Free Republic

We oppose amnesty. The rule of law suffers if government policies encourage or reward illegal activity. The American people’s rejection of en masse legalizations is especially appropriate given the federal government’s past failures to enforce the law.

Below is an excerpt from the GOP Platform approved yesterday. The link above will take you to the full 67 page document (PDF File). (snip) Immigration, National Security, and the Rule of Law Immigration policy is a national security issue, for which we have one test: Does it serve the national interest? By that standard, Republicans know America can have a strong immigration system without sacrificing the rule of law. Enforcing the Rule of Law at the Border and Throughout the Nation Border security is essential to national security. In an age of terrorism, drug cartels, and criminal gangs, allowing...

Speaking of Minnesota . . . Stephen Spruiell is sussing out the Twin Cities in advance of the Republican National Convention, and reports on the GOP's latest platform draft over on the homepage. Spruiell finds the platform plank on immigration, for example, is worded in such a way as to avoid driving a wedge between McCain and his conservative base: The passages on global warming provide another example. The draft acknowledges that human activity is contributing to warming and calls for “measured and reasonable” steps to curtail it. Policymakers should support solutions that are “technology-driven, market-based,” and not fall prey...

Republicans are debating an election platform that differs in at least one striking way from the past _ it's purged of the dear-leader tributes that turned statements of party principles into an incessant hailing of the chief. In fact, a draft of the document going to the GOP platform committee Tuesday mentions 2008 presidential candidate John McCain and President Bush not at all. They'll be worked in later, in a section or two to be added. It's nothing personal, party officials hasten to say. Rather, they've put the platform on a crash diet. The 2004 platform ran over 40,000 words,...

Conservative activists are preparing to do battle with allies of Sen. John McCain in advance of September's Republican National Convention, hoping to prevent his views on global warming, immigration, stem cell research and campaign finance from becoming enshrined in the party's official declaration of principles. .... McCain is "really out of step with the strong majority of his party," said Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which opposes McCain's positions on climate change. "He might get what he wants. And he might get a change. But I don't think it's going to...