Posted on 11/29/2006 5:51:26 AM PST by Dane
Tancredo's slam of Miami irritates Florida Gov. Bush
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News November 29, 2006 Rep. Tom Tancredo drew fire from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and others Tuesday after saying the ethnically diverse city of Miami resembled "a Third World country."
Tancredo, R-Littleton, touched off a controversy when he said during a weekend summit of conservative activists at a Palm Beach resort that unfettered immigration, both legal and illegal, was behind problems like high crime rates in Miami.
"You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace," Tancredo said of Miami, according to the Web site WorldNetDaily. "You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country."
The comments, later reported in the Miami Herald, drew scoldings from Florida lawmakers, including fellow Republicans.
On Tuesday night, Gov. Jeb Bush sent a pointed letter to Tancredo, calling his comments "disappointing" and "naïve."
Bush cited contributions by people of all ethnicities, and he pointed to shrinking crime rates and improvements in test scores posted by minority students.
"The bottom line is Miami is a wonderful city filled with diversity and heritage that we choose to celebrate, not insult," Bush wrote.
Tancredo spokesman Carlos Espinosa said the congressman stood behind his comments, saying they echoed what he has said for years about isolated immigrant communities that resist assimilation and cling to their native languages and customs.
Espinosa said that contributes to poverty and crime, and he cited a recent documentary that claimed Miami was more dangerous than Baghdad, Iraq.
"It's as bad as any ghetto in any Third World country," Espinosa said.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican who represents Miami, disputed Tancredo's characterizations and invited him to come down to see her district for himself.
"Tom is a good friend of mine and I hope that he accepts my invitation to see my hometown, a first-class city," Ros-Lehtinen said Tuesday.
Espinosa joked that "unless it includes a five-star resort on the beach, he's not going to consider it."
Espinosa cited a 1993 Time magazine story that called Miami the "Capital of Latin America" and said some areas of the city "resemble the Third World, with the homeless and immigrants living under highways or in matchstick houses along canals."
Crime rates have gone down since then, but Espinosa said that through early November there had been more murders in Miami-Dade County (200) than in all of Colorado in 2005 (173).
Given some of what I hear about Detroit right here in this forum, I find it both hypocritical and funny that people are expressing false outrage at Tancredo's comment.
Why did Tancredo single out Miami and not mention Detroit.
A question to you cripplecreek, if you had a choice of living in the city limits of Detroit or Miami, which would you pick? And leave the weather out of that equation, but base it on purely economic grounds.
I don't think (at least with myself) the "third world" moniker has anything to do with the racial make up of an area, but with the way folks (and possibly more importantly the local governments) conduct themselves. (Not to be naive, though, because I'm sure there are folks that do associate race with the different worlds). The western parts of Dade through Palm Beach county are pretty normal, but do usually get lumped in with odder parts of the area.
Since it's founding, FL has always had a rich ethnic mix and a certain quirkiness (as well described in Hiaasen's novels) that most of us native Floridians remain proud of (even if we're now "ex-patriots").
Not like he had a chance anyway...
Then why isn't he getting the credit? The people who won for the democrats were emmanual and chuckie schumer, who put up candidates who ran as GOP lite(tester, webb, schuler, etc.etc)
Maybe I should do some digging to see what you have had to say about San Fransisco or New Orleans.
Fine, no problem, I would pick neither based on economic grounds.
Maybe 'we' can all pitch in and give you a one way ticket back to your home country - MEXICO. (you're a "Dane" like I'm a thoracic surgeon)
Tancredo told the truth. He also could have said the same about Chicago and been 100% correct. The mythical "Hispanic" is now the 'majority' in Chicago. It is also so filled with ILLEGALS they are allowed by city law to VOTE in local school council elections as there are not enough US Citizens in most neighborhoods.
And one again, mr blank profile, where exactly DO YOU LIVE? Come on, just a state will do, coward (are you posting on a stolen laptop from Tijuana?).
I consider Los Angeles a third world country. I can see where he is coming from. When the '94 earthquake hit, and all the Latinos were living in tents refusing to go home, and all you saw was that on the news, I had relatives calling me asking me who the heck are those people, and where are they from. They lived on the East Coast. Some of them commented that it looked like I lived in Tijuana...
I had a friend come here who had moved to colorado. I got them some tickets for Disneyland. He was just in shock over the third world people that have innundated this state.
For what it is worth, I agree with Mr. Tancredo. We are turning many of our large cities in these 50 states into third world countries.
Then why didn't he mention Chicago, or Detroit, or New Orleans, or New York City, etc.etc., but singled out Miami.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_world
I use a few simpler metrics. One is if the price of drinks in a tourist area is more than triple what I'd pay at a local pub a few miles down the road - such a high price gradient suggests a 3rd world situation. The area around south beach fits that description. Another is the appearance of corrugated metal housing. Haven't seen any in MIA so that would make my analysis inconclusive.
Don't waste your time typing to DANE, he is a continuous LOOP of 'illegals are great don't you know'. He shows up on threads everywhere to spew his nonsense and hijack them. Hopefully he will eventually be banned. He has NOTHING ELSE to contribute here. I have told him many times to go back to MEXICO.
Ruh roh, someon is getting miffed in the Tancredo Congressional office.
BTW, next time you mention my screen name in a reply of yours, have the cajones to at least ping me.
"A question to you cripplecreek, if you had a choice of living in the city limits of Detroit or Miami, which would you pick? And leave the weather out of that equation, but base it on purely economic grounds."
Sorry to intrude on the conversation you were having with Cripplecreek but I could not resist.
Detroit or Miami ?? That is a joke right ?? Detroit the city listed as the 2nd most dangerous city besides St Louis ?? I would choose Miami in a heartbeat of course I would have to learn Spanish but the unemployment rate is somewhat high in Detroit. I just finished an internship with Ford last year and they offered me a position in Dearborne MI after I graduate. I will not be leaving for MI. Detroit or Miami I cant help but smile at that comparison. Plus the property values are probably just a little bit higher in Miami.
Personally, I prefer the truth Tom Tancredo speaks of to any PC malarkey that would be spun through a "Dale Carnegie" course. Miami has indeed become a 'third world' looking city because of illegal immigration and unfettered legal immigration, and an utter lack of assimilation. And this sorry state of affairs is spreading accross America faster than you can say: "Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande".
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