Rep. Tom Tancredo: ‘President Out of Step' on Immigration

[pRIMrose]

NewMax.com
February 10, 2006

WASHINGTON –- Continuing a seeming tradition at the Conservative Political Action Conference not to duck the hard issues, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Co., followed George Will's candid go-to-the-order on Iraq with his own passionate refrain that "open borders are WRONG!"

"It's the President who is out of step with his party – NOT Tom Tancredo," the lawmaker shouted, provoking an entourage of young fans to leap to their feet and wave red, white and blue "Tom Tancredo for a Secure America" placards.

Source (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/2/9/180342.shtml?s=lh)

[Terri]

Here's more from CPAC

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr class="standard"><td>Quote </td></tr><tr class="standard"><td class="QUOTE">Feds Must Secure Border from Those 'Who Want to Kill Us' (http://www.gopusa.com/news/2006/february/0210_border_security 1.shtml)

By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
February 10, 2006

The federal government must address illegal immigration and border security or risk the wrath of voters in upcoming elections, congressional Republicans told attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., Thursday.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the consequences of ignoring porous U.S. borders cannot be ignored.

&quot;The federal government simply needs to obtain operational security of our federal border by supplying the people and the technology necessary so that we know who is coming into our country and why they are here,&quot; Cornyn said. &quot;We know that the vulnerability that our border has had for all these years can easily be exploited, not just by those who want to enter our country in circumvention of our laws, but [also] by people ... who want to literally kill us.&quot;

[/QUOTE]

[Old Man]

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr class="standard"><td>Quote </td></tr><tr class="standard"><td class="QUOTE">U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), who has said he will run for the Republican nomination for president if the leading candidates do not explain their plans to control illegal immigration, said some fundamental concepts of U.S. immigration policy must change if the country's borders are to be secured.[/QUOTE]GOPUSA (http://www.gopusa.com/news/2006/february/0210_border_security 1.shtml)

I like this guy more and more. He is open and honest and straight talking. I have seldom believed a Representative could run for President, due to voting records and the various aspects of having to work with others in his own and the oppositions party. However, Tom may be the exception.

[Luckyme]

I like Tancredo as well. He seems to be honest, outspoken, and doing what he feels is best for America, not for himself. In other words, a real patriot.

I would like to hear his views on other issues. No one can run on just one issue, no matter how important it might be.

If his views stand up to the light of day, I'd like to see him run for President although I don't think he has much of a chance at this particular time. Still, he has time to make his views known and decide if he should run.

[Terri]

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr class="standard"><td>Quote </td></tr><tr class="standard"><td class="QUOTE">I would like to hear his views on other issues. No one can run on just one issue, no matter how important it might be. [/QUOTE]

I believe Tancredo is sound on most issues but you are right. He is known for one issue and it is unlikely he can change that.

I don't expect him to become president but I do think he should run if only to move the issue to the right.

This is the time to really lobby the Senate since the House bill passed but will be changed in the Senate. I don't have a lot of hope for Salazar and I think Allard is solid. Regardless they will both be hearing from me often as this advances.

[Old Man]

Since George Allen is one of the favorites, how do you feel he would do on immigration?

[Terri]

I need to know a lot more about Allen. He's generally very conservative. The ACU gives him a lifetime rating of 94. Of course that is across all issues which is how I vote.

<a href="http://grades.betterimmigra tion.com/testgrades.php3?Dist rict=VA&VIPID=899" target="_blank">
Numbers USA</a> only gives him a C but you can see how he voted on immigration and decide which votes are most important to you.

Here are the three issue he responded to on a Project Vote Smart questionnaire. (http://www.vote-smart.org/npat.php?can_id=CNIP 9093#14)

[ActionAmerica.org]

That's tellin'em Tom!

It's good to know that there are at least two GOP representatives in Congress, who have not sold out to Dubya's &quot;compassionate conservatism&quot;, for nothing more than the promise of a committee chair or other high office. The other, of course, is Ron Paul. Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul are definitely the ones who are in step with conservatives and it is Dubya who is out of step.

I like Tancredo, because he has an almost perfect record of voting &quot;CONSERVATIVE&quot;, rather than &quot;GOP Party Line&quot; (as defined by Dubya). My own representative is a gun-hating RINO, who also supports Dubya's &quot;compassionate conservatism&quot; most of the time, so I donate what I would have donated to his race, to Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo.

Conservatives must wake up to the new reality. We are now the party in power and as such, moderates, who a few years ago, would have run as Democrats, are now running as Republicans. Add that to the number of previous liberal Republicans dotting the party and it means that an &quot;R&quot; after the name on the ballot no longer equates to Republican. *More and more liberals and moderates are running as a Republican, because they want the additional power of being a part of the party in power. Just remember that such people don't change their politics - just the letter after their name on the ballot.

[boudicca]

Tom Tancredo for President

I'm obviously a Tancredo fan! Although he is most famous for his immigration stance, Tancredo also has strong positions on other issues as well. *As a former teacher, he only got involved in public service during the Reagan Adm. when he wanted to shut down the Dept. of Education (so did Reagan) because of all the damage it has done to America's children. *Eagle Forum, one of the forerunners in education reform, has a very high opinion of Tancredo, according to my local EF chapter.

Tancredo voted against CAFTA. *This was one humdinger of a debate among conservatives. *Although CATO, Heritage and other conservative think tanks wildly supported CAFTA because they perceived it as a free trade agreement, CAFTA has its share if dissenters. *As one who was glued to the C-Span debates, I remember Ron Paul standing on the House floor saying that a free trade agreement merely abolishes tarrifs which has historically been accomplished with a 1-2 page document. *With CAFTA being some 3500-4000 pages, many alleged that it was just a complicated protectionist outsourcing agreement for big business hungry for third world labor rates. *

Some members of the House of Representatives actually held the monstrous CAFTA agreement up and proclaimed that no one understood what it was. *Having never read it and even if I did have a copy, I doubt that I could understand the complex legalese. *

In any event, both Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo voted against CAFTA. *Tancredo thought it was just the second leg (after NAFTA) of the plan to abolish all borders in the Americas that will ultimately be accomplished with FTAA. *Personally, I would agree and absolutely consider the NAFTA/CAFTA/NTAA a vision of global socialists hatched in some posh place like Davos by Democrat and Republican elites.

Tancredo, as a former teacher, frequently visits schools. *He always makes a point of asking the kids &quot;Isn't it great to be a citizen of the greatest nation on earth?&quot;. *The answers are shocking. *One student actually told Tancredo that he was a citizen of the Americas and not the U.S. of A. which is a place and not a country. *As the son of proud Italian immigrants, Tancredo is deeply disturbed by this trend.

Anyway, I personally am quite comfortable with Tancredo's positions on other issues besides immigration. *I consider him a true conservative and an outstanding patriot.

There is something about Tancredo that has has enormous populist appeal. Although a big advocate of small government, he is acutely sensitive the the middle class and our vanishing manufacturing sector.

[Terri]

I seriously doubt if the Ron Paul connection would help Tancredo with most Americans. Most people know even less about Ron Paul than they do Tancredo. Of those that do know him many consider him as out of step with the country.

But the point we were making earlier was that Tancredo is known as a one issue congressman even in much of Colorado. That's unfair but perception is often all there is.

All that said, I know of nothing that would keep me from voting for Tancredo but that doesn't change the fact that he is virtually an unknown in much of the country. His name doesn't even appear on most lists of presidential hopefuls and his hopes of winning the nomination seem very slim.

[pRIMrose]

Sadly, I must agree that Tom T. doesn't have the recognition to win (if the election were held today) - but he and &quot;we&quot; have three years to change this. His latest &quot;tour&quot; is giving him a lot of recognition, and I'll continue to send my donations to Team America so he can keep getting exposure.

Today is just another reason why our open borders are so dangerous. A truck full of illegals overturned while it was trying to flee apprehension. Thirteen or so were seriously hurt and had to be transported to local hospitals.

[billybigrigger]

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr class="standard"><td>Quote </td></tr><tr class="standard"><td class="QUOTE">Since George Allen is one of the favorites, how do you feel he would do on immigration?
[/QUOTE]

He stink's on the immigration issue. He's a guest worker and H1B-H2B Visa worker fan.

[boudicca]

In an interview about a month ago, George Allen was hammered for avoiding the issue of illegal immigration. I'm no fan of George Allen personally because I consider him just a bit too establishment Republican for my taste. But that's a personal prejudice. Allen makes no waves on issues and I find that troubling because I just can't figure out where he stand on most things.

[Old Man]

If we are still without a good secure border and immigration policy by the time Allen would be running, we are in deep trouble.

The President really shouldn't be the &quot;voice of the people.&quot; He is the voice of the nation of states we created. Congress, especially the House is our voice &quot;of the people,&quot; and the Senate the voice of the states. We need to go back to that principle. The President was for international relationships more than telling America what it needed in social and moral legislation. That was the State's job since it was the government of &quot;we the people.&quot;

If we get our nation back on track away from socialism, his stands won't be as important as his supporting the Congress that works on what we tell congress needs to be worked on. This fall will determine a lot about who we want in 08. If we lose seats we are going to have to tread very lightly. If we gain even a couple of seats, we can be more agressive because the trend will still be intact.

[GeorgiaRedneck]

It's unfortunate that Tom is seen as a 'one issue' candidate when his overall performance has been so outstanding. He is a very powerful speaker and has the added benefit of speaking to what he truly believes. IMHO, he's the type of 'fresh air' we need. I don't know if he could win the nomination or not, but his honesty, sincerity and dedication to action has EARNED my vote, should he ask.

[TimBinh]

Lincoln was a &quot;one issue&quot; candidate, and was only a one term Congressman, plus Republicans at the time were a &quot;third party&quot;!

Of course, parties were easier to establish in those days, but If the issue is &quot;keeping the States United&quot;, it seems Americans think all the other issues are not that important.

And that is what this is all about, if this issue continues unresolved, our Constitution will be meaningless. Already our rights as American Citizens under the Constitution have been eroded, soon we will have none.

[lance sjogren]

I think under current circumstances Tancredo would have no chance, but he would force the candidates to address the issue, which is the important thing.

As far as who might run who's pro-borders, I think Allen is ruled out because of recent statements he's made in favor of guestworker program.

I think Tim Pawlenty would be acceptable, and I don't think we know where Mitt Romney stands on illegal immigration.

I think the only way Tancredo would win the nomination in 2008 is if the McCain or Specter (or Hagel or Domenici) immigration bill were to pass this year.

That would unleash such a state of anarchy in the U.S. that I believe the people would welcome a Tancredo Presidency by 2008.


I hope it doesn't come to that.

[lance sjogren]

I agree with the comments that being a &quot;one issue&quot; candidate may not be such a liability when that one issue happens to be the very existence of the United States as a sovereign nation.

[jackbenimble]

Hey Lance,

Welcome to the forum. I think I have seen your posts over at the Provo Herald and at the Dan Stein Report from time to time. You'll be a good addition here.

Regards,
Jack

[lance sjogren]

Hello Jack.

I noticed you have been making a lot of intelligent statements here.

Not the least of which is: Tom Tancredo is INDEED a hero.


By the way, you probably saw me mention this elsewhere but I have a book coming out on immigration politics. It should be in print by late April to early May.

You won't be able to miss it: It has the simple title &quot;Immigration Politics&quot; and a bunch of political cartoon figures on the cover, the most prominent of which is Chris Cannon with the body of a dinosaur.

[jackbenimble]

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr class="standard"><td>Quote </td></tr><tr class="standard"><td class="QUOTE">You won't be able to miss it: It has the simple title &quot;Immigration Politics&quot; and a bunch of political cartoon figures on the cover, the most prominent of which is Chris Cannon with the body of a dinosaur.[/QUOTE]

Very cool. I'll look for it.

My Mom has written a similarly titled book called Population Politics (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765806037/sr=8-15/qid=1141853152/ref=sr_1_15/103-0702515-5034209?%5Fencoding= UTF8)

Regards,
Jack

[MeanOldGrouch]

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr class="standard"><td>Quote </td></tr><tr class="standard"><td class="QUOTE">Not the least of which is: Tom Tancredo is INDEED a hero.


By the way, you probably saw me mention this elsewhere but I have a book[/QUOTE]

Speaking of Tom Tancredo and books, I ordered an advance copy of a book from Amazon that Tom Tancredo was authoring. It was supposed to have come out in October. I went ahead and cancelled my order the other day but if anyone hears of it being released please let us know because I'd like to read Tom's book.

[lance sjogren]

I've been wondering about that book too.