Tancredo for president, group says

Rocky Mountain News ^ | January 21, 2004 | M.E. Sprengelmeyer

[CA Conservative]

I like the way this is written. That being said, it does not deal with the issue of those illegals already here. It is doubtful that you would get most of the people already here to leave to re-apply. Whether or not we agree, the US is not going to load them onto cattle cars and send them home. By allowing the ones already here and working to apply, it gets them into the system. Tancredo's plan deals with future applicants much in the way that Bush's proposal suggests. I especially like the addition of the elimination of "anchor babies" in paragraph 12(b).

The point I was making is that the Bush and Tancredo proposals are not polar opposites - the Tancredo bill is actually a pretty good implementation of the Bush proposal. It tightens up some of the enforcement, but the basic plan is the same. Bush said Congress would have to provide the details - this a good start. So why does everyone bash Bush and praise Tancredo for essentially the same idea?

[dagnabbit]

I'm not a big fan of any guest worker program, but at least under Tancredo's bill, unlike Bush's proposal, illegal aliens in the United States get nothing. They are not eligible for amnesty/legalization. Tancredo's proposed guest worker program is only open to persons living outside the USA, who apply at a U.S. Embassy/Consulate. Any long-time illegal in the USA would be ineligible for 3 to 10 years due to existing visa laws.

Tancredo's guest workers can only work in the USA for 1 year out of any two years. They cannot adjust to Permanent Resident Alien status, their US-born children are not citizens, etc.

The rest of H.R.3534 contains, as you mention, a lot of enforcement provisions, including workplace verification, that will do more to reduce illegal numbers than deportation ever could (though Tancredo also calls for doubling detention capacity).

The bottom line is that Tancredo is a restrictionist who calls for far lower overall migration levels and a time out from the massive third-world population transfers we've had the past 25 years or so. Voting for Tancredo is a shorthand way of telling open-border advocates why they've lost your vote.

The reason Tancredo's bills are not sailing through Congress is that there are a lot of Democrats and weak Republicans in office. Even so, I imagine that if Bush and Rove, instead of trolling in Tancredo's district for primary challengers, instead championed his bills - some would become law.

[CA Conservative]

Voting for Tancredo is a shorthand way of telling open-border advocates why they've lost your vote.

I guess I have always viewed this behavior as analogous to holding your breath until you turn blue - it doesn't accomplish much in a positive way.

I don't agree with Bush on some things, and I do agree with him on a lot of things. But he is light years closer to my positions than any of the possible Dem replacements. If I decide to make a protest vote, it will be in the primary - in the general election, I am voting for Bush, because any other vote, or not voting, is just a vote for the Dems - as we saw in 1992. I am not willing to put our country through that again, just because Bush doesn't do everything exactly the way I want.

[itsahoot]

"The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners. I'm not a very big fan of foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get into this country?"

                               Atlanta Braves Pitcher John Rocker

[itsahoot]

So why does everyone bash Bush and praise Tancredo for essentially the same idea?

Because 911 did nothing to deter the president from his open border proposal. His opinion on illegals was well known before the election and was on track for implementation before 911.

Anyone remember his fight(still ongoing) to destroy the trucking industry, demanding that the borders and all highways be opened to commercial trucks from Mexico? This was pre 911

The congress could have and would have legislated meaningful measure to control our borders after 911, but the president was silent on the issue.....guess it didn't comport with his long term vision for a global community.

[dagnabbit]

The massive and irreversible societal changes brought on by continued very high levels of third-world population transfers make disagreeing with Bush's policies on the issue more than some tantrum about the nuances of say, the latest transportion bill.

The sources and size of our migration flows are, IMHO, existential questions for our nation.

Also, as noted in my tagline, so far I'm only advocating voting Tancredo in the primary. Will wait and see with the general.

[itsahoot]

The massive and irreversible societal changes brought on by continued very high levels of third-world population transfers make disagreeing with Bush's policies on the issue more than some tantrum about the nuances of say, the latest transportion bill.

The totally overlooked argument and absolutely the most relevant.

[South40]

Yes, you were dishonest when you said 'THIS MAN' would be given 'amnesty' (which there even isn't any being proposed).

Forgive me, but I didn't realize I was dealing with those who would both take my words literally as well as ascribe their own meaning to them. That having been said, let me ask you this. Do you really think I meant Bush would grant amnesty to wanted felons? If so, you're loony. The man was an ILLEGAL alien when he committed his crimes. So was Malvo. How many future criminals Bush’s hairbrained amnesty proposal will grant legal status to remains to be seen.

As for the amnesty issue. Yes, it is amnesty. Amnesty is defined as "A general pardon granted by a government, especially for political offenses."

Our immigration laws are federal laws, and violating them is an affront to the sovereignty of our nation, as well as the individual states. To forgive that offense by granting legal status to these criminals is an amnesty. Deny it all you want, but you can’t change that simple fact.

[Clemenza]

J-Ho of the ghetto will, with any luck, go to the "straight to video rack."

Give me a TRUE "Novela" Latina anyday of the week. Sofia Vergara should learn how to speak better English.

[cyborg]

LOL Gigli was a complete bomb. I see it collecting dust on the shelf at Walmart. She thought she got over on P.Diddy then went waltzing to someone respectable (Ben Affleck) when she's almost as trashy as Lil Kim.

[Naspino]

when she's almost as trashy as Lil Kim

Please now lets keep a level of decorum in this forum especially when you are talking about my future vice president.

[cyborg]

LOL okay I take it back!

[Clemenza]

when she's almost as trashy as Lil Kim.?

Don't knock Lil Kim, she's my favorite stripper since that spread in Vibe with the blue contacts a few years back.

[Clemenza]

Do a web search on Sofia Vergara. She may not be a US citizen, but you can amend the constitution and make her Secretary of My Interior.

[cyborg]

Lil Kim is defined as being trashy, but what I find a bit annoying are the girls who claim to be sweet and nice. They're anything but nice (Brittany Spears,etc.).

Hehehe... Vibe spread. I get confused but they're having a little war of words with Source Mag over Eminem rapping about his ex-girlfriend (but that's another thread altogether LOL)

[South40]

[Zipporah]

NOW HEAR THIS!!

I finally was able to reach someone I know at my senator's office.. he told me that BUSH INTENDS TO PUT THE IMMIGRATION FIASCO THROUGH AS AN EXECUTIVE ORDER!!!

This is a total abuse of power IMO!

[South40]

EOs are enforceable as law unless they are overturned by Congress or the courts.

Because the Constitution's definition of presidential authority is vague, the rules about what can be included in an executive order are unclear. A 1950s Supreme Court decision overturning a Harry Truman executive order offers the sharpest guide to what constitutes a legitimate executive order. The court invalidated the Truman order on the grounds that it attempted to make law. The court further ruled that an executive order is valid only when the president is acting pursuant to an act of Congress or to the Constitution itself. As a result, presidential orders frequently identify the statutes they are relying on.

Link

So what statutes will GWB's amnesty for ILLEGALS rely upon?

[Zipporah]

This is exactly what I was told ~ this will be an executive order~ !! I was floored!

[South40]

It's not going to happen. Bush realizes he's stepped in a steamy load by proposing his hairbrained the amnesty for ILLEGALS scheme. I doubt seriously he's willing to alienate even more of his constituency by bypassing a congressional vote on the issue…unless, of course, he’s looking to follow his father into the history books as being a one term president.