USA: Marine Le Pen’s Imitators

This is the new Republican buzzword: “illegals.” Translation: illegal aliens. Without papers. According to the good old method perfected by Karl Rove, you create a euphemism to stigmatize — without seeming to — a particular group and rally the troops. The euphemism of the season: “illegals.” Meaning: latinos.

Instead of saying “illegal immigrants” or “illegal aliens,” the sad array of representatives aspiring to the White House — from Abraham Lincoln’s party — use the adjective “illegal” as a noun. By using the adjective as a noun, it emphasizes the fact that millions of Hispanics are intruders, even if they perform, for often pathetic wages, the most undesirable jobs in American society.

The irony is that when Rick Perry and Mitt Romney (the others do not count) seek votes in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California, it’s a safe bet that they will modify their language.

The Republican Party, which would have everything to gain by seeking the support of this growing community, as did George W. Bush, prefers to make lewd winks at the most extremist of its supporters.

Bush understood that Latinos were natural allies, more conservative than black voters, who are traditionally aligned with Democrats. During the 2000 election, he received a substantial share of the Latino vote. Between 2000 and 2006, the number of Hispanics increased from 35.6 million to 44.3 million. They now represent 14.8 percent of the population.

Next November, the Republican candidate for the White House could very well regret having used the word “illegal.”