30 oktober, 2006

Illegal indvandring, tre elefanter og et mariachi-band

"Show it, dont tell it" er en journalistisk hovedregel, men den virker åbenbart også fint i politik. I hvert fald har den republikanske kandidat Raj Peter Bhakta demonstreret, at den er åbenbar mulighed når det drejer sig om at skabe opmærksomhed om et emne.

Emnet han valgte var indvandring. Indvandring er ikke kun et varmt emne i Europa (eller Mali, for den sags skyld), men også i USA - især da USA er ufrivilligt vært for 10-15 millioner illegale indvandrere. En stor del af problemet er, at USA ikke er så gennemkontrolleret som Europa, hvilket gør den amerikanske sydgrænse notorisk hullet. Det er her, historien starter (fra Brownsville Herald):

“The elephant never made landfall into Mexico, but I tell you something, he could have made 15 laps back and forth, but no one showed up,” said Raj Peter Bhakta, a former star on the NBC show “The Apprentice,” who also is a Republican candidate for the 13th District U.S. House of Representatives seat in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Three elephants, two African and an Asian, were taken out to a ranch near Boca Chica beach to perform, the 31-year-old Bhakta said.

He was in Brownsville to raise funds with friends and decided to get a first-hand look at border security while he was here, he said.

In Brownsville, he witnessed half a dozen men swim under one of the international bridges “with complete immunity” which in turn prompted him to take the immigration issue to the next level.

Bhakta decided to see if he could get an elephant accompanied by a six-piece mariachi band across the river.

According to his Web site, he is in favor of “sensible immigration reform” and supports a border fence, local law enforcement assistance with immigration laws and the use of the National Guard troops to help the U.S. Border Patrol.

“To my surprise, the band played on, the elephants splashed away, and nobody showed up,” Bhakta said of the stunt. “I’m astounded.” ...

He said he was “staggered” by what happened on Tuesday and was planning on sharing the story with his potential constituents.

“If I can get an elephant led by a mariachi band into this country, I think Osama bin Laden could get across with all the weapons of mass destruction he could get into this country,” Bhakta said.

The mariachi band was not immediately available for comment.