# Has Heritage Fdn killed Conservative/Libertarian political appeal to 'low IQ' Hispanics/Latinos? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 10, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973 "2013-05-10T11:28:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NotfooledbyW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NotfooledbyW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotfooledbyW)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/1 "2013-05-10T11:28:45Z")
One of two co-authors on the Heritage Foundations big research paper that Rubio’s immigration bill will cost nearly $7 trillion dollars is a white supremacist/nationalist advocate and wrote a thesis that immigrants have lower IQs than the white native population. > [@](#): > > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/08/heritage-study-co-author-opposed-letting-in-immigrants-with-low-iqs/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/08/heritage-study-co-author-opposed-letting-in-immigrants-with-low-iqs/) > Heritage study co-author opposed letting in immigrants with low IQs Posted by Dylan Matthews on May 8, 2013 at 9:00 am > > Jason Richwine is relatively new to the think tank world. He received his PhD in public policy from Harvard in 2009, and joined Heritage after a brief stay at the American Enterprise Institute. Richwine’s doctoral dissertation is titled “IQ and Immigration Policy”; the contents are well summarized in the dissertation abstract: > The statistical construct known as IQ can reliably estimate general mental ability, or intelligence. The average IQ of immigrants in the United States is substantially lower than that of the white native population, and the difference is likely to persist over several generations. The consequences are a lack of socioeconomic assimilation among low-IQ immigrant groups, more underclass behavior, less social trust, and an increase in the proportion of unskilled workers in the American labor market. Selecting high-IQ immigrants would ameliorate these problems in the U.S., while at the same time benefiting smart potential immigrants who lack educational access in their home countries. Should this about do it for the non-white US population as they learn how tight and related the Heritage Foundation is to the Republican Party and the white dominated libertarian and conservative movement? I imagine Americans and new immigrants of Latino and Hispanic descent have more than enough equal IQ to see clearly what Republicans and their ‘think tanks’ are all about. Conservative Hispanic outreach should be breathing its last dying breath about now. Thank you Heritage and Jim DeMint.. the new used car clunker salesman who now leads the Heritage Foundation. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/2 "2013-05-10T13:12:30Z")
What does this have to do with libertarians? Heritage is a conservative think tank, not a libertarian one. Libertarians are overwhelmingly [pro-immigration](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_perspectives_on_immigration). See also: [Libertarian Party issue statement.](http://www.lp.org/issues/immigration) [On The Issues report.](http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Libertarian_Party_Immigration.htm) [Libertarianism.com statement.](http://www.libertarianism.com/content/55) The few libertarians who do favor restrictive immigration policies, like Ron Paul, end up being [attacked by other libertarians](http://www.aei-ideas.org/2013/03/rand-pauls-un-libertarian-immigration-reform/). And, here’s a nice article about the libertarian Cato Institute’s attack on the [Heritage Foundation report](http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/05/08/here-are-the-4-toughest-criticisms-a-libertarian-think-tank-had-for-the-heritage-immigration-analysis/) you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/3 "2013-05-10T13:21:11Z")
Also, note that Ron Paul is a _Constitutionalist_, not a Libertarian. He adheres to a few Libertarian principles, but so does Obama, for that matter. ETA: Your link is to an article about _Rand_ Paul, not Ron, but the same goes for him. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/4 "2013-05-10T13:32:54Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Also, note that Ron Paul is a _Constitutionalist_, not a Libertarian. He adheres to a few Libertarian principles, but so does Obama, for that matter. > > ETA: Your link is to an article about _Rand_ Paul, not Ron, but the same goes for him. :smack: You are correct (on both counts), I was referring to Ron and linked to the wrong article. [Here is](http://www.ronpaul.com/on-the-issues/border-security/) Ron Paul’s immigration stance. I’d call Ron a quasi-libertarian, but Rand a constitutionalist conservative, personally. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/5 "2013-05-10T13:36:36Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > I’d call Ron a quasi-libertarian, but Rand a constitutionalist conservative, personally. Splitter! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/6 "2013-05-10T13:53:20Z")
Do you have any evidence that this person is a white supremacist/nationalist? It might have been helpful to link to this evidence so we can evaluate where he is coming from instead of taking your word for it. Calling the author names is not the same as discrediting a paper. If you had substantive problems with the paper, could you enlighten us as to what they are? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/7 "2013-05-10T14:01:30Z")
> [@NotfooledbyW](#): > > One of two co-authors on the Heritage Foundations big research paper that Rubio’s immigration bill will cost nearly $7 trillion dollars is a white supremacist/nationalist advocate and wrote a thesis that immigrants have lower IQs than the white native population. And the other author, [Robert Rector](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rector) of the Heritage Foundation, [has not an impressive track record](http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2006/fall/radical-propaganda#.UYrgTPLD99A). > [@](#): > > Intelligence Report, Fall 2006, Issue Number: 123 > > **Bogus Numbers Undergird Attacks on Gays, Immigration** > > \ > > The national immigration debate is also suffering from propagandistic number inflation. Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, issued a report in June alleging that the immigration reforms then being considered by the U.S. Senate would add at least 100 million people to the United States over 20 years, ballooning the size of the population by a third. > > Rector’s study seemed to defy the most elementary logic. As critics later pointed out, his minimum figure of 100 million is equal to almost the entire current population of Mexico. His high-end estimate of 190 million over the next 20 years would require that the equivalent of the current population of Central America be added, too. A series of leading demographers told the San Francisco Chronicle that Rector’s projections were vastly overstated, ignored the effects of emigration and used unreasonably high estimates of legalization and naturalization. > > Nevertheless, based on his report, two Democratic senators changed their positions and the Senate then passed an amendment sharply limiting a future guest worker program. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/8 "2013-05-10T14:05:43Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Do you have any evidence that this person is a white supremacist/nationalist? It might have been helpful to link to this evidence so we can evaluate where he is coming from instead of taking your word for it. > Calling the author names is not the same as discrediting a paper. If you had substantive problems with the paper, could you enlighten us as to what they are? The problem with the paper is that it is projecting budgetary numbers out 50 years into the future, which is nonsensical. Maybe they can do that in China, but it’s meaningless in the US. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/9 "2013-05-10T14:08:24Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Do you have any evidence that this person is a white supremacist/nationalist? It might have been helpful to link to this evidence so we can evaluate where he is coming from instead of taking your word for it. From the article linked in the OP: > [@](#): > > Richwine’s dissertation asserts that there are deep-set differentials in intelligence between races. While it’s clear he thinks it is partly due to genetics — “the totality of the evidence suggests a genetic component to group differences in IQ” — he argues the most important thing is that the differences in group IQs are persistent, for whatever reason. He writes, “No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against.” That should make it clear enough. This idiot is drinking from the same well as Charles Murray and J. Philippe Rushton. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/10 "2013-05-10T14:11:40Z")
The Heritage paper is garbage, that’s pretty obvious. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That should make it clear enough. It doesn’t, on its own, make him a white supremacist or a white nationalist, though. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/11 "2013-05-10T14:23:56Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > The Heritage paper is garbage, that’s pretty obvious. > > It doesn’t, on its own, make him a white supremacist or a white nationalist, though. Asserting other races have lower IQs than whites by heredity **does** exactly that. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/12 "2013-05-10T14:38:46Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Also, note that Ron Paul is a _Constitutionalist_, not a Libertarian. He adheres to a few Libertarian principles, but so does Obama, for that matter. “Constitutionalist” is a term so meaningless as to be without practical use. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/13 "2013-05-10T14:41:47Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Asserting other races have lower IQs than whites by heredity **does** exactly that. I don’t think it’s that simple. He could just be bad at science; and falling victim to garbage-in, garbage-out, arguing for the logical conclusion suggested by a faulty premise. Also, according to the article, he recommended allowing in individual Hispanics who are sufficiently intelligent: > [@](#): > > Rather than excluding what he judges to be low-IQ races, we can just test each individual’s IQ and exclude those with low scores. “I believe there is a strong case for IQ selection,” he writes, “since it is theoretically a win-win for the U.S. and potential immigrants.” White Supremacist thought I’ve encountered is based on racial purity, and would reject accepting _any_ non-whites as equals. And, naturally, white nationalism requires advocating for a nation of only whites. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/14 "2013-05-10T14:44:57Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > I don’t think it’s that simple. He could just be bad at science; and falling victim to garbage-in, garbage-out, arguing for the logical conclusion suggested by a faulty premise. Also, according to the article, he recommended allowing in individual Hispanics who are sufficiently intelligent: > > White Supremacist thought I’ve encountered is based on racial purity, and would reject accepting _any_ non-whites as equals. > > And, naturally, white nationalism requires advocating for a nation of only whites. He’s just being cute, knowing full well that testing each and every immigrant’s I.Q. would consume too much money and time to be feasible. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/15 "2013-05-10T14:47:19Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > “Constitutionalist” is a term so meaningless as to be without practical use. I don’t know about that, when Rand Paul calls himself that I understand what he means: small government conservative. Basically, strict interpretation of the Constitutional powers of Congress, small military and fairly isolationist foreign policy, and opposition to individual liberties not granted by the Constitution, like marriage equality or abortion. Basically, socially conservative and fiscally conservative, with a small-government bent. At least, that’s my understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/16 "2013-05-10T14:48:42Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > He’s just being cute, knowing full well that testing each and every immigrant’s I.Q. would consume too much money and time to be feasible. That could be. I’m not saying he’s _not_ a white supremacist or a white nationalist, I’m saying that this one paper isn’t sufficient evidence on its own to make that judgement. If you have to assume he doesn’t mean what he’s advocating, it makes the conclusion pretty shaky. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/17 "2013-05-10T14:49:43Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > And, naturally, white nationalism requires advocating for a nation of only whites. No, sir. “White Nationalist” is simply the label that American white racists/supremacists/separatists currently prefer for themselves (thereby appropriating, or trying to, the radical-cachet of “Black Nationalists” etc.). It implies nothing that specific about their agenda. Of course most of them would **like** an all-white America, but you needn’t have that as your principal practical goal before you qualify for the club. Some, no doubt, would prefer having nonwhites kept around – in servile capacity. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/18 "2013-05-10T14:55:48Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > No, sir. “White Nationalist” is simply the label that American white racists/supremacists/separatists currently prefer for themselves. It implies nothing that specific about their agenda. Of course most of them would **like** an all-white America, but you needn’t have that as your principal practical goal before you qualify for the club. Some, no doubt, would prefer having nonwhites kept around – in servile capacity. Ok, true, a nationalist doesn’t have to be separatist. To be a white nationalist means holding a belief in a national identity based on the white race. And I don’t see support for a racial national identity in the OP’s article. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/19 "2013-05-10T15:01:26Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > That could be. I’m not saying he’s _not_ a white supremacist or a white nationalist, I’m saying that this one paper isn’t sufficient evidence on its own to make that judgement. Put it this way: If Murray is a WN, then so is Richwine. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973/20 "2013-05-10T15:05:26Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > “Constitutionalist” is a term so meaningless as to be without practical use. Well, that’s how he self-describes his political philosophy, but perhaps “Constitutional Originalist” would be more useful. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-heritage-fdn-killed-conservative-libertarian-political-appeal-to-low-iq-hispanics-latinos/657973.md?page=2)