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My Lunch With Lou Dobbs
Submitted by jcosgriff on Thu, 02/21/2008 - 11:55am.
Story summary:
The overriding emphasis on solving globalization’s many ills by urgently sealing the borders strikes me as populism gone astray. First, it’s ineffective, because the country will never be ziplocked as tightly as he wants it to be. The price of trying is too high, and it ignores the millions who enter the country legally but overstay. Most shamefully, it does nothing to resolve the fates of the 12 million undocumented already here. Second, the obsession with enforcement dovetails with the agendas of some nasty people: the nativists for whom immigration is a simple case of brown and white, of preserving “American” culture by keeping Latinos out.
My Lunch With Lou Dobbs
New York Times
2-21-2008
So I was having lunch at the Four Seasons with Lou Dobbs the other day, locked in disagreement over who cared more about working people, him or me.
Him: CNN host, biggest and loudest gun in the battle for tougher immigration policies, leader of a nightly crusade to expose the misdeeds of those he views as elitist fools and scoundrels.
Me: editorial writer whose views on immigration qualify, to Mr. Dobbs and many others on his side of the debate, as elitist, foolish and scoundrelly.
Meeting at the Four Seasons was his idea, to continue a long, civil and inconclusive phone conversation about immigration. I got there early and waited at Mr. Dobbs’s banquette. I looked around the hushed room, full of dark suits and a wintry glow. Mr. Dobbs appeared and settled in, his drink, cranberry juice and seltzer, materializing at his right elbow.
In the spirit of the occasion, I ordered strictly within our borders: lobster bisque, filet of bison and New York tap water. He had the Dover sole.
Among people whose immigration views I admire, Mr. Dobbs has a reputation as a hopeless blowhard. I did not dwell on that at lunch. I was his guest, and I had seen what happens if you try to skewer him with insult or accusation. Mr. Dobbs is unencumbered by self-doubt. The granite fortress of his certitude is smooth and featureless, and whatever boulders you hurl at it will end up on your head. Besides, I was looking for something better than an argument. I wanted to convert him.
An honest person must concede a lot when arguing immigration with Mr. Dobbs: Yes, the borders and ports are insecure, and poor countries like Mexico have done too little to solve their economic and migration problems. Yes, illegal immigration hurts some Americans, globalization causes many global problems and big corporations love to stick it to the little guy.