Posted on 12/12/2006 6:08:52 PM PST by CharlesWayneCT
Didn't find a live thread for the texas election results.
As of 9:07 EST, the race is as follows (mostly "early" election numbers):
----------------------------------------------- RACE NAME PARTY EARLY VOTES PERCENT TOTAL VOTES PERCENT U. S. Representative District 23
Henry Bonilla - Incumbent REP 14,013 47.81% 16,675 44.86%
Ciro D. Rodriguez DEM 15,298 52.19% 20,495 55.14% --------------- ---------------
Total Votes Cast 29,311 37,170
Precincts Reported 98 of 267 Precincts 36.70% --------------------------------------------
(Excerpt) Read more at 204.65.107.84 ...
Then of course Tancredo's bashing of Cuban immigrants is just further proof that isn't not about illegal immigration to him but all immigration, at least from countries where they speak Spanish.
Legal immigration is too high. Legal immigration from Spanish-speaking countries, especially, is too high, because it threatens to create a bicultural America -- the worst possible outcome. Even multiculturalism is somewhat better, or less bad, than biculturalism. I don't see Tancredo "bashing Hispanics" for every crime and social ill. I think you're lumping a few people together with a lot of other people, unjustly.
"So, how do you address illegal immigration SERIOUSLY without being called names? I don't think it's possible, and I don't think you're being fair to Mr. Tancredo.'
Simple. You simply don't make it a "Mexico" only thing. The rheotoric that some of the more rabid illegal immigration advocates use is reminincient of the era when their was legalized discrimination against Blacks. The history books kind of ignore at the same time Hispanics or first generation Mexican Americans were being discriminated in identical ways. So when you here a Tancredo or whomever show up on TV saying "we should just send them all back to Mexico," those people are hearing things that were said back a generation or two ago to people that were rightfully born here and or came here legally.
I am just as law and order on illegal immigration issues as most here are and reject the amenesty non sense. The best track the anti illegal immigration folks should have taken was the national security angle and should have kept the killing of our culture (Ie the whiteness of America) out of the argument. They could have accomplshed that goal by focusing on the security angle. And plus they did it to coincide with an election year which to Hispanics that might be a GOP type voter, just saw it as pandering to the tradtional white base of the party, which the border fence being signed by President in October is proof of that.
Really the whole issue could have been signed, sealed, and resolved a few days after 9/11 and it would have had wide support accross the board. It really could have, but the GOP and Bush punted.
I think there should be minor changes in the rhetoric of some of our spokesman, perhaps including Tancredo, along the lines you suggest. It's conceivable that these would be of major help to us politically, but I'm not sure. I'm more concerned about Republican elected officials not doing or saying enough about the problem, less worried about a few who might say the wrong thing now and then.
Diddle! Finally I agree with you on something! My thoughts exactly.
;-)
strawman much?
The fact that there are 12 to 20 million illegal aliens already here and 500,000 to 1 million entering illegally annually will not change regardless of who is elected in TX-23. If Reps have to pander to Hispanics to win elections, we are doomed anyway as a party. The Dems already have the majority of the Hispanic vote and they are making it easier for illegals to vote by blocking such things as voter ID and by offering them a path to citizenship. What should the position of the GOP be on illegal immigration? Should the 12 to 20 million illegals already here be offered a path to citizenship? Do you think we should get control of our borders, including building physical barriers as appropriate?
Spot on, fools like Tancredo hurt the party and adds to the Republicans image that they are anti-hispanic which they are not. We need to fight the illegal immigration issue carefully and emphasis on the real issue which is violation of laws and not attack a set of people for their language or culture.
I agree with you! The President could have turned out some of the vote that Bonilla needed. I personally think this redistricting in TX is a nightmare.
This was a foregone conclusion once a court said Bonilla's district was "unconstitutional" because it "excluded minorities" (where exactly in the Constitution does it say that?) and redrew it so Bonilla would surely lose.
Nope, not the case at all. A judge redrew the district to increase "minorities". Then 6 RATS purposely ran at once in the general so as to force a runoff. It was guaranteed that Bonilla would lose.
I agree with what you are saying. There was alot more that could have been done to educate people about the open borders situation without bashing a huge chunk of our population's culture and using language of yesteryear. A good chunk of the Hispanic population in Texas subsribe to conservative ideas and the more educated ones don't automatcially vote the Rat party line. Again, when you here a white guys say "send them back." It is no different than if some white guy in the south put all of the sudden put a "White's only" sign on his business.
If I was in charge of the strategy, it would have focused on the criminal gangs coming accross and causing havoic in our cities. It would have focused on some of the items that have been found on ranch land in Arabic and the rumors of Arab men trying to sneak into this country through the border. And It would have been more focus on the business that hire and yes, exploit some of these people by paying them next to nothing. The same goals of the Tancredo's of this world could have been accomplshed by focusing almost exclusively on the securty angle, IMO.
And from what I gather, most rank and file Hispanics would be for it to. They don't like the idea of Arabs coming through Mexico down here. The certainly don't like MS-13 raming amongest them. Likewise they don't like see human exploitation.
No one is making Mexico the only thing, but that is where most of the illegals are coming from, including those transiting Mexico from Central America. Using the official census figures from 1990 and 2000:
The dramatic growth in the nation’s immigrant population has been accompanied by a significant decline in diversity. In 1990, immigrants from the top sending country — Mexico — accounted for 22 percent of the total foreign born. By 2000, Mexican immigrants accounted for 30 percent of the total.
In fact, Mexico alone accounted for 43 percent of the growth in the foreign-born population between 1990 and 2000.
• Immigrants from Spanish-speaking Latin America accounted for more than 60 percent of the growth in the foreign-born population nationally in the 1990s.
Nationally, Mexican immigrants increased their share of the foreign-born population from 22 percent of the total in 1990 to 30 percent by 2000. This continues a long-term trend: In 1980 Mexico, already the leading sending country, accounted for 16 percent of the foreign-born population. The trend of declining diversity goes back even farther; in 1970 the top sending country was Italy, and it represented only 10 percent of the foreign born. At the state level, Mexico was the largest sending country in 18 states in 1990; by 2000 it was the top sending country in 30 states.
During the 1990s, an average of more than 1.3 million immigrants — legal and illegal — settled in the United States each year. Between January 2000 and March 2002, 3.3 million additional immigrants have arrived. In less than 50 years, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that immigration will cause the population of the United States to increase from its present 300 million to more than 400 million.
The foreign-born population of the United States is currently 33.1 million, equal to 11.5 percent of the U.S. population. Of this total, the Census Bureau estimates 8-9 million are illegal immigrants. Other estimates indicate a considerably higher number of illegal immigrants.
The present level of immigration is significantly higher than the average historical level of immigration. This flow may be attributed, in part, to the extraordinary broadening of U.S. immigration policy in 1965. Since 1970, more than 30 million legal and illegal immigrants have settled in the U.S., representing more than one-third of all people ever to come to America's shores.
At the peak of the Great Wave of immigration in 1910, the number of immigrants living in the U.S. was less than half of what it is today, though the percentage of the population was slightly higher. The annual arrival of 1.5 million legal and illegal immigrants, coupled with 750,000 annual births to immigrant women, is the determinate factor— or three-fourths— of all U.S. population growth.
In this election environment it is going to take both charisma and trust to win for the incumbent party, too many uninspired voters stay at home or vote for change. In the Presidency we are the incumbent party, so it is going to take someone like Giuliani to actually inspire and win over voters beyond just the base.
We are on the same page. I am fed up just like you. Having heard Rudy speak several years ago here at OU, I believe he will draw votes in from various segments. I am so tired of seeing these people say they are going to stay home if they don't like a candidate or go third party, that I don't care to hear what they have to say anymore. I am tired of the pandering to the religious right and their staying home like they did in 2006. In fact, I am tired of one issue voters that have their head buried in the sand too!
I am a proud conservative who puts our national defense at the top of my list because we have people trying to kill us, and we should have sealed the borders (both of them) sometime ago to prevent more terrorist from entering the country illegally. Instead the Administration panders to Hispanics. I am tired of pandering, 'compassionate conservatism' and kumbaya!
Now I feel better! :)
My favorite quote of the day!
We are going to have to stand up and be counted on here because a lot of people read these threads. Am really tired of litmus test people and they get so nasty. Those threads were despicable IMHO!
Conversely, this President couldn't count on many Republicans in the Senate or the House, some of whom he helped elect on 2004, with a lot of his initiatives (like Social Security reform) or WOT. Whether they were inept, like Frist and Hastert, or just plain egomaniacs, like McCain, Hagel, Graham, Specter, just to name a few.
Yet, they still don't understand this and keep running from Bush and WOT, to their own peril in 2008 and beyond. Bubba survived because Dems hung tough around him and mounted endless attacks despite obvious malfeasance; some Congressional Republicans joined Dems and al-Media in attacking President let alone counter the attacks on CIC in time of war, even as he gave them every latitude in spending and other nonsense in bills. They took this latitude for weakness.
Not that Bush has not made mistakes - one of the biggest was/is his inability or willingness to communicate effectively and often and above or around the media - but he didn't get much support from his own in Congress.
Very well said. I agree completely! Too much bashing of Hispanics on here. IMHO there is not enough concern about students whose visas have expired, and they are still in the Country including a lot of them from Arab countries.
Thanks!
It is evident in the second term that Bush has problems communiating his ideas to the public with or without the media, has there has been a change of speech writers in his team. It is important the 08 republican nominee has impeccable communication skills rather than just a 100% acu rating , this is necessary against a hostile media.
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