Posted on 05/29/2007 8:28:23 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3
As governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson was the first border-state official to declare an illegal immigration ''state of emergency'' that demanded National Guard patrols. Now he is the first Democratic presidential candidate to oppose immigration reforms in Congress.
The sole Hispanic to seek his party's nomination, Richardson has long been at the forefront of the immigration debate -- but far from the vanguard of the 2008 race.
''I am an insurgent, but I am moving up,'' he said in Boca Raton before a fundraiser Tuesday at a private home and another at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.
Richardson, the son of a Mexican mother and American father, opposes a fence along the Mexican border. Candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama voted for the 700-mile wall.
''Yes, improve border security, but I believe this wall is a big mistake,'' he said. ``It would be a terrible symbol, and it would be ineffective.''
Richardson also criticizes the plan, which hit Congress two weeks ago, for favoring skilled workers over family members seeking to immigrate. Clinton and Obama also have vowed to push for family-friendly changes.
''Family reunification has been the basis of past immigration law, and that is a very serious problem,'' he said.
Richardson said his experience as governor of New Mexico makes him the most qualified to grapple with immigration. Allowing illegal immigrants to earn citizenship, he said, would improve U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.
CUBA SANCTIONS
Richardson also favors making it easier for Cuban-Americans to visit family on the island and send money. Some exiles believe those contacts strengthen Fidel Castro's regime.
''I believe that would enhance family reunification and values,'' he said.
His stance on the immigration bill could create the perception that he is standing in the way of a reasonable compromise, though it also may appeal to the most liberal wing of his party.
''As one of the nation's most powerful Hispanic leaders, he has a special obligation to try to make the bill better,'' said Joe Garcia, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party and the former executive director of the Cuban-American National Foundation.
Aside from immigration, Richardson says he is the only Democratic candidate to call for an immediate and total withdrawal of troops from Iraq. And his support for gun rights earned him a past endorsement from the National Rifle Association.
His biggest asset, supporters say, is his résumé: two-term governor, former member of Congress, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former U.S. Secretary of Energy.
An ad in Iowa and on the Internet shows a young man across a desk reciting Richardson's long list of accomplishments. ''So,'' he asks Richardson, ``What makes you think you can be president?''
But Richardson's poll ratings and fundraising lag far behind, and his appearances in televised debates and interviews have been uneven. On MSNBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, he tried to parse being both a Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees fan.
HISPANIC SUPPORT
Though Richardson has been raising money in Florida for years, he collected only $200,000 during the first three months of 2007.
''He's a charming guy, but that charm hasn't been there,'' said former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, a Richardson supporter.
''Hispanics, like all people, like to be with a winner, and so far he hasn't risen above the fray,'' he said.
Miami attorney Roland Sanchez-Medina, a Cuban-American Bar Association board member, said of Richardson: ``I see him as a vice presidential candidate more than anything else.''
But Richardson said he ''can win'' Florida, which will host the nation's first big-state primary on Jan. 29.
Democratic national party rules say that only four smaller states can vote before Feb. 5, but Richardson said he would compete in Florida despite potential sanctions at the national convention.
Typical Liberal - dead wrong
It would send a clear message, and has proved to be effective everywhere it has been deployed.
In a 2005 Executive Order, Richardson forbid the state police from inquiring about immigration status and forbid them from enforcing immigration laws. Santa Fe is also a sanctuary city.
Meanwhile, 4 states have troops on his border with Mexico guarding his sorry butt and that of his lazy fellow New Mexicans. I say send them home now and let New Mexico fend for itself.
In a 2005 Executive Order, Richardson forbid the state police from inquiring about immigration status and forbid them from enforcing immigration laws. Santa Fe is also a sanctuary city.
Meanwhile, 4 states have troops on his border with Mexico guarding his sorry butt and that of his lazy fellow New Mexicans. I say send them home now and let New Mexico fend for itself.
That explains it. So now we have to listen to him go into full hispanic pander mode for Florida until then.
I'll bet that insurgent line brings down the house in RAT circles.
Considering the current state of our energy situation, and that with North Korea, Richardson's résumé is pretty lousy.
Now minefields and towers with machine gun nests spaced 100 meters apart, would actually get the job done.
Reconquista Richrdson want to to make the amnesty bill better?
What he means is to allow MORE immigration. The bill would improve if it was torn up into little bits.
If that's so, Bill, then I would contend that allowing twelve to twenty million illegal aliens into the country was an even bigger mistake.
Let's hear something constructive about why we should trust you -- or any other politician -- with fixing the problem that you created.
ANYONE opposing a fence to STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION is truly pro-illegals. The only thing that will STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION is a wall, a fence. Anything else is pandering, tokenism, politics and absolute crap.
Just like what our government is trying to shove down our throats. Without our consent. Without our vote. Not even telling us what they are going to DO TO US.
And Jefferson, Franklin, Adams and Madison are rolling over in their graves, watching the REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT they fought so hard for, vanish into a socialistic mob scene of elitists in Washington.
Oh yeah?
Well 34 other countries have them and it works just fine. Israel just put one up a few years ago and it has stopped the homicide-bombing rate by 90%!!
So I guess that Richardson is PRO-ILLEGALS rather then protecting & defending Americans which is why he has such a position on having a border wall.
I actually like my neighbor, but I still have a wall separating our properties. H doesn’t seem to mind either.
New Mexico existed long before “Old” Mexico. It was settled before Jamestown was established and many can trace their ancestery to the first settlers. That said, I don’t think that Richardson stands for any principle I can accept. What has happened since 1986 is nothing but an invasion encouraged by an informal alliance between American businessmen and Mexican elites who have more invested in Switzerland than in their own country.
Exactly. Liberals were dead wrong about the wall in Israel, as well. They’d have preferred for Palestinian terrorists to have open access to the Israeli borders and to continue to blow up innocent Israelis.
‘’Yes, improve border security, but I believe this wall is a big mistake,’’ he said. ``It would be a terrible symbol, and it would be ineffective.’’
Methinks, Richardson doth protest too much. Build the wall. If it is ineffective we can always tear it down. As we have seen from Simpson-Mazzoli, an immigration bill without enforcement is no protection. That is what Richardson stands for.
Richerson is toast and the poles will show it.
We all have been told for the last year or so what a “moderate” Richardson was. I never believed it.
With this statement and a few others maybe he could loose his Governorship next time around too. NM is a swing state so it could happen.
Michael Medved spent a long time talking about what a moderate Richardson was and what a threat he might be in the democratic primaries. Medved also likes the immigration bill but that what I might expect from former eastern former liberal living in a 95% white town.
The people of AZ and NM and TX don’t want to become part of Mexico like CA has.
And we will VOTE.
I see none of the poles on immigration are done in just AZ,NM,TX and NV.
So, he is for amnesty, against the wall, and his main problem with the immigration bill is how it fixes the immigration system to end chain migration - maybe ...
“Richardson said his experience as governor of New Mexico makes him the most qualified to grapple with immigration. Allowing illegal immigrants to earn citizenship, he said, would improve U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Translation: He is most qualified, due to his vast experience with his electorate, to sell out America to turn it into a Latin American style banana republic.
“What has happened since 1986 is nothing but an invasion encouraged by an informal alliance between American businessmen and Mexican elites who have more invested in Switzerland than in their own country.”
Maybe the first FReeper to get it right.
B U M P
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