Posted on 04/02/2006 5:45:33 PM PDT by Aetius
Sunday, April 2, 2006 11:58 a.m. EDT John McCain Praises Pro-illegal Protests
Sen. John McCain is praising the recent wave of pro-illegal immigration demonstrations, saying that if the protesters hang tough they will succeed in forcing Congress to liberalize immigration laws.
"If such demonstrations continue, I think we will have a bill for the President to sign soon," the Arizona Republican told a New York City gathering on Friday sponsored by the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.
"The more debate, the more demonstrations, the more likely we will prevail," McCain added, in quotes picked up by the New York Daily News.
The Irish group backs the McCain-Kennedy bill that would allow illegal aliens already in the U.S. to stay and work toward citizenship.
McCain offered the comments as the city girded for its first major pro-illegal rally - a march across the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday that ended in lower Manhattan.
Despite the Arizona Republican's support, marchers on Saturday sounded decidedly anti-GOP.
"We are fed up," said Humberto Suarezmotta, a former professor from Colombia, told the News.
"Since the Mayflower, immigrants have been coming here and now we have Republicans who are against minorities."
"The people united will never be defeated!" other demonstrators chanted in Spanish. "We're not going, but Bush can leave!"
1. Its another one of those things that makes it really hard to like McCain. I'm not one who would refuse to vote for him, as I'd take him over Hillary (or any other potential Dem nominee), but it just seems like he sometimes goes out of his way to make himself unpalatable to the base.
2. The line from the anonymous protesters about Bush really does serve to illustrate the hole the GOP has dug for itself. Yes, its true that one shouldn't read too much into the stupid ravings of some nut in some outrageous demonstration, and one shouldn't assume that the sentiments expressed by the nut represents the broader Hispanic community. But it shouldn't be disregarded either, as the sentiment probably has more widespread acceptance than we'd like to think. Bush has reached out (or pandered) like no other Republican, and like few Democrats. His rhetoric on immigration is decidedly leftist. He has refused to enforce existing laws. He has embraced a form of amnesty. Yet despite all of this, you still have people from the group Bush has sought to placate basically calling him and his party a bunch of racists.
It should serve as a cautionary tale for Republicans.
Does AZ have a way of recalling this clown?
I think I now understand why so many Freepers hate McCain.
Keep repeating the name "George Allen" - you'll get to like it.
This is why they call the Republicans the Stupid Party. The Republicans are about to legalize 12 million Democrat voters and alienate 75% of the rest of the electorate in doing so. Then they'll wonder why they lose the majority. Unbelievable that they can't figure out that the people in the streets waving Mexican flags will NEVER vote Republican, no matter how much they pander.
He's a loose cannon. Once in a while he hits an issue right, but many's the time he's way off.
I think McCain has destroyed any chance of getting the GOP nomination (as much as MSM will support him.
Nah.
The GOP has been expert at pulling defeat out of the jaws of victory for years.
Even after controlling the House, Senate and WH, they still don't know how to play politics. They seem to only know how to act as the 'minority' party. They may get their wish in the 06 and 08 elections.
Even a busted clock....
That's what I don't understand. They are hell-bent on pleasing people who won't even vote for them. The motive must be something else, like pleasing the international corporations who want to eliminate the borders and have lots of cheap labor.
Well to be fair, McCain's career voting record is mostly conservative, and he has made some moves (no doubt politically motivated) recently to try and make up with the base.
But then you have his amnesty bill with a fellow senator who has a history of fraudulent, deceptive immigration 'reform' -- Ted Kennedy. You have him spearheading the Gang of 14, which may prove fatal to chances for another Alito type nominee in 207 or 2008 if the GOP loses just 2 or 3 seats in the Senate this year.
What laws could he possibly be talking about?
We don't enforce anything on illegal immigration. We only enforce laws against those trying to get here legally.
This whole damned thing is broken.
What an idiot McCain is.
"The more debate, the more demonstrations, the more likely *we* will prevail," McCain added, in quotes picked up by the New York Daily News.
Who is "we"?
This should be a complete deal-breaker for MeCain with all real Republicans. Yes, we'd have to support him against the Rat nominee -- any Rat. But we must do everything we can to deny this stupid mug the nomination.
"I'm not one who would refuse to vote for him, as I'd take him over Hillary..."
McCain probably wants Hillary! to run almost as much as she does herself.
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