Tonight's speaker at the SW Metro Tea Party monthly kickoff, prominent immigration reform opponent Michael Cutler, has added another speaking engagement to his visit to Minnesota. The Central Minnesota Tea Party's website front page has posted the following notice:
Central MN Tea Party event- Come hear Michael Cutler, a retired special agent of the INS. Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7:00 PM. Michael's Restaurant 510 Hwy 10 S in St. Cloud, 320-252-7100 Michael has been on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and has testified before congress on Immigration issues. Don't miss out!
[Update:] The Coon Rapids Tea Party's web site notes that the group's November meeting was a car pool to the SW Metro Tea Party Cutler event. [end update]
Cutler's appearance at a second Minnesota Tea Party chapter closely associated with Republican state lawmakers and Republican candidates for office illustrates tensions with the state's conservatives and business community over immigration reform.
In early September, former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman wrote of his support for change in a Star Tribune oped piece, The United States needs immigration reform. On Halloween, MPR's Morning Circuit broadcast a discussion on how Conservative leaders push for 2013 immigration reform.
The Strib reported last month that the Minnesota Chamber [of Commerce] advocates for immigration reform; however, the paper noted yesterday in Clock ticks on immigration reform:
A number of conservative Republicans, including Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, have made it clear they will not vote for what they consider to be “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants.
With Bachmann firmly in the “no” column, reform supporters are hopeful that House members like John Kline and Erik Paulsen will heed their pleas, pitches and protests.
. . .Both Kline and Paulsen have indicated support for change in the nation’s immigration system but have not come out in favor of full-blown reform.
While Chanhassen is just outside of Paulsen's district, it's likely that many attending tonight's talk will be Paulsen's constituents. The Cutler appearance in St. Cloud will signal a path against citizenship for immigrants to Republican candidates vying to replace Bachmann.
Conservative media watchdog group AIM describes Cutler's affiliations:
He is currently a Senior Fellow at CAPS (Californians for Population Stabilization); a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based think tank; a Contributing Expert for the Counterterrorism Blog; and an advisor to the 911 Families for a Secure America. He also advises the American Council for Immigration Reform as well as Family Security Matters and the American Council for Immigration Reform on issues concerning immigration issues that relate to national security.
In Who Are Fox's Newest Experts On Immigration?, left-leaning Media Matters collected a list of Cutler's ties to anti-immigrant groups. These ties include:
Cutler Is A Regular Contributor To The White Nationalist Social Contract Journal. Cutler is a regular contributor to The Social Contract -- the white nationalist quarterly journal established by notorious nativist John Tanton. A search of Cutler's name at the Social Contract Press shows that he has written at least six articles for the journal since 2009. His most recent article for the Winter 2013 issue is based on his notion that the victims of illegal immigration are American citizens and legal immigrants. He also blames undocumented immigrants for prostitution in immigrants' communities. [Social Contract Press, accessed 7/18/13]
Rocky Mountain News: The Social Contract Press Publishes White Supremacist Authors. The Social Contract Press publishes pieces "by authors who express white nationalist or separatist views," and its editor Wayne Lutton "has also been on the advisory board of the publication of the Council of Conservative Citizens," a white-supremacist group. [Rocky Mountain News, 7/15/06]
- The Council of Conservative Citizens' statement of principles states: "We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called "affirmative action" and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the European-American heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races." [Council of Conservative Citizens, accessed 7/19/13]
Cutler Is A Former Fellow For The Nativist Center For Immigration Studies. Cutler served as a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) for at least five years. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the group a nativist organization. [Center for Immigration Studies, accessed 7/17/13, Southern Poverty Law Center, February 2009]
CIS Is Part Of Tanton's Network Of Anti-Immigrant, Nativist Organizations. The group was founded by notorious nativist John Tanton, an anti-immigrant activist with ties to the Federation For American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated a hate group. . . .
Cutler Is A Senior Fellow For The Anti-Immigrant Californians For Population Stabilization. Cutler is a senior fellow for the anti-immigrant Californians For Population Stabilization (CAPS) and regularly posts to the organization's blog. He is also referred to as a "senior writing fellow" in the organization's 2012 annual report summary, released in Spring 2013. The report praises him for increasing CAPS' national profile, stating: "With the particular assistance of Joe Guzzardi and Michael W. Cutler, TV, radio, print and Internet exposure continued increasing, with coverage in more than 200 blogs." [Californians For Population Stabilization, 2012 Annual Report Summary, Spring 2013; accessed 7/18/12]
Center For New Community: CAPS Is "The Anti-Immigrant Hate-Group Masquerading As An Environmentalist Organization." In a post exposing CAPS as an "anti-immigrant hate-group masquerading as an environmentalist organization," the Center for New Community noted that the group receives funding from the white supremacist Pioneer Fund. SPLC lists the Pioneer Fund as a "hate group" and says the fund "has bankrolled many of the leading Anglo-American race scientists of the last several decades." [Center for New Community, 6/29/12; Media Matters, 9/8/11]
Cutler Has Appeared On A Radio Show Linked With The "White Nationalism Codifying" John Birch Society. According to the Center for New Community, Cutler has appeared on the Second Opinion radio show hosted by Donald R. Griffin. Griffin is a member of what CNC called the "white nationalism codifying, conspiracy-convinced John Birch Society" . . .
To learn more about Cutler's views, read the entire post. Cutler has also been a guest on "The Ruthie Report," hosted by Minnesotans Seeking Immigration Report (MinnSIR) and Minnesota Minuteman leader, Ruthie Hendrycks. Hendrycks was Sue Jeffers' running mate in her 2006 Republican primary challenge to Governor Pawlenty.
Bluestem noted in an earlier post that exurban and Greater Minnesota Tea Party chapters' anti-CIR events are also a potential trainwreck for the party's commendable outreach to immigrants and people of color:
While the Republican Party of Minnesota is organizing voter outreach in Twin Cities Somalli, Hmong and Latino communities, the SW Metro Tea Party, led by freshman state representative Cindy Pugh (R-Chanhassen), has invited Californians For Population Stabilization (CAPS) senior fellow and former INS agent Michael Cutler to speak on Monday, November 4, according to the calendar on the SWMTP's website. . . .
CAPS, which opposes comprehensive immigration reform, has been called an "anti-immigrant hate-group masquerading as an environmentalist organization" by the Center for New Community. The Center notes that CAPS "receives funding from the white supremacist Pioneer Fund," according to a briefing about Cutler by Media Matters.
Photo: Michael Cutler
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