Posted on 11/30/2007 5:43:44 AM PST by dano1
As rivals who consider Mike Huckabee soft on immigration ramp up their attacks, the former Arkansas governor acknowledged Thursday that his position on the issue may cost him votes.
Huckabee for weeks now has been criticized for his 2005 support of state-sponsored scholarships for illegal immigrants. Legislation to provide the tuition aid failed in the Arkansas Senate.
Huckabee admitted his stance is unpopular among a GOP voter base that has made immigration the No. 1 issue of the campaign.
"If it costs me the election, it costs me the election," he told reporters at a luncheon on Capitol Hill.
But Huckabee said voters should direct their anger toward a government that has neglected the immigration problem.
"Be mad at the government, be mad about immigration," he said. "I'm mad about it, too. But let's punish the right people for breaking the law. A 6-year-old crossing the border doesn't know he's breaking the law."
One opponent, Mitt Romney, has accused Huckabee of misleading voters when he discusses support for scholarships, but fails to mention he also backed guaranteed in-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants.
And former state Sen. Jim Holt, R-Springdale, said Thursday that Huckabee "has his head in the sand" when it comes to immigration policies.
Huckabee said he supports construction of a border fence, opposes amnesty for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country and backs penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
He said the federal government had thus far failed to solve the problem.
Holt said Huckabee is to blame, too.
"In 2005, he told me personally in his office there was no illegal immigration problem," said Holt, who introduced legislation two years ago that would have denied all government benefits to illegals.
Since then, Huckabee has flip-flopped on the issue, Holt added.
"Huckabee would not lose the presidency because of his stand on immigration, he's losing it because he's making such a blatant 180-degree turn on the issue," Holt said. "That's what's going to cost him, he's changing his tune."
Romney called out Huckabee on the scholarship issue in a debate Wednesday and has repeatedly criticized him for his position.
Romney's campaign Thursday said Huckabee fails to mention that legislation in Arkansas included tuition breaks for illegal immigrants. The original bill contained provisions for both academic scholarships and in-state tuition breaks.
Huckabee and Romney are in a tight battle for first place in Iowa, which holds its first-in-the-nation caucuses on Jan. 3.
A survey of Iowa voters Wednesday showed Huckabee ahead of Romney 28 percent to 25 percent, statistically within the margin of error.
"Mitt Romney is just plain wrong and I think he knows he's wrong when he says what I proposed in Arkansas was a special break for illegals," Huckabee said. "There was nothing special about it. These were the children who by law we educated in our schools."
Huckabee said students who meet high academic standards are worthy of scholarships.
"Our country is better than that, to punish children for what their parents did in breaking the law," he said.
But Holt on Thursday countered that children are constantly affected by parents' actions. A $200 speeding ticket, for instance, means a child may be deprived of a favorite toy or a restaurant meal, he said.
"We don't want to punish the child, nobody does, but there has to be a rule of law," Holt said.
Illegal immigrants should not receive the benefits offered to American citizens, but not face some of the risks, such as the possibility of being drafted.
Huckabee, whose national profile has surged recently, campaigns this weekend in New Hampshire. The state's primary is Jan. 8, five days after the Iowa caucus.
He trails Romney and several others in New Hampshire.
Joining Huckabee on Thursday for the roundtable with reporters was actor Chuck Norris. The star of TV's "Walker, Texas Ranger," has endorsed Huckabee.
The two men starred together in Huckabee's first television advertisement, and Norris was Huckabee's invited guest at Wednesday's debate in St. Petersburg, Fla.
OF MEXICO
Sorry Huck. But this is the age of YouTube.
In any event, I think we’ve had enough Arkansas influence in the White House. Little Rock v Little Rock in the General Election strikes me as lose/lose.
Hi Dane girl
They will keep on coming, as long as they know there is some incentive like this to gain.
Like McCain’s “The All God’s Children” quote, why should we give favoritism to in hemisphere Hispanics? There are alot of poor Africans and Asians etc, in the world we can ferry over too.
Open borders governors are part of that government, Mike. And you'd better believe I'm mad at you.
However, upon doing a little research on this particular issue I discovered that, as usual, there is more than one side to the story. Evidently, the truth of the matter goes a little more like this: Huckabee opposes illegal immigration, supports sealing the border, and opposes amnesty. In a perfect world that would be enough, but this is no perfect world as we all know. The fact of the matter is that there are millions of illegals in this country already, and there is a constant flow of them across our borders each and every day. Another fact, Huckabee supports the deportation of illegal immigrants, but he believes that the process should be a better one.
Case in point is the 119 illegals deported in an Arkansas raid of a plant in 2005, in which officials, without having properly done their homework, proceeded to deport the illegals leaving their children behind here in the states to be a burden to our already overloaded system.
Also, according to the Arkansas State Constitution, children of all ages, whether legal or illegal are entitled to an education. Huckabee following the logic of the state's Constitution, supported allowing children of the illegals to attend Arkansas colleges at in-state rates. Bear in mind these are not individuals who came here illegally, but rather the offspring of those individuals. Holding said offspring responsible for the sins of the parents is like holding anyone else responsible for some crime committed by their forefathers. This is a preposterous notion, a dangerous road, and completely inconsistent with the ideology of compassionate conservatism.
Now, before anyone goes hysterical here, let me point out that we are not suggesting that illegals, who are definately in violation of the law, be given any form of amnesty, nor is there any promotion of the idea of an open border here. However, as in any crime or act of wrongdoing their are always innocents involved who may become collateral damage. Let's be clear there should be a secure border between the U.S. and its bordering nations, there should be no amnesty, and there should always be consequences for breaking the law, but we must remember to follow the ideology of compassionate conservatism as well. After all our system is a system of checks and balances, and we must not forget that there are two sides to the scales of justice. These are the principles that guide Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. These are the principles that should guide every American.
Source can be found at http://mikehuckabeepresident2008.blogspot.com/2005/08/msm-huckabee-right-on-illegal.html
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2005/08/13/opinion/18editorial.txt
| BENTON COUNTY : Hispanic moms often unmarried (More illegals to feed in Arkansas) |
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| Posted by pulaskibush On News/Activism 11/25/2007 11:17:30 PM CST · 41 replies Northwest Arkansas Times ^ | 11/25/07 | MARK MINTON ROGERS — Nearly half of the babies delivered by Hispanic mothers in Benton County last year were born out of wedlock. That was double the rate for white, non-Hispanic mothers in the county. The statistics mirror national trends that have the attention of advocates of all persuasions. Immigration critics warn of looming consequences, from persistent poverty to welfare dependency. The Bush administration also makes the connection: Preventing out-of wedlock pregnancies is a key to its $ 100 million “healthy marriage” strategy for curbing welfare. But in Benton County, the state’s No. 1 home for Hispanic immigrants, health and welfare officials... |
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"We don't want to punish the child, nobody does, but there has to be a rule of law," Holt said.
Holt is correct.
Children have always suffered for the sins of their fathers since the beginning of time.
sw
Huckabee is done.
LLS
Really liked his answer on illegals, shows he understands the issue. Send all the illegals to Arkansas. Huckabee would make Bush look great on illegal immigration.
The media wants anybody but a conservative, remember that. This phony BS about Huckabee surging is just that, phony BS spread by the media parrots.
All of our serious candidates have soft spot on this issue. They were all asleep until recently. The person we support should be very adamant and burn bridges to his past. It looks like all of them are doing this except Huckabee Finn is not adamant enough and gives himself some wiggle room.
“Does anyone think Huckabee knows the first thing about foreign policy or military defense affairs?”
But, he was commander in chief of the Arkansas National Guard.(grin)
How about scholarships for legal immigrants? Or, to put it another way, why are we providing incentives to break the laws we are feebly enforcing now?
Just 2 days ago at the CNN debate:
“...It accomplished two things that we knew we wanted to do, and that is, number one, bring people from illegal status to legal status.”
AMNESTY!
Frankly, I think it is almost impossible to be more duplicitous than Huckabee is about this issue. And that makes me question not only his disingenuous rationalization, but his integrity as well.
If, as in the case of Huckabee’s Arkansas, the governor of a state knows enough about illegal aliens — outright lawbreakers who have clandestinely invaded our country — to reward their children, he knows also knows enough about them to round them up and send them packing (along with their children).
But, no, the phony “compassionate conservative” Huckabee would rather fall back on his misguided (and to put it bluntly, misanthropic) so-called “Christianity”) to saddle the rest of us with the illegl alien’s anchor babies and bill us for their transgressions of our laws.
No, Rev. Huckabee — no amnesty, no open borders and sanctuary states, and no rewarding the children of alien invaders and then presenting law-abiding Americans with the bill.
And no to your duplicitous candidacy and social gospel “Christianity.”
So why are the children of citizens and legal immigrants outside Arkansas punished by having to pay out-of-state tuition just because, through no fault of their own, their parents chose to live someplace else?
I would never support a person for elective office that thought using my tax money to send illegals to college was a ‘good idea’.
Never.
I agree. And when he’s gone, the greatest benefactor will be Fred Thompson.
personally, I like Huckabee, but cannot support him with his views on immigration. There are other pro-lifers from which to choose.
Maybe not, Mikey, but the proper response is to send the 6 year old and his parents back to where they came from, not give them scholarships.
Uh, then why was he supporting scholarships for them? Educate them and then ship them home?
Nah, Mikey's not getting my vote.
"The issue divides strongly committed pro-life and pro-choice Republicans but is not a central issue to most other Republicans. A possible platform revision long under discussion would say the Republican Party, 'unlike the Democratic Party, does not stand for abortion on demand and is basically a pro-life party.' In the spirit of federalism, the proposed GOP revision also would replace the abortion amendment with a statement saying the issue should be left up to the individual state legislatures to deal with as each sees fit. 'That's exactly what we have looked for, and if it's left up to the states, more of them are going to put some restrictions on abortion,' Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee said in an interview after appearing on a conference panel yesterday."
(Ralph Z. Hallow, "Conservatives Hold Fire On Abortion," Washington Times, 2/12/95)
And in an April 2006 interview with the blog "Right Wing News" Huckabee indicated that abortion decisions should be left to the States.
John Hawkins [Right Wing News]: Switching gears again, do you think we should overturn Roe v. Wade?
Mike Huckabee: It would please me because I think Roe v. Wade is based on a real stretch of Constitutional application -- that somehow there is a greater privacy issue in the abortion concern -- than there is a human life issue -- and that the federal government should be making that decision as opposed to states making that decision. So, I've never felt that it was a legitimate manner in which to address this and, first of all, it should be left to the states, the 10th Amendment, but secondly, to somehow believe that the taking of an innocent, unborn human life is about privacy and not about that unborn life is ludicrous.
(www.rightwingnews.com/interviews/huckabee.php)
And just last week Huckbee give the completely opposite position while chastising Thompson for having the same position on abortion that Huckabee had just last year:
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee rejects letting states decide whether to allow abortions, claiming the right to life is a moral issue not subject to multiple interpretations. "It's the logic of the Civil War," Huckabee said Sunday, comparing abortion rights to slavery. "If morality is the point here, and if it's right or wrong, not just a political question, then you can't have 50 different versions of what's right and what's wrong." "For those of us for whom this is a moral question, you can't simply have 50 different versions of what's right," he said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071118/ap_on_el_pr/huckabee
---
Immigration, just one month ago:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/10/immigration_activist_welcomes.php
The former Arkansas governor received numerous standing ovations during an address to 2,000 social conservatives at the recent Values Voters Summit in Washington, DC. Huckabee accused the government of making it more difficult for the average American to get on an airplane in their own hometown than for an illegal alien to get across an international border.
"We need to make it clear," Huckabee told the gathering, "that we will say no to amnesty, no to sanctuary cities, and no to the idea that there can be some complete ignoring of the fact that our laws have been broken."
Continuing, the GOP presidential hopeful said he does not blame those who want to come to America. "I blame our government for sitting on its hands for over 20 years and letting this problem get completely out of hand. Build a border fence, secure the border -- and do it now," Huckabee implored.
Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, says Huckabee's past record on immigration has not matched his recent rhetoric, citing several instances when the former governor "stood up for illegal aliens" during federal immigration raids in Arkansas. "It does not seem to me that, as governor, he particularly lived by those principles, at least strongly so. I am always happy to see someone learn more about an issue and come around and take better positions," he states. "We welcome what seems to be some change of heart."
Beck says Huckabee received an "F" for his past record on immigration, but his recent statements have pulled him up to the "B" range.
---
And what has Huckabee said on immigration in the past?
"I would hope that no matter who we are, or where we are from, that America should always be a place that opens its arms, opens it heart, opens its spirit to people who come because they want the best for their families."
-Mike Huckabee [spoken along with Tyson Foods Inc. Chairman and CEO John Tyson, at a noon luncheon of the League of United Latin American Citizens]
Gov. Mike Huckabee on Thursday heaped criticism upon immigration legislation in the Arkansas Legislature, describing it as inflammatory . . . race-baiting and demagoguery. He also challenged the Christian values of its main sponsor.
Huckabee said the bill, seeking to forbid public assistance and voting rights to undocumented immigrants, inflames those who are racist and bigots and makes them think there's a real problem. But theres not.
The bill is modeled after Proposition 200, approved by Arizona voters in November. The Arkansas measure was filed by Republican Sens. Jim Holt of Springdale and Denny Altes of Fort Smith.
Huckabee, also a Republican and a Baptist minister, said Arkansans should be welcoming hard-working immigrants of all races. He singled out Holt, who often talks of his strong Christian beliefs, saying, “I drink a different kind of Jesus juice. My faith says don't make false accusations against somebody. In the Bible, it's called don't bear false witness.”
In response, Holt said he was hurt by the governor's questioning his faith. “I just want to uphold the law and protect the benefits that apply to citizens, “ Holt said.
-Arkansas News: http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/01/28/News/316347.html
Gov. Mike Huckabee Thursday denounced a bill by Sen. Jim Holt that would deny state benefits to illegal immigrants as “un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life.” Holt, R-Springdale, replied later that Christian charity does not include turning a blind eye to lawbreaking.
Senate Bill 206, filed Wednesday, also would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and would require state agencies to report suspected cases of people living in the country illegally.
Holt replied, “I think the politically correct movement has misconstrued what compassion really means. They think compassion means that any person can disrespect our laws and that we're supposed to be tolerant and let them get away with it.”
”True compassion is correcting them so in the future they can be law-abiding citizens,” Holt said. “They broke the law,he said. My angst is not with them, though. My angst is with the state and federal government for not enforcing our laws.”
”People living illegally in the United State has overwhelmed our school and welfare system,” McCutchen said. As for whether the bill reflects un-Christian attitudes, McCutchen said: “Jim Holt is as good a man and as good a Christian as any man walking this Earth.”
”Doggone it, the rule of law is not being upheld, and that's wrong,” McCutchen said.
-Arkansas News: http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/01/28/News/316347.html
”I didn't sign the No Amnesty pledge because it was a silly piece of campaign propaganda cooked up by Tancredo. Candidates don't make pledges for each other to sign, and he knows that.”
-Mike Huckabee August 4, 2007 http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=196021
He [Mike Huckabee] also made the insane point that companies like Toyota would not invest in Arkansas if the state didn't allow non-citizens to vote because it would send the message that, essentially, 'If you don’t look like us, talk like us and speak like us, we don't want you.
-Ann Coulter [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AnnCoulter/2007/10/10/fred_sawyer_and_huckabee_finn]
”I do believe that some of [the opposition to the McCain-Kennedy-Bush Amnesty Bill] is driven by racism or nativism. It's not amnesty to make people pay for breaking the law.”
-Wash. Times May, 2006
Huckabee is wrong on this issue and cowardly by taking
a petulant defensive stand on it even now. Huckabee is
NOT presidential material.
This statement reflects what a POS the Yuck is:
Gov. Huckabee Thursday denounced a bill by Sen. Jim Holt that would DENY state benefits to illegal immigrants as “un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life.”
Holt, R-Springdale, replied later that Christian charity does not include turning a blind eye to lawbreaking.
“Since then, Huckabee has flip-flopped on the issue, Holt added.”
Flip-flopping seems to be a major problem with Huckabee, Romney and Giuliani.
That leaves Thompson and Hunter, but no one seems interested in Hunter except me and a few others.
So what do we do?
At least Romney admits he’s changed positions recently. Huckabee frosts me, I hate being lied to my face then chastised for pointing out the lie. Very, very Clintonian. Oh wait, I forgot, Huck’s from Arkansas. ;-}
He might want to shed the devil-may-care attitude, and do some town meetings to get a better understanding of the problem. A candidate with principles is a great thing, so long as his principles aren’t deranged, as Mike’s are on the illegals issue.
NO, that is not what was said, and the spat between Holt and Huckabee is personal. Huckabee stated that the state constitution requiring in-state tuition be made available to all children educated in the system needed to apply; I don’t agree with it, but it is principled. He has also made clear that securing the border was a paramount failure of the federal government and needed to be addressed above all; this was dealing with an issue at the state level.
Ive got a daughter going to college in a year that will probably cost me $10,000. She will qualify for the lottery-funded scholarship program based on her grades. The issue here is eligibility; if you disagree with Huckabee on that point, it’s fair game. He has admitted that he believed anyone whose grades qualified them for the in-state program should get it, including illegals. It is a huge source of contention in the immigration debate, but is one that many governors have had to deal with.
And as a result, non-governor Thompson would not have been forced to decide this, nor would Hunter nor Guiliani, and in the midst of the current political season three years later, it is easy to claim to be ‘purest of them all.’ Not a slight, just the context of the argument.
So I don’t see it as a flipflop. Mike Huckabee as Governor tried to address the college issue; it failed in his state legislature. I think his honest assessment of some of it being based in bigotry was truthful, and I also think the emotional aspect of the immigration issue plays a role here. It will need to be addressed, and the deportation dreamers will not fix it; the GOP can be either pro-active in dealing with realistic solutions or cede that issue and its core constituents (the fastest growing base of voters in North America whether we like it or not) into the Democrats corner for decades. Read Newt Gingrich’s statement in today’s Washington Times; Huckabee was actually in the front edge of this.
It should also be noted that most major GOP candidates (including Thompson, Romney and Guiliani, plus all the Dems)are addressing large DC-based forums closed to the public sponsored by the construction and restaurant industries; my feeling is they are not looking for deportation answers. We need realistic fixes for the problem, with every GOP candidate agreeing that a border fence is first and foremost.
Regardless, Huckabee has not said that he will try to revive the scholarship on a national scale if he is in the Oval Office, and he has certainly agreed with the sealed borders / identification processing programs that the situation now requires.
Fire away...
RE Huck and CNN Rebates, I tend to think this is correct:
“the real criticism should be directed to the Junior Senator from New York, whose campaign is getting away with murder out there. Peppering the audiences with her supporters (who last night booed everyone EXCEPT the ONLY GUY SHE CAN BEAT: Huckabee), planting questions, denying knowledge, stonewalling to the death. These are classic Clintonian tactics. CNN was at fault, but the Clinton Ladies Intervention Team also played CNN—-and us—-like a Stradivarius.... “
I have a feeling he could beat Hillary with his schtick. His spiel is very convincing. But do we want someone in the WH who is worse than Bush on immigration and is just as fiscally liberal as the tax and spend dem Congress? I don't think so.
He is just a delusional as the rest of them folks if we don't back up words ie:not vote for them because they are anyone but hillary, they wont care!
Case in point is the 119 illegals deported in an Arkansas raid of a plant in 2005, in which officials, without having properly done their homework, proceeded to deport the illegals leaving their children behind here in the states to be a burden to our already overloaded system.
that couldve been rectified by reuniting them with their parents....in MEXICO!!
Also, according to the Arkansas State Constitution, children of all ages, whether legal or illegal are entitled to an education. Huckabee following the logic of the state's Constitution, supported allowing children of the illegals to attend Arkansas colleges at in-state rates.
true, and some senators tried to rectify the law HE CALLED IT RACIST instead of supporting changing the states constitution....you cant have it both ways HUCK, dano1 we dont buy crap off of huck's site
Because I happen to see the merit of a measure, proposed by two Arkansas state lawmakers, that would require anyone registering to vote in the Razorback State to prove citizenship and anyone applying for state services to prove legal residency.
To Huckabee's mind, anyone who supports such a law has succumbed to "race-baiting and demagoguery." That would include yours truly. It also would include a majority of my fellow California residents.
Indeed, it's bad enough that government officials, like Huckabee, knowingly and willingly countenance illegal immigration. It's worse that they also want to reward those who have stolen into the country.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050218/news_lz1e18perkins.html
mit is not the answer either, both are illegal lovers I dont’ trust mitt with his chinese ties.the only worthy candidates I see are Hunter,Tancredo and to a lesser extent Paul and Fred.
Wow. I guess this is as popular as big Mike is going to get. He admitted he’s pretty much for open borders. Check.
However, the links between a dark Chinese company and many of the most powerful politicians in America appears to have put the buyout of 3Com on the fast-track toward approval.
Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs — two leading financial firms — are currently seeking the buyout of 3Com, a computer communications firm with U.S. defense contracts. 3Com makes equipment used by the Pentagon to block computer hackers.
Bain is financing the buyout of 3Com with the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Huawei is associated with the Chinese, Iraqi, and Taliban militaries.
Bain Capital is a major financial firm with a great deal of success in the past. Bain Capital was founded in 1984 by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. According to Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign Web site, Bain is “one of the nation’s most successful venture capital and investment companies
Romney is committed to building the fence, securing the border and enforcing the law. And he won't be rewarding the illegals with our tax dollars.
Tancredo and Hunter are great on the immigration issue, but they aren't going to beat Rudy or Hillary. The only one who has the money and the campaign organization to stop those two is Romney.
What an ass. He is government. If he can't take a stand with this issue as a governor, he should step down.
But Huckabee said voters should direct their anger toward a government that has neglected the immigration problem.
But until then, let's give them handouts at the tax payers expense.
"If it costs me the election, it costs me the election,"
See ya!!!
Perhaps not. But rather than throwing taxpayer dollars his way for the rest of his life just send him back home. You know, enforce the law. Best to familiarize yourself with that concept, Huckster.
I am confident Romney will not do anything that will jeopardize the country or the lives of his children and grandchildren.
This is a great analysis on the Huckster:
Huck’s sleight of hand here is classically left-wing, equating the denial of benefits to which the recipient was never entitled with “punishment,” the confiscation of a right already held. He insists the scholarship program would have been a revenue-generator by turning tax-takers into taxpayers, in his formulation, but of course he doesn’t factor in the expense generated by the incentive it gives to further “tax-takers” to come to Arkansas and settle. The taxpayer/tax-taker thing’s a red herring anyway; this is obviously about charity for him, in which case it’s hard to discern why these scholarships should be limited by anything so mean as geography.
If we’re going to spend American citizens’ money on scholarships for bright foreign students, why not just send money to Canada or Mexico for that purpose? The only difference between the talented 17-year-old illegal alien in Little Rock and the talented 17-year-old in Mexico City is that the parents of the former broke the law and got away with it. If Huck’s hung up on that promise to seek citizenship that he mentions as being one of the requirements, no problem: I’m sure the kid in Mexico City will be willing to promise that too in exchange for a free education.
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/11/29/video-romney-and-huckabee-clash-over-scholarships-for-illegal-aliens/
We are not going to have Gestapo type Round ups of millions of illegals in the dead of night. Its not necessary.
If we simply stop providing them with the same benefits available to legal resident aliens and American citizens, make English the official Language of the U.S., stop the tripe about becoming an American Citizen merely because you are born here, put individual employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens out of business and seize their assets, seal off the Mexican border, cut off all Federal Funds to those local jurisdictions which refuse to cooperate with the Federal Government (including the incarceration of public officials who knowingly aid, abet and assist illegals), and penalize those organizations which openly support illegals, those here will eventually be forced to leave. That is the only fair and logical way to deal with this issue.
This is not bigotry. It is a fact that the majority of illegals come from Mexico or across the Mexican Border.
The Mexican government has been actively collaborating with illegals who want to come here and organizations which aid and abet them. The Mexican government and a sizable number of these illegals feel the American southwest was “stolen” from Mexico and rightfully belongs to it. A sizable number of these illegals are not interested in American citizenship or learning English.
If we need more citizens to fill jobs in America - and I’m not sure that is the case (the situation is, I believe, that certain employers want to hire individuals at slave labor rates with no benefits) we can always increase the number of legal aliens we allow in here who WANT to be American citizens, instead of those who force themselves on us, conspiring to seize our property and impose their
culture and language on us.
As for your assertion that by defending our borders and ridding our country of unwanted invaders having an adverse impact on the votes of American citizens who are of Hispanic background, that in itself is a bigoted assertion. I’m sure there are a lot of Americans of Hispanic origin who would take umbrage at what I am proposing. But by and large I believe the MAJORITY of them are motivated by the same objectives that motivate most American voters. And if I were a legal resident alien or naturalized citizen from a Spanish American nation I would be particularly incensed that “line-jumpers” are getting away with securing their status here as legalized residents without having to jump through all the hoops and wait all the time it took for me to get my citizenship.
I do not believe the majority of these people feel they are any more connected with whatever nation they or their ancestors’ came from than you or I am, and to imply the same is to question their patriotism. And I have Latin ancestors also. My ancestors all came here legally, WANTED to be AMERICANS, learned English and absorbed American culture. My first, last and only allegiance is to the United States of America. If anyone else feels otherwise, I suggest they go back to wherever they or their ancestors came from and STAY there.
One of the basic responsibilities of any nation to DEFEND ITS BORDERS AGAINST INVADERS. A nation which does not will be a nation for very long. This nonesense MUST stop and apparently the American People have to take action. The prostitutes we have put in office clearly have no intention of doing anything unless we hold their feet to the fire and make sure they face the political consequences for their treasonous behavior.
Well stated. The other candidates would be wise to publicly confront the Huckster on this exact point.
No Mr. Huckabee... You obviously have a problem with your convictions or ethics or a combination of all. Just because someone does something wrong, it does mean it's allright for me to do it.
I think you just took the easy way out in dealing with this issue, just like democrapps do.
The issue is very simple, IMMIGRANTS are fine!... ILLEGAL immigration is NOT. Any Republican who cares about this country should do their most to SECURE THE BODERS
FIRST!... FIRST!!!!.... FIRST!!!!!!!!!! get it?
Then, after accomplishing that, THEN and only then, we can engage into a thoughtful conversation as to how deal with the illegals we have here already.
Because you see Mr Huckabee, if a water leak is not sealed immediately... don't you think it's kind of stupid bailing out the water first? :)... seems simple to me :)
Governor Romney: In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrants "Would Be A Mistake" Conflicting With Federal Law. "Mr. Romney said he was not prepared to provide 'special benefits' to illegal immigrants in the state. 'Our desire is to help legal immigrants,' he said. 'I do not believe that, out of respect for the law, that we can provide special benefits to illegal immigrants. We have a responsibility to uphold the law, and providing special benefits to those who are here in contravention of the national law, in my view, would be a mistake.'" (John J. Monahan, "Immigrant Tuition Bill Defeated," Telegram & Gazette, 1/12/2006)
Governor Romney opposed efforts to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens. "Those who are here illegally should not receive tacit support from our government that gives an indication of legitimacy," the governor said, echoing arguments that opponents have voiced in the Commonwealth and in other states considering similar license measures. "If they are here illegally, they should not get driver's licenses," he said. (Scott S. Greenberger, "Romney Stand Dims Chances Of License For Undocumented," The Boston Globe, 10/28/2003)
IMHO, the above statement by Zulu typifies the unrealistic simplicity being used by many FredHeads and others to unfairly bash Huckabee on this issue.
Zulu blithely opines that we should "stop the tripe about becoming an American Citizen merely because you are born here" as if this were as simply said as done.
I myself agree that children born to mothers in the U.S. illegally should not automatically be U.S. citizens. However merely wishing for an end to birthright citizenship in the U.S. will not make it so. As a Governor, Huckabee had to deal with the existing political and social realities he was faced with at the time.
A major fact that most of the wild Huckabee flamers seem to simply want to ignore is that some of these children Huckabee is criticized for helping actually were U.S. citizens already by birth.
No candidate is perfect, and I myself don't agree with Huckabee 100% on every issue. However I am at least trying to be realistic enough to look at all candidates objectively and compare them to one another, (and not in the context of some political fantasy land as Zulu seems to be doing). Objectively weighing the pros and cons of all the major candidates has caused many to conclude that Huckabee is the best alternative from among the current GOP frontrunners. Huckabee is a strong fiscal and social conservative, and Huckabee demonstrates the excellent communication skills and leadership skills we need in a President. The more people get to know Huckabee, the more support he garners.
So, Zulu, who do you support?
“So, Zulu, who do you support?”
I’m voting for Hunter or Thompson in the Primary and actively campaigning for ANY Republican who gets nominated.
From a purely pragmatic perspective, the team most likely to “do a job” on Hillary at this point would probably be Huckabee and Giuliani or Thompson and Giuliani. Not sure which would be best for President or Vice President, but one of those teams would kill her. Giuliani would pick up some liberal Blue states and Thompson or Huckabee would assure support of southern States.
I think Romney shot his foot off with that tirade about the Confederate Flag.
The only two Candidates I categorically refuse to support, even if they are unlikely enough to get nominated are McCain and Paul.
Regardless of WHO gets elected, the American people have made it pretty clear they expect a) the border to be defended and b) amnesty NOT to be extended to illegal invaders. Any President or Congress which ignores that does so to their own political peril.
We do have to be realistic; of the electable front-runners, who are the pure ‘conservatives?’(I’m not seeing any). So we have to decide who we will trust. I see Huckabee as an out-of-the-beltway guy with gubernatorial experience (a must) and solidly consistent positions. They may have adapted over time, but they are not monster 180s like Holt has claimed. No, they are not perfect, either.
I also have to agree that the level of enforcement that has been mentioned in zulu’s post is not practical under the present political landscape. There are no easy answers to the problem, not one, but if we get a Hugo Chavez running the Mexican government, we will wish we had these people as friends and not enemies. It is a very dangerous time to make choices without looking at their long-term impacts, and I think Huckabee can win this with his message plus prove additional viability to the right with the proper running mate.
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