McCain shakes off GOP's anti-immigration right [cold shoulder to Barletta of Hazleton]

The Boston Globe - Political Intelligence ^ | 2008-09-22 | Sasha Issenberg

[rabscuttle385]

SCRANTON, Pa. -- During the Republican primaries, John McCain delicately balanced his record of pushing for immigration reform with satisfying his party's new appetite for harsher restrictions. Now in a general election against an opponent who broadly shares his views on the issue, McCain is showing greater ease asserting his distance from the anti-immigration right.

[Norman Bates]

“I said in 2000 that I could never vote for McCain. I was thankful GWB beat him in the primary. What has transpired since?”

Two attempts at what you call ‘amnesty’ by President Bush. Budget deficits. Decline of the dollar. What else?

[Norman Bates]

Yes but I also remember it was made a LOT worse by about 19-20 egregious Democrat-pushed amendments. It turned out to be a terrible lot. I was very reluctant to support the bill in its original form - the form McCain proposed. Even I didn’t support it after the amendments.

Yes, he said CIR in PA today. But I trust that when he said national security and borders first he means it. He will deport criminal illegals. I take him at his word. There is no candidate I’ve ever supported who I agree with on everything and that includes John McCain. If I ever had supported Duncan Hunter it would’ve included him as well. And so on.

[DoughtyOne]

I agree that we are stuck with McCain, and thus McCain/Palin. For that reason I’m not out hawking anything other than for people to go ahead and do what they think they should. That being said, I won’t be voting for John. I have said for over a decade that I would never vote for him, and I never will.

As much as I hate what McCain intends to do, I don’t see it as an impeachable offense. If he can get enough members of Congress to vote for it, they won’t impeach him over it.

Our opportunity to block the likes of McCain came and left earlier this year when we failed to defeat him during the primary season. IMO he will be president, and will absolutely infuriate us often. None the less, many will defend him by reminding us we could have had Obama. There isn’t going to be much sanity over the next four years, as folks seek to justify their positions, no matter what John does to this nation.

The first 120 days of the McCain administration will see the dashing of my hopes for immigration control that I have held over the last 20 years. Illegal immigrants will be rewarded. Good standing citizens who have spent decades supporting this government through their taxes will be slandered in the process.

McCain won’t be keeping his trap shut on this topic. He has promised to spend his first 120 days in office opening it constantly to push through his massive population shifting political earthquake.

I believe him.

After January 20th, 2009, Sarah is just along for the ride IMO.

[editor-surveyor]

D1,Your post reads like that of an unbeliever.

Totally discounting what the Lord is doing is not a path to success.

[Osage Orange]

I said in 2000 that I could never vote for McCain. I was thankful GWB beat him in the primary. What has transpired since? He got his 1st Amendment offensive passed in 2002. He has tried to take credit for the surge that Rumsfeld directed Petraeus to develop. And he almost got his amnesty plan passed. He teamed with Lieberman pushing gun control. He was leader of the Gang of 14. He voted yes on the ridiculous energy bill that outlaws incandescent lightbulbs. He completely went off the deep end on global warming. And he stood in the way of drilling in ANWR.

In other words, he has gone downhill.

I understand....but I will say again...

Know this....we have very little chance of defeating socialism/marxism under a Obama regime...but we have "some" chance of defeating socialism/marxism under a McCain regime.

Am I happy about the choices? Damn straight..NO!!

I am not happy about debating you on this....I'm as much a "FReeper" as you..

But I see no other viable choice at THIS point.

[The Bishop]

One thing is absolutely certain, he did not want Palin or any of the other (R) candidates, he was hung up on Joe Lieberman till the very last hours. He was pushed into selecting Palin and because of his own manifest destiny complex he will resent it forever. I do not envy her in the least, being a consistent supporter of this Rino will take every bit of will power this strong willed woman can bring to bear. I would like to vote for McCain as I am afraid of Obama to the very core of my soul but every time I almost commit myself to that course he does something that demonstrates his unabashed incompetence in spades. The Andrew Cuomo comment is no small matter, Cuomo is the architect of the fiscal crisis we are in now. Letting Clinton and his administration off the hook by calling Cuomo anything other than a bumbling naive grifter is unforgivable in political terms. Then adding insult to injury is this foolishness about immigration. Multiculturalism does not work. No civilization can bear the cost of it no matter how great. Rome could not do it and we won’t be able to either.

[pissant]

I don’t want to debate it either. But since you asked....

[VictoryGal]

>Know this....we have very little chance of defeating socialism/marxism under a Obama regime...but we have “some” chance of defeating socialism/marxism under a McCain regime.

I hear what you are saying. But I am not as sure as you. When socialism comes from a socialist, it’s all on the table — easier to fight it. Take a look at what is happening now with the bailout. BLATANT socialism, and the GOP for the most part is meekly going along with it. WE will pay a TRILLION to increase the government’s share of control over the private sector, so we get screwed twice: once where they rob us, another as government closes its meaty hands tighter over the free market’s windpipe.

If this bailout came from a Obama administration, we would be rightly fighting it as a communistic power grab.

[goldstategop]

McShamnesty is out of touch with the American people. On amnesty he is McStupid!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[muawiyah]

Sorry, we don't know McCain's thoughts on "immigration". What we do know is that he wants to keep all the Mexicans who've managed to sneak in, and NONE OF THEM ARE IMMIGRANTS.

You must have an immigration visa to immigrate here. If you don't have such a visa you are, defacto, a non permanent visitor of some kind.

As far as I recall McCain has never said that he prefers or does not prefer educated Asians and Africans as immigrants.

[DoughtyOne]

When I look back at what John has done during his political career, I see no evidence that influences me to think he will rule from the right side of the isle. He will have many of the same staff members that he has always had. He will add plenty of new ones. They are going to reflect John’s vision, not Sarah’s.

Those staff members will urge Sarah to play along to get along. To the degree she does, Republican members of Congress and the RNC will not have to come down on her for being too rigid. If she doesn’t play along, I expect the long knives to come out.

Sarah is there to get John elected. After 01/20/09 she is merely the tie breaking vote in the Senate, if a tie vote should come along.

Does Palin remain stridently Conservative and take heat from her own party? Does she moderate? Do the primary voters who thought John McCain was an excellent choice think a strict Conservative is an excellent choice?

I look back on vice-presidents and don’t see all that many who followed their President.

I’m not convinced God’s plan is working out here. Is it His, or it just John McCain’s plan.

Thank you for your comments.

[Osage Orange]

I hear what you are saying. But I am not as sure as you. When socialism comes from a socialist, it’s all on the table — easier to fight it. Take a look at what is happening now with the bailout. BLATANT socialism, and the GOP for the most part is meekly going along with it. WE will pay a TRILLION to increase the government’s share of control over the private sector, so we get screwed twice: once where they rob us, another as government closes its meaty hands tighter over the free market’s windpipe.

If this bailout came from a Obama administration, we would be rightly fighting it as a communistic power grab.

I've read what you posted....and my point, IMO remains. We will have a better chance against a McCain being POTUS...than an Obama. Period.

Are you/me ready to fight a marxist/socialist/communist POTUS...AND House's of Congress?

I am looking to the lesser of two evils here...and I have chosen. Will you join me?

[DoughtyOne]

I’m not going to quibble with you. I think you know what I meant, and I think most other people do as well.

[dforest]

McCain makes me want to throw up. I am voting for Palin.

Hope McCain doesn’t spoil what people like about her.

[muawiyah]

It's not a "quibble". Way back under Lyndon Johnson we got away from the "national quota" system for immigration. Now we have the folks representing Agri-business, Chamber of Commerce, Communist Party USA, and downtown Chicago's grafters and fixers demanding what amounts to an exclusive quota just for Mexicans who can slip into the country.

That's not a modern immigration system ~ it's a return to racist preferences, and all without respect to America's real needs.

McCain has taken no position whatsoever on the question of restricting immigration to educated people.

[VictoryGal]

I will probably vote McCain. I will need a clothespin over my nose and an oxygen supply in my mouth, and when I get home I’ll need to take a 5 hour shower with bleach and steel wool. McCain will sell us up the river on the economy and immigration, maybe not as much on defense.

But, mark my words: this going to be a rough 4 years no matter who wins.

[wac3rd]

McAmnesty is a fraud, but not a big a fraud as the Marxist Messiah.

I know “karma” may not be with me, but I pray he (McCain) wins and somehow dies peacefully in his sleep in 2009.

There are literally millions of illegals and California and other states are becoming war zones.

From the L. A. Times

1. 40% of all workers in L. A. County ( L. A. County has 10.2 million people)are working for cash and not paying taxes. This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card.

2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.

3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.

4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal , whose births were paid for by taxpayers.

5. Nearly 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

6. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.

7. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border
8. Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.

9. 21 radio stations in L. A. are Spanish speaking.

10. In L. A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3.9 million speak Spanish. (There are 10.2 million people in L. A. County)

(All 10 of the above are from the Los Angeles Times)

Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare.

Over 70% of the United States’ annual population growth (and over 90% of California, Florida and New York) results from immigration.

29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens.

We are a bunch of fools for letting this continue

If this doesn’t open your eyes nothing will!!!

And you wonder why Nancy Pelosi, John McCain, Barack Obama and Harry Reid want them to become voters via Amnesty!

[ought-six]

“McCain wont win Pennsylvania now.”

That’s a fact.

[dalereed]

“I don’t think people are anti-immigration.”

I’m 100% against allowing any from my country ancestors come here, Norway and Germany.

They’ve turned into total socialist crap!

[supercat]

Those staff members will urge Sarah to play along to get along. To the degree she does, Republican members of Congress and the RNC will not have to come down on her for being too rigid. If she doesn’t play along, I expect the long knives to come out.

Normally, the President is more popular than the VP. THe McCain/Palin ticket is an exception to that rule. If a very popular VP advocates a position which differs from that of a less-popular President, are the Republicans in Congress all going to support the latter? Or will they support the more popular person?