Are Latino advocates trying to control free speech in this country Latino advocates CNN to drop Lou Dobbs?
Posted Thursday, April 15, 2010 by admin
Latino organizations in 25 U.S. cities are joining forces through a national technology-based campaign demanding that CNN drop Lou Dobbs from its program offerings.
Their leaders are citing Dobbs’ links to immigration hard-line groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which some consider an anti-immigrant organization, and his ongoing promotion of dangerous anti-Latino and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“Enough is enough. CNN has allowed Dobbs to spout **** on its network for too long, and his alignment with a **** group like FAIR should be the last straw,” said Roberto Lovato of Presente.org, the national online group that is organizing the effort.
FAIR was founded by John Tanton, decried by the Southern Poverty Law Center for his connection to white supremacist organizations.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, there are 46.9 million Latinos in the U.S., making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. Recent studies tie anti-immigrant **** speech to increased violence against Latinos.
Dobbs is joining FAIR’s annual “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” event, which is taking place in Washington D.C. today and tomorrow. The conference topics include “How Best to Close Illegal Alien Loophole in House Health Care Bill,” even though it’s been widely reported that undocumented immigrants are forbidden from receiving health care benefits under proposed plans.
Dobbs’ involvement in the FAIR event is the most recent action upsetting Hispanic activists nationwide.
Back in March, he criticized President Barack Obama for speaking about education reform to members of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a group in Washington, D.C. that advocates on behalf of Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S., calling it “crazy stuff.” He apologized days later.
“We are calling on CNN President Jon Klein to drop Dobbs if he and his network are to maintain any semblance of credibility in the fast-growing Latino media market,” Lovato said.
Organizers are asking supporters to join the campaign by visiting www.DropDobbs.com.
The groups involved in the campaign are based in the 25 U.S. cities with the largest Latino populations, which account for more than 75 percent of the entire Hispanic television audience in the country.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_hispanicaffairs/2009/09/latino-advocates-ask-cnn-to-drop-lou-dobbs.html