Andrea Batista Schlesinger

The Manhattan Institute in Intellectual Siberia?

What today's New York Times piece on the waning influence of the Manhattan Institute fails to consider is how their internal shift to the right has turned this once moderate and pragmatic think tank into yet another bastion of conservative and reactionary thinking.

Whereas the Manhattan Institute could once be counted on for practical ideas on how to meet the challenges of urban centers, they now are guided by political opportunism.

Exhibit A: Heather MacDonald, who has almost no practical experience to qualify her to speak on matters of public policy, is their most prolific fellow. She focuses almost all of her attention on promoting the closing of America's borders by stirring up anti-immigrant sentiment. She warns of the "immigrant gang plague" (Latinos/Mexicans/Immigrants -- all of these terms are interchangeable throughout her work and apparently they all mean a population predisposed to gang participation). She asks "Why can't our immigration authorities deport the hordes of illegal felons in our cities?" And she tends towards sensationalist and unfounded allegations, such as that "police forces and county jails [are] reeling under the burden of illegal-alien rapists."

As Larry Mone, Manhattan Institute President puts it, "Sometimes it's just a question of whether an issue is on the front burner or not. And sometimes it's a political opportunity."

Certainly the Manhattan Institute has sensed a political opportunity to stir up xenophobia in the absence of contributing to a meaningful conversation about immigration policy in this country.

Maybe that's why Mayor Bloomberg doesn't listen to them. The scarier question for thoughtful Americans is: who still is?

Andrea Batista Schlesinger: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 1:34 PM, Oct 25, 2005 in Immigration
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