Lou Dobbs, American Hypocrite

[catgirl]

Source: The Nation

In Lou Dobbs's heyday at CNN, when he commanded more than 800,000 viewers and a reported $6 million a year for "his fearless reporting and commentary," in the words of former CNN president Jonathan Klein, the host became notorious for his angry rants against "illegal aliens." But Dobbs reserved a special venom for the employers who hire them, railing against "the employer who is so shamelessly exploiting the illegal alien and so shamelessly flouting US law" and even proposing, on one April 2006 show, that "illegal employers who hire illegal aliens" should face felony charges.

Since he left CNN last November, after Latino groups mounted a protest campaign against his inflammatory rhetoric, Dobbs has continued to advocate an enforcement-first approach to immigration, emphasizing, as he did in a March 2010 interview on Univision, that "the illegal employer is the central issue in this entire mess!"

His scheduled October 9 address at the Virginia Tea Party Convention will mark his second major Tea Party address of the year, reviving questions about whether the former CNN host is gearing up for an electoral campaign. He recently told Fox's Sean Hannity that he has not ruled out a possible Senate or even presidential run in 2012.

But with his relentless diatribes against "illegals" and their employers, Dobbs is casting stones from a house—make that an estate—of glass. Based on a yearlong investigation, including interviews with five immigrants who worked without papers on his properties, The Nation and the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute have found that Dobbs has relied for years on undocumented labor for the upkeep of his multimillion-dollar estates and the horses he keeps for his 22-year-old daughter, Hillary, a champion show jumper.

Read more: /www.thenation.com/article/155209/lou-dobbs-american-hypocrite#node-155209

[The_Commonist]

1. Naturally!

Were we to expect anything else?

[Roland99]

2. I am Jack's complete lack of surprise

Whodathunkit? A Terrorist Party asshat who's a blatant hypocrite??


I'm totally speechless.

[monmouth]

3. He was on "The Good Wife" the other night and did a more than good

acting job. He really was quite good, acting as a potential client. Perhaps he should stick with this venue...

[pampango]

4. Interesting Wiki on Dobbs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Dobbs#Illegal_immigration_and_border_security

Exit from CNN

Recent controversy around Dobbs began in July, when he was the only mainstream news anchor to give airtime to the birther conspiracy theory. Several left-leaning advocacy groups, including Media Matters, and the Southern Poverty Law Center criticized Dobbs for his reporting. The controversy eventually caused CNN President Jon Klein to rein Dobbs in via an internal memorandum. In September, advocates challenged Dobbs for appearing at a FAIR conference (Federation for American Immigration Reform), a leading anti-illegal immigration group. Multiple campaigns were launched, including Drop Dobbs (NDN, Media Matters), and Basta Dobbs (Presente.org).

Political views

In his early career Dobbs was known as a fiscal conservative. He is a critic of the "excesses of capitalism," which he identifies as globalization, offshore outsourcing, runaway film production (the outsourcing of Hollywood jobs), illegal immigration, free trade deals, corporate/big business influence in government and the Bush administration's tax cuts. He describes himself as an advocate of economic populism, warning that outsourcing and the U.S. trade and budget deficits threaten the American middle class. Dobbs tends to oppose long-run trade deficits and outsourcing for the sake of labor arbitrage to obtain cheap labor.

In the 2000s, Dobbs has used CNN programs and columns to express his personal views on several subjects. He has become particularly noted for two positions: Dobbs is a critic of American immigration policy and expanded international trade. He is particularly wary of outsourcing and off-shoring, especially with China.

Illegal immigration and border security

Dobbs has been strongly opposed to both illegal immigration and such labor-outsourcing and foreign worker programs as the H-1B visa program and guest-worker programs. He has been a critic of the Mexican government's poverty programs, and of church leaders in Mexico for not criticizing the Mexican government's policies on border security and illegal immigration.

Dobbs has criticized local officials for their approach to border security. In October 2007 he labeled then New York Governor Eliot Spitzer an "idiot" for advocating the issuance of driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Hillary Clinton labeled Dobbs' illegal immigration segments as having "all that hot air."

On October 5, 2009, a bullet struck Dobbs's home as Dobbs and his wife stood outside it. The bullet struck the vinyl siding of their attic and fell to the ground without penetrating the vinyl. Dobbs attributed the incident to his stance against amnesty for illegal immigrants. The New Jersey State Troopers' account of the incident attributed to a stray bullet from a hunter in the vicinity. The shot near Dobbs and his wife occurred around 10:30 in the morning.

In December 2009, Dobbs stated in an interview with Telemundo that he now supports a plan to legalize undocumented workers. - Maybe just for his own employees. :)

[bulloney]

5. How can these people use a nationwide media forum to attack the very things they're guilty of?

Do these people have a conscience?

Are they so enclosed in their little bubble of life that they're oblivious to the rest of the world and the fact that people can easily find out what a hypocrite you are just by accessing the internet?

Is it the lust for money? As long as you're rich, you don't care how you're perceived or interact with the rest of the world?

[catgirl]

6. Narcissists do these things

Whatever is best for them is okay.

[Hannah Bell]

15. no, they don't have a conscience. they willfully & deliberately lie & mislead the public.

a basic fact people need to understand about media figures, politicians, & political actors generally.

never take anything they say at face value. do your own research if the issue matters to you.

99% of them are in someone's pocket.

[depakid]

7. Hope he didn't catch leprosy from them...

[SusanaMontana41]

8. Ooh ... another one?

This is getting good!

:popcorn:

[texastoast]

9. Oh. Lou. Some skeletons in your closet, methinks?

This is so wonderfully rich.


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Reg825]

10. He's also said he's always supported higher wages for farm workers

Did you see him on Lawrence O'Donnell's "The Last Word" when he claimed he's always been for higher wages for undocumented farm workers? Here's the link:

http://www.economicrefugee.net/stunning-lou-dobbs-supports-higher-wages-for-undocumented-farm-workers/

Talk about being an opportunist.

[catgirl]

11. Lou has an identity crisis going on n/t

[rabs]

12. More on Dobbs and his personal Mexican connections

http://www.aztlan.net/dobbs_married_to_mexican.htm

[Vehl]

13. Finally!

What a hypocrite!
I hated him from the moment I saw his show for the first time!

[Hannah Bell]

14. knr. couldn't happen to a more deserving asshole.

[catgirl]

17. Cheers!

[texastoast]

16. Kick n/t