'Illiterate peasants' ruin modern democracy

Well the headline may be tongue in cheek, but Colorado state representative Douglas Bruce (R-El Paso County) is in the news again, this time for calling seasonal workers 'illiterate peasants'. The exact quote was "I would like to get the opportunity to say at the microphone why I don't think we need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in Colorado".

Needless to say, Rep. Bruce didn't get to say why he thought that way, as he was immediately cutoff by Chairwoman Kathleen Curry and immediately barred from speaking further on the bill. Reaction to Bruce's remarks was negative and no member of the Republican caucus defended Bruce or challenged Curry. The bill, which was expected to provoke a lengthy debate, was passed quickly with minimal opposition.

Read the whole story here: http://www.gazette.com/articles/workers_35510___article.html/bruce_rep.html

Not to defend Rep. Bruce's remarks, but one must question the validity of a participatory democracy in which people with unpopular viewpoints are silenced. I for one would like to know why Bruce thinks we don't need another 5,000 more illiterate peasants in Colorado.

House Bill 1325, by Rep. Marsha Looper, would create a five-year pilot program to expedite approval of temporary seasonal foreign workers to help harvest crops that have sometimes rotted in the fields because of a labor shortage. Given the nation's current crisis regarding illegal immigration, one must wonder how much incentive to leave the withholding of 20% of earnings would be. How much would you pay to stay in the United States? Under this bill the employer would pay for the visa, transportation, housing, wages, workers comp, meals...etc. At the end of the term when the employee returned to his home country he would get the 20% withheld, or if he did not return it would be turned over to the local law enforcement of the employer. Certainly sounds like a better deal than most of the "coyotes" (people-smugglers) are offering.

The actual legislation may be found here:
http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2008A/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/611BF939B7A81E72872573A80065E651?Open&file=1325_eng.pdf

Bruce is one of those people always at the center of controversy and has earned the distinction of being the first representative in the history of Colorado formally censured by the house. Bruce was censured, and justly so, for kicking a photographer taking his picture (praying) during the morning prayer session, the morning before he was sworn in (Bruce is a vacancy appointee).

Bruce is an opponent of attaching 'safety clauses' (declaring a bill "necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety") to change the date of enactment or to prohibit challenge to the legislation via petition. Bruce is the subject of much personal hostility and animosity from the other legislators and on one occasion an amendment submitted by him (on a safety clause) was voted down, only to be immediately passed when submitted by another member. One is forced to wonder what kind of games are being played in our statehouse.

While Rep. Bruce does not seem to get along well with others, at issue here is not the 'political correctness' of his comments, but of the people's right to be heard through their representative. In theory at least each member of the house represents approximately 71,000 people. 71,000 people silenced by the angry clap of the hammer in the hands of the Chairwoman.

I am in favor of many of the ideas put forth by Rep. Bruce, in many ways he seems a true Reagan Republican advocating limited government and limited taxation. He is the author of the Colorado TABOR (Taxpayers Bill of Rights) limiting growth in government to inflation and population growth unless approved by the taxpayers via ballot (The term for getting around it is called 'de-Brucing'). He was against mail ballot elections, opposed county interference in the incorporation of the town of Falcon (although he was also opposed to the incorporation of the town). He donates his state salary to charity, introduced a bill to mandate classroom education on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and he is opposed to 'resolutions' that have no legal or binding effect as being pointless and a waste of the taxpayers time and money.

Despite the fact the Rep. Bruce seems completely inept at the art of politics, I am opposed to the legislature gagging any member, no matter how controversial his remarks. The actions of the Colorado house in this incident are a disservice to the people of Colorado. Silencing any representative silences the people they represent, no matter how much we disagree with his choice of words and his methods, he has the right and represents the right of the people to be heard. I personally am opposed to the legislation, it is not the government's job to provide migrant workers to our agricultural industry at taxpayers expense, nor am I happy that the bill seems to have been passed with little or no debate either out of spite or embarrassment at Rep. Bruce. While not in the print article, it was mentioned on our evening news that Bruce was advised by the Republican leadership not to make this an immigration issue, may I inquire why? It certainly seems relevant to the discussion, at least in my humble opinion. While this may not seem a national issue, the importation of 5,000 foreign migrant works into our country certainly is.

Already people are trying to make this a 'race' issue, the fact that the majority of our illegal immigrants are from Latin America makes it a race issue. I no more want 5000 migrant workers from Britain, Canada, Ireland, or Romania then Mexico, Haiti, Brazil, Chad, or Taiwan. The US unemployment rate is 5.1%... out of our 300 million population that is some 15 million people out of work. The population of Colorado is some 4.7 million people and it's unemployment rate is 4.4%, that leaves 206,800 people unemployed in the state of Colorado. Let the state and agricultural employers provide them with transportation, housing, wages, workman's comp, meals...etc. You can't convince me that we can't come up with 5,000 able-bodied workers from the number quoted above, if you provide to them what the state proposes we provide to migrants along with a legal wage. Refuse, and it's a concept unfortunately becoming alien to American society... no work...no pay.

To paraphrase an oft misattributed quote:

Let them pick fruit!


~Finntann~