Posted on 08/13/2011 12:31:57 PM PDT by raybbr
McALLEN, Texas (AP) - For all of his rock-solid conservative credentials, Texas Gov. Rick Perry may have an Achilles' heel: immigration.
Perry will undoubtedly focus his presidential campaign on Texas' relatively healthy economy and its low taxes and his record in creating jobs in the 11 years he's been governor. What he may have to explain on the stump is how illegal immigrants have contributed to that success, adding as much as $17.7 billion a year to the state gross product and enjoying such benefits as in-state tuition at public universities.
"Gov. Perry is very eager to appear tough on illegal immigration, but upon closer inspection he's part of the problem," complained William Gheen, who runs the North Carolina-based political action committee Americans for Legal Immigration. The group intends to educate conservative groups about candidates' positions on that issue.
Tea party criticism about Perry's immigration record is now appearing on activist blogs in Arizona and New Hampshire.
A 2006 state report said that the state's illegal immigrants - 1.4 million then, 1.65 million now - added $17.7 billion to the gross state product, and that the state came out ahead on taxes it collected versus services it provided. But local governments and county hospitals were shouldering the burden of caring for that population.
The Texas Association of Business, which has backed Perry in all his gubernatorial campaigns and has members who individually have provided Perry with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash, touted that report in its firm support of comprehensive immigration reform. TAB, the state's chamber of commerce, has lobbied for immigration reform and against state legislation regulating immigration.
(Excerpt) Read more at buffalonews.com ...
Never said he did, but the man is not here and this attributing this and that to him, because they have one of those magic 8 ball things gets a little old and tiring.
LLS
“... I just don’t think they can beat the Maxist.”
What good is beating the [Democratic] “Marxist” with a Republican Marxist who will pass the same things?
Like RomneyCare. And Bush and the Republican congress passing the Medicare drug program and Ted Kennedy’s No Child Left Behind.
The reality is that most of the time we have two left-wing parties in this country and it doesn’t make any difference which one wins. They both pass the same “bipartisan” legislation.
Things only change on those rare occasions when conservatives temporarily take over the Republican Party (Reagan presidency, Gingrich speakership).
I’m not going to vote for a RINO who believes the same things as Obama in order to get rid of Obama. I voted third party conservative instead of McCain last election, and if an establishment Republican runs next year I’ll do the same.
How hard can it be to convince conservatives not to vote for an open borders former democrat who has a long record of pushing socialist programs?
Fait accompli, as conservatives won’t vote for Al Gore’s former campaign manager no matter how you try to refurbish him.
All the Giuliani libertines will push him though.
Thats kind of the rub. Business, tends to vote republican, who are on the side of controlling illegal immigration. But business likes cheap labor. What many of the left side of the issue, Hispanics etc, don’t sem to get it that illegal immigrant labor tends to depress wages in the nonskilled sector of the economy thereby making it a more difficult climb to the middle class. They also don’t seem to have any problem with young US born citizens having a more difficult time finding entry level employment out of high school. Young kids in college will for the most part vote for anybody that will give them a handout, tuition etc.
The problem lies with shutting down illegal immigration first so that the country can find a formula for dealing with those illegals already here including deportation, possible work only cards and taxing money sent out of the country. I definitely don’t want to see them given ammnesty and a easy path for citizenship. They have not earned it above those that play by the rules.
Rove and Perry had a falling out in the ‘90s. Still haven’t patched things up.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/59687.html
The other thing domestically he did that really, really, really, pissed me was closing down those nuclear power plants that were under construction. I bet half the people here do not know that Reagan was anti nuclear power. The harm to business men in those locations was terrible.
I can't speak for others here that have serious qualms with a Perry candidacy but I for one have lived in Texas and vote conservative and I know Perry's dismal record on immigration related issues. I study carefully the issues and the candidates and I say Perry wants open borders/open trade with Mexico and it all starts with turning Texas into a Mexican state of Mexico by eliminating our sovereign borders. IMO Pery wants no part of stopping illegal immigration.
The question of the illegals is the whole ball of wax for the future of our country.
If they get amnesty and voting rights for the illegals, then eventually they will get their 60 Democrat senators and majority House control. It’s just a matter of time. California is the future.
If that happens, Obamacare will seem like a quaint capitalist program. We will go straight to single payer health care, and eventual nationalization of the banking and energy industries as well.
Socialism always and everywhere destroys what it controls, and it will destroy the USA too if it comes to power.
Now I went and wet myself.
LLS
“The question of the illegals is the whole ball of wax for the future of our country.”
I agree and there another reason which is even more important: the rule of law. If presidents and governors can refuse to enforce whatever laws they disagree with, then we are living in anarchy and chaos, not a democracy.
There are other examples too like the Democratic governors in Illinois refuse to execute any prisoners but instead automatically commute all death sentences into life in prison.
LLS
And so was John (3 Purple Heart's) Kerry.
Nothing like going to the man's own words for his wisdom and thought processes.
LLS
Well that is one positive for Perry... rove is an evil pos.
LLS
So you are not willing to state who you are supporting?
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