Conservative group targets Bush over immigration

North County Times ^ | 2 October 2004 | William Finn Bennett

[JackelopeBreeder]

Fed up with what they say is the Bush administration's failure to address a growing illegal immigration problem, a small group of conservatives has launched a series of radio ads seeking to convince voters to oust President Bush from office.

Last week, a group called Friends of the Border Patrol began a series of ads on KABC-AM in Los Angeles blasting Bush for "playing politics with national security."

The group plans on running the same ads in Arizona starting this week, before the Oct. 13 presidential debate in Phoenix, and in the following weeks in Nevada and New Mexico, a spokesman for the group said.

While California is generally considered to be safely in the Kerry camp, New Mexico and Nevada are seen as swing states that could go to either candidate in what is expected to be a close presidential race. Ron Prince, the chairman of Friends of the Border Patrol, said that he believes that Bush could lose Arizona as well.

In Nevada, three recent polls conducted in that state showed Bush with a five-point lead, 49 percent to John Kerry's 44 percent. In Arizona, recent polls show Bush with an average 10-point lead over Kerry, 52 percent to 41.3 percent. Kerry is leading Bush in New Mexico ---- barely ---- 46 percent to 45.5 percent.

A spokesman for the Arizona Republican Party said Friday that he expects that the radio ads will have little effect on the presidential race in that state.

"We've come a long way from being a battleground state," said Colin McCracken, communications director for the Arizona Republican Party. "The president's support in Arizona is overwhelming, and very little is going to change that."

Friends of the Border Patrol was formed in August to support the work of rank-and-file U.S. Border Patrol agents and to protest what the group sees as the federal government's obstruction of the job those agents perform, according to the group's executive director, Andy Ramirez.

He said the impetus for forming the group and airing the radio ads came during a July 24 rally at the Temecula Border Patrol station. The rally was held to protest a Border Patrol administration decision to halt a series of sweeps of Inland cities that ---- in just two weeks in June ---- had netted nearly 500 illegal immigrants.

Ramirez said he and Prince "just looked at each other and realized ... we've got to do something about this."

Prop. 187 author

Prince is best-known as the co-author of 1994's Proposition 187, an initiative that would have denied public benefits to illegal immigrants. He has been a consistent critic of President Bush for not taking stronger action on immigration reform. About 60 percent of California voters approved Prop. 187, but in 1995, a federal appeals court overturned it.

Late last year, Prince and Ramirez backed a similar initiative, dubbed "Save our State," but they failed to gather the nearly 800,000 signatures necessary to put the measure before voters in November.

While they are concerned about the economic effects of illegal immigration, they say their biggest worry is that terrorists can slip across the porous U.S. border with Mexico.

"I think it's more important to defend my nation than to be walking in lockstep like a good little Republican just because he is president," Ramirez said.

Because it is generally conceded that California's electoral votes will go to Kerry in November, Ramirez acknowledged that running the ads here is little more than a symbolic gesture, but that they still wanted to make the statement.

"We didn't want to ignore our base," he said.

Possible swing states

It is in the Southwestern swing states of Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico where the group plans on investing most of its efforts and advertising dollars, Ramirez said.

Highest on the agenda is Arizona. Prince said he has raised about $20,000 of the estimated $25,000 cost of the radio advertising campaign he plans to run in Arizona before the Oct. 13 Phoenix debate. He plans to spend another $25,000 for advertising in Arizona between the debate and Election Day, as well as about $10,000 in both Nevada and New Mexico.

Even those relatively small states could tip the election, Prince and Ramirez note. If Kerry were to win all the states won by Al Gore in 2000 and carry either Arizona or Nevada, which went to Bush in 2000, Kerry would win the election. Arizona has 10 electoral votes, while Nevada has five.

New Mexico, with five electoral votes, is being included in the ad push, they say, because it is a border state and considered "in play," even though polls show it to be leaning toward Kerry. Gore won it in 2000 by just 303 votes.

Prince said that voter resentment in those states toward Bush and his immigration policies could provide Kerry with just enough votes to make the difference and cost Bush re-election.

"With this contest, where both Kerry and Bush are standing on the edge of the cliff, just one little push could make the difference," Prince said.

An unpopular stance

The pair say they know their efforts are costing them support and friends in Republican political circles, but that they feel so strongly about the immigration issue they are willing to help elect Kerry to get their message across to the Republican Party leadership.

"This is bigger than being a Republican or a Democrat . We need a new commander in chief that will protect our borders," Ramirez said.

Some area Republicans, however, say that because of the overwhelming support for Bush within the Republican Party, they don't expect the ads to have much of an effect.

"I haven't heard anything but a strong commitment from conservatives of getting the president elected," said San Diego County-based Republican political consultant Scott Barnett.

"He is the first president who actually understands Mexico, (that) people are coming here from Mexico because they want better lives," he added.

Guest-worker program

Ramirez said the group is upset with the president for his support of a guest-worker program that would allow foreign citizens to come to the United States for temporary work, an idea touted in the Bush campaign platform. The guest-worker program would also allow illegal immigrants already in the country to sign up.

White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said last week that Bush proposed the program, in part, to fill an economic need.

"The temporary-worker program matches willing foreign workers with willing U.S. employers when no (available) American workers can be found," he said.

When asked how the government would determine whether there are no Americans willing to take those jobs, Lisaius said that the details of the program are still being worked out with Congress.

Lisaius said the program would also make America safer because it would require that those illegal immigrants who join the program register with the government, making it easier to track their whereabouts. It would also require that workers return to their county of origin once their yet-to-be determined time limit has elapsed.

Ramirez disputed Lisaius' assessment.

"They can claim it's a guest-worker program, but Americans are not fooled ---- it's amnesty," he said.

Matricula consular

Another sore point with the group is the Bush administration's successful efforts to cut a portion of a bill now before the House of Representatives that would have barred American banks from accepting as identification a document issued to Mexicans in this country by the Mexican government.

On Sept. 14, the Associated Press reported that after the Bush administration opposed that part of the bill, which would have banned the use of the "matricula consular" by U.S. banks. Congress then voted to strike the wording from the bill.

One nationally recognized conservative figure who wants to remain anonymous said last week that he believes the illegal immigration issue represents a threat to Bush's chances of re-election.

"The unrest is widespread amongst conservatives," said the man, who served as a campaign consultant on Ronald Reagan's 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns.

But those Republicans who oppose the president's policies on illegal immigration ---- including him ---- are afraid to publicly denounce Bush, he said.

"They don't want to take the heat from the Republican establishment, don't want to be seen as being disloyal," he said.

Fear, he said, also underlies the Bush administration's failure to take a stronger stand on illegal immigration ---- fear of losing votes, he said.

"They are scared as hell of the Hispanic vote; it's all about the election," he said.

The 2000 U.S. Census reported that 38.8 million Latinos live in the United States. A 2002 update by the Census Bureau estimated that in just two years that population had increased by 9.8 percent, about four times greater than the rate of growth for the population as a whole.

In 2000, 62 percent of Latinos voted for Gore. According to a July poll conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center, Kerry is projected to garner the same 62 percent of the Latino vote, Bush 32 percent.

Businesses ignored

Ramirez said many conservatives are also mad at Bush because of what they see as his administration's failure to crack down on those who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

"Every single company that hires illegal immigrants should be fined," Ramirez said. "This is all about cheap labor."

Prince said big-business interests have pressured Bush into laying off companies that hire illegal immigrants.

"In the old days, (political) patronage was all about providing jobs. Now, it's about campaign contributions from business interests," he said.

In the 2004 Republican Party platform, it states: "There must be strong workplace enforcement with tough penalties against employees and employers who violate immigration laws."

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman said in a recent interview that the number of companies investigated nationwide for hiring illegal immigrants has increased significantly. However, federal records show that the number of fines issued against companies for the practice has plummeted.

The records show that in 2001, 141 companies across the country were hit with fines, 15 of them in California. By 2002, those numbers had dropped to 73 and one, respectively. In 2003, 15 companies in the United States were fined, none of them in California. And as of May 2004, just one company ---- in Maryland ---- was fined. May was the most recent month for which statistics were available.

The former campaign consultant to Reagan said he believes that Bush is not coming down harder on illegal immigrants out of a need to satisfy big-business interests.

"They want more cheap labor. All they are interested in is their profits," he said.

The ads pound the same point: "We believe the president wants illegal immigration. Why? Because illegals work cheap; that's the bottom line."

The cost of cheap labor

But the price that America pays for that cheap labor is too high, the ads go on to say: "You can't keep the borders open and the terrorists out."

Jack Orr, a San Diego County-based political consultant, said Monday that he was unaware of the radio advertising campaign against Bush. He added that while he has heard people within the Republican Party complain about Bush's guest-worker proposal and other immigration policies, he has not heard anyone say they would go so far as to vote against his re-election.

"This is certainly misplaced at best, and at worst, it's bad timing," Orr said.

While he doesn't anticipate the radio ads will have an effect in California, he said he believes they could affect the election in states such as Arizona and Nevada. And in a tight race, he said, it might even affect the outcome of the election.

"It could have the effect of handing it to John Kerry," Orr said. "I would say to those people mounting this campaign, be careful what you wish for."

[bayourod]

Don't think so. Where is the link to my having bragged about knowingly hiring illegal aliens?

[A CA Guy]

It's easier than that, I am not a pro, and even I can tell when I am near an illegal. They carry themselves differently than an American latino.

Profiling works and is good. You check ID and if they have a legit one, that is it.

If illegal, show them the door.

[Cultural Jihad]

Ah, so in other words, we should have Gestapo agents stopping people and asking for their papers at every turn, at least those with brown skin. Uh-huh.

[A CA Guy]

Never assume your vote isn't desperately needed in an election. Democrats would pray you would pull a protest vote.

[JackelopeBreeder]

Why do I get the feeling I might get a belly laugh out of the character dictionary tomorrow morning? Depending on which transliteration system you're using...

Anyway, welcome to the insane asylum. Looks like you'll fit in nicely.

[bayourod]

"One billion dollars. That’s what two Texas congressmen estimate it will cost to establish an infrastructure investment fund specifically aimed at closing security gaps and bolstering the economy along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border."

Two liberal Democrats want to take two billion dollars from taxpayers to spend on the border, most of which is in their state and you think this is a good idea?

[radicalamericannationalist]

Perhaps one of the reasons is that there are not millions of illegal Irish and Swedes in this country. Also, an Irish illegal speaks English and does not force the state and federal government to hire interpreters for public functions and ESL classes.

[A CA Guy]

I don't think we need to play officially stupid.

The illegals are easy to spot, it is better to get them out of here rather than give them access to public services.

Education for each of their children is at least 5 grand these days.
That is a lot of money that could have gone to pay for the medical treatment of an American cancer patient or toward balancing our budget.

[FITZ]

I'm so glad I have such a good memory to remember all these threads you posted what on... anyhow here's another --- with rather racist tones in it too --- making the claim that whites not finishing high school are inferior to non-whites who also didn't finish high school.

"All are started out at the same wage and given raises necessary to retain them. White high school drop outs just don't seem to perform as well as immigrants who risked their lives to come to America to make money to feed their families back in Mexico."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1129805/posts

[dalereed]

"This is clearly the Left doing this."

Ron Prince is as far right conservative as they come.

Bush is the one world government socialist RINO!

[AWestCoaster]

As a columnist once said, "the U.S. may be the only country in history to adopt policies that will lead to its self-destruction.

Senator Alan Simpson 20 years ago: "Americans “are fed up with efforts to make them feel that [they] do not have that fundamental right of any people—to decide who will join them and help form the future country in which they and their posterity will live.” But if the elites’ and the advocates’ idea of giving voting rights to non-citizen majorities catches on—and don’t be surprised if it does—Americans could be faced with the ultimate absurdity of people outside the social compact making rules for those inside it! Just about covers the subject of demographics

The map from Aztlan.net, a radical pro-immigration bunch alive and well on campuses with the ultimate aim of taking back what we took.

[FITZ]

Well..... it doesn't matter what I think ---- there are a lot of unemployed Americans and excess number of immigrants, hospitals and schools in serious financial trouble and skyrocketing property taxes --- helping the economy with another couple billion dollars will certainly appeal to some. All because certain people want unlimited cheap labor --- because they don't want to give those white high school drop outs a chance or a wage higher than what a desperate third worlder would take.

[Cultural Jihad]

Education for each of their children is at least 5 grand these days.

Education is by and large a local expense, paid for by local property taxes, and by renters indirectly.

[FITZ]

Oh --- and in that post I just gave you that link to --- you conveniently left out that whites actually have the lowest high school drop out rates --- and blacks are close to whites now. The group with the highest -- by far--- high school drop out rates is actually the immigrants from Mexico -- especially your illegals --- something like a 50% drop out rate.

[Bandaneira]

Good post. A picture paints a thousand counties/sorry words...

[Cultural Jihad]

My, my. The real issue has nothing to do with illegal (or legal) immigration, but with racial demographics, eh? Supposedly, the Azatlan types can recruit and calumniate by using Stormfront's graphics, too.

[radicalamericannationalist]

Ping.

[A CA Guy]

Bunk, they don't pay taxes except for some sales and fuel tax, they often pay low rent by putting two to five families in one home.

That also turns the area into a ghetto.

It would be average for a Mexican family here to habe between 2-10 kids. Where do you suggest they had $10,000 taken from them to pay for their children's $10,000 education and lord knows what free medical care?

[bayourod]

I'm still waiting for the links where I bragged about hiring illegal immigrants. Instead you resort to racism.

The anti-Bush crowd has no honor.

[FITZ]

You've obviously never heard of Texas and the debate on "robin hood" --- not close to being local here.

http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20041003-176383.shtml

Tax fight likely over school funding