Posted on 10/24/2007 10:07:56 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson yesterday staked out one of the toughest plans on the campaign trail to curb illegal immigration, trying to reignite the issue among the GOP faithful who rose up in revolt against a more moderate approach in Congress earlier this year.
Highlighting what he believes are key vulnerabilities for his main rivals, Thompson called for stripping federal funds from cities and states that do not report illegal immigrants and criticized Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney for allowing so-called sanctuary cities in New York and Massachusetts.
The first principle of Thompson's plan is "No Amnesty," a clear shot at another rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona, who joined President Bush in trying unsuccessfully to push through a sweeping immigration overhaul bill that would have created a guest worker program and provided a path to possible citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country.
Thompson's plan provoked a new round of sparring among the contenders, underscoring that polls indicate that none of them has been able to emerge in the minds of Republican voters as the candidate best able to fix the broken immigration system.
Party officials in key primary states said yesterday that the candidate who can win voters' trust on immigration could make significant gains. Polls indicate that Republicans care more than Democrats about the issue and support a harder line against illegal immigrants.
"It's a very significant issue in America that few politicians are willing to tackle head-on, and when they do, they tackle it the wrong way," said Karen Hanretty, a Thompson spokeswoman. She said Thompson will trumpet his plan today in South Carolina, which holds the first Southern primary, on Jan. 19, and will address it Saturday in Iowa, which holds the first caucus, on Jan. 3.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
What specifically won't work?
Are you serious ! 2ndDivisonVet is Fred ?!
I didn’t know ... nice to meet you Fred , I can’t wait until you win this nomination and beat Hillary to become the next POTUS ! Go Fred !
Well, I’ve talked to the good Congressman. He is in it to win. He knows he is a longshot, but he would not be working his butt off and resigning from Congress if he was not dead serious.
For a 14 term career politician, with 27 years in the House, I’d would’ve expected Hunter to have even more immigration legislation to point to. LOL
Hasn’t helped him in his presidential campaign. He’s got no money left and little support outside of FR to speak of.
Good conservative, lousy candidate.
Go Fred go!
Well if cheating is that easy , I strongly recommend that you Hunterites figure out how to do it and get on the train , because it’s leaving you behind ....
Which is why I said I don't he'd lie. I think he has integrity (and that's not a gloss, that's saying a lot for a modern-day politician). But we all know it's a long shot. So if good can come of his candidacy, it's the advancement of conservative ideals in the Republican party.
Since the Democrats keep trying to sneak it back in, it shouldn't be overly difficult to keep the issue on the table.
I don’t he’d lie = I don’t think he’d lie
Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo would fit in well in a Fred Thompson administration. Just thought I would throw this out there for Fred.
Well then, allow me to say, “Go Fred Go” on a Fred thread, even though I’m a Hunter supporter. ;-)
I see Congressman Duncan Hunter as a Secretary of Defense or Homeland Security or maybe Veterans Affairs. Fred might use Rep. Tancredo as FEMA director or possibly ambassador to Mexico.
LOL ! Well she was close !
Nice to meet you Fred !
Starting from nada? really? After 20 what 6 years in Congress, and you call that nada?
The main reasons Duncan hasn’t moved vertically...
1. He’s a Californian. A Californian as President brings nothing to the party any more, therefore, the party disses and dis-misses him.
2. He’s not a “brown noser”. He hasn’t kissed the right asses, and he’s made some of his peers very uncomfortable.
3. He hasn’t exactly lead a life of self promotion. I was born and lived in California for 45 years, in his district and out. I can’t ever recall a “hey, look at me” commercial or campaign.
Did he ever seriously believe he had a shot? He is not a stupid man, he has to have known the eventuality.
Bang!
Next target...
Working his butt off? From the little I've seen or heard of him I assumed he must just be "lazy" and doesn't have any "fire in the belly".
“Giuliani talks tough on immigration (would end illegal immigration in as few as three years)”
He’d end illegal immigration by making it legal...
Upsetting the Duncanista`s is sacrilege.
I had high hopes that the internet would allow us to break through that, but it probably has not been the case.
There’s the possibility that only right now are mainstream americans even starting to pay attention, so we could see a real upsurge on boards like FR for information. Unfortunately, if it happened right now, we’re not well prepared for such an event and the frustration factor would set in quickly.
It might serve Free Republic for us to have some Newbie threads on the candidates, where we don’t post anything but the candidate’s positions on issues, and then have the moderator lock the thread so it can’t be hijacked.
Maybe I’ll raise it up the flagpole to Jimrob to see if he salutes it.
Intresting comment from one of the lead "Jeri looks like a hooker" Mittwitts
Well at least FDT's stance is real...
"He's been a pro-life Mormon faking it as a pro-choice friendly," Romney adviser Mike Murphy told the National Review in 2006.
Romney ran for US Senate in 1994 pledging to keep abortion ''safe and legal in this country." As a 2002 candidate for governor, Romney said he would not change the state's abortion laws. But in recent months, he has described himself as ''personally prolife" to out-of-town political audiences.
Romney is the "great executive".
An executive is responsible for the actions of those they hire.
An executive sets the ethical tone and permissiveness of the organization.
What tone has Mitt set?
FAKE BADGES + FAKE WEB SITE + FAKE STANCE = THE REAL ROMNEY
I trust Fred to stand by his word. So do many others.
REAL Conservatives, not FAKES are what we need.
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