recent announcement that up to 1,000 of the unaccompanied minors pouring across the southern border from Central America be housed in the state as they await a court hearing.
More than 57,000 such minors arrived in the U.S. in recent months. They are straining the resources of states on the U.S.-Mexico border such as Texas: Gov. Rick Perry will deploy the Texas National Guard for additional help. This influx has led to numerous protests across the nation, including by residents in various cities or towns who reject plans by the Department of Health and Human Services to house some of the children in their region.
The current wave of illegal immigrants has also set off a national firestorm. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz blames the crisis on the president's 2012 policy to cease deporting all illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before they were 16 years of age. Mr. Cruz said on Fox News Sunday that this is "amnesty" and it is the "magnet" currently attracting thousands from Central America.
"The cause of this crisis is the promise of amnesty," he said. "If you look at the history of this issue, in 2011 there were roughly 6,000 children apprehended coming in illegally. Then in 2012 President Obama unilaterally granted amnesty to some 800,000 people who were here illegally, who entered as children. The direct foreseeable consequence of that was the number of unaccompanied children skyrocketed so that this year the Obama administration is estimating 90,000 kids will come. Next year, 145,000. That's up from just 6,000 three years ago."
Obama has asked Congress for $ 3.7 billion to deal with the arriving immigrants; he is also demanding that the GOP support Democrats in their efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Many Democrats also argue that the newly arriving children are fleeing dangerous circumstances in their home countries and that this is a humanitarian crisis, rather than simply an immigration matter.
But for many of those in attendance at the rally in Massachusetts, the issue is larger than one of public policy: This is a cry to restore respect for the nation's laws, borders and Constitution.
The rally in Massachusetts highlights the profound anger and frustration raging across the nation at a president whose second term has been immersed in domestic scandal and foreign policy catastrophes. To make matters worse, in January, Obama embarked on a go-it-alone strategy; he has repeatedly made dramatic policy changes by executive action rather than by upholding legislation passed by Congress.
This is backfiring: Instead of appearing to be the champion of the people against an out-of-touch Congress, the president is increasingly regarded by many Americans as incompetent and untrustworthy. A recent Gallup poll puts his job approval rating at 39 percent; 33 percent of respondents to a CNN/ORC International poll say he should be impeached; and even liberal law professor Jonathan Turley testified before Congress that Mr. Obama's methods result in "an imperial presidency model of largely unchecked authority."
How do we interpret an event consisting of thousands of people protesting Democratic policies in the middle of the summer and in one of the bluest of blue states? This means an insurrection is afoot. The president and his fellow Democrats had better take notice: the American people will not tolerate an elected official who thinks he is above the law and a commander-in-chief who will not defend the nation's sovereignty. These are serious offenses that are awakening the nation's wrath.
Grace Vuoto is the Editor of Politics and Culture at World Tribune, host of American Heartland with Dr. Grace on WTSB Radio and is the founder of the Edmund Burke Institute for American Renewal.
Dr. Grace Vuoto
Editor of Politics and Culture
Tel.: 202-607-1335
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