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High Noon On The Border [CBS News reprints The Nation article from Marc Cooper]
The Nation, via CBS News ^ | 5/25/05 | Marc Cooper

Posted on 05/25/2005 3:58:46 PM PDT by lonewacko_dot_com

It's April Fools' Day and Congressman Tom Tancredo... sparks a prolonged standing ovation from the hundred or so assembled volunteers of the Minuteman Project as they kick off their month-long campaign to close down the Arizona-Mexico border. His presence here, at what is most definitely a fringe political event involving armed citizen patrols, is validation -- at least in the minds of the project organizers -- that their seal-the-borders message is finally resonating in Washington. The avenging angel of America's anti-immigrant movement, Tancredo leads seventy mostly back-bench, restrictionist House members in the Immigration Reform Caucus...

...It shouldn't be surprising that George W. Bush, rather than liberal Democrats, should be the target of so much cranked-up ire from the nativist right...

...After a barrage of anti-immigration bills fired off earlier in this legislative season, Senators McCain and Kennedy introduced in mid-May their much-awaited immigration overhaul proposal -- the first step toward comprehensive and bipartisan reform...

...The GOP's share of the Arizona Latino vote climbed to an all-time high of more than 40 percent in last November's presidential election. Pissing off a few Minuteman types might be a small price to pay to have the President become the champion of historic immigration liberalization and the elected official most responsible for delivering the Latino vote to the GOP...

...The danger is that the longer meaningful federal action lags, the more the populist right, the Minuteman-style groups and the Congressional Tancredos will be energized into action. Anti-immigration drives are now under way in about a dozen states...

...While Arizona's Democratic attorney general interpreted the law in a vary narrow way, rendering its effects minimal, Arizona's anti-immigration crusaders are hardly deterred; they believe they are surfing the crest of a breaking national political wave...

...While Pearce sees "momentum, lots of momentum" for his immigrant-crackdown message, other evidence indicates the restrictionist cause isn't quite as compelling at the grassroots. In spite of extraordinary media hype, including millions of dollars in free publicity doled out on a daily basis on CNN as Lou Dobbs aggressively championed its cause, the Minuteman Project was an unmitigated flop...

[Read the full four pages at the link]


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: aliens; immigrantlist; thenation
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To: skeeter

Google H.R. 1986


41 posted on 05/25/2005 7:49:42 PM PDT by skeeter ("What's to talk about? It's illegal." S Bono)
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To: skeeter; bayourod
Don't you think its good news, Ben?

I think it's good news, how about you bayo?

42 posted on 05/25/2005 7:51:22 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: Reaganwuzthebest
"naysayers who claim the border can never be controlled"

I not aware of anyone who ever said that.

The issue has always been what you have to do to seal, close, control the border and how long do you have to do it. And of course, what about the canadian border with 1000 agents only?

43 posted on 05/25/2005 7:57:33 PM PDT by Ben Ficklin
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To: Reaganwuzthebest; skeeter

Authorize or appropriate?


44 posted on 05/25/2005 7:59:42 PM PDT by Ben Ficklin
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To: Ben Ficklin; bayourod
I not aware of anyone who ever said that.

Read bayourod's post #7, if that's not saying the borders can't be sealed than I don't know what is.

As far as the Canadian border: put the military up there too, we're vulnerable from terrorists and illegals entering there as well.

45 posted on 05/25/2005 8:05:36 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: Ben Ficklin
Authorize or appropriate?

For now it's authorize.

46 posted on 05/25/2005 8:07:37 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: Ben Ficklin
As I mentioned above, the quota will be about 480,000 per year.

Could you subtract that number from the total of illegals coming in per year and arrive at the number that will still come in illegally should the legislation pass? Or, possibly, more, since there would be a population of "legal" workers that look just like them to hide among, making it much harder to to spot an employer that hires them?

47 posted on 05/25/2005 8:08:55 PM PDT by William Terrell (Individuals can exist without government but government can't exist without individuals.)
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To: lonewacko_dot_com
"the Minuteman Project was an unmitigated flop"

Sure it was. /sarcasm

48 posted on 05/25/2005 8:10:47 PM PDT by kcvl
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To: Reaganwuzthebest; Ben Ficklin; skeeter
The only action that I see is that it was referred back to the subcommitte by the House's website.

Link

I have no problem with any legislation that Virgil Goode proposes, he ain't the grandstander backstabber like Tom Tancredo is.

49 posted on 05/25/2005 8:17:30 PM PDT by Dane ( anyone who believes hillary would do something to stop illegal immigration is believing gibberish)
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To: Dane
It passed today:

he ain't the grandstander backstabber like Tom Tancredo is.

I'm sure congressman Goode is very pleased to know that Dane doesn't think he's a backstabber. How about the other 244 congressmen who voted for it, do you think they're backstabbers or is it only Tom Tancredo?

50 posted on 05/25/2005 8:23:31 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: Reaganwuzthebest
In the context of what he is saying, Rod is right.

If you throw enough men and money at the border, you could stop every thing. The question is how many and how much.

There is a law of diminishing returns.

You can read the bill. If the assigned military can't arrest, search, etc, what will they be doing and who will be doing the arresting and searching.

As the bill states, there is a fine line on posse comitatus.

51 posted on 05/25/2005 8:26:32 PM PDT by Ben Ficklin
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To: Reaganwuzthebest
How about the other 244 congressmen who voted for it, do you think they're backstabbers or is it only Tom Tancredo?

I doubt the other backstabber Shays voted for it.

Only two Republicans, moderate Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut and conservative Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, have broken with the party and questioned if DeLay should stay in office.

52 posted on 05/25/2005 8:30:21 PM PDT by Dane ( anyone who believes hillary would do something to stop illegal immigration is believing gibberish)
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To: Ben Ficklin

It's not going to take millions of troops, their presence alone will be a deterrent to would be illegals, drug smugglers and terrorists. We'll always need a civilian force and hopefully as their ranks increase the military can be taken off.


53 posted on 05/25/2005 8:30:44 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: Reaganwuzthebest
"As far as the Canadian border: put the military up there too.."

Using the military as border guards is managerial foolishness. You must have a very low regard for our professional military personnel.

We don't have enough soldiers now to have normal rotations in Iraq. Every budgeted slot in the military exists because there is a need for a person in that slot.

If someone said "Let's use teachers and firemen to guard the border", wouldn't you immediately ask who would teach school and put out fires? Why do you assume that our military personnel are any less necessary in the jobs they are currently performing?

Besides, there aren't enough men and women in all our armed forces to seal the borders.

54 posted on 05/25/2005 8:30:47 PM PDT by bayourod (Unless we get over 40% of the Hispanic vote in 2008, President Hillary will take all your guns away.)
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To: William Terrell

Perhaps you can find an answer to your question in the bill.


55 posted on 05/25/2005 8:31:50 PM PDT by Ben Ficklin
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To: bayourod
You must have a very low regard for our professional military personnel.

Quite the opposite, I've got a very high regard for their ability to take on whatever mission is requested of them and do it well. And judging by the hostility in your post you're also quite aware they will succeed in keeping illegals out, which is definitely not part of your agenda.

56 posted on 05/25/2005 8:35:30 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: Reaganwuzthebest
The bill doesn't specify what border, but it does mention ports and inspecting freight.

We especially need more inspections at ports.

57 posted on 05/25/2005 8:37:07 PM PDT by Ben Ficklin
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To: Dane

Although there's nothing I can do about your obsession Tom Tancredo is a backstabber if you're happy that this amendment passed then for once we agree.


58 posted on 05/25/2005 8:39:32 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: Ben Ficklin
We especially need more inspections at ports.

Couldn't agree more, if we just used the military for that purpose it would be of great benefit.

59 posted on 05/25/2005 8:41:24 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
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To: Reaganwuzthebest
Although there's nothing I can do about your obsession Tom Tancredo is a backstabber

LOL! I wasn't the one who has the obsesseion of kicking a good conservative when he's getting kicked by the demos and press, as Tom Tancredo does.

60 posted on 05/25/2005 8:43:13 PM PDT by Dane ( anyone who believes hillary would do something to stop illegal immigration is believing gibberish)
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