Tom Tancredo, Statesman
Posted on 10/14/2003 2:05:20 PM PDT by madfly
Tancredo will seek to abolish race caucuses
Colorado Rep. is insensitive: Critics
By Betsy RothsteinRep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) plans to introduce a rule to abolish all race-based congressional caucuses. The rule would banish all caucuses created on the basis of ethnicity, such as the Black, Hispanic and Asian Pacific caucuses.
His suggestion, which the congressman said he knows will spark outrage, immediately drew accusations of insensitivity from members of the caucuses he proposes to destroy.
Tancredo told The Hill: “You should not have any organization, a caucus especially, based solely on race. I mean on issues? You bet. But on race? Why should we be separating ourselves up into these racial divisions?
“It would be anathema to me if someone wanted to create a white caucus. A race is something over which we have no control. Everything we are told is we should ignore it, that we should try to eliminate that as a distinction in our society,” he added.
Although Tancredo, chairman of the 66-member Immigration Reform Caucus, has no support for such a measure, he said he will go before the House Rules Committee within a year and suggest a new rule at a hearing for proposed rule changes. The rules package is voted upon on the opening day of each new Congress.
No current House rule states that caucuses can arrange themselves by race. But a line in the Members Congressional Handbook states: “Members of Congress may form a congressional member organization in order to pursue common legislative goals.”
Tancredo would be allowed under present rules to write a letter to the House Administration Committee, which oversees the Members Congressional Handbook, and suggest a change. The change would require the committee’s approval; that might or might not involve a full committee vote. But Tancredo is not considering that option yet.
Not surprisingly, members of the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses denounced Tancredo.
“First of all, it’s hard to believe that a member of the United States House of Representatives can be that insensitive to diversity by even entertaining the notion of such a resolution, but given the source of the filing, I am not surprised,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), a Black Caucus member.
Thompson said he is confident the Republican leadership will cut off Tancredo’s proposal before it gains any traction. “They can’t afford this going into a presidential year,” he said.
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas), chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, was equally appalled.
“Tancredo’s proposal to silence the collective voice of minority members in the United States House of Representatives is shocking and offensive,” he said. “All House caucuses, including the minority caucuses, provide members with meaningful opportunities to share ideas and develop a positive legislative agenda.”
Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Administration Committee, which tracks and governs caucuses, has already cast an unfavorable eye on Tancredo’s proposal. “Congressman Ney would not be supportive of such a concept,” said Brian Walsh, Ney’s spokesman. “He believes that those members of Congress who share similar interests … should be able to form a caucus.”
In 1995, the House abandoned the policy of funding caucuses with taxpayer money. Aides working on congressional caucuses now are paid from the lawmakers’ congressional accounts.
Tancredo’s controversial measure stems from his views on immigration reform. He says he wants a “cohesive society” and suggests “securing our borders” and instituting a moratorium on immigration.
He says immigrants should be integrated into society quickly; that means abandoning their native tongues and learning English. But, he adds, a “perfect storm” is working against him.
“The Democratic Party sees massive immigration as a source of votes, and the Republican Party sees immigration as a source of cheap labor, and the president sees it as a wedge issue,” he said.
Tancredo, whose ethnic background is Italian (his name means “of thoughtful counsel”), said he learned a good deal from his grandparents, Italian immigrants who ventured to the United States in the late 19th century.
In a 2001 floor speech, he spoke of them fondly: “They came essentially to escape an old world, came to seek the benefits of the new world, to enter into what they believe was a place of streets of gold. They wanted to become upwardly mobile and they did that. One of the ways they did it was by abandoning their native language.”
Tancredo said he wishes they had taught him Italian but understands why they chose not to.
“One reason was because they understood the need to learn English if they wanted to be upwardly mobile in this country,” he said.
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), a member of the Black Caucus and the Rules Committee, is not taking Tancredo’s proposal seriously.
Hastings spokesman Fred Turner said his boss felt that “if black people want to come together on Wednesday to have lunch, they should be able to do that. If [Tancredo] doesn’t like the Black Caucus, I guess that’s his concern. Is it skin color?”
The Hill
http://www.thehill.com/news/100703/tancredo.aspx
Oct. 7, 2003
Tancredo rejects bid from Asian caucus
Betsy Rothstein
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus has invited Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) to join its 118-member caucus after he revealed plans last week to press Congress to abolish race-based caucuses.
Tancredo has no intention of accepting.
Exploding with laughter, he said: “I didn’t even know there was an Asian Pacific Caucus … So I’ll have to give it some thought.”
Members of the Asian Pacific American Caucus denounced this reaction.
“Congressman Tancredo should do some minimal research before he goes around threatening to abolish a long-standing organization of 118 members of Congress,” said Cameron Johnson, spokesman for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus who is an aide to Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.), the caucus chairman.
But Tancredo has no remorse for his call last week. He said many Republican colleagues have approached him and secretly said, “ ‘You’re so right, but I can’t support you.’”
“That has happened more times than I can track it,” Tancredo added.
His spokesman, Carlos Espinosa, said his boss has been receiving widespread support in his district for his call to abolish race-based caucuses.
Yesterday morning, for example, Espinosa received a phone call from a male constituent from Littleton, Colo. who congratulated Tancredo and wanted to know how he could contribute more money, adding, “’Hey, have I maxed out on my donations yet?’”
Espinosa said his boss’ lack of interest in the Asian Pacific American Caucus is “ not a racial thing. First of all, our district doesn’t have many Asians and we don’t deal with the Pacific Coast at all. Why he would bother himself with that is just irrelevant really.”
Last week Tancredo wrote a letter to House Administration Chairman Bob Ney (R-Ohio), raising his concerns about race-based caucuses. Ney, who has said he does not support Tancredo’s cause, has not responded.
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Race card played. Hand lost.
How many non-whites are on the Immigration Reform Caucus? Zero.
Hypocrites.
I wonder how much diversity is in the Black Caucus? Maybe I ought to write my congressman, Lacy Clay and find out since he belongs to it.
Good to hear from you madfly.
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