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With the immigration debate coming to a head in Washington this past week, I thought it might make sense to spend some time reading former White House staffer and presidential candidate Pat Buchanan’s State of Emergency published by Thomas Dunne books in August of 2006.  The book which is subtitled: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America was written when our current immigration debate was just starting to foment and argues vehemently against the guest worker / open borders legislative approach which President Bush and a hodegepodge of strange bedfellows have been advocating in our capitol city.  Thankfully (from this writer’s perspective) Bush et al. once again met with failure this week and I’m certain from reading this book that Buchanan shares my sentiments.

State of Emergency is the culmination of a philosphy that Buchanan began to openly advocate fifteen years ago during his first flirtation with seeking the White House.  What was originally deemed as isolationist/nativist prejudice against an open immigration policy during the heydays of NAFTA has developed into a national way of thinking and Buchanan has harnessed that voice in this book.  Consider this from the book’s first chapter:

Against the will of a vast majority of Americans, America is being transformed. As our elites nervously avert their gaze or welcome the invasion, we are witness to one of the great tragedies in human history. From Gibbon to Spengler to Toynbee and the Durants, the symptoms of dying civilizations are well known: the death of faith, the degeneration of morals, contempt for the old values, collapse of the culture, paralysis of the will. But the two certain signs that a civilization has begun to die are a declining population and foreign invasions no longer resisted. 

What Buchanan argues is that immigration (whether legal or illegal) is a threat not only to American jobs, but to America as a country and its overall culture.  As Buchanan sees it, immigration is the source of failed civilizations throughout history and if not regulated and controlled, America as we know it will become just another dead society.

While I found State of Emergency to be a well-written book that is well crafted, its real essence is better experienced through the audio version.  I happened to have a busy schedule this week, so I supplemented my reading with the author’s narration - and oh my God if it’s not the BEST speech I’ve ever heard on the issue of current immigration.  Buchanan’s naration of State of Emergency sounds like the five hour rant of a passionate orator who will not be denied.  It’s no mistake that Buchanan made his political bones as a speechwriter.  Listening to Buchanan read this book is nothing short of beautiful (that is if you think political discourse can be such).

I urge anyone who is interested in the ongoing (and believe me this issue will be one of the hottest in the upcoming presidential race) debate about immigration to read (but if you can LISTEN to) this book.  Any doubts I had about my belief that our borders must be sealed have been erased.  Buchanan’s State of Emergency is a clarion call that President Bush, Harry Reid, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and the rest of the “shamnesty” elite need to read.

Patrick J. Buchanan is a syndicated columnist, a radio commentator and author of several books including Right from the Beginning, Where the Right Went Wrong, and A Republic, Not an Empire.  He began his career as a newspaper reporter and columnist before serving in three (Nixon, Ford and Reagan) White House administrations.  Pat Buchanan also ran for president in 1992, 1996 and 2000 and since that time is a much sought after conservative political expert.  He currently serves as a political analyst for msNBC.  You can learn more about Pat Buchanan through his “official” website.  State of Emergency is available online and at fine booksellers everywhere.  Downloads of the audio version can be found here.  For a different opinion on State of Emergency, you can read Alexander Zaitchik’s review here (he apparently thinks Buchanan is a racist).