Posted on 03/18/2002 9:03:53 AM PST by FR Network
FREE REPUBLIC NETWORK and Radio FRN Present:
Live from CPAC
REPRESENTATIVE TOM TANCREDO – (R-CO)
THE SHREW: Good evening FReepers. We’re sitting here at CPAC interviewing conservative luminary Tom Tancredo from the Colorado Sixth District. Congressman, thank you for joining us.
TOM TANCREDO: That’s alright. Let me tell you, I’ll go anywhere when somebody calls me a conservative luminary. I like the sounds of that. Hahahahaha.
THE SHREW: Well I haven’t always used that term in reference to you…
TOM TANCREDO: (inaudible)
TOM TANCREDO: Of course, a lot of people use other ones that I’m aware of, but I like this one better than most. Hahahahaha..
THE SHREW: Okay. I’m from Colorado as well and one of the issues I really want to talk to you about is redistricting.
TOM TANCREDO: Yeah.
THE SHREW: I just read a whole bunch of stuff about our new district seven. Hasn’t Colorado experienced one of the largest, two of the largest growth counties in the country? And that’s not where the new district is.
TOM TANCREDO: Isn’t that strange? Uh, could it be possibly that a Democrat judge drew the district lines or at least accepted a map that was drawn by the Democrats in the House of Representatives? You know what is really and truly, Tim, the ironic or somewhat humorous aspect of redistricting and the debate that goes on, is that people like the League of Women Voters and others who constantly suggest that you can take the politics out of this process by giving it to a judge. If this wasn’t a perfect example of how wrong they are, then I don’t know what was. I mean, …
THE SHREW: But don’t we have a separation of powers?
TOM TANCREDO: No, we don’t…
THE SHREW: Well…(inaudible)
TOM TANCREDO: …not that you’re looking at because I’m telling you no judge should ever be allowed to write a Congressional District. That is abso…
THE SHREW: That’s the job of the legislature, right?
TOM TANCREDO: That is the most egregious violation of that separation of powers thing that I can think of in domestic policy related issues. And so, no, the answer to your question, he should never have that right. It is, you know, the process is one that the League of Women Voters got through the initiative process, they got it on the ballot, they got this passed so it’s set up this way. Now admittedly it is a dilemma if you’ve got a divided House and Senate and Governor if they’re not all three of the same party then you’re going to have a hard time writing it. But you know, if you said something like nobody gets paid until you actually get this thing done, believe me it will get done. Um, you cannot let this out of the legislative process.
THE SHREW: So the Democratic Party retreated to allow that the judge who they knew was a Democrat and would back their program…
TOM TANCREDO: They had a great strategy. This is it. They went in screaming for a southern district that included Pueblo that was Pueblo based.
THE SHREW: Right. Pueblo is south of Denver, about 70 miles south, 80 miles south of Denver.
TOM TANCREDO: Right. Heavily Democratic.
THE SHREW: Right.
TOM TANCREDO: And that was their, that was their sort of [strawman]. That’s what they kept bringing up as what they wanted. Then the last day they said, okay, nevermind, here take this. So this is when they created this new district above the city of Denver, again a Democratic district.
THE SHREW: Which those of you who are familiar with Colorado we have six concurrent Congressional districts. Longmont is in district 2. Longmont is the conservative’s Republican stronghold in district 2. The Democratic plan, to show you how egregious it is, removes Longmont from district 2 and puts it in district 4 which has always been a Republican stronghold.
TOM TANCREDO: Yeah, then it is a completely gerrymandered process, but you know, what does anybody expect? This is a political process. It’s perhaps the most political of the various activities with which parties get involved. So nobody should be surprised. What you should be chagrined about is that a judge did it. A completely and, of course if people knew what the Supreme Court looked like in Colorado, they also would be probably not so surprised to realize that these are the kinds of decisions you get from the whole judiciary that’s been appointed over the years by Roy Romer and his (inaudible).
THE SHREW: (inaudible)
TOM TANCREDO: Yeah. So it’s, they are completely political. The Supreme Court in the state of Colorado is the most political entity you can possibly imagine. Decisions come down day after day after day that are based solely on politics, got nothing to do with the law. This is another example of that. This latest little, uh, redistricting matter.
THE SHREW: In violation of that law, doesn’t the Colorado constitution restrict people and say precincts and districts should be divided by county and by other subordinate political entities?
TOM TANCREDO: It gives some very vague guidelines really.
THE SHREW: Okay.
TOM TANCREDO: It’s not a very specific thing. It says as much as possible you should avoid dividing political subdivisions, I mean political entities, like a county, a city, or anything else. Try to not divide it if possible, but anything you draw you can say well, I had
THE SHREW: Right.
TOM TANCREDO: I had, I drew it here because of this that and the other. And you know what? It’s always going to be a political process, but it should be in the legislature, not in the courts.
THE SHREW: So why didn’t the special session that Governor Owens called deal with that?
TOM TANCREDO: Because they knew that the court was the alternative. The Democrats (inaudible)
THE SHREW: (inaudible) that sounds like a serious allegation …
TOM TANCREDO: Oh I guarantee you…
THE SHREW: …that’s what the Democratic Chair said.
TOM TANCREDO: Well it is a serious allegation and I’m willing to state it again. I believe that they refused to come forward with a compromise plan because they knew their best shot was in the courthouse, not in the statehouse.
THE SHREW: We have the district seven. Is the Republican Party going to appeal this process?
TOM TANCREDO: No. I don’t think so.
THE SHREW: Why not?
TOM TANCREDO: Because I don’t…
THE SHREW: Why do we get so incensed if we don’t even back it up and say it’s got to stop?
TOM TANCREDO: Because I don’t know that we actually have a legitimate appeal. You know, nothing, I can’t tell you anything was done illegally, you know, that I know of anyway. Um, the, it costs a fortune, and I don’t think, although I’m not an attorney so I’m not an expert in this area, but I will you that the chances of us overturning it at this point are slim to none. So we’re going to have to live with it, get on with it, and try to actually fight back. You know when I was in the legislature in 1980, I actually helped write a plan that I called “the spokes of the wheel” and it just cut the state of Colorado into six equal parts looking like a pie.
THE SHREW: So Denver would be (inaudible)
TOM TANCREDO: (inaudible) into six different districts.
THE SHREW: I bet the Democrats would have loved that.
TOM TANCREDO: Well, you know what it was, it had, we ended up with exactly the same number of Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliates in each one of the pies. I mean, within, you know, a few hundred.
THE SHREW: So all six districts would have been competitive.
TOM TANCREDO: And what they would have been based on was ideas. Hehe.
THE SHREW: Right.
TOM TANCREDO: You know? And I said, I went into the caucus, I said look, let’s do this because then we can just fight over ideas and not over party stuff, you know I mean just elect the guy because he happens to be the Republican or the Democrat, but let’s really fight it out on ideas because I think Republicans have better ones.
THE SHREW: Right.
TOM TANCREDO: And I was laughed out of there. I mean it was like the biggest joke that was ever introduced into the legislature. They said, are you kidding? Ideas? You know, are you crazy? Let’s get back to the reconstruction era of a gerrymandered district.
THE SHREW: District one has been a Democratic district for life.
TOM TANCREDO: Oh yeah.
THE SHREW: My life certainly. And district two now, if Longmont’s taken out, will be a Democratic district for life.
TOM TANCREDO: Right. That’s correct.
THE SHREW: If district, the new district seven on the north end of Denver…
TOM TANCREDO: That’s the one…
THE SHREW: …will be competitive but it will lean Democratic…
TOM TANCREDO: That’s correct.
THE SHREW: …at this point in time. The largest growth, 70% Republican registration I believe, in the two south counties, they’re going to get stuck with the same representation which is excellent representation. You get your district. You really benefit.
TOM TANCREDO: I get, I get a, oh yeah, my district turns into you know a Republican heaven. Broom could probably, Republican Broom could be elected. You know that doesn’t say much for me, I guess, but reality is that’s, hahaha….
THE SHREW: Will that effect your stance? One of the criticisms that I’ve heard of you in Colorado was the post Columbine Second Amendment stance.
TOM TANCREDO: Well, no, I mean I hope that, I hope and pray that my stance on issues of that nature are not going to be effected by the demographics in my district, the political demographics. I hope and pray that that’s not it. I am a human being. I am not presenting myself as a saint here and unaware of those things, but I am telling you that I try my best anyway to make decisions, especially of that nature, based solely on what my heart and soul tells me.
THE SHREW: And that seems to have been how the voting record has gone. In my opinion, you’ve done a wonderful job in Congress.
TOM TANCREDO: Thank you.
THE SHREW: I was disappointed with that decision.
TOM TANCREDO: I understand.
THE SHREW: I, and we can agree to disagree.
TOM TANCREDO: Yes sir. And it…
THE SHREW: I wasn’t the one receiving phone calls from parents of dead children.
TOM TANCREDO: Yeah. In my neigh, well, I don’t want to go back through that one, but…
THE SHREW: I understand.
TOM TANCREDO: …yeah. I hope, and I hope no one in their lifetime ever has to deal with this issue. Of course I hope nothing like this ever happens again. It’s the most traumatic thing that could happen to a community let alone the families of the people we’re talking about. But anyway. Hopefully onward and upward. You know I mean the, what’s one nice thing about the situation we are in right now, I must tell you, is that after 9-1-1 anyway, there hasn’t been the slightest hint of any attempt to control guns in this countr, I mean all the gun, anti-gun legislation has been washed down the toilet.
THE SHREW: I heard that Senator McCain has been discussing the gunshow loophole, quote unquote.
TOM TANCREDO: Yeah, but it’s not going to get…
THE SHREW: He’s not going to get anywhere?
TOM TANCREDO: It’s not going to get anywhere. I don’t think. I mean this is just not the atmosphere for that. People right now are thinking let’s see, how do I get (inaudible)
THE SHREW: (inaudible) How do I protect myself?
TOM TANCREDO: Where do I go to get my gun before I get on this airplane? Hahahaha.
THE SHREW: True enough.
TOM TANCREDO: Okay buddy.
THE SHREW: Hey we really appreciate your time.
TOM TANCREDO: Tim it’s been a pleasure.
THE SHREW: Are you familiar with Free Republic?
TOM TANCREDO: I am. Absolutely. Yeah.
THE SHREW: So you FReep?
TOM TANCREDO: I am free. Hahahaha.
THE SHREW: No, FReep.
TOM TANCREDO: Oh, FReep! Hahaha. I thought you were asking whether I was going to get paid for this little gig. Hahaha.
THE SHREW: No no, I meant that the interviewers we have had have been talking about Free Republic as a resource tool and have been on there to see what people are saying.
TOM TANCREDO: Well, I’m sorry. I am not familiar with it to the extent that I am able to comment on that. I just know of you. Perhaps that’s the best way to say it.
THE SHREW: We’ll make sure that we keep our profile where you can see us.
TOM TANCREDO: It’s a deal. I’ll try my best to do the same thing. Haha.
THE SHREW: Congressman, thank you very much for your time. We really appreciate it.
TOM TANCREDO: Thank you.
THE SHREW: Thank you.
(end)
"FR Network" is our generic posting ID for Network announcements.
BTTT! Thank you Mr. Tancredo!
It's a timely interview. Little did we know at CPAC that Representative Tancredo would be so prominent in the news in the weeks that followed!
Regards,
TS
Regards,
TS
Regards,
TS
THE SHREW: Are you familiar with Free Republic?TOM TANCREDO: I am. Absolutely. Yeah.
THE SHREW: So you FReep?
TOM TANCREDO: I am free. Hahahaha.
THE SHREW: No, FReep.
TOM TANCREDO: Oh, FReep! Hahaha. I thought you were asking whether I was going to get paid for this little gig. Hahaha.
THE SHREW: No no, I meant that the interviewers we have had have been talking about Free Republic as a resource tool and have been on there to see what people are saying.
TOM TANCREDO: Well, I’m sorry. I am not familiar with it to the extent that I am able to comment on that. I just know of you. Perhaps that’s the best way to say it.
THE SHREW: We’ll make sure that we keep our profile where you can see us.
TOM TANCREDO: It’s a deal. I’ll try my best to do the same thing. Haha.
End
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