Posted on 08/28/2008 7:10:14 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
On the Spot (CNSNews.com) – A draft copy of the GOP platform, which was obtained by CNSNews.com on Wednesday, says “We oppose amnesty” for illegal immigrants.
But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the presumptive presidential nominee for the Republican Party, has been a leading proponent in Congress for giving illegal aliens a “pathway to citizenship.”
The GOP platform is being written in Minneapolis this week in preparation for the Republican National Convention, scheduled for early September.
“It [the rule of law] does not mean driver’s licenses for illegal aliens, nor does it mean that states should be allowed to flout the federal law barring them from giving in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens. We oppose amnesty,” the draft says.
"Amnesty has to be an important part of [any immigration solution] because there are people who have lived in this country for 20, 30 or 40 years, who have raised children here and pay taxes here and are not citizens. That has to be a component of it,” McCain reportedly told the Tucson Citizen on May 29, 2003.
In June, McCain told the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials that comprehensive immigration reform is his "top priority -- yesterday, today and tomorrow."
In 2006, McCain worked with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) to ensure passage in the Senate of a "comprehensive" immigration reform bill that would have given illegal aliens a path to citizenship while allowing 200,000 new "guest workers' to enter the country each year.
Sources in Minneapolis told CNSNews.com that the GOP platform should be completed by Wednesday but it will not be officially released until Monday.
In other news, the Boston Globe reported that the Republican platform will not include a call to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. That’s another area where Republicans differ with McCain, who opposes drilling in ANWR.
According to the Globe, some platform committee members said they’ll try to bring McCain around to their way of thinking after he’s elected president.
The platform does endorse expanded domestic oil drilling in general.
A "flip-flop" on this issue by McCain is highly welcome.
Plenty of time to water that down, like they did to the plank on drilling in ANWAR.
‘According to the Globe, some platform committee members said they’ll try to bring McCain around to their way of thinking after he’s elected president.’
Fools.
They may as well just endorse Obama and try to bring him around to their way of thinking.
Amusing. Very similar line of thought to those here at FR that claim they will 'hold McCain's feet to the fire' after they go ahead and vote for him.
If McCain doesn't much care what conservatives or others think before the election when he needs their votes, what on God's green earth makes them believe that he will have his feet held to the fire after he gets elected and can party in true 'reach across the aisle' fashion?
Has anyone noticed all of the reporting on RNC platform decisions even before the convention starts and that there have been no media accounts of the dumbocrat positions?
Just wondering.
I’ll take the Republican platform with a grain of salt.
Pretty easy to add since everyone who supported amnesty last year claimed that it wasn't amnesty because all the illegals were punished with a three-peso fine before they were invited to stay forever. (Yes, I know it was more than three pesos, but it was a lot less than the legal costs were for someone entering legally).
DNC platform: Hope, change and free abortions for everyone.
Senator McCain:
There IS a “pathway to citizenship” in the USA.
It has been in place for a long time.
It is’nt complicated.
One doesn’t have to be a Phd. to qualify.
There are delays. These delays are there for a reason.
DO NOT grant amnesty to these illegal intruders who are swamping our health care system and our judicial system.
Send them back south of the border and let them APPLY correctly for admission to this country. Thank you.
Yeah, no “amnesty”, but...
we’ll have a “comprehensive immigration reform” package that includes a “clear path to citizenship” for the illegals that are already here.
And let’s not forget the old “We need a guest worker program” line. Never mind the fact that we’ve had them since my mother was a child and probably before that.
I watched this last night and became ill. All I saw was mostly RINOs too afraid to call for the abolishment of the Department of Education. They are too afraid of thier own shaddow to be real conservative Republicans.
Has anyone noticed all of the reporting on RNC platform decisions even before the convention starts and that there have been no media accounts of the dumbocrat positions?This is a different issue than the usual bucket of ???? that is either parties platform.
This story is about McCain and the party being at odds with each other and the party poking him in the eye. That's definitely a story. Add to that McCain's own poking of the party in the eye by continuing to assert Lieberman is a top tier pick for VP.
One might conclude they don't like each other.
So they'll call it something else. When it comes to lying, GOP candidates are now as adept as their democrat party rivals.
The John McCain Whig-ification of the GOP makes it obvious to any thinking person that whatever platform they put forth now is utterly and completely worthless.
Dole slapped his conservative "supporters" in the face, then the RNC told us that "we had nowhere else to go" but the Republican candidate.
Many showed the RNC that they did so have "somewhere to go" they went to the grocery store, to the movies, or stayed home.
When will the liberal elites at the RNC learn that conservatives do NOT have to support their choice of candidate, especially when they insult us far more than any Democrat does!
I was one who "held my nose" and voted for Dole but knew all along he would never win as far too many considered him to be a product of DC and was totally out of touch with the people.
We voters in Arizona know better than that. McCain is most conservative when he is campaigning.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.