Posted on 07/10/2007 8:18:03 AM PDT by TheBattman
Tancredo: Donation from Planned Parenthood physician reflects immigration stance
Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo says he won't return a campaign donation from a medical doctor who has ties to Planned Parenthood. The Colorado congressman says the donation had nothing to do with abortion, but rather the physician's support of Tancredo's immigration policy.
Recently the Sam Brownback campaign sent out an e-mail saying Tancredo accepted thousands of dollars in donations from Dr. John Tanton, the founder of the Northern Michigan Planned Parenthood Association. But Tancredo says Tanton's donation is related to the doctor's affiliation with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). In fact, FAIR's website says Tanton is the original founder of the organization.
"John Tanton is on the board of FAIR. His issue is immigration," says Tancredo. "He supports me because of my position on immigration, and he certainly doesn't ever ask me to do anything even remotely connected with the issue of abortion -- because he knows, of course, how I feel." A senior advisor to the Tancredo campaign describes the candidate's pro-life record as "unassailable."
Tancredo says he is disappointed that Senator Brownback (R-Kansas) is trying to imply that accepting the donation means he somehow supports abortion. "[O]f course I have a longer record of pro-life commitment than does Senator Brownback," says the Colorado lawmaker. "My record on abortion is as pure and clean as one could be in opposition to it."
He argues that returning the campaign contribution would suggest that it somehow had sway on his abortion position. "If I were to give this money back, there would be some indication that I believed it had some influence over me," says Tancredo, "but of course, I know why he's supports me, and it's got nothing to do with that."
Tancredo says he wonders how Brownback can possibly know all of the people that support his campaign financially and if they are people with whom he is in total agreement.
1 Thessolonians 5:21-22
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.
His campaign is going nowhere fast. He should keep as much money as he can, just to get the word out on immigration, which is the only good that can come from his campaign. I have no problem with him accepting this money under these terms.
I better get my campaign donation back because my neighbor’s brother in law’s cousins ex wife once stopped at a planned parenthood office to ask for directions.
I think we would find all kinds of things like this in EVERY candidate’s funding background. Yes that includes my own candidate of choice.
Tancredo won’t be POTUS, but I admire him for not backing down on immigration. Brownback won’t be POTUS either. Why bother with the sleazy attack?
I have mixed feelings about this, too, but it is the Brownback campaign that comes off as truly pathetic here. This is the worst dirt they can find to sling at Tancredo? They actually took the time to sling it? With Brownback’s approval? I don’t think anyone can seriously doubt Tancredo’s sincerity on the immigration issue, or that he is adamantly pro-Life. I think this is one of those times where reasonable people can disagree.
Senator Switchback has gone from a gnat buzzing at Romney to a gnat buzzing at Tancredo.
That’s not exactly positive momentum....
I disagree. Regardless of the issue that this supporter gave on, the money earned was blood money.
If the guy was a drug dealer would it be OK because it was not due to Tanc’s view on drug legalization but on his views for something else.
OH, good grief. The doctor supports him on immigration, which obviously trumps abortion for the doc, so? Tancredo shouldn’t put his donors to a litmus test. It’s not like the doc is buying a pro-abortion position from Tancredo.
Brownback is jumping the shark.
The pro-abortion/eugenics crowd is in bed with the environmental lunatic left and the anti-immigrant population control nutjobs.
FAIR is NOT a conservative organization!
News flash -- some people oppose illegal immigration because they oppose immigration, because they oppose population growth, because they're liberals who are on board with the UN Population Fund, support policies to China's one-child policy, etc.
It is disgraceful that Tancredo associates with those people.
Which is exactly what Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff was doing in PA a few years ago with money taken from his casino-owning Indian tribe clients. The tribes' money was spread to various churches in PA who run their own bingo games, to influence the vote against PA casino gambling. Fortunately Abramoff's bribes didn't succeed and PA gamblers now don't have to travel to WV, NJ, or NV to play the slots.
Both are essentially one-issue candidates: Tancredo's is immigration, Brownback's is abortion. Brownback is playing to his core supporters.
Hardly a big event in the campaign. If Brownback took all Tancredo's support, his own ratings would go from asterick to 1%.
This is kind of sleazy but Brownback is trying to differentiate himself from the other candidates. We have already seen worse than this in this campaign and will see much worse before the primaries are over.
Fair enough. Tancredo’s campaign will go nowhere, but at least he can hope to come out of it without going bankrupt.
Life is unfair. Immigration has become a major issue, right up there with the other big ones, but Tancredo is not going to reap the benefits. What I hope is that it will persuade whoever the Republican candidate turns out to be to enforce the laws against employment of illegals and payment of benefits to illegals.
That will depend on who wins the tug of war: the big Republican donors, or the large majority of Republican voters. That tug of war has been a constant struggle, for as long as I can remember. In some places, like California, the country clubbers have won. In others, mostly in the south, the conservative voters have won.
I know Tancredo’s unelectability is hard to take. But he can still do a lot of good right where he is, if he can only reconcile himself to the disappointment.
Your are right. A candidate cannot know all his supporters. But if a finincial supporter is found out to be totally in opposition of one the candidate’s most passionate issues, he should return the money. There are too many examples to list illustrating this point, you listed one fine example. A church accepting money from casinos is another. Rudy G returning the 10 million to the Saudi prince after unforgivable remarks. Many candidates have returned moneys found to be from supporters with questionable backgrounds.
The bigger the candidate the more dirt they’re likely to have attracted. It’s interesting that Brownback goes after a little fish who won’t politically exterminate him when there are bigger fish to be caught.
If he wanted to play it safe he should dig around in McQueeg’s fundraising records. That way he could have helped everybody out.
Geez. Anybody who knows anything about the immigration issue {as opposed to having strong emotions about it) knows who John Tanton is. He is the grandfather of the immigration enforcement movement. For years he was a voice in the wilderness on the need to enforce our borders. He was working full time on immigration back in the early 80s. He has done his country a great number of services in helping to bring this issue to the forefront. And to call him a liberal in the classic sense of the word is ludicrous. He is more of a law and order guy than many on this forum. Tanton has put a great deal of his personal fortune up in the cause of orderly immigration and national sovereignty. It would be nice if people actually knew what they are talking about.
This is about as fun to watch as midget wrestling.
LOL!! You make a great point.
I look at it like this - Tom’s stand for the unborn is pretty clear, he won’t wobble on his abortion stance.
If someone with ties to Planned Parenthood knows that and still seeks to donate to him or any other pro-life candidate, I think it’s okay to use their money against them. Money is no more than a tool meant to effect an end.
LEO’s are always using confiscated or seized assets to fight against drug dealers from whom LEO’s obtain those assets.
This just happens to be a voluntary seizure...
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