In the course of a Q and A on Jason Richwine in Takimag, Steve Sailer notes:

Q. How can America survive without these sacred myths [such as the myth that “America is a nation of immigrants]?

A. America survived fine for a couple of hundred years without the current schmaltz. When I was a boy in the 1960s, we had different schmaltz. The national myths then were all about cowboys and settlers, not immigrants.

The contents of the national myths serve to demonstrate current ethnic power. The descendants of Ellis Island-era immigrants are on top now, so they’ve rewritten history to make their ancestors sound central. This post-hoc score-settling is no doubt fun, but it’s obviously a stupid way to decide immigration policy. (“Frequently Asked Questions about the Jason Richwine Brouhaha“)

What? Italians run America?

Actually, no. If one clicks on the “top now” link, it takes you to another Sailer column on Jewish billionaires. Based on blogger n/a’s estimates, 35% of the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans are Jewish. (The Jewish Times of Baltimore estimated that 139 of the 2009 Forbes 400 were Jewish—also 35%; cited here; the original article seems to have disappeared.)

Of course being “on top” is a lot more than being well represented among the wealthy. It’s media influence (ownership and production of media; see here, p. 48ff), political influence (e.g., the Israel Lobby, financial clout within within the Democratic and Republican parties), academic influence (overrepresentation in the administration and enrollment at elite universities), etc. It’s this powerful influence in all the elite high ground of America that makes Jewish concerns on issues like immigration and multiculturalism so critical (Lawrence Auster agreed). It’s no surprise that Jewish organizations are foursquare behind the Schumer-Rubio bill, and Jewish billionaire Paul Singer (#392 on n/a’s list, with $1.1 billion) has financially backed the bill within the Republican Party (see also here).

I would agree that Jews are on top now so that they effectively run the country. As a result, Jewish attitudes on immigration are very important. I am not so sanguine about Jewish motives for supporting displacement-level non-White immigration. Sailer thinks they want “to make their ancestors sound central” to national mythology. My view is that it’s really about fear and loathing of White America. And that makes the entire project sinister indeed.