'Can Talk Radio Defeat Illegal Alien Amnesty?'
By Accuracy In Media: Andy Selepak (04/04/07)
With the Bush Administration and congressional Democrats working to pass an illegal alien amnesty bill, can conservative talk radio stop it?
Conservative talk radio, which has shown that it can mobilize millions of Americans on important public policy issues, is tackling the immigration issue and giving Americans the opportunity to make themselves seen and heard through a "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" rally from April 22-26, 2007, in Washington, D.C. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and popular San Diego talk show host Roger Hedgecock are behind the effort.
In the 1980s, talk radio emerged as a major political force, mobilizing the American people against a congressional pay raise. Can it do the same on the illegal immigration issue?
According to FAIR, "If you want to get politicians to see the light, make them feel the heat." That is why FAIR and radio talk-show hosts from around the country are gathering in Washington D.C. to pressure Congress to defeat an illegal alien amnesty bill, protect the border, and support the border patrol.
Dozens of radio talk-show hosts from across the country have already committed to attending the event and broadcasting live from "Radio Row" on Capitol Hill including:
Roger Hedgecock, KOGO, San Diego, CA
Janet Parshall, Syndicated, Across America
Jackson and Hobbs, WYDE, Birmingham, AL
Will Anderson, WVNN, Huntsville, AL
John and Ken, KFI, Los Angeles, CA
Terry Anderson, KRLA, KDWN, KFNX, Los Angeles, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Phoenix, AZ
Larry Roberts, KNZZ, Grand Junction, CO
Peter Boyles, KHOW, Denver, CO
Dan Gaffney, WGMD, Rehoboth Beach, DE
Marc Bernier, WNDB, Orlando, FL
Martha Zoller, WDUN, Gainesville, GA
Randy Renshaw, KSCT, Sioux City, IA
Les Kinsolving, WCBM, Baltimore, MD
Allman and Smash, KFTK, St. Louis, MO
Jeff Katz, WBT, Charlotte, NC
Bill LuMaye, WPTF, Raleigh, NC
Armstrong Williams, WWRL, New York, NY
Dan Rivers, WKBN, Youngstown, OH
Victoria Taft, KPAM, Portland, OR
Dom Giordano, WPHT, Philadelphia, PA
Steve Clark, WFBG, Altoona, PA
Dave Barger, WRTA, Altoona, PA
Gary Sutton, WSBA, York, PA
Helen Glover, WHJJ, Providence, RI
Phil Valentine, Westwood One, Nashville, TN
Steve Gill, Syndicated, TN
Phil Williams, WNOX, Knoxville, TN
Dominick Brascia, KOLE, Beaumont, TX
Lynn Woolley, Syndicated, Central TX
Chris Baker, KTRH, Houston, TX
Jon-David Wells, KLIF, Dallas, TX
Pat Gray, KVCE, KSEV, Dallas/Houston, TX
Edd Hendee, KVCE, KSEV, Dallas/Houston, TX
Noticeably missing from the list, however, are some of the big names of conservative talk radio. Please contact Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Michael Reagan, and Rush Limbaugh to see if they either plan on attending or will give the event the publicity that it deserves.
Talk radio is up against some powerful forces in American society. Pro-illegal immigration organizations, liberal church groups, President Bush, Big Business, Congressional Democrats and the liberal media are all trying to get amnesty legislation passed. At the same time, the mainstream media have already demonstrated through their sympathetic coverage of illegals where they stand.
The list of talk-radio hosts coming to the event is still in formation, but missing are any talk-radio hosts from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington DC, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Hawaii, or Alaska.
In fact, talk-radio hosts from only 19 of the 50 U.S. states are coming to the rally, even though taxpayer money from every state will be used to pay for a massive amnesty program. Hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money will have to be spent on welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, schools, etc., for the millions of illegal immigrants who would become citizens under a new amnesty bill.
For more information about those talk-radio hosts participating, visit Informedvoter.info. If your favorite local or national talk show host is not planning on attending, ask them why.
According to FAIR, the focus of this year's rally is to tell "new congressional leadership that there is a strong and widespread opposition to any proposal that includes increases in guest workers, expansion of government mandated immigration, and amnesty for illegal aliens."
The four-day rally features a number of events, including sessions on how to lobby Congress, press conferences, interviews with members of Congress, and a screening of the movie "Border" by Chris Burgard on Monday, April 23. The screening will feature opening remarks by G. Gordon Liddy, himself a national radio host.
The movie, advertised as an examination of the possible "end of America," is a look at the Southwest United States from the perspective of those who live there. The movie shows a lawless section of the country that the federal government, to the detriment of American sovereignty and security, has largely ignored.
On April 24, a fundraising/reception will be held entitled "Defend Those Who Defend Us. American Border Patrol Family Fund." The fundraiser/reception is in honor of border patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who many believe were wrongly convicted for using force while trying to stop a Mexican drug runner from entering the U.S. Members of Congress are demanding that President Bush pardon the agents, who were sentenced to long prison terms.
Anyone who would also like to attend, or plan on attending, can register with FAIR here. For those who cannot attend, the FAIR website "will provide contact information so that immigration reform activists can call their representatives and be a part of this historic event from home."
The Republican-controlled Senate passed the Kennedy-McCain amnesty bill, S. 2611, last year but it was blocked by the Republican-controlled House. The Republican-controlled House instead passed HR 4437 which would have made it a felony to be in this country illegally and would have built a border fence to keep illegal immigrants, drug smugglers, and terrorists from crossing our southern border. But now that the Democrats control both Houses, an amnesty bill has a real threat of being passed.
It was the House bill that led to last year's pro-illegal immigration rallies across the country. Hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens and illegal alien supporters massed and marched down the streets of the U.S.'s biggest cities. Many people for the first time saw just how many of these people "hidden in the shadows" there were in the U.S. It was a wake-up call for those committed to protecting U.S. sovereignty.
FAIR and talk radio are offering the opportunity for those Americans against illegal immigration, open borders, and a "guest worker" program to tell Congress that it is time to enforce the laws against illegal immigration.
The "Feet to the Fire" rally is an opportunity for Americans who have felt they had no voice on the issue of illegal immigration to show that not only do they have a voice, but that their voices will be heard. The "Feet to the Fire" rally may be the last chance for conservatives nationwide to express their opinions in numbers.
Major U.S. newspapers and television news programs have all sided with the so-called "undocumented workers." Can talk radio turn the tide?
Andy Selepak, a writer at Accuracy in Media, is the author of the study, New Evidence of Liberal Media Bias, published as an AIM Report.
http://www.aim.org/aim_column/5344_0_3_0_C/
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