No se puede, Dan Proft~

No creemos lo que vemos, sino que vemos lo que creemos.

That old saying isn’t always true; sometimes seeing is believing; even when you don’t want to believe what’s in front of your eyes.

Congratulations to the chameleons for having done a relatively good job of concealing what they’re really about. Luckily, the internets are forever. People are a lot more suspicious of things than they once were…and are sharing information at lightening speed. I have a lot of respect for Joe Walsh, the congressional candidate in the 8th district for coming out and explaining his pro life position and how and why he changed his mind on the issue.

But some people simply deny their associations and call people names when they’re caught.

Dan Proft’s pro-amnesty La Raza article

Dan has some damage control to do, it appears he’s been caught saying our immigration laws are “immoral” – and writing articles that are featured at the communist hispanic publication, LA RAZA, which stands for THE RACE. See Human Events’ article The Truth About La Raza. from 2006.

It’s no wonder recently when I had a commenter complaining about an article I put up about Rosanna Pulido and why is it relevant to today? Gee, some of those endorsements are over a year old; she doesn’t switch her positions when it’s politically expedient.

Dan Proft, who up until now-I thought was talking the most sense out of any gubernatorial candidate in the Illinois primary, holds some pretty far out beliefs. I wonder if he would have gotten all the endorsements from all those GOP township organizations had they known this:

1. Dan Proft has a relationship with Joshua Hoyt, the Director of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and has been well-schooled by the pro amnesty for illegals lobby.
2. Dan Proft has written articles on the subject that have been featured at La Raza.
3. This article at the Examiner “Illinois GOP Candidates Who Are Pro Amnesty”
4. Dan Proft’s response in comments at the examiner-article above, which don’t really answer the questions posed.
5. Proft calls Moon, the writer of the Examiner articles, ‘every name in the book’ in response to those articles.

Here is the part of Rob Moon’s Examiner article “”Illinois GOP Candidates Who Are Pro Amnesty” that mentions Dan Proft.

Rosanna Pulido, of the Minute Men Project, is a solid voice against amnesty in Illinois and has worked with the Tea Party movement and the 9/12 Project on this issue. A 2008 article she wrote about Dan Proft (gubernatorial candidate) for GOP USA Illinois has been unearthed.

It describes a meeting she attended with Proft to which he brought his apparently close friend Joshua Hoyt, from the “Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights.” Proft reportedly blasted her as a demagogue at this meeting for speaking out against illegal immigration.

Proft has also had several pro-amnesty rants featured in the radical left-wing Latino supremacist group La Raza.

To see Pulido’s article, click here (scroll down about 2/3 of the way, until you see the title, “Horist, Norquist, Ponnuru, and Proft speak at ‘State of the Republican Brand’ roundtable – Rosanna Pulido”).

Between that, his questionable financial past and the fact that he told me in a recent interview that he opposes term limits, I am now emphatically against this candidate for governor.

That’s quite a mouthful. From comments:

Associating with La Raza negates Proft’s claim that he opposes amnesty and sanctuary cities because that organization actively supports any effort to prevent enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws and to reward illegal aliens for having thumbed their noses at American sovereignty. Proft no doubt would argue that there is a major difference between amnesty and “earned citizenship,” but anybody with an ounce of brains can see through that bogus argument. If he’s serious about opposing “rights and privileges reserved for American citizens or legal residents being extended to those here illegally,” he should come out in support of making the E-Verify program mandatory for all of the nation’s employers and back Sen. Chris Lauzen’s repeated calls for the Illinois Legislature to prepare a study showing what the state is spending annually to support illegal aliens.

Dave Gorak
Executive director
Midwest Coalition to Reduce Immigration
LaValle, WI
Madison Immigration Policy Examiner

And another:

Dan Proft, are you denying that you wrote several pro-amnesty articles for the radical left-wing Latino supremacist group La Raza? I noticed you washed over that in your response to Robert Moon. I know you say you’re opposed to amnesty now, but have you in fact wrote pro-amnesty articles in the past? I didn’t see anywhere in your response that you denied writing pro-amnesty articles. You wouldn’t be the first politician to say one thing and do another.

Proft responds:

First of all, my “shady financial past”? Really? Why didn’t you ask me about it if you were so concerned? How gutless and disingenuous.

Second, the meeting described was a public forum sponsored by the America’s Future Foundation–hardly a “closed door” meeting. So that is a lie.

Third, I have explcitly said I am opposed to amensty; I oppose sanctuary cities; I opposed rights and privileges reserved for American citizens or legal residents being extended to those here illegally. So calling me a “pro-amnesty” candidate is also a blatant and pathetic lie.

Finally, if you were just going to be a shill for Adam, you should have said so and I wouldn’t have wasted my time offering candid responses to your questions only to be smeared, be subjected to grade school innuendo, and have my positions grossly misrepresented.

Your hysterics and conspiracy theories say much more about you and the candidate you are shamlessly and obviously flacking for, sir, then they do about me.

It’s not really hard to find older articles…this one is one of David Diersen’s GOP mailings dated January of 2008 where Rosanna talks about the “State of the Republican Brand” roundtable.

This has absolutely nothing to do with ‘being a shill for Adam’. See Rosanna’s input about this from January of 2008:

GOPUSA ILLINOIS (At the Illinois Review)
– Horist, Norquist, Ponnuru, and Proft speak at “State of the Republican Brand” roundtable – Rosanna Pulido
www.gopillinois.com (1/17/08 News Clips page)
(ROSANNA PULIDO: America’s Future Foundation Chicago Roundtable: The State of the Republican Brand Last night I attended this meeting with high hopes of some good discussion and hoping to witness true desire and direction for the Republican Party, (especially in Illinois).

While in the meeting I experienced several moments of Deja Vu and may I say it wasn’t pretty! If I had not known better, I would have thought I was reliving my time at the Andy McKenna/Dan Cronin “We are Illinois” dog and pony show. I did enjoy comments from National Review’s, Ramesh Ponnuru who strived to be authentic and discussed the way the GOP has not reached out to minorities. Grover Norquist believes the GOP is healthy across the United States, (Heaven help us!!) Larry Horist believes illegal immigration is America’s fault and so the U.S.should grant immediate Amnesty to illegal aliens. (Wait I think it’s Bush’s fault!)

Oh and Dan Proft? He had his good friend Joshua Hoyt from the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights in the audience right in the front row. I dared to express my distaste for illegal immigration. Mr. Proft related that folks “like” myself demagogue the issue.

But, if we investigate Proft the master of words, lets see if his analogy is correct! When you look up the word DEMAGOGUE in the dictionary here is one of the definitions: A politician who seeks to win and hold office by appeals to mass prejudice. Demagogues often use lies and distortion. Dan Proft eludes to 80% of the American public is distorting the issue of illegal immigration because we are sick and tired of spending 3.5 billion dollars in Illinois for example on services for illegal aliens. This is not lies and distortion as Dan eluded to. But His definition of folks “Like” me just shows that Joshua Hoyt has taught Dan very well.

If you want to read some of Dan Proft’s views and emotional rants on illegal immigration you can check the La Raza archives, where his articles are sometimes featured. The State of the Republican brand? We can easily see where the Republican Brand is going when a major political consultant in Illinois is befriending the Director of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights and featuring his articles in La Raza news paper. I think Lou Dobbs is correct! We need to register as Independents!! Si Se Puede!!)

It would be one thing if this were a case of ‘guilt by association’, but there’s more to it than that because Dan stated very clearly in a public setting with around 100 people present-where he stands on the issue-as if his article quoted by Moon and at La Raza isn’t enough.

If you want to know who Joshua Hoyt is, here is a bio from the Huffington Post.

Joshua Hoyt has been the director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights since May of 2002. During that time the Coalition has fought vigorously for citizenship for the undocumented, to protect civil liberties in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and for a full integration of immigrants into community life in the U.S. The Coalition has helped to make Illinois one of the most immigrant friendly states in the U.S.

In recent years the Coalition has led successful campaigns to win in-state college tuition for undocumented students in Illinois; health care and pre-school for all Illinois children regardless of immigration status; won recognition for the Consular I.D. (Matricula Consular) in Illinois; won a strengthened Day Labor Protections Act; and passed a “Charity Without Fear” Resolution calling for the protection of Muslim charitable giving (Zakat). In November of 2005 Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed the first in the nation “New Americans Executive Order”, creating a proactive policy for immigrant integration in Illinois.

In 2006 ICIRR assisted in the organizing of the historic Chicago “mega-marches” of March 10 and May 1, with over 300,000 and 700,000 marchers respectively, calling on the U.S. Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

In 2004 the Coalition launched the “New Americans Initiative” for citizenship in partnership with the State of Illinois. This unique partnership has led to a 56% increase in applications for U.S. citizenship in Illinois. Since 2005 ICIRR and its partners have assisted over 32,000 immigrants fill out their citizenship applications; conducted over 565 citizenship workshops; and responded to over 183,000 requests for citizenship assistance.

In addition the “New Americans Democracy Project” has registered over 56,000 new immigrant voters since 2004, and has worked in the 2004, 2006, and now the 2008 elections to run a non-partisan GOTV (Get Out The Vote) campaign in 20 different suburban and city communities.

During this time the Coalition has grown from a $1.8 million dollar a year budget to a $5.6 million budget, and increased from 9 to 25 employees.

Josh has worked a total of 28 years as an organizer for social justice in Chicago, Baltimore, and in the countries of Spain, Peru, and Panama. This includes eight years of work in the poorest Latino communities of Chicago; four years as the executive director of the Organization of the NorthEast (O.N.E.), a community organization in the diverse Uptown and Edgewater communities of Chicago; the organizing of low wage workers in Baltimore, Maryland in a campaign that resulted in the first “Living Wage” ordinance in the nation; and organizing as a lay volunteer for the Catholic Church in the highlands of Peru and in the Diocese of Colon, Panama.

Josh served as president of the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois, the state’s largest consumer organization from 1986-89, winning hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds for utility consumers. More recently he served as the associate director of United Power for Action and Justice, an ambitious metropolitan wide citizen organizing effort that was part of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) network. Josh was the lead organizer of United Power’s Gilead Campaign for the Uninsured, which resulted in the creation of FamilyCare in Illinois, expanding health insurance coverage to 170,000 uninsured adults.

Josh was educated at the University of Illinois and the Universidad Central de Barcelona, Spain, and received his Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago. He has testified before Congress; spoken to such national media as the Leher News Hour, the O’Reilly Factor, the Lou Dobbs Show, and the New York Times and Wall Street Journal; written numerous articles; and directed political campaigns. He speaks fluent Spanish and limited Portuguese.

Josh has been married for 24 years, and has two children, ages 21 and 17.
Show full bio

So where are we now, do you think?

What is bizarre is Dan’s response…he says Et tu Adam from the Intolerant Fox over on blogspot is a response to this. Do you see anything about Proft’s views on immigration there -if you parse through the diatribe about Adam? I don’t.

Then he says-”Her characterization of my views is a bit premature since she hasn’t heard them. I will be forwarding her my responses to Moon and my note to Warner Todd Huston from today-Dan”

I think you’re not reading very clearly, Dan – those aren’t MY CHARACTERIZATIONS OF YOUR VIEWS – those are VIEWS YOU YOURSELF WROTE and is still up at URQmedia.

“Persons here illegally have by definition broken the law, as is Coulter’s essential point, but that is the beginning not the end of the analysis.”

“It’s the law is not a moral defense to laws that are immoral.”

Those are Dan’s words; not my “characterization” of a position that apparently has shifted because it’s politically expedient and he’s trying to garner votes from people who don’t agree with the social justice crowd. The bizarre response is to point to a diatribe about Adam and what a great guy Dan is doesn’t answer the questions about his relationship with Joshua Hoyt, or his saying in a room full of people that Rosanna “demagogue”s the issue – or his article at URQmedia that he himself pointed out was featured at La Raza.