Posted on 11/05/2007 6:23:33 PM PST by Sybeck1
LITTLE ROCK - Gov. Mike Huckabee Thursday denounced a bill by Sen. Jim Holt that would deny state benefits to illegal immigrants as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life.
Holt, R-Springdale, replied later that Christian charity does not include turning a blind eye to lawbreaking.
Senate Bill 206, filed Wednesday, also would require proof of citizenzhip to register to vote and would require state agencies to report suspected cases of people living in the country illegally.
"Somebody needs to ask Sen. Holt what welfare this bill would stop," Huckabee said in a question-and-answer period with reporters on Thursday morning. Many aid programs are state-administered but federally funded and are mandated to be available to people in need, Huckabee said.
Even if benefits to people who are in the U.S illegally could be stopped, "I don't understand how a practicing Christian can turn his back on a child from this or any other state," Huckabee said.
Holt replied, "I think the politically correct movement has misconstrued what compassion really means. They think compassion means that any person can disrespect our laws and that we're supposed to be tolerant and let them get away with it.
"True compassion is correcting them so in the future they can be law-abiding citizens," Holt said.
Holt said he would seek a state attorney general's opinion on what the bill would do if passed. He said he would delay further action on it, at least temporarily, to allow the attorney general to respond.
The bill is modeled after a similar law in Arizona and supported by the newly formed group Protect Arkansas NOW. The group's chairman is Joe McCutchen of Fort Smith. "I know Sen. Holt and Mr. McCutchen say they're pro-life," Huckabee said. "We're trying to preserve the life of someone who, when born, will be an American citizen with his first breath. We can spend $900 on pre-natal care when the mother is pregnant. Instead, this bill would have us take a chance and spend $2,000 a day at Children's hospital if the baby's born and something has gone wrong. That's anti-life."
Huckabee said he took exception to characterization of immigrants in the bill and by its supporters as exploiters of social programs. "They pay sales taxes on their groceries," Huckabee said. "They pay fuel taxes. If they're using a fake Social Security number, they're paying Social Security taxes and will never receive any benefit. It would be closer to the truth to say they're subsidizing Joe McCutchen and Jim Holt more than the other way around.
"Something that's not worth sharing is not worth celebrating," Huckabee said. "This is the kind of country that opens its doors. This bill expresses an un-American attitude."
McCutchen, reached by telephone at his home in Fort Smith, repeated some of Holt's arguments, including the one that the people referred to in Holt's bill are in the United States illegally.
"They broke the law," he said. "My angst is not with them, though. My angst is with the state and federal government for not enforcing our laws."
People living illegally in the United State has "overwhelmed our school and welfare system," McCutchen said. As for whether the bill reflects un-Christian attitudes, McCutchen said: "Jim Holt is as good a man and as good a Christian as any man walking this Earth."
"Doggone it, the rule of law is not being upheld, and that's wrong," McCutchen said.
McCutchen joined Holt in a news conference last week to announce the forming of Protect Arkansas NOW and to discuss plans to file SB 206. Since that news conference Friday on the state Capitol steps, McCutchen was featured on the web page of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks membership and activities of groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. One group tracked by the center is the Council of Conservative Citizens, which claimed McCutchen as a member, according to the law center's article. The article is available at: http://www.splcenter.org/index.jsp
"To anybody who will listen, I'll make a speech at my own expense," McCutchen said. The CCC "asked me to come up and make a talk on illegal immigration. The talk lasted 15 minutes and I drove myself to Virginia to give it. I financed that thing by myself."
A letter of McCutchen's was reprinted in a magazine owned by the CCC, according to the law center website. "I did buy a list of donors from the American Immigration Council. I sent out a letter to about 200 people telling what I was doing," McCutchen said. "I suppose one of those letters went out to this magazine.
"That was the end of that, I thought," McCutchen said. "I'm just astounded by the attention this has received. CNN (Cable News Network) was at my home Tuesday afternoon. The very next morning, the Southern Poverty Law Center sent this out and the segment on CNN is on hold."
IDIOT
bttt
He is welcome to pay for all his charity, not me, that’s just theft by government for special interests. When is enough enough? Why not let everyone in the world who wants to come here? Obviously he is not Presidential material, except maybe for the Communist party which would quickly do away with religion.....Imbecile.
Huckabee has got all the wage-depression lobby catch phrases down pat.
Repeats Bush’s anti-American, anti-Christian epithets too.
“Somebody needs to ask Sen. Holt what welfare this bill would stop,”
Well, if Huckleberry can’t figure it out, he’s in no state of mind to be in national politics.
Oh boy. The Huckster is at it again.
November 02, 2007
Immigration Facts
It has been reported that Mike Huckabee supported benefits for illegals immigrants while he was Governor of Arkansas.
Governor Huckabee never supported benefits for illegal immigrants. In Arkansas, illegal immigrants do not receive welfare benefits or food stamps. Governor Huckabee has always, and will always be supportive of the laws and regulations of the country.
It has also been said that Mike Huckabee was in favor of providing college scholarships for illegal immigrants while he was Governor.
The governor only supported the measure that applied to those who met the academic qualifications and applied for legal citizenship. The measure didn't pass. Governor Huckabee stressed that any student would simply be treated as any other graduate of an Arkansas High School, and not given any special consideration.
Critics say that Governor Huckabee's motives behind opening a Mexican consulate office in Little Rock was to court illegals to come work in Arkansas.
The Mexican consulate provided Arkansas businesses with access to Mexico and opportunities to expand their markets, and would help further ensure that immigrants from Mexico are legal and better able to secure legal documentation. At the same time, the office would open up opportunities for Mexican investors to invest money with Arkansas partners, which would help create more jobs in the state.
Hucko is a RINO.
Where does Huckabee really stand on the issue of illegal immigration? At first glance of all the chatter, some of the news stories, and the editorials out there floating around, one would believe that Huckabee is, not only soft on illegal immigration, but actually, farther to the left of the issue than our current President. After reading all of the stories out there and listening to the facts in the case against Huckabee, I was beginning to have some serious doubts about the sincerity of this candidate myself, who is admittedly a strong Huckabee supporter.
However, upon doing a little research on this particular issue I discovered that, as usual, there is more than one side to the story. Evidently, the truth of the matter goes a little more like this: Huckabee opposes illegal immigration, supports sealing the border, and opposes amnesty. In a perfect world that would be enough, but this is no perfect world as we all know. The fact of the matter is that there are millions of illegals in this country already, and there is a constant flow of them across our borders each and every day. Another fact, Huckabee supports the deportation of illegal immigrants, but he believes that the process should be a better one.
Case in point is the 119 illegals deported in an Arkansas raid of a plant in 2005, in which officials, without having properly done their homework, proceeded to deport the illegals leaving their children behind here in the states to be a burden to our already overloaded system.
Also, according to the Arkansas State Constitution, children of all ages, whether legal or illegal are entitled to an education. Huckabee following the logic of the state's Constitution, supported allowing children of the illegals to attend Arkansas colleges at in-state rates. Bear in mind these are not individuals who came here illegally, but rather the offspring of those individuals. Holding said offspring responsible for the sins of the parents is like holding anyone else responsible for some crime committed by their forefathers. This is a preposterous notion, a dangerous road, and completely inconsistent with the ideology of compassionate conservatism.
Now, before anyone goes hysterical here, let me point out that we are not suggesting that illegals, who are definately in violation of the law, be given any form of amnesty, nor is there any promotion of the idea of an open border here. However, as in any crime or act of wrongdoing their are always innocents involved who may become collateral damage. Let's be clear there should be a secure border between the U.S. and its bordering nations, there should be no amnesty, and there should always be consequences for breaking the law, but we must remember to follow the ideology of compassionate conservatism as well. After all our system is a system of checks and balances, and we must not forget that there are two sides to the scales of justice. These are the principles that guide Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. These are the principles that should guide every American.
Source can be found at http://mikehuckabeepresident2008.blogspot.com/2005/08/msm-huckabee-right-on-illegal.html
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2005/08/13/opinion/18editorial.txt
“What is best in life? To crush America, to see the innocent killed by illegal aliens
and to hear the lamentation of American women raped by illegal aliens."
I can’t believe any real Conservative would support this guy. He’s in the pocket of Tyson Chicken and a few other Poultry Companies. They have brought in so many Illegals to work in their plants that they have dramatically altered the population of NW Arkansas.
Does his web site explain why he has changed his position during the last couple of years? He used to want to be compassionate with my money...
Also, I get worried when someone uses their faith to justify their political position. I’m a Baptist, but I understand someone reading the Bible may come to a different conclusion than I about how to vote on an issue. Someone who says a bill is ‘unchristian’ worries me...they tend to feel free to disregard minor items like the Constitution, since they are doing the will of God.
"On immigration, Huckabee is a strong advocate of a fence across the entire U.S.–Mexico border. While Congress debates guest-worker programs, Huckabee tells me, the most important problem is being ignored. “Seal the border,” he says. “Until you do that, you don’t have any control over how many people are coming in, who they are, and where they’re going.” At the same time, Huckabee has taken criticism for his proposal, as governor, to offer Arkansas in-state tuition to illegal aliens and their children. “I have always said you don’t punish a child for the crime of a parent,” Huckabee tells me. “Frankly, it’s in our best interest to try to get that child on to a higher level of education.”
Where is he on deporting the hordes of Illegals working in NW Arkansas? They have ruined a beautiful area. I used to vacation there often. Now? Forget it.
A practicing Christian doesn’t look upon the government as the vehicle for charity. Huckabee is an ass looking to score brownie points with the media.
He is also a strong advocate of spending taxpayer dollars to try to buy a few votes from illegals.
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