Free Republic

ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Illegal immigration is a dagger aimed at the heart of Americans, according to U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a leader in the fight against illegal immigration. Republican Congressmen Gil Gutknecht from Minnesota and Tancredo, chairman of the 70-member House Immigration Reform Caucus, spoke to 100 people at a luncheon Tuesday in Albert Lea. "Please think about national security," Tancredo said. "People are coming across our borders to do very bad things to us." The topic was based on immigration, whether legal or illegal. "It has nothing to do with race, ethnicity or country of origin" but...

ALBERT LEA -- Ken Dalager traveled to Albert Lea Tuesday afternoon with a group from Austin concerned about illegal immigration in local communities. "The people that go to the trouble of getting citizenship, I don't think they're much trouble," Dalager said. "The others slip in undercover and just kind of do things how they want to do them." Congressmen Gil Gut-knecht, R-Minn., and Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who is chairman of the 70-member bipartisan House Immigration Reform Caucus, spoke to Dalager and 100 others during a luncheon Tuesday afternoon at the Albert Lea Elks Club. The topic was immigration, both legal...

WASHINGTON - Rep. Gil Gutknecht said Wednesday evening that he will vote against the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement, making him the only Republican from Minnesota to oppose the deal. "Unfortunately, when you compare the upside and potential downside, I believe the agreement has three potential fatal flaws," Gutknecht said in a statement. "They are fixable, but they couldn't be fixed before this vote."A vote was possible as early as Wednesday night.Gutknecht, from Rochester, Minn., did not elaborate in his statement, and he declined an interview request. But in a constituent letter last week, he said there were problems...

Gutknecht hints he'll vote against CAFTAFREDERIC J. FROMMERAssociated Press WASHINGTON - Rep. Gil Gutknecht, the last remaining undecided Minnesota lawmaker on the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement, is hinting he'll vote against the deal when it comes up in the House later this week.Gutknecht has declined recent interview requests on the vote, but in a weekly letter to constituents last Friday, he wrote, "If I were to vote on CAFTA today, I would vote no."Gutknecht, a Republican from Rochester who generally supports free trade but often bucks his own party, said he agreed with critics that the deal needs...

Rochester, Minn. (AP) U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht said Friday he would run for re-election to the House, ending the possibility of a primary fight between two Republican congressmen for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mark Dayton. "I love the job I have in Washington and I just feel like I fit more in the House of Representatives than I would fit in the Senate," he said. "If the voters of southern Minnesota will allow me to do this, I would like to run for re-election." Shortly after Dayton, a Democrat, announced that he would not seek a second...

Rep. Gil Gutknecht said Thursday he is considering running for U.S. Senate next year, putting his name on a list of potential Republican candidates that already includes fellow Minnesota Rep. Mark Kennedy.

MINNEAPOLIS - Rep. Gil Gutknecht is pushing legislation that would replace the federal income tax with a national sales tax. "Think of a world where there is no income tax, where you get to keep everything you earn and you pay the tax man when you buy stuff," Gutknecht, R-Minn., told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.

South Dakota Close of Filing Sets Top Races As filing closed Tuesday the race between Sen. Tim Johnson (D) and Rep. John Thune (R) topped a competitive slate of contests inSouth Dakota, with nine candidates vying for the House seat Thune will leave behind. Thune's campaign should receive a major fundraising boost April 24 when President Bush comes to South Dakota to raise money for his Senate bid. Johnson will face a challenge to his renomination from farmer Herman Eilers, while Thune will be unopposed in the June 4 primary. In the House race, Gov. BillJanklow and former Sen....