Good Bye, Congressman Jim Kolbe

November 25, 2005 | Bob Haran

[Bob Haran]

Regarding Congressman Jim Kolbe's decision not to run for reelection, in a word, "Hallelujah."

When someone retires or passes away, we try to say something nice about that person, we downplay his negatives and point out his positives. I would like to do the same for Congressman Jim Kolbe, but I really don't have the time to do that much research, other then to say, I wholeheartedly approve of his decision to leave Congress.

I'm sure Kolbe will be missed by Mexican President Vincente Fox, he is one of the best members of Congress Mexico has ever had in the United States.

Kolbe was one of the leading members of Congress responsible for the passage of NAFTA and CAFTA. NAFTA has resulted in the loss of thousands of American jobs to Mexico and CAFTA will help export American jobs to Central America. Kolbe is also a strong supporter of FTAA, (Free Trade Area of the America's), which will further lessen American sovereignty, advance globalism and cause the loss of even more American jobs.

I know that Kolbe's announcement will sadden cheap labor advocates, drug smugglers and traffickers in human beings.

What Congressman Tom Tancredo is to securing America's borders and controlling illegal immigration, Kolbe is to open borders and uncontrolled illegal immigration. The departure of Kolbe from Congress signifies the beginning of the removal from office of Members of Congress that are obstructing the securing of our borders and the enforcement of our immigration laws. Kolbe may be responsible for exporting American jobs but he has also helped to import; cheap labor, along with crime and poverty and the resulting cost to the taxpayer.

Republican social conservatives may be singing, "Happy days are here again,' on learning of his retirement. Jim Kolbe is the, only, openly, homosexual Republican in Congress. Kolbe is not only pro-abortion, he is one of the few Republicans to vote against the partial birth abortion ban. He will be surely missed by the gay community and Planned Parenthood.

In Kolbe's announcement, he states that he is, "Confident that he would win reelection if he chose to run." That statement would be true if he had no opponent in the Republican primary, but Kolbe did have a challenger for the GOP nomination for Congress from Southern Arizona.

Randy Graf, a former member of the Arizona House, had decided to challenge Mr. Kolbe for the GOP nomination. Graf's candidacy may have been the deciding factor in Kolbe's surprise decision, not to run for reelection, along with the passage of Proposition 200, which Kolbe had opposed.

Graf is everything Kolbe is not. Where Kolbe has become the poster boy for illegal immigration, Graf has become the poster boy for securing America's borders and was a leader behind the passage of Proposition 200. Where Kolbe is a pro-abortion liberal, Graf is a solid, pro-life, social conservative.

It seems that Jim Kolbe was reading the writing on the wall and figured that he is out of step with Republican voters in Southern Arizona and that this would be a good time to call it quits.

Bob Haran, Phoenix, AZ www.Bob-Haran.info

[Toddsterpatriot]

NAFTA has resulted in the loss of thousands of American jobs to Mexico and CAFTA will help export American jobs to Central America.

Yup. In the years since NAFTA passed the US has only created 20,000,000 new jobs. Household net worth is only $50 trillion dollars. Real disaster!! LOL!!

[AuH2ORepublican]

"Jim Kolbe is the, only, openly, homosexual Republican in Congress."

---

The operative word there is "openly." The closet at the Republican cloakroom in the Capitol must be at full capacity.

[sit-rep]

I would really like to see your reference for your statements.. Companies moved to mexico and took the jobs with them. we lost jobs, but gained an illegal immigration problem. I do not consider minimum wage jobs, jobs. 20,000,000 jobs my arse.... Seen any stats on trade deficits compared to when Nafta kicked in?? Go back over and sit down...

[Cicero]

There was some speculation at the time Trent Lott capitulated on the terms for clinton's impeachment trial--agreeing that no witnesses or evidence would be permitted and thus guaranteeing that clinton would walk. Several unconfirmed stories said that Lott had an episode in his closet, which the clintons threatened to expose.

[Paloma_55]

One thing that really irritates me is the "Log Jammin Republicans".

For a group to get their name from a slanderous theory that damages the good name of the party founder is unconscionable.

I can't believe the Republican party even lets these people in the "big tent" when all they ever do is undermine our political strength.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

"The operative word there is "openly.' The closet at the Republican cloakroom in the Capitol must be at full capacity."

I, in the past, read here on FR serveral times that Lott and Graham are light in the loafers.

Any comments out there?

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I just read your comment after I posted. We seem to be on the same track.

[Cicero]

They both act like people being blackmailed by the Democrats, for what that's worth.

Hillary has everyone's file. The 900 FBI files that have been acknowledged are only the tip of the iceberg. I can't believe that she walked out of the White House with anything less than the entire FBI database.

[Toddsterpatriot]

I would really like to see your reference for your statements..

Data extracted on: November 25, 2005 (4:20:26 PM)

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Series Id:           LNS12000000 Seasonal Adjusted Series title:        (Seas) Employment Level Labor force status:  Employed Type of data:        Number in thousands Age:                 16 years and over
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
1993	119075	119275	119542	119474	120115	120290	120467	120856	120554	120823	121169	121464
1994	121966	122086	121930	122290	122864	122634	122706	123342	123687	124112	124516	124721
1995	124663	124928	124955	124945	124421	124522	124816	124852	125133	125388	125188	125088
1996	125125	125639	125862	125994	126244	126602	126947	127172	127536	127890	127771	127860
1997	128298	128298	128891	129143	129464	129412	129822	130010	130019	130179	130653	130679
1998	130726	130807	130814	131209	131325	131244	131329	131390	131986	131999	132280	132602
1999	133027	132856	132947	132955	133311	133378	133414	133591	133707	133993	134309	134523
2000	136559(1)	136598	136701	137270	136630	136940	136531	136662	136893	137088	137322	137614
2001	137771	137587	137799	137292	137098	136882	137082	136257	136849	136392	136232	136043
2002	135693	136385	136211	136128	136549	136424	136429	136734	137310	137016	136511	136400
2003	137429(1)	137365	137451	137628	137552	137775	137511	137593	137619	138022	138457	138409
2004	138481(1)	138334	138408	138645	138846	139158	139639	139658	139527	139827	140293	140156
2005	140241(1)	140144	140501	141099	141475	141638	142076	142449	142432	142646
1 : Data affected by changes in population controls in January 2000, January 2003, January 2004, and January 2005.

 

Frequently Asked Questions | Freedom of Information Act | Customer Survey
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Postal Square Building 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE Washington, DC 20212-0001

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BLS

I stand corrected. Since November 1993 we've added 21.5 million jobs.

Companies moved to mexico and took the jobs with them. we lost jobs, but gained an illegal immigration problem.

You're correct, we had no illegal immigration before NAFTA. LOL!!

I do not consider minimum wage jobs, jobs.

You go girl.

20,000,000 jobs my arse...

Please, let's not talk about your arse on a thread about Jim Kolbe.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I'm sorry, MM, did you mean to address your post to me? You may have meant somebody else. I ask because I am not an authority on NAFTA or CAFTA.

My gut feeling is I don't like it. Intellectually I am not prepared to defend my "gut feeling."

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

"They both act like people being blackmailed by the Democrats, for what that's worth."

You are exactly right!!! You hit the nail on the head.

[txrangerette]

I don't see the relevance...Lott and Graham are both Senators, not House Members, (though both used to be). House Member Kolbe is a self-proclaimed homosexual. The rest is speculation, is it not?

Lott could have something in his past, but he also has something the others mentioned do not have. He has a wife(a very attractive one) and a family. Now he could be "whatever", anyway, as we know, but how is anyone going to know that who only knows him as a public person? Hmmmmmm?

I must say his wife is most naive or passive and/or understanding, if she has been married to him all this time and bore and raised his children, and either not known if he were homosexual or put up with it if she knew.

Graham is a bachelor and somewhere near age 40. Raises more questions than Lott, in my view. But read on...

That said, I know of a man who has been looking for the right woman and the right situation until he is now 49 years old. He met a woman, once divorced with kids, in her thirties, and the guy is head over heels crazy for the gal. People who knew him all those years, including his own sister whom I am close friends with, say nothing has ever clicked for him before to this extent and he is anxious to marry his new love.

So, you can't always be certain about some things...

[AuH2ORepublican]

I hadn't heard about Lott, but I can think of a few others in the House and Senate about whom it is strongly rumored that they are homosexual. Of course, there are more closeted Democrat Congressmen than closeted Republican Congressmen, but if a closeted Democrat votes in favor of special rights for gays he or she will be voting for the Democrat platform, while closeted Republicans who vote for special rights for gays are voting against the GOP platform.

For the record, I don't care if a Republican Congressman is a closeted homosexual so long as he or she votes the right way and so long as he or she won't change his or her vote for fear of being outed.

And regarding Jim Kolbe, he could be straight as an arrow and be married with a dozen kids, but if he voted the way he voted (pro-partial-birth abortion, pro-special rights for gays, pro-open borders) I would have opposed him just as strongly.

[sit-rep]

Now post all the jobs that left and went to mexico, canada, and china...then we'll talk. Your survey is the talking point of the Nafta and Gatt crowd...show me some real stats, along with some showing the deficit increases since the early 90's, and I'll go sit down....

[digger48]

hello newbie!

[Toddsterpatriot]

Now post all the jobs that left and went to mexico, canada, and china...then we'll talk.

Sorry, all I claimed was that we have 20,000,000 new jobs. I guess 80,000,000 old jobs could have gone to Mexico while 100,000,000 were created. Doesn't change the fact that we have 21,500,000 more jobs than we did before NAFTA.

Your survey is the talking point of the Nafta and Gatt crowd...

Not my survey, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

...show me some real stats, along with some showing the deficit increases since the early 90's, and I'll go sit down....

Feel free to post whatever you'd like. Be sure to back it up like I did. Thanks.

[sit-rep]

the fact is that a good portion of this country is dead. No construction goin on at all... Why do you suppose that is? Obviously you 20,000,000 new jobs are not in the fields of 10,000,000 american construction workers...

[Cicero]

Well, I have a few homosexual friends, and as long as they keep it a private matter it's no business of mine.

The problem with a Republican politician, unfortunately, is that even if he keeps it private, it renders him vulnerable to blackmail.

Gary Aldrich points out in "Unlimited Access" that bill clinton broke all the security rules when he filled the White House with drug addicts, homosexuals, gangsters, and other eminently blackmailable people. It was a tremendous security risk to have that sort of people in key, sensitive positions. It used to be that homosexuality was grounds to refuse someone access to classified documents, because it was too much of a security risk.

In that sense, it's better to have open homosexuals in the Senate, because they can no longer be blackmailed. That's not a problem for the Democrats, but it remains a problem for most Republicans.