An ugly way to rough up the pope

There’s nothing quite like the immigration debate to bring the rude beasts slouching out of our politics’ rhetorical fever swamp. Even so, it’s hard not to be taken aback by some of the last few days’ reaction to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States.

When it came to immigration, the pontiff was hardly a firebrand. On his way to Washington, the pope told reporters that he hoped the U.S. government would consider the importance of allowing immigrant families to stay together. In a private meeting with President Bush, he reportedly urged immigration policies that take cognizance of basic human rights. And Benedict told American bishops that he hoped they’d be mindful of immigrants’ historical contributions to U.S. society and, therefore, that they’d be welcoming to today’s newcomers.

That was enough. The most rabid anti-immigrant demagogues instantly began ranting about Benedict’s “intrusion” into American politics. What’s more, oddly, many of them linked their objections to Los Angeles’ Special Order 40, which seems to have become the bloody shirt in the immigration controversy.

It’s not too surprising that one of the pontiff’s most vocal critics was the poor man’s Howard Beale, CNN personality Lou Dobbs. He’s made something of a specialty of bashing the Catholic hierarchy in recent years, as part of his pseudo-populist campaign for ratings. Dobbs charged Benedict with “mixing religion and politics ... in many ways insulting our country, talking about the need to be welcoming.

Well, there you go, though the pope got off easy compared with L.A. civic leaders, whom Dobbs blasted after an earlier -- and totally misleading -- report on Special Order 40 and the case of Jamiel Shaw II, a young man allegedly shot to death by an illegal immigrant who is a gang member. Dobbs called city officials “liars” and singled out Police Chief Bill Bratton, whose defense of Special Order 40 -- which puts certain restrictions on when police can inquire about a suspect’s immigration status -- the broadcaster called “irresponsible” and “disgusting politics.”

“And I think every one of you in the city of Los Angeles, running that city, supporting a sanctuary city and trying to excuse what happened to that family, I think it is contemptible,” said Dobbs.

This despite that Special Order 40 played no role in young Jamiel Shaw’s murder; nor has anyone in city government “excused” his killing; nor is L.A. a “sanctuary city.” Illegal immigrants are deported from here by federal authorities every day. But why stumble over facts when there’s a ratings-winning rant to be had?

Meanwhile, Rep Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), who tried and failed to build a presidential candidacy on anti-immigrant sentiment, accused Benedict of “faith-based marketing [that] may have less to do with spreading the Gospel than [with] recruiting new members of the church.”

Right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin took the same line but dragged L.A.’s Cardinal Roger Mahony in as well. The pontiff’s “primary concerns are not the sovereignty and security of our country,” she wrote. “Open borders benefit Catholic churches looking to fill their pews and collection baskets. The Vatican and American bishops, led by radical L.A. Cardinal Roger Mahony, have long promoted immigration anarchy and lawlessness. ... Question: Have you heard a single Catholic leader express compassion or outrage about the murder of young Jamiel Shaw in Roger Mahony’s sanctuary of Los Angeles by an illegal alien gang member?”

One could go on quoting from some of the more sinister anti-immigrant websites, but all this is argument in which points are linked by something other than logical inference -- mainly spleen and vitriol. The odd thing is that if anyone could have taken offense, it might have been the pope, because on the very day he discussed immigration with Bush, federal agents raided poultry processing plants in five states and arrested more than 300 mostly Mexican immigrants -- the bulk of them presumably Catholic -- whose only real crime was working without papers. As Mahony said, “Obviously the Holy Father is not encouraging people to do anything illegal,” but the raids “do not serve as a deterrent. They simply create fear and uncertainty in our communities.”

There’s radical sentiment for you.

What’s going on here is more than a distasteful curiosity. With a mayoral election just over the horizon, there are all sorts of people who would like nothing better than to watch this city fracture like glass under the hammer of a demagogic -- and fundamentally misleading -- debate over immigration and Special Order 40. The people of Los Angeles are going to be asked to make a fundamental decision on whose voice they trust.

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timothy.rutten@latimes.com