Who really stalled the Voting Rights Act renewal?

Did an anti-immigrant site draft 'King letter?'
Letter signed by 79 GOP House members stalled Voting Rights Act renewal.

On Wednesday morning, June 21st, in an increasing common display of Republican disunity, 79 Representatives presented Judiciary Chairmen Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) with a letter stating that they would not support the renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Voicing opposition to the provisions for bilingual ballots contained in the forty-one year old landmark civil rights legislation, the rebellious Republican Representatives refused to lend their votes until the requirements were removed.

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It now appears some questions have come to light about exactly who is behind both the King letter and the effort to shelve the renewal of the VRA. The official copy of the letter that appears on the web site of the US Congress (www. house.gov) apparently was not generated by a house member or their staff, but rather by one of the leading anti-immigration/English only advocacy groups.

The copy of the letter that originally appeared on the House of Representatives web site appears to have been authored by someone named KC McAlpin using a computer registered to the anti-immigration advocacy group NumbersUSA. KC McAlpin is the Executive Director of an organization called ProEnglish


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The group is one of thirteen like-minded organizations founded by anti-immigrant advocate John Tanton. Tanton’s multi-million dollar web of groups includes not only ProEnglish and NumbersUSA, but also the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and the Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR).

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John Tanton has been credited for single-handedly creating the modern anti-immigration, English-only and Nativist political movements in the United States. Over thirty years he has managed to create a network of think tanks, advocacy groups and fund raising organizations that not only shape public opinion, but public policy. His experts testify before Congress and reports and studies by his various groups are used to formulate legislation. His pundits appear in all forms of media to pontificate and propagandize. By his own admission he says, "I would certainly have no reservations about claiming credit for being the guy secretly manipulating U.S. immigration policy."

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Although he claims to do so only because he believes that "the overwhelming majority of Americans … want to see immigration levels reduced," his motivations seem to stem from a firm belief that America is in peril due to a worldwide trend of third-world populations taking over the wealthy first-world nations. His philosophy contains a strange mix of environmentalism, protectionism, xenophobia, eugenics, and racism. A philosophy he has been able turn into a political movement though his network of organizations. This network includes both organizations founded by Tanton himself and those started by others that he takes under his wing and then integrates into his network and funds

Complete story available at ePluribus Media

tags: immigration, John Tanton, Voting Rights Act , ProEnglish, McAlpin, NumbersUSA