Posted on 03/17/2008 4:22:32 PM PDT by jdm
Aside the most obvious case -- his own -- John McCain cited two recent examples of GOP candidates taking a hard-line on immigration to no avail (And note the elbow thrown at a certain former colleague who came after McCain in the primary).
My colleague Josh Kraushaar writes up McCain's comments:
On NPRs Morning Edition today, John McCain suggested that strong anti-immigrant rhetoric contributed to two recent, high-profile GOP Congressional losses of former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who badly lost to Sen. Bob Casey in 2006, and Jim Oberweis, who lost the heavily Republican seat of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert this month in a special election.
"I know that there have been some races, like here in Pennsylvania, where Senator Santorum emphasized that issue [immigration] and lost by a large number, McCain said on NPR.
We just had a loss of Denny Hastert's seat out in Illinois. The Republican candidate out there, I am told, had very strong anti-immigrant rhetoric also, so I would hope that many of our Republican candidates would understand the political practicalities of this issue.
McCain campaigned for Oberweis last month, helping the campaign raise about $257,000. Oberweis will be on the ballot again in November, against Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.)
During the campaign, Oberweis proposed his own plan to crack down on illegal immigration, and aired a television ad arguing that politicians in Washington "can't seem to fix" the problem.
McCains advice is going against the strategy of a handful of leading Republican Congressional candidates. Just today, one of the Republicans top Congressional recruits, Hazleton mayor Lou Barletta, invited all three presidential candidates to come to our great city to discuss the issue of illegal immigration in the United States.
Barletta, who is running against Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), has built a national political following over his strident opposition to illegal immigration and the punitive measures that he took as mayor to curb it.
I wonder if it even registers that he is barely acceptable exactly because of his wretched record on immigration.
My congressman won against a pro amnesty RINO and McQueeg pal and he did it with a Minuteman PAC endorsement.
Spending almost a trillion a year supporting illegal immigrants?
Breaking the law by not upholding the immigration laws?
Amnesty supporters should be thrown in jail.
At least we know what his campaign promises are worth. I see no reason to believe anything he says.
McCain is such a clueless dirtbag. Santorum lost due to being from a liberal state combined with massive inner city vote fraud.
Santorum would cruise to a easy victory in any 50/50 state.
I’m sure McCains idea of a true GOP ideal is Arlen Spector since he got reelected in the cesspool formerly known as Pennsylvania.
Arlen can kiss my you know what, along with the RNC, McCain, and anyone else opposed to enforcing immigration laws.
btt
There aren't going to be that many of you creatures left. - Keep it up and seal the deal.
BTW, the check is not in the mail.
See! You just can’t trust this sack of sh.. He’ll lie every time. He’s no better than a Democrat.
I’ve said it before. I will NOT vote for that crazy old coot McCain unless he is looking pretty sick and old and he appoints a REAL conservative as his VP.
No FAKE conservatives like Romney need apply, thank you. And if it’s another RINO like Crist, forget it.
McManiac may not be quite as bad as hillary, but he’s darned close. AND he would pull enough Republicans along in the Senate with pork and perks to guarantee that he could pass more liberal cr*p than hillary could ever get through congress.
It’s a very depressing situation. About all we can do is try to get more conservatives into state and local governments and into congress, and try to hold on for another four years. McCain is a disaster.
By the way, Rick Santorum lost to Casey because of Casey’s father, because Casey ran as a conservative pro lifer (which was, as expected, a lie), and because the base was still mad at him for backing Arlen Specter.
Wow. If that is what McCain truly thinks about Santorum’s loss, I shudder to think of the kind of campaign that McCain will mount later this year. Frankly, I see signs that he’s going to stumble around aimlessly in the same way Bob Dole did in ‘96.
The problem is right here in the above statement...
For McCain and career politicians the victory is in the election, for the rest of us, the victory would be in saving the republic.
AND that he was targeted by a national effort to get him out of office, AND probably 15% of the voters thought they were voting for Bob Casey Sr. in spite of the fact that he's been dead for 6 years.
My Gawd, I'm hating this wretched election year!
Only if illegals were voting, John.
McCain will dig the final few inches in the graveyard, and toss our America in for the burial.
How’s the fundraising going, Juan?
This is why I plan to vote for Hillary.
At least we can unite to oppose her.
McCain will do this on immigration, and appoint Ruth Bader Ginsberg II and Ruth Bader Ginsberg III for the bench.
I know. I had almost decided I’d go ahead and wear a breathing mask, and vote for this jerk. Then he says this. Honestly, I just can’t say what I’m going to do on election day. I might just stay home.
Spector. Now there's the one I would have expected to get busted in some bizarre sex/call girl thing. That guy is just so sleazy and nasty looking.
To Any McCainiacs: Once again, very slowly this time, tell us all why we should vote for the Senator next November.
Its pretty bad when “our” candidate’s best chance is to hide in a cave or outright lie.
This should be easy to prove. Find me a candidate who won with anti-illegal rhetoric? Surely neither Tancredo or Romney. Surely not that US Representative from Arizona who lost in 2006.
At best, this issue may be enough to defeat a candidate in a primary but not enough to win in a general election. The problem is those with a degree or training more than college are inclined to be statistically more prone to support tolerance on this and other issues.
Whether they are right or wrong in this view makes little difference. The bottom line is it does make a difference in voter preference. Not the only issue, but a key issue determining a general approach to governance.
I made the comment today that McCain had had a successful couple of days...because he had kept his mouth shut...so much for that.
Laws are just plain inconvenient, unfashionable, and so very un-expedient to Fascists.
Jonah Goldberg may just get enough material out of
John McCain in the coming years to write a sequel to his “Liberal Fascism” book.
It didn't help that George W. Bush was also a big cheerleader for amnesty.
Of course, once safely elected, Bob Casey Jr. has done exactly as his handlers have told him to do. Including, voting down an amnesty exclusion for gang bangers, criminals and terrorists.
Here are the Senators who voted against the Cornyn amendment , which would have established a permanent bar for gang members, terrorists, and other criminals looking to snag a shamnesty visa. Republicans underlined:
We lost a real asset in Rick Santorum. He wasn't perfect, but he sure was in the best third of the senate. Casey the mime isn't even close.
“...the political practicalities of this issue.
That’s the problem with most if not all politicians...they worship at the alter of POLITICAL PRACTICALITIES instead of doing what’s right for the United States of America.
Attaining, and holding on to, power is their goal...the rest of us be damned.
YES !
This deserves a BTTT.
“Find me a candidate who won with anti-illegal rhetoric?”
Heath Shuler
I would hope that many of our Republican candidates would understand the political practicalities of this issue.
McCain would NEVER just enforce the law because it is the right thing to do now would he?
What the hell happened to Kyl? I thought he was one of the good guys? I expect these other clowns to be dirtbags.
Here, let me help. John McCain is the Manchurian Candidate. There. Not so difficult.
Tolerance of what? People ILLEGALLY sneaking into our country? If we're now "tolerant" of that then this country's finished, so what the hell difference does it make who wins the election?
"Tolerance" is just a PC term for lower intellectual and ethical standards. Colleges are what they are today precisely because our leaders abdicated their responsibility on a large number of issues forty years ago, and the result is that today our leaders advocate even more irresponsible policies because the dumbed-down graduates desire even lower standards.
I'm sitting here right now with a copy of my college's student newspaper. Here are "highlights" from this issue:
**A column defending Eliot Spitzer on the grounds that cavorting with prostitutes is no big deal.
**An article praising a professor for her concern for "gay rights" and for her outspoken condemnation of the recent "noose hangings".
**A profile of a Filipina feminist and her ethno-centric art works.
**An article telling us what a genius Spike Lee is.
**A column asserting that the Patriot Act has turned America into a fascist police state. This is part of a weekly series called "War Watch" which presents (of course) only one side.
So excuse me if I'm not impressed that college educated Americans are increasingly idiotic. If McCain was a leader, he'd explain why opening the borders is dangerous, rather than throwing up his hands and conceding our national sovereignty. We're in this mess because we failed to fight the culture war forty years ago.
I’m amazed that the two Senators from freaking ARIZONA voted against that bill. Goldwater must be spinning.
BUMPED for The Truth!
Yes.
I think Kyl’s vote was a parlimentary maneuver. Since the amendment was going down to defeat, someone had to be on the winning side in order to reintroduce it later.
I hope that is the case.
Don’t be so hard on Kyl. See post #47.
Juanito, you should immediately come clean and state your heart-felt need for blanket amnesty witha path to citizenship.
Just so I can feel EVEN BETTER watching your sorry arse lose in November.
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