Hey Newt Gingrich! You’re wrong about the ‘Great Replacement Theory’

Is the United States a melting pot? Or, is it a mixed salad?

Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who pops up regularly on Fox News, thinks immigrants should be thrown into the frying pan for threatening to disrupt the American way of life.

The Republican blowhard – who once called for a “humane” approach in enforcing immigration laws (back in 2011 when he sought the presidency) – is now claiming that allowing more immigrants into the country built by immigrants will only dilute “traditional, classic Americans.”

Appearing on Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo last Wednesday (Aug. 4), Gingrich allowed viewers to see what was on his mind regarding the so-called danger of Mexican immigrants coming into the country in the time of the coronavirus.

There is a plot, he asserts, by the “radical left” to replace Americans with immigrants who “know nothing of American tradition.”

“When you go and look at the radical left, this is their ideal model,” he opined. “It’s to get rid of the rest of us because we believe in George Washington or we believe in the Constitution.”

The “anti-American left would love to drown traditional, classic Americans with as many people as they can who know nothing of American tradition, nothing of the rule of law,” says the man who had an extramarital affair with the woman who is now on his third wife and who was sanctioned for ethical violations as House speaker.

This line of thinking – the Great Replacement Theory – is a white nationalist belief that originated in Europe that the native population will be replaced by inferior immigrants.

We disagree completely with such an un-American line of thinking.

Why would Mexican immigrants make up the largest share of those becoming new U.S. citizens year after year? Psst, they are required to learn about the U.S. Constitution and the country’s history.

Why would immigrants from El Salvador, Colombia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic rank among the top 10 countries of birth for new U.S. citizens?

The number of Latino Republicans in the San Joaquín Valley can be surprising.

Why are Republicans like Gingrich suddenly fearful of immigration? Dinesh D’Souza, a darling of the right, is an immigrant. So is former First Lady Melania Trump.

What’s not to like about actress Salma Hayek (México), author Isabel Allende (Chile), or Jimmy Kimmel sidekick Guillermo Rodríguez (México). They are naturalized citizens, just like Sofía Vergara (Colombia).

Overwhelming evidence shows immigrants contribute to the United States economy ($1.7 trillion purchasing power), its culture, its food, its fabric.

The cowboy was nonexistent until Mexican charros introduced the horse culture.

Joaquín ‘Jack’ García, a Cuban American, is a retired FBI agent who infiltrated New York City’s Gambino crime family.

We could go on and on, but that would be rude.

Instead, we’ll point out that Latinos are involved in every facet of American life. This newspaper has written countless words about Latinos in pageants, bodybuilding, non-fungible tokens, engineering, and other areas not typically associated with Latinos.

Latino immigrants have become part of the U.S. salad bowl, integrating different cultures while maintaining their separate identities. This salad bowl has a bit of jalapeño in it!

Juan Esparza Loera has been editor of Vida en el Valle since it first published in August 1990.

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 10 de agosto de 2021, 6:04 p. m..