After much considerable pressure, Lou Dobb’s resigned from CNN last night. Today the Drop Dobb’s Coalition held a press conference call to discuss his resignation. From the coalition:
Over the years, Lou Dobbs has consistently used his CNN platform to spread hatred and fear. He played a critical role in skewing the immigration reform debate in 2006, leading to the derailment of that effort, and his obsession with the issue of immigration and with defeating immigration reform continues unabated.
Adding to his repertoire of hate and fearmongering, he has recently aligned himself with the “birther” conspiracists and their racially tinged attack on the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidency. From his CNN platform, he has bolstered the claims of those on the fringe by asserting repeatedly that President Obama has failed to produce adequate proof that he was born in the United States. His recent focus on the birth certificate conspiracy issue has reinforced what immigration reform proponents have long known — that Dobbs has a long history of the worst kind of pandering by promoting hate and ethnic and racial division.
Leaders from various organizations came together to discuss the damage Dobb’s has done with his hateful opinions toward immigrants. His resignation is a major victory against hate and misinformation and leads the way for an honest debate on immigration.
Now we must begin the process of undoing the damage he has done to immigrants and minority communities. Hopefully CNN will finally take an active role in correcting his errors. We also hope that Dobb’s will ultimately be banned from the airwaves to ensure our communities aren’t victimized by this type of journalism ever again.
By Krystal Chan, Development and Communications Intern
