I was shocked and saddened to hear the news that English First executive director Jim Boulet died of cancer last week.

For the last decade, Jim headed English First. That position allowed Jim to work both with patriotic immigration reformers along with “Assimilationist” amnesty supporters. Unlike some English advocates, Jim was a firm supporter of immigration control, and was able to use his organization to push the issue whenever possible. The last few amnesty bills, for example had provisions that undermined Official English, so English First opposed them on those grounds. Boulet also led fights against the EEOC, Puerto Rican Statehood, and Hispandering.

I can think of more than a couple of occasions where I went to an utterly asinine conservative conference where Jim served both as the photographer as well as one of the few people I with whom I could have a sane conversation.

Jim was always willing to lend a helping hand. When I brought candidates to D.C. to meet with the movement, he would eagerly set up meetings with key leaders who wouldn’t give me the time of day.

Two years ago, I spoke at an English First press conference against Mel Martinez as the Chairman of the RNC. The American Cause is organizing a similar press conference to coincide with the upcoming RNC election, and I called Jim on his cell phone two weeks ago asking for advice. After about 10 seconds the call broke up. I left a few messages over the next week, and wondered why he hadn’t called back. I found the tragic explanation this morning when I saw Kathryn Jean Lopez make a note about his service at National Review Online.

May he rest in peace.

As if detaching Jim Webb from the Republican Party was not bad enough, it is increasingly looking as if part of the catastrophic GWB legacy is going to be splintering the GOP lock on the South.

Bob Conley, a Democratic newcomer to South Carolina politics, will take on Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in November after a recount Monday gave Conley a narrow victory over a primary opponent.
Conley, a North Myrtle Beach engineer, said he is a former Republican who became a Democrat out of frustration with trade and immigration policies and the Iraq invasion. He contends conservative positions on social policies are not owned solely by Republicans and opposes abortion rights and gay marriage.

US Senate primary recount: Conley to face Graham AP June 16 2008

The despicable Lindsay Graham won re-nomination for the Republicans over a far better, but woefully under funded man, Buddy Witherspoon

who challenged Graham’s support of a failed measure aimed at reforming illegal immigration laws

Naturally, arrogance rules the day in the Graham camp, as they move to become as mainstream Democrat as possible:

The single-term incumbent signaled he wasn’t concerned about Conley making immigration a campaign issue in the fall.
Graham “will aggressively seek the support of Republicans, independents and Democrats… said Scott Farmer, Graham’s campaign manager

The Democratic grip on Southern Senate seats was broken in the ‘70s and ‘80s as voters realized their representatives had been co-opted by the Washington Establishment and were quietly betraying their interests. Those Senators thought their constituents would never notice, or did not care about issues.

They were wrong.

Now, it seems, the Stupid Party is letting it happen again.

And the issue this time is immigration.

A public-spirited gentleman has posted on FreeRepublic (Comment # 32) what appears to be full text of the Randy Pullen RNC resolution opposing illegal immigration, saying it was emailed out by Texan Committeewoman Denise McNamara in December.

McNamara, with remarkable courage considering the situation in Texas, was a co-sponsor. (Applaud her)

Presuming this post to be authentic, the document is excellent � unless you are a large scale employer of illegals. It explicitly cites VDARE.com�s pet peeve of birthright citizenship, asserting:

Withholding U.S. citizenship from individuals born to illegal aliens will remove the so-called �anchor baby� inducement to sneak into our country

It also stipulates

� Worker eligibility verification should be mandatory for all employers in the United States and employers held responsible for hiring illegal aliens as employees and be subject to substantial fines,

� Working or residing illegally in our country must not establish rights or financial benefits of any kind for illegal aliens

� Any guest worker plan that allows illegal aliens to remain and work in our country will only result in more illegal immigration and increased crime in our country,

And cheerfully concludes

The Republican National Committee calls upon the Congress to pass and the President to sign a bill enacting laws to secure our borders and end employment of illegal aliens in the workplace at the earliest possible opportunity and to immediately commence enforcement.

Definitely a Maalox moment for Karl Rove.

It must be a sign of the times that FreeRepublic, which has a bad record of suppressing immigration debate, let the thread of outraged commentary rage on. Similar fury, from a rather broader intellectual base than just GOP partisanship, can be seen on the American Renaissance thread of comment on the topic (scroll down).

The McNamara email lists the names of the RNC members willing to co-sponsor the resolution:

Alaska � June Burkhart (applaud her)

Arizona � Randy Pullen (applaud him)

California � Barbara Alby

Colorado � Bob Schaffer (applaud him)

Louisiana - Kay Kellogg Katz

Michigan � Chuck Yob (applaud him)

N. Dakota � Curly Haugland (applaud him)

S. Carolina � Buddy Witherspoon

S. Dakota � Ron Schmidt

Texas � Denise McNamara

These people must now be coming under horrific pressure. E mail addresses for RNC members are tough to come by, but if possible, they deserve to be encouraged.

The other RNC members need some attention too. Their profiles can be found here.