Could Immigration Split the Tea Party?

Could Immigration Split the Tea Party?

Could Immigration Split the Tea Party?

Guest-hosting the Rachel Maddow Show, Chris Hayes asks, will the Tea Party movement rethink their politics as anti-immigrant activists attempt to join the party?

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

With the Tea Party movement gaining political clout, the question arises: what issue can divide them? Guest-hosting the Rachel Maddow Show, Chris Hayes reports that immigration may be the key to splitting the Tea Party, and potentially, the Republican base. Earlier on Charlie Rose, Dick Armey, former Republican House Majority Leader and current head of Freedom Works, critiqued former Congressman and anti-immigrant activist Tom Tancredo for advocating a voter literacy test.

"I was, for example, not really happy to see Tom Tancredo on the stage calling himself a tea party guy because of his harsh and uncharitable and mean-spirited attitude on the immigration issue," said Armey.

Joining Hayes is Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change, a grassroots advocacy group that focuses on policies affecting low-income people and people of color. As Bhargava explains, anti-immigrant activists have attempted to find support in the party, while Obama stresses immigration reform and Republicans lose support with anti-immigrant platforms. "It’s no surprise that [anti-immigrant activists] are looking to get on the Tea Party bandwagon," says Bhargava. "But I don’t think that’s going to work because it’s going to divide the base of that movement."

–Clarissa Leon

Become a Sustaining Donor This September

Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.

This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.

We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.

That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible. 

I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today. 

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x