Posted on 04/02/2007 5:47:45 AM PDT by pissant
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani criticized Senator Bob Dole today for supporting Republican-sponsored legislation that would restrict Government aid to immigrants and called those restrictions "a terrible, terrible mistake."
Mr. Giuliani cited measures in the legislation that would restrict public benefits to legal immigrants, allow states to bar illegal immigrant children from public schools and force local authorities and hospitals to report undocumented aliens who report a crime or seek emergency medical aid.
The Mayor did not single out Mr. Dole during a speech before the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a policy and research organization. But in response to questions from the audience, he warned that Mr. Dole, the likely Republican Presidential candidate, would be committing a damaging political mistake if he followed public opinion polls that show broad antipathy to illegal immigrants and to immigrants who receive public benefits.
"He'd be responding to the political consultants' analysis of how he should run for President as opposed to a more intuitive analysis, which would be: This is an opportunity to show you're a leader, a statesman and that you can step beyond the most immediate form of public opinion and really go to the core of what makes America such a great country," Mr. Giuliani commented after his speech.
(Excerpt) Read more at query.nytimes.com ...
I've been bothered by the 'settlers' ("Rudy's for abortion, but he's still better than the alternative!") but in all good consiousness I could not have voted for him. He just gave conservatives yet ANOTHER reason to take a pass at "America's Mayor" (and God bless him for uniting NY after 9/11, but he doesn't belong in the White House, sadly. True definition of a RINO!
D'oh, just realized this is an old article, but the sentiment is still the same for me today!
Rudy and the Dems agree on immigration!
Too liberal for me. the man will lose. He wants illegals to take our money that we pay in taxes and ake sure they get what we cannot.My opinion on this Rudy run south of the border.
Wait until we get through with the lovefest and start getting into policy. How will this man explain his stance on illegal immigration? Yeah, I know he wants a fence, yada, yada, yada. 10 years ago nobody was paying that much attention, now that we are drowning in illegals, he's gonna have to FLIP FLOP. Can't wait to hear it and have the gem of NYC being a santuary city thrown in his face. My guess is that he will say, what applies to NYC would not necassarily work elsewhere, like the gun thing.
"....a speech before the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a policy and research organization."
You can read all about the policy and research done by the Carnegie Endowment here:
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderProfile.asp?fndid=5266
these people are left of gauche!
No, he wants a "virtual fence". Meaning nothing.
June 7, 1996...the exact day I graduated from high school.
People can change their minds over 11 year's time. I know I don't think the same way as i did in 1996. Too much has gone on since.
I'll wait to see what Rudy says about this stuff in 2007.
He's worse now.
I'd like to hear it from him, thanks.
I guess I agree with the mayor on two out of three his criticisms. Though I don't think immigrants have a right to welfare benefits, I do agree with Rudy and the USSC that all children have a right to public school access. I also believe that the first job of public safety and medical personnel is to render aid, not to check one's papers.
OUCH
Sorry, I'm not going to fall for it, like so many did in 2006.
ANY Republican is better than ANY Democrat in the 2008 presidential race. Period.
The Left's divide-and-conquer strategy worked for them in 2006. I'm not anxious for a repeat, thanks.
Whippersnapper!! ;-)
That would work only if Rudy was truly a Republican! :*(
So long Rudy. You just don't get it.
You forgot to add the name Bush to that sentence.
Perhaps that is true. However, we are in the primary season. We need to weed out the liberal candidates in the GOP.
Not quite. Bush signed Duncan Hunters border fence bill. And Bush has NEVER condoned sanctuary cities. But nice try.
Look ... I don't care about the all-or-nothing BS anymore.
ANY Republican is better than ANY Democrat.
Most Republicans have reasoning faculties. Their positions can be changed over time by reasoned and pursuasive discussion.
Democrats are moonbats, pure and simple. They hate this country.
I'll stick with the Republicans -- perfect and imperfect -- thanks.
http://www.joinrudy2008.com/index.php?section=2
http://www.nyc.gov/html/rwg/html/98a/lulac.html
Praise for LULAC-
"With the support of grassroots organizations like LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens), we've managed to turn that tide. Now we're not on the defensive, we're setting the tone for the debate. Now we're helping people to see immigrants for what they are -- assets, not liabilities. We should be proud of what we've accomplished for immigrants and for the American people as whole."
I pretty much agree with that, except to add that it has to be a Republican who understand what it takes to defend this country. For me, that rules out Chuckie from Nebraska.
True. But we need to do so without crippling our cause.
I've had more than I can stand of people like Pelosi and Murtha in power.
An imperfect Republican is LIGHT YEARS ahead of people like those two.
Then our country is doomed.
Rudy is a lib. I don't vote for libs.
The border fence is awe inspiring and thankfully erected so early in his administration.
Your=You're
Did not say he was awe inspiring, I'm saying Rudy's worse. Why did it take Congress so long to pass the border fence bill? The GOP as a whole has been AWOL. Problem is, the libs are even worse.
Who do you think pays for all of those services? All children have a right to public school access? Who confers this right?
Immigration, legal and illegal, contributes to three quarters of the US population growth. Since 1970, we have added 100 million people to our population. Since 1990, 53 million and since 2000, 20 million or the equivalent of our seven largest cities. By 2030 there will be, according to Bureau of Census projections, 364 million and by 2050, over 400 million.
These people need schools, hospitals, roads, electricity, gasoline, etc. They also will rely on our social welfare systems like medicare and medicaid. Illegal aliens make up a fourth of our federal prison inmates. The percentages are even higher in places like California.
We take in over a million legal immigrants a year, with the majority coming from Spanish-speaking countries and 43% from Mexico. Another 500,000 to 1 million are coming in illegally every year. Eventually, the lifeboat is going to be swamped. And the sad part is that we don't even know how many are here illegally because various interest groups block us from even gathering the data. Schools and hospitals can't even "check one's papers" to gauge the size and scope of the problem. We need this data to make good public policy. In the meantime, the local governments are increasing taxes to pay for these additional people and many of our schools and hospitals are having a difficult time supporting this burgeoning population.
I told you -- I'm not buying the Leftist divide-and-conquer crapola anymore.
The ONLY way the Left can win elections is to divide the Right.
How do they do it? By hyping issues they know rile up conservatives.
Remember the "ports issue"? That was the start of this divide-and-conquer strategy. Remember how it tore up Free Republic, pitting FReeper against FReeper, until we all found out that, dear God, Chuck Schumer was fomenting the hysteria?
The issue died out very quickly after that, and hasn't been raised much since.
As I said earlier, the ONLY way the Left can win elections is to divide the Right. They simply don't have the numbers unless they can make folks on the Right switch sides, or stay home. That is their strategy. It's Politics 101, and I'm shocked at how many people fall for it.
Since Feb 13, 2007
Hi, newbie.
Illegals cost US taxpayers billions per year, not only in taxes, but in lost jobs. Here in Texas, US citizens are unemployed while the illegals build the homes (work for much less, less likely to demand a reasonable living wage), etc. Far too many GOP politicans are more interested in providing low-wage employees than protecting US employees and taxpayers.
When you add that to the over 48000 people illegals have killed, it's unconcionable that the GOP is bending over backwards to protect these illegals.
Hillary Clinton also signed the fence bill along with 87 other senators. According to Hunter, only 1 and 1/2 miles have been built. I seriously doubt that the 854 mile fence will ever be built. Bush's Homeland Security Secretary, Chertoff, referred to illegal aliens as "undocumented workers." Bush is in favor of a guest worker program. He has not been enforcing the immigration laws on the books now and in fact, is not doing as good a job, as pitiful as it was, than Clinton's administration. Bush gets an "F" on securing our border and enforcing our immigration laws. I find this especially irksome given the fact that after 9/11, our national security is at stake.
Bush has enforced the law against our border patrol agents who made the mistake of shooting a Mexican drug dealer in the butt while trying to enter the US with over 700 pounds of drugs. They received 12 and thirteen year sentences. So much for justice.
The fence bill is the law. Considering it was signed in late october, funded with start money in December, and they are already working on it is a minor miracle. Chertoff is worthless, but he does not get a vote.
Bush included funds in his fiscal 2008 budget to build 1/2 of it. Now WE must pressure congress to make sure they fund AT LEAST that much. This is very, very important, so contact your congresscritters.
I know the whole story, your side and the other side, and my own thinking falls somewhere in the middle. But the US Supreme Court has ruled that children can't be denied access to public schooling on the basis of immigrant status. So it would probably take a Constitutional Amendment, not simply an act of legislation, to change that. And from a pragmatic view, one can see big problems with not allowing these children into the schools.
But I do agree that we need to find a better way to control our borders and to make sure that everyone working in this country is paying their share of the taxes.
You're right. How's this?
Bush, Rudy and the Dems are all wrong on illegal immigration!
re: 'settling' for Rudy--
I'm reminded of a story I heard in Sunday school one time.
So to teach them a lesson, he made some brownies.
Regular old brownies, which they eyed gleefully, because they loved brownies. As they were about to put them in their mouths though, the dad cautioned them:
"Those look and smell awfully good, don't they? But while I was making them, I decided to add just ONE little extra ingredient to the mix, not much of anything, really won't make a difference at all..."
"What did you add, Dad?" The kids were anxious to eat the brownies.
"I added 1 gram of cat poop from the litter box, not much, really, when you think about all the rest of the good ingredients!!" Dad smiled at the expressions on their faces as they grimaced with distaste and quickly dropped the brownies back to the plate. "Hey, what's wrong?? It's only a *little* bit of cat poop, what can it hurt??"
They got the message.
The reason it was signed in October by huge bipartisan majorities was because it was before election time and the politicians wanted to demonstrate that they were strong on enforcement. Having watched many of the pre-election debates leading up to the mid-terms, I found it odd to say the least that the vast majority of Dems, when asked about securing our borders and cracking down on illegal immigration, stated that they agreed with the President's position on immigration, which essentially undercut their Rep opponent who was trying to make a distinction between the two parties on immigration reform.
Chertoff is just reflecting the WH position. He is not a free agent. The WH position on immigration matters runs counter to the majority of the GOP. Jim Sensenbrenner was incensed about the WH perfidy on his enforcement first bill. Sensenbrenner: Bush Turned Back on Bill
Bush included funds in his fiscal 2008 budget to build 1/2 of it. Now WE must pressure congress to make sure they fund AT LEAST that much. This is very, very important, so contact your congresscritters.
Neither the WH or the Dem controlled Congress want it built. Nor does the government of Mexico. I am a member of the American Council for Immigration Reform. Rep Hunter spoke to us a few weeks ago. He said that he would focus on the fence construction "like a laser." However, when pressed, it was clear that the decision was up to the Dems. He did promise that if elected, one of the first things he would do is to build the fence in its entireity. I am dubious.
This weekend, I attended a town meeting held by Rep Tom Davis (R-VA). Immigration was raised repeatedly by concerned citizens who are believing "their lying eyes" rather than the politicians spin on the issue. The Northern Virginia region and the DC metro area are being inundated with illegal aliens who are cramming themselves into houses and apartments and congregating in various communities on the streets waiting for local contractors to pick them up each morning for day labor. Communities like Herndon and Manassas are fighting back through grassroots organizations. The federal government has not been very helpful. The demographics of the metro area have changed dramatically over the past decade.
Davis also used the "undocumented worker" phrase and had no real answer when I asked him, as the former chairman of the government oversight committee, why aren't our current laws being enforced? He said that there have been hearings and INS said they needed more resources. When they were given the addtional resources, they still didn't do the job because they were ineffectual. I responded that is well and good, but who is ultimately accountable and responsible for enforcing our laws? A shrug of the shoulders was the answer.
I am very pessimistic that the fence will ever be built and fear that the Dems' comprehensive immigration reform bill will be signed by the WH. If that happens, we are finished as a country. It will just be a matter of time, not if but when, the whole house of cards collapses. A sad legacy for our children.
Do you have a specific USCS ruling that pertains to this issue? We can stop them from getting various federal and state benefits based on their status, including things like in-state tuition for higher education.
Initially, I am not advocating that we stop them from attending school, but I do want the local schools to require that their immigration status be identified and that this data be accummulated to get a handle on the problem. I want the hospitals to do the same. Pragmatically, I find it hard to accept that we must pay property taxes to fund the education of people who are illegally in our country. Or pay increased health insurance payments to pay for their care in our hospital ERs. By doing so, we are attracting more illegal aliens to our shores. There is a limit to our resources, pragmatically speaking.
But I do agree that we need to find a better way to control our borders and to make sure that everyone working in this country is paying their share of the taxes.
I am for Mom and apple pie too. Such pollyanish statements do little to solve this growing problem. The devil is in the details. It may take measures like cutting off all social welfare benefits to stem the tide. We have a very small window of opportunity that is closing fast to turn things around. Our opponents will soon be able to use the political system to achieve their objectives.
That was 25 years ago. I think the issue needs to be raised again. This time the states and local jurisdictions should seek reimbursement from the federal government for such costs involved in educating illegals. This would require the schools to gather data so that they could bill the USG, which is responsible for maintaining our borders and enforcing our immigration laws.
Thanks for saving me the time! :)
I hear what you're saying, but I wonder if barring kids from public schools should be the first or the last thing we do to help secure our borders.
Fred Thompson's my guy. Hoping and praying that he runs.
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