Primary Results Send Message That Extremism on Immigration, Islam is not Good Politics
Tennesseans Demonstrate Priorities: Economy First, Comprehensive Immigration Reform Afterwards
;)
Nashville, TN – Thursday’s gubernatorial primary results sent a strong message to politicians throughout the state that Tennesseans are by and large unswayed by anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric. Proving pollsters correct, Tennesseans supported the most moderate, economy-focused candidates, while rejecting those candidates who pandered to extremist views on immigration and religious freedom.
To the dismay of most, this primary season in Tennessean has been replete with political theatre and anti-immigrant antics; from gubernatorial candidates claiming that Islam, the world’s second largest religion, is a cult perhaps undeserving of First Amendment protections, to campaign ads focused on securing “our border” with Mexico, while only 6% of votes indicate that immigration is the most important issue (56% say the economy). We even saw a legislative delegation visit Arizona to present a commendation to Governor Brewer for a harsh, new anti-immigrant law, delivered after a federal judge determined it to be unconstitutional (and un-American).
“It’s disturbing that any candidate, let alone one running for governor of our state, would consider disregarding the interests of a significant percentage of Tennesseans,” says Stephen Fotopulos, Executive Director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. “These attempts to marginalize Tennessee's newest residents for political gain are particularly misguided considering the growing importance of the immigrant vote.”
Tennessee is home to over 250,000 thousands immigrants, one third of whom are naturalized U.S. citizens eligible to vote. This number is steadily increasing, as the foreign-born population in Tennessee is the fastest growing demographic in the state. Additionally, there are 60,000 Muslims who have made Tennessee their home – the majority of whom are U.S. born and also eligible to vote. As these numbers grow, Tennessee politicians will realize that lambasting these growing populations is an unsound long-term political strategy.
“Of course, some pundits will try to argue that being anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim is good politics, but again-and-again this is proving to be false,” says Fotopulos. “There are certainly legitimate frustrations and concerns among the electorate, but politicians are misinterpreting polling data to mean that Tennesseans will reward extremist positions.”
One issue which continues to have traction with voters is immigration. While many politicians have tried to use polls indicating voters support Arizona’s SB 1070 as carte-blanche to take extreme restrictionist views on immigration, in reality more Tennesseans indicate support for comprehensive immigration reform. What people want to see are solutions to a broken immigration system that are realistic and reflective of American values. In the absence of federal action, laws like SB 1070 can have a certain temporary appeal, only insomuch as voters want to see legislators do something. This does not mean that extremist positions are awarded at the polls, however.
In fact, extreme candidates tend to lose, just as we witnessed yesterday.
Links:
Poll showing Tennesseans prioritize economy, not immigration
Tennessee Gubernatorial candidate claiming Islam is a cult
Campaign ads focusing on securing “our border,” instead of creating more jobs
Legislative delegation visits Arizona to commend them on harsh, unconstitutional, anti-immigrant law
Statistics on immigrants in Tennessee
More support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform than Arizona’s SB 1070
