Photo Courtesy of Nate Imhoff. Check his blog at www.blazingmonk.com for more great shots

Today I stood in the cold rain for two hours observing 75 Minutemen and Minutewomen. I learned some things. I un-learned some other things. Here’s my observations.

It seemed as if the Minutemen who stormed the SCV in January were on a roll. Bob Kellar never backed down, even when Meg Whitman disowned him and Buck McKeon said he should apologize. They had enlisted several new speakers, including high profile ones like State Senator George Runner, to aid in their cause. They were optimistic that 250+ people would show up at their rally, and they were ready to double down on just about everything they said at the last meeting.

But it didn’t turn out that way.

First of all, our local and out-of-town Minutemen weren’t alone today. They were bested in both turnout and volume by the ANSWER LA immigration activists, who showed off their protesting chops by shouting for their cause in unison and by being mobile.

They shouted the standard ANSWER agitprop “The people, united, can never be defeated!” through their bull-horn. One Angry Minuteman tried to counter that with the awkward and rhythmically-challenged, “We can cross the border illegally!” in an attempt, I guess, to ironically shame them.

Needless to say, the shout didn’t catch on among the largely 50+ year old Minuteman crowd.

The rally itself started quite late, but it didn’t take long for things to warm up. Pastor Audie Yancey, the “illegals are evil” star of the January rally, kicked things off again this time around with a milder invocation.

At least I thought it was milder.

State Senator George Runner (of all people!) didn’t think so, and you can see his animated and heated exchange with Minuteman organizer Frank Jorge in the video below.

As Pastor Yancy went on another tear against illegals and told the protesters to shut up, Runner headed for the exits with his aide in tow. I asked some local Republicans why Runner had left, and the consensus seemed to be that he 1) didn’t like the Pastor telling the protesters to shut up (thereby acknowledging their presence) or 2) the rhetoric was a bit too heated even for his taste.

Runner’s desertion of the Minuteman left Frank Jorge hopping mad:

With Runner out of the picture, I thoguht for sure that Bob Kellar and David Gauny might be having second thoughts about speaking at this rally. I watched them as Jorge made his speech, but they showed no reaction. They were ready to press on even when the high-profile Senator abandoned ship.

Things started to move briskly. Ray Herrera, a veteran, took to the stage and outlined a grand conspiracy for everyone in the crowd. I can’t say I even caught the broad outlines of this theory, but it had something to do with the enduring power of the “Anglo Protestant People,” the Puritans and Pilgrims, World War II and Saipan, tyranny, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. After invoking all that, he pointed toward the ANSWER activists and said this:

They don’t have the core values, they don’t have a progressive state. They don’t have the courage to stand up in Mexico and fight for what they want.

They want to take it from you. I’m going to say it like it is. They want to take it from the white man.

Of course, Herrera immediately recovered from “saying it like it is,” and said that what the ANSWER activists really didn’t understand was that there was no white man in America because all Americans are equal before the law and when push comes to shove, Americans of all races would fight the Japanese in the foxhole together on the beach at Saipan.

Or something.

In any case, he provided some context that made his remarks seem less like a call to arms in defense of the white man’s things, and especially, his women folk (because who wouldn’t want them some fine white women?)

Moving on, it was David Gauny’s turn to speak. Undeterred by Runner’s exit and Herrera’s grand American theory of everything, he started by poking some fun at Kellar. He then said that many had advised him that showing up at the rally would guarantee he wouldn’t be elected and then launched into campaign mode.

His speech was largely unremarkable, though he did channel Steve Lunetta and mention how bad things are in Newhall with regards to day laborers. Funny that he didn’t mention that those men stand out their because we Santa Claritans are hiring them every day.

David, you’ve lost my vote. I hope your appearance before 75 or so anti-illegal immigration activists, most of whom don’t live here, was worth it. I have my doubts.

Bob Kellar was up next and made sure to emphasize that he was speaking on his own behalf. He was proud to say that those of us who wanted him to apologize were going to have to wait a long time. The rest of his remarks were prepared and it’s safe to say he left Cranky Bob Kellar at home in Sand Canyon today. I only wish he had done the same in January. I genuinely liked this man.

Finally, it was Roger Gitlin’s turn to speak.. I’ve gone back and forth on Roger Gitlin on this blog. Sometimes he seems reasonable, even hinting that he supports humane immigration reform. At other times, he tosses his lot in with the crazies like Frank Jorge. Happily, the former showed up today, and he was engaging and lucid and reminded the Minuteman to protest the issue of illegal immigration, not the illegal immigrants themselves. Of course he then went on about illegal alien criminals, but compared to the rest of the speakers, Gitlin was almost someone I could have a conversation with. Almost.

As the rally wore on, I became less interested in recording each speaker. They largely said the same thing. I will say that the black man from South Central who got up and defended Bob Kellar and shouted the word “nigger” several times made me wince (that’s a hell of a thing to hear in downtown Valencia, Nate Imhoff told me), but other than that, I was bored. So I decided to confront Pastor Yancey because his January comments bugged me the most:

Yancey comes off less the racism-justifying preacher of yesteryear and more the confused old man who’s past his prime.

By the way, props to Tony Miano, the SCV street preacher, retired Sheriff’s Deputy and blogger who denounced Yancey and said he was at the rally because “people are here” and not because he agreed with the sentiments. You should check out his blog, where he reflects on Pastor Yancey.

Concluding Thoughts

In the end, I didn’t leave feeling triumphant or beaten down. I left feeling pity for these protesters. One of them mentioned “globalization” and touched on the way the world has changed in the last several decades. In his mind, America should be like it was in the good old days, that mythical time of economic security, harmony and good jobs. That time when a man knew his place in the world, rather than finding himself confused and lost in modern American capitalism’s relentless race to the bottom (and that was before the bailouts!) What difference does it make to the American worker, he seemed to mourn, whether the cheap labor we depend on is in China or on the streets of Newhall? Both are bad for American workers.

This, I remain convinced, is what the anti-illegal immigration movement is really about: Economic insecurity.

I did share one thing with the Minuteman. I am angry. I am very angry that Deputy David March was murdered. I am angry there are illegal immigrants driving without licenses or insurance. I’m angry that the taxpayers foot the bill for an undocumented immigrant’s  kidney dialysis at my mom’s unit while an elderly American gentleman struggles getting his insurance company to pay for his. I’m angry that Adrian Avilla, an illegal immigrant, raped several women in Canyon Country a few years ago.

I’m also angry that American companies get fat off the backs of these people and no one stops them.

I’m angry about these things but the difference between me and the Minutemen is that I think the solution is to get illegal immigration under control and provide a path to citizenship for the vast majority of illegal immigrants who come here, work hard, and just want to improve their lives. In that sense, I’m on the side of President Bush who tried to fix this problem in 2006. But his effort died at the hands of the Minutemen.

And unfortunately, they’re not giving up and they’re never going to change their tune.