Correspondent Soledad O’Brien featured Garcia in the first segment of her ‘Latino in America’ miniseries at 9 pm Eastern, where she was labeled as an “unapologetic champion of people many Americans love to hate- illegal immigrants.” After detailing her involvement with a high-profile deportation case, O’Brien stated that Garcia had “nothing to do with creating the pinata and only picked it up to defuse” the anti-Arpaio protest. The CNN correspondent cast a sympathetic light on the activist by noting how she has apparently received death threats for her work.
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O’BRIEN: Her critics say Isabel Garcia crossed the line when she attended a protest where a pinata of Sheriff Arpaio was knocked to the ground.Two-and-half hours later, anchor Anderson Cooper brought on both Garcia and Arpaio for a segment on the illegal immigration issue. Mid-way through the segment, the pro-illegal immigration activist accused the sheriff of taking advantage of Arizona state laws to create a racist climate against Hispanics: “The fact that he has been able to promote laws that are state laws, focusing in on immigrants, really is reminiscent of post-slavery almost. We have like our own Black Codes here targeting immigrants in this particular situation, and it’s a shame.”
GARCIA: One of the right-wing hate radio disk jockeys brought out his video that showed me with a pinata head and they used that to say that I should not be employed in Pima County.
O’BRIEN: Isabel says she had nothing to do with creating the pinata and only picked it up to defuse the protest.
GARCIA: I picked up the pinata head to get the crowd moving.
O’BRIEN: Arpaio’s office called her actions ‘disgraceful.’ There were calls and letters demanding she be fired.
O’BRIEN (on-camera): Because you’re a public official-
GARCIA: Yes.
O’BRIEN: You shouldn't have been taking part in a protest.
GARCIA: Yeah.
O’BRIEN: That was the gist of a lot of the letters.
GARCIA: Yeah, absolutely, and I think that’s a shame. You see, I believe this is my responsibility.
O’BRIEN (voice-over): And that’s brought death threats.
GARCIA: I have one gentlemen that, in an open hearing, came this close to me and with his finger like a gun said, ‘right between the eyes,’ twice to me.
O’BRIEN: Despite the threats, Isabel continues to challenge Arizona’s tough laws.
GARCIA: How can we be so hypocritical to say- you know, how can you violate our laws and come into the country illegally when we’ve encouraged that for a hundred years?
O’BRIEN: In fact, for decades, the U.S. government looked the other way as American businesses took advantage of the cheap labor. In the ‘90s, and particularly after 9/11, officials got tougher, deporting hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.
Arpaio fired back by bringing up her pinata protest: “Well, you know, you were down in Tucson with all these kids with your pinata, cutting my head off, teaching kids how to fear law enforcement officers. I’m not going to get into you and your garbage down there in Tucson. So don’t go insulting me.”
Cooper fairly followed-through with Garcia on her conduct at the protest, as he showed video footage from it: “Let me ask you about that Isabel because...it has been...a big issue....There’s this video- you were at a demonstration where there was a pinata of the sheriff that was beheaded by a group of people who are beating it up...and you are then parading around with the beheaded head of the sheriff from the pinata. If that was done by conservatives to a pinata of President Obama, people would flip out. I mean, do you defend this?”
Garcia didn’t explain herself in her answer, but instead, made Arpaio the issue: “Look...what these kids did was legitimate, symbolic speech....I wish Arpaio’s was symbolic speech. He treats our entire community like a pinata himself.”
This is actually the third separate answer Garcia has given on this pinata decapitation episode. Shortly after it took place in 2008, Michelle Malkin reported on her blog how she thought the entire affair was “funny.”
Anderson Cooper probably didn’t realize it at the time, but he was actually tougher on Ms. Garcia than his colleague Soledad O’Brien was.
—Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
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PLEASE tell me her views
October 22, 2009 - 15:15 ET by BKeyserPLEASE tell me her views are legitimate within the progressive party. Please! How wonderful it would be for the MSM to show some of the footage of Bush being burned in effigy, or with swastikas all over him, or little LaRouche mustaches. Wouldn't it be nice if some of our busier, less informed friends got to see those images on their 6:00 evening news broadcast every time Botox Nanny gets behind some podium and starts whimpering about a progressive being killed by a democrat and likening that to peaceful tea parties.
At least if the progressives would come out and admit that this type of behavior is considered acceptable within their ranks, then the media wouldn't have to continue en masse suppression of that footage. Then, folks still trying hard to believe that democrats in general aren't really extreme like those crazy right-wingers will get to see that, yes, in fact, some of them actually are.
Free speech
October 22, 2009 - 15:33 ET by KC MulvilleThat's why it's hard for me to take any demands about Limbaugh and Coulter and "tone" seriously. They want free speech for themselves but not for others. And our answer is No - it doesn't work that way.
Th
October 22, 2009 - 15:43 ET by jessieHThe govt. might have looked the other way but the people haven't. Just because the govt. sees fit to ignor the laws of this land doesn't make it legal. AND, come election time we will let the govt. know it.
We don't hate illegal
October 22, 2009 - 15:43 ET by mattmWe don't hate illegal immigrants. But we do hate:
...the policies that attract them,
...being taxed to support them and educate them,
...paying for their healthcare when they don't have to pay,
...having our legal votes diminished by the presence of illegal votes,
...paying extra to hire bi-lingual teachers while they pay no taxes,
...paying to keep the criminals among them in jail,
...the leftists who are exploiting them for political gain.
Don't forget about the
October 22, 2009 - 16:54 ET by Another Dead KennedyDon't forget about the politicians who have zero interest in passing a law or enforcing a policy to protect Americans from illegal immigration. It's seems obvious to state that an overwhelming majority of Americans want this problem solved, while the majority of politicians can't figure out a way to politically stop the bleeding.
xoxo - Ted
Ho
October 22, 2009 - 15:50 ET by jessieHHow can the federal govt. call them imigrants when they came here illegally? How many terrorists have they let into this country, just because they won't enforce our laws? How many people must die before they pull their collective heads out of their asses?
Inconsistant
October 22, 2009 - 15:50 ET by JustRussI didn't find her statements all that inconsistant, disgusting yes, but not inconsistant.
How can black democrats stomach her comparing the crack down on immigration to jim-crow laws?
Just because the idiots ignored the issue for the last "hundred years" doesn't mean it was right or that it should have been condoned in any way. We have a legal way to come into this country, use it. Furthermore if you want to be in our country then you need to know that ENGLISH is the language of the land and LEARN IT! We need to stop these Latino ghettos from being formed where many illegals can gather, converse, and do commerce all in Spanish.
I am not a biggot, I have no problem with the Mexican or any other people of the world. I just do not respect you for breaking the law to get into the country. And I will not bow to your demands.
Open borders
October 22, 2009 - 16:03 ET by Jerry MackO'Brien is an open borders advocate and is only going to show pictures and words that are designed to produce emphathy for illegals.
The head pats from Obama must be causing brain damage to Cooper. Obama might consider lightening up on the head pats.
oh yuck
October 22, 2009 - 17:04 ET by JnobleIs that Medusa? Am I going to turn to stone now if I look at that screen capture too long?
Jn... I knew that picture
October 22, 2009 - 17:08 ET by bigtimerJn...
I knew that picture of her reminded me of someone/something...
You hit the nail on the head there!
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
"in case erection lasts for more than four hours..."
October 22, 2009 - 17:19 ET by Jnoble"..consult this picture"
:-)
I would actually suggest any
October 22, 2009 - 17:39 ET by jkwtradingI would actually suggest any American could arrest or round up an illegal...we have 300 million people, 20 million illegals, the whole problem would be done in a half hour or less.
Did anybody else see O'Brien on Jeopardy!?
October 22, 2009 - 17:57 ET by BO STINKSShe was on with Kareem Abdul Jabar and another guy (actor), can't remember his name. But Kareem and other guy blew her out of the water and she was in the hole until they had some categories she could handle during Double Jeopardy. Those categories, I kid you not, were about movies, celebs and TV. She stood there with a smirking, condescending look on her face the whole time too. Not surprising that she missed the irony in the above report. She's not exactly a brain trust.
"How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!" Sam Adams
Compete?
October 22, 2009 - 18:45 ET by okiehawk44You can't compete with anyone willing to employ illegal aliens.
They are paid less. More are hired because of this thus quickening project completion times.
One or two are paid lower but "on the books" wages for any inspector's benefit and the rest are paid what they are paid. Period! Minimum wage? You must be joking or drunk.
Complain to whom? Want to make $3/hr or -0-?
Either employers who hire these people are heavily fined and/or jailed or the situation continues. It is hard on the illegals and devastating to our economy.
BTW Democrats and Republicans both practice this and if you have to compete with it you will go under. Even doctors and other professionals are starting to be impacted. Most illegal alien employees are very hard working and it's not their fault directly but they are sowing the seeds of destruction of this employment cow north of the border even for their own kids.
Public Defender
October 22, 2009 - 19:05 ET by spiffIsabel Garcia has long been a scourge on the landscape of Arizona. She is the Pima County Legal Defender earning her living off the public dime.
http://www.pima.gov/...
http://immigrationbu...
Member, Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy
Spiff... Perfectly
October 22, 2009 - 21:28 ET by bigtimerSpiff...
Perfectly fitting isn't it?
Some things seem they are never going to change, the enemy within this country are in all nooks and crannies...took decades, but they have finally accomplished that.
Now with O at the helm they are going at break-neck speed...no matter their possible losses in '10.
Yet we still have to remember they have ACORN and sister groups, dem party power in various states if anything is contested, New Black Panther intimidation tactics at the voting precints, which has been okayed by the O-Team with a wink and a nod by Holder, Union members busing/buying voters to vote all over the place more than once or twice, all the dead people and pets voting.... and last not least...the Census coming up, gerry-meandering all over the place.
Other than that...we can win!
Oops...I forgot, we have some in the GOP Big-Wigs that want RINOs to win.
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
bt
October 22, 2009 - 22:26 ET by DEVILDOCMOMThis was a big deal here at the time. Jim Parisi and KNST, our best talk radio host and station, brought Sheriff Joe Arpio to Tucson to sign his book, Joe's Law. Despite the interest of the crowd inside the bookstore in what Sheriff Joe was saying; the minor "crowd" outside was obnoxious and disrespectful. That this woman was one of the crowd and took part still rankles me. There were many complaints to our county administrator, Chuck Huckleberry, but the whole upshot of his decision can be summed in the following "Neither taking responsibility nor expressing remorse, Garcia’s memo to Huckleberry states, “I am very sorry that the piñata breaking, and my participation, has been so misunderstood … and I sincerely apologize for all the problems that have resulted.”
Great seeing ya
October 22, 2009 - 22:45 ET by bigtimerGreat seeing ya DevilDoc...
Hey gal, that was a typical leftist non-apology apology.
They all get away with this, they all make me angry and ill.
Btw...the msm ensures this outcome as well for these leftist lemmings with an agenda...
...and the Circle Won't be Broken....
Unless WE The People Break it.
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
Good to see you too
October 23, 2009 - 23:13 ET by DEVILDOCMOMAs you said, they will get away with it, no matter how much we complain. Yep, we, we AMERICANS, have to break the circle and restart again. I hope we have a strong candidate here against McCain...I think we will. It's a good start.
Racism, straight up. Oh,
October 22, 2009 - 21:13 ET by RR GOPRacism, straight up. Oh, and the knowledge that most of these illegals would be down with getting hand outs courtesy of the Dumocrats.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.