Sometimes a line of dry prose says so much

The caption under one of the pictures accompanying an article about John Tanton:

The signature event of the Federation for American Immigration Reform is an annual gathering of like-minded talk radio hosts.

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The NYT article where the above appears says, "Dr. Tanton helped start all three major national groups fighting to reduce immigration, legal and illegal, and molded one of the most powerful grass-roots forces in politics." And: "Rarely has one person done so much to structure a major cause, or done it so far from the public eye." That applies to me, at least: though I know of two of the groups he started, his name does not ring a bell.

However, some people have been paying attention. The Southern Poverty Law Center has lots on "FAIR" (start here, see also) and Tanton himself (start here, see also). See also the SPLC report, "The Nativist Lobby: Three Faces of Intolerance," which ties "FAIR" together with the other two groups Tanton is connected with, NumbersUSA and the Center for Immigration Studies.