Waiting for a McCain moment
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Republican John McCain famously pushed back against some of his supporters who said they were afraid of Barack Obama being elected president, implying that McCain’s opponent was in cahoots with terrorists. “No m’am,” he gently told one woman, assuring her that Obama was not a secret Arab with a sinister agenda.
“He is a decent person, a family man and citizen who I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about,” the candidate said.
It was an act of political courage, as evidenced by the shocked and angry reaction from those in the town hall audience who expected McCain to just go along with their most paranoid fears. Saying something nice about your opponent — or simply correcting a supporter’s misguided viewpoint — is not an easy thing to do in a country as polarized as ours.
Unfortunately, we did not see this type of political courage on display last Thursday when Republican congressional candidate Jason Church stopped by Abbotsford for a roundtable discussion with voters. To his credit, Church was remarkably consistent when asked about his position on immigration policy. He is a strong supporter of President Trump’s strategy of building a border wall and increasing deportations. He also has some interesting ideas about streamlining the process for legal immigration.
However, when one audience member made a blanket statement about immigrants being “freeloaders” who don’t want to do a “damn thing” to earn a living, Church missed an opportunity to set the record straight. The man who spoke was particularly in need of correction when he claimed that immigrants are “living off the taxpayers” and haven’t paid “a damn cent into the system.”
This could not be further from the truth, especially in a city like Abbotsford, where immigrants, both legal and illegal, are essential to keeping the local and regional economy going. Not only do they fill hundreds of jobs on farms and in meatprocessing plants, they are also responsible for starting and operating a significant number of small businesses, including several in the downtown where Church was speaking.
This isn’t unique to the immediate area, and anyone running to represent us in Congress needs to acknowledge this.
According to a 2017 study released by the Partnership for a New American Economy, Wisconsin’s Seventh Congressional District has 15,784 immigrant residents, making up 2.2 percent of the population. These immigrants pay a total of $135 million in taxes every year, which includes $45 million to state and local governments and $90 million to the federal government.
They also add $362 million in spending power, according to the 2017 study, and the number of immigrant entrepreneurs is estimated to be just short of 500 across the sprawling district.
This is not to say that an influx of immigrants doesn’t come with its share of issues. Local police have pointed out that newly arrived immigrant workers have created a lot of extra work for them, particularly in the area of drug enforcement. Language barriers and cultural differences also complicate the process of integrating foreign-born residents into the native population.
By and large, we believe our Hispanic immigrant community is a net positive for our area, allowing for our economoy to grow and prosper while adding diversity and steady growth to our schools and workplaces. We hope that Church and the other candidates for the Seventh Congressional District realize this potential and are willing to push back against some of the more egregious prejudices among their supporters.
The Tribune-Phonograph editorial board consists of publisher Kris O’Leary and editor Kevin O’Brien
