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Huckabee's Immigration Fumble -- There's a reason Republicans are losing Hispanic voters
Wall Street Journal ^ | December 17, 2007 | Jason L. Riley

Posted on 12/17/2007 12:10:41 AM PST by Zakeet

With polls showing his lead gone in Iowa and narrowing in other early primary states, Mitt Romney has stepped up attacks on Mike Huckabee in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination.

Social conservatives especially are exercised by our porous borders, and Mr. Romney sees his surging rival's past positions on immigration as an inviting target. When Mr. Huckabee was governor of Arkansas, it turns out, he supported letting the children of illegal aliens, who met the same academic standards required of legal residents, apply for taxpayer-funded college scholarships. Heavens to Betsy!

During a sharp exchange with Mr. Huckabee at a recent debate, Mr. Romney said it's wrong to give illegal aliens access to revenue from hard-working taxpayers. "Mike, that's not your money," said Mr. Romney. "That's the taxpayers' money . . . [and] there's only so much money to go around." Following the debate, the Romney campaign released an ad reiterating the charge. "Huckabee even supported taxpayer-funded college scholarships for illegal aliens," says the narrator in a TV spot now airing in Iowa.

If illegal immigrants didn't pay taxes, Mr. Romney might have a point. But they do pay taxes, and by doing so they subsidize services that only legal residents can access. For starters, more than half and up to three-quarters of illegal immigrants in the U.S. are working "on the books," which means they're paying federal and state income taxes, just like the rest of us. They are also paying Social Security and Medicare taxes, even though undocumented immigrants are ineligible to receive benefits from either program. In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee last year, the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration noted that between 1937 and 2003, contributions to Social Security from unauthorized workers totaled an estimated $520 billion.

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: election; gop; illegalaliens; immigration
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To: Zakeet
Rockefeller Republicans get me sick. Illegals are a huge net loss on the economy. Those that get paid under the table don’t pay any taxes and they are such a burden on hospitals, that many in areas with high concentrations of illegals have been forced to shut down. Also, property taxes pay for schools, and most illegals are not homeowners. So, our tax dollars are being spent to educate illegals and when those run out, I am expected to contribute to the fundraisers in addition to all the taxes I pay. Furthermore, the laws could be easily enforced, all it takes is the will. Just look at the effect Arizona’s new law is having, Illegals are leaving the state in droves.

However, the real joke here, is that while Huckabee claims to have, as of last week, shifted his position so that he now favors border control and strict enforcement, while his supporters posting on Free Republic are still advocating for open borders. Could it be that even the Huckster Brigade understands that Huckabee’s 11th hour conversion not withstanding, that a vote for Huckabee is a vote for amnesty.

Also, wasn’t it Huckabee that basically called those wanting to require proof of citizenship to vote in Arkansas a bunch of racists?

21 posted on 12/17/2007 4:16:55 AM PST by NavVet (If you don't defend conservatism in the Primary, you won't have it to defend in the Election)
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To: valkyry1
I do not know about anyone else, but the only illegal immigration that alarms me, is the Mexican illegal immigrations.

"They want to take chunks of Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico & Arizona. They think they still own it.., IMO.

[from the article]...But these voters can't be expected to support a Republican Party that takes its marching orders from Lou Dobbs populists when it's not taking them from xenophobic fringe outfits animated by reconquista conspiracy theories."

Thanks for playing.

22 posted on 12/17/2007 4:17:18 AM PST by DCPatriot ("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon))
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To: Rock&RollRepublican

Chump change came to mind and thanks for doing the math. I knew someone on the thread would beat me to the point, seeing as I was a late arrival.


23 posted on 12/17/2007 4:27:52 AM PST by wita
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To: Zakeet

If illegal immigrants won’t vote for Republicans because of border security, then they were never going to vote Republican anyway, because they are a bunch of Marxists who don’t believe in borders and who feel entitled to parasite off of America’s (CAPITALIST) economy.


24 posted on 12/17/2007 4:39:45 AM PST by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (If Hillary is elected, her legacy will be telling the American people: Better put some ice on that.)
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To: Zakeet

Better to fight the illegal leeches and lose some votes than kiss their asses and lose the base because the illegals won’t vote for us anyway. Their good friend, the rat will promise them everything free as long as their keep him in office. They know if they do that they can get real Americans to foot the bill.


25 posted on 12/17/2007 4:43:05 AM PST by jmaroneps37 (Conservatives live in the truth. Liberals live in lies.)
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To: taxed2death; donna
It is interesting how statistics get manipulated to support an argument.

On this particular issue, the immigration hardliners want minimize the number of illegals working in the formal economy. Minimize the number of illegals paying taxes.

OTOH, when the issue switches to Social Security Totalization, the hardliners switch gears and maximize the number of illegals working in the formal economy. Maximize the number of illegals paying taxes.

26 posted on 12/17/2007 4:51:15 AM PST by Ben Ficklin
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To: babygene
Bingo! With the deductions, personal exemptions and child credits, the illegals have the IRS paying money to THEM! All at the expense of citizens and legal residents. And to top it off, they get free education, free health care too boot. Local communities have to raise taxes on real Americans to educate the illegals children. And, what money the illegals receive, goes back to their country of origin.

The WSJ is filled with lies and deception and written by those who only want to profit and steal from America and let the country be damned. They are traitors to their country.

27 posted on 12/17/2007 4:58:58 AM PST by MBB1984
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To: Zakeet

I think we have an expanding economy that needs illegal people.

We’ve aborted over 40 million potential members of our workforce.

Huckabee acknowledged that concept in his “values” speech in Washington earlier this year.

But I’m not pushing amnesty either.

We need a border fence and deportation in the short term.

But longterm we need to admit things.

Among the admissions that abortion has hurt our economy.

But don’t expect the Planned Parenthood supporting business elites to consider that.

The next president should lecture the hell out of them on that one.

They’d rather kill the unborn, hand out contraceptives and hire the illegals than change their ways.

It could be anyone of the candidates up there right now with the exception of Paul and McCain as far as I am concerned.


28 posted on 12/17/2007 5:04:05 AM PST by Nextrush (Uncommitted for GOP President, but not Ron Paul or John McCain.)
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To: Misterioso

Huckster, it will be a cold day in hell when you get my vote. Illegals competing with my children for scholarships? Get your socialist self another job.


29 posted on 12/17/2007 5:06:55 AM PST by gathersnomoss (General George Patton had it right.)
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To: babygene
Also getting health care at no cost...to the recipient.
30 posted on 12/17/2007 5:09:10 AM PST by gathersnomoss (General George Patton had it right.)
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To: David In Staten Island
Who are you trying to kid by saying that more than half of illegals pay their taxes? I suppose if you are couching that under the guise of sales taxes sure. But income taxes? I think not. As a New Yorker (and form Angeleno), I have know more than my fair share of illegal immigrants. While I have like many of these people, I gotta tell you. Most weren’t and aren’t paying taxes!!

Many of them pay taxes alright, just under someone else's identity. I run across many illegals when I process rental applications. I also run a social security number search and the majority of Hispanic applicants reports come back to someone else. Also a good percentage of Russian and Chinese applicants are using someone else's ss#.

31 posted on 12/17/2007 5:18:48 AM PST by muggs
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To: NavVet

The problem with many RINO’s (free traitors and globalists) is they view the world at the wholesale level. In their way of thinking, if I added five families to your household in your town, it is good for you because each household income increased six folds (six families live in your house) thus you (the homeowner/community) benefited and should not be complaining. What they forget is that life becomes tough when six families must share one kitchen and two bathrooms, and traffic is hell when every household hits the street in the morning to get to work. Why should these RINO’s care, they live in gated MacMansion communities, that will zone 1+acre per new house, lobby against low income housing projects and better yet, lobby the state to have their surrounding undeveloped communities declared open space thus the packed rif rafs under their ecnomic schemes will never become their neighbors. Globalists and free traitors of our country (Dem and GOP) already schemed to have the middle class packed into townhouses or rental units, live next to the depraved poor while the rich fence themselves off in palatial rural estates with village ordnances to insure no development reaches them. In other words look how England is set up, and you are seeing how the US rich is trying to set the rest of America up.


32 posted on 12/17/2007 5:32:17 AM PST by Fee
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To: Iron Munro

Nice chart. I honestly think we’ve got up to 50 million.


33 posted on 12/17/2007 8:56:05 AM PST by donna (Obama on cocaine: "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.")
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To: SWEET OLD BILL

Yes, but it is illegal to have false ID. How does anyone know who is an illegal alien?


34 posted on 12/17/2007 10:18:12 AM PST by donna (Obama on cocaine: "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.")
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To: valkyry1

USA as any nation will always have illegal immigration, it is a fact of life.

The question then becomes DO WE REWARD IT?


35 posted on 12/17/2007 10:23:11 AM PST by kalee
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To: Ben Ficklin

I have strange thoughts sometimes . . . if we were back in the days of three networks with 1/2 hour of national news per day, they wouldn’t be able to pull off this kind of spin. I guess the media would just report it as fact, sigh.


36 posted on 12/17/2007 10:23:20 AM PST by donna (Obama on cocaine: "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.")
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To: Zakeet
Muslim economical jurisprudence,

More spin from the "there shall be open borders paper".

The left and their corporatist allies are trying to destroy the nation. They are the ones m,aking this a race issue, while also funding groups like La Raza.

The WSJ wants cheap labor but deludes itself into thinking tha the uneducated poor will become Republicans if we say nice things. Idiots or liars.

37 posted on 12/18/2007 1:08:00 AM PST by rmlew (Build a wall, attrit the illegals, end the anchor babies, Americanize Immigrants)
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To: Zakeet
What BS. They don’t even look at the cost of illegal immigrant children and anchor babies.
38 posted on 12/18/2007 1:26:40 AM PST by Razz Barry (Round'em up, send'em home.)
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