Prepare for a poisonous election

At this point, no credible political analyst will try to predict who

will fill the 48th District Congressional seat. I’m not going to do

it either, although early betting is that Republican state Sen. John

Campbell will win the ticket to Washington, D.C., unless something

truly unexpected happens.

What won’t be unexpected is this: It will be a malicious election.

I think many people won’t like the process, because soon Orange

County will turn into an open forum for anti-immigration rhetoric and

Latino bashing. Campbell and other mainstream Republicans will look

like docile doves, and former Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer will come

close to being a liberal feminist once James Gilchrist, candidate of

the American Independent Party, begins throwing heavy punches against

them. Our politicians don’t do enough to stop illegal immigration

from south of the border, he’ll likely say.

Did you hear about the Minuteman Project? If you didn’t, give me a

minute to let you know what these people are all about. They are a

tiny minority in our political system, though they carry loudspeakers

that magnify their anti-immigrant rhetoric whenever they move around.

These people aren’t known for their peaceful demeanor. They like

to show off their guns, a few of them own mean dogs and almost all

have great distaste for anybody crossing the U.S.-Mexican border.

Whether immigrants come by legal or illegal means matters little to

them -- anyone with a Latino background is unwelcome.

A few months ago, the Minutemen were in the Arizona desert. They

said they were there to help immigration agents patrolling the

U.S.-Mexican border. They received front-page coverage, and their

leadership acquired national prominence for a few days.

Then their vigilante approach moved to the California border,

where they found a stiff challenge from well-organized groups in the

Mexican-American community and from human rights activists. Unlike

the Arizona experience, this venture was a total fiasco.

Now they are back in the coastal area of Orange County, ready to

print a new chapter in their short political life. James Gilchrist,

founder and current leader of the Minuteman Project, has registered

to run for the Congressional seat Chris Cox left vacant when he

decided to take the Securities and Exchange Commission job a few

weeks ago.

I assume the Minutemen are pleased to be here. At least in Orange

County they don’t have to endure the unbearable heat of the Arizona

desert or face hostile organizations like those found in San Diego.

Although they’ll continue dealing with some opposition groups here,

Orange County will suit quite well their brazen character.

Gilchrist will use his anti-immigration language to get people to

vote for him in this election. He will try to blame our economic woes

on the undocumented workers. His dislike for Latinos is so great that

he might even attempt to associate rising oil prices with illegal

immigration. Who knows what other irrationalities he might bring to

the table while debating with the other candidates.

Americans have been affected by a net increase of Latinos in the

urban areas. But that increment is hardly due to illegal immigration,

as most Minutemen will point out. Many of the Latinos moving to

coastal cities such as Costa Mesa or San Juan Capistrano are second-

or third-generation. They are moving up the economic ladder.

As more Latinos establish their families in other cities, their

chances of displacing other ethnic groups in the labor market are

also high. Gilchrist’s rhetoric plays especially well among those

being displaced. His political agenda is based on fear.

During the election process, he will ridicule his opponents for

being soft on illegal immigration. He will also try to create doubts

about their leadership abilities. But we aren’t naive. Most of us

know where our economic problems orginate. They come from

Washington, and they have little, if any, relationship to

immigration.

* HUMBERTO CASPA is a Costa Mesa resident and bilingual writer. He

can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].