What a laugh.
La Raza is a racist organization making fools of politicians who do not have the sense or the guts to put their own country and security ahead of political correctness.
.
Posted on 12/13/2007 9:33:35 PM PST by Tlaloc
WASHINGTON — Rep. Tom Tancredo likes a good fight.
The Colorado Republican, who is running for president, has managed to upset a variety of powerful people, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Republican strategist Karl Rove and just about every Hispanic advocacy group in Washington.
The source of the conflicts: Tancredo's unyielding battle against illegal immigration and what he calls the "cult of multiculturalism."
Labeled a hero of the working class by some and a dangerous xenophobe by others, Tancredo has taken his tough talk on the political road in an underdog campaign that has pushed Republican White House contenders to talk more about illegal immigration.
Tancredo pulls no punches on his signature issue.
"You have a massive legal and illegal immigration of a great many people who don't want to be Americans," he said. "It's dangerous. We could end up with a cultural, linguistic and even political Tower of Babel."
Tancredo, 61, grew up in a Denver suburb without any memorable exposure to illegal immigration. A Republican from a young age, he recalls being one of two students in his Catholic high school who voted in a mock election against then-Sen. John Kennedy, who would become the first Catholic U.S. president.
Tancredo worked throughout high school and college at an amusement park in Denver, where he started sweeping floors and eventually became the park's general manager.
He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado and became a junior high school civics teacher.
Tancredo said his concern over illegal immigration began when Colorado implemented bilingual education, which puts Spanish-speaking students into separate classes.
Students with Hispanic surnames who didn't even speak Spanish were put into the classes, which was ridiculous and harmful, Tancredo said.
Tancredo later ran for a state House seat and won. He never succeeded in abolishing the bilingual education program.
He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1998. He and his wife, Jackie, have been married for 30 years.
As the immigration issue heated up in the past few years, so did Tancredo's notoriety. He has become a frequent guest on talk radio shows and often appears on television.
Bill Salier, who is running Tancredo's Iowa operation, said he was drawn to the lawmaker because Tancredo is a true conservative with a strong stance against abortion and in favor of abolishing the U.S. tax code, establishing greater border security and assimilating immigrants.
"To change our culture to match others who want to come here is clearly not what's going to maintain the greatness of America," said Salier, who once ran for the U.S. Senate.
Supporters also point to Tancredo's softer side. Tancredo organized the gathering of food and medical supplies to help after a school hostage crisis in Beslan, Russia. Tancredo delivered them in person, along with letters of encouragement from students at Columbine High School, where a school shooting had occurred a few years earlier.
Tancredo has also worked with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to raise awareness and pass legislation aimed at ending the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.
But Tancredo's stance on immigration has drawn harsh words from critics, who accused him of being an extremist and of being hostile to Hispanics and other minorities.
"His presence in the race will continue to signal to Latinos that Republicans are really very divided on whether we are good for this country," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization. "He really reflects an uglier side of the (Republican) party."
Tancredo, a grandson of Italian immigrants, dismisses those allegations. He said he feels compassion for illegal immigrants, but has greater compassion for American workers he says are suffering because of the government's failure to stop illegal immigrants.
Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University, said that Tancredo's focus on illegal immigration has helped elevate the issue but has not propelled Tancredo forward in the standings.
"You can't be a single-issue candidate on an issue that isn't the number one concern," Schmidt said.
Tancredo's fight with Jeb Bush began when Tancredo likened Miami to a Third World country. It prompted an angry exchange in letters and statements with the Florida governor, who eventually called Tancredo "a nut."
Previously, Tancredo clashed with Richardson when he accused the New Mexico governor of using emergency federal funds to keep tabs on the Minutemen citizen border patrol group.
Tancredo makes no apologies for his statements and says he does not worry about upsetting powerful people.
Rep. Brian Bilbray, a California Republican who succeeded Tancredo as leader of an unofficial caucus pushing for more immigration enforcement, said Tancredo was instrumental in making illegal immigration a top issue in Congress.
"He shocked Washington into paying attention. He rattled their cages, and that's what it takes," Bilbray said.
Tom Tancredo
Born: Dec. 20, 1945, in Denver, Colo.
Education: B.A., University of Northern Colorado, 1968
Experience: Teacher, Drake Junior High School, Denver.
Political career: Colorado State Legislature, 1976-81; U.S. House of Representatives, 1999-present.
Religion: Evangelical Presbyterian
Family: Wife, Jackie Tancredo; two sons; five grandchildren.
“Cult of multiculturalism” indeed. He wrote a good book on that.
“...has managed to upset a variety of powerful people, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Republican strategist Karl Rove and just about every Hispanic advocacy group in Washington.”
Who elected Bush and Richardson?
Is there a friggin US citizen / taxpayer advocacy group somewhere?
Oh silly me....I thought that’s who those morons were supposed to represent.
I know that La Raza isn't good for America. They won't rest until we're a cesspool like the Latin American countries.
ping
What a laugh.
La Raza is a racist organization making fools of politicians who do not have the sense or the guts to put their own country and security ahead of political correctness.
.
Tancredo is only extreme with those who want open borders. He may well be the saving grace of our dying country.
They’re the ruling elite. They know better than us!
No one can out Tanc “the Tanc!”
He may rile powerful people but I thank god for guys like him....
Tancredo deserves a snail mail letter from all who support his efforts. Mine will be sent today.
With 'friends' like these, I guess this explains why GWB acts as he does on ILLEGAL Immigration...And why KARL ROVE bombed the last time he tried the same tricks....
BUMP!
The guy is one step ahead of multiple felony indictments for corruption in New Mexico.
He's only famous for being Mexican, which of course he toots all the time.
Funny, but I really can't get the line: "elect me, I'd like to make your country more like Mexico"
Does anyone know anyone who wants to live in Mexico?
Even the Mexicans don't want to live there. That's why they risk death in the desert to get here.
No surprise there. They all consider themselves the founders of the "new America".
BTW, these stories should put to rest the notion that illegal immigration IS NOT about hispanics. It certainly is and with these stories and protests they prove it. They are admitting with these articles that only hispainics have to worry about any kind of crackdown on illegals.
.....<
| We are now one of the largest Spanish-speaking nations in the world. We're a major source of Latin music, journalism and culture. Just go to Miami, or San Antonio, Los Angeles, Chicago or West New York, New Jersey ... and close your eyes and listen. You could just as easily be in Santo Domingo or Santiago, or San Miguel de Allende. For years our nation has debated this change -- some have praised it and others have resented it. By nominating me, my party has made a choice to welcome the new America. Our future cannot be separated from the future of Latin America. As I speak, we are celebrating the success of democracy in Mexico. George Bush from a campaign speech in Miami, August 2000. |
Here is an excerpt of a good critique of that speech:
In equating our intimate historic bonds to our mother country and to Canada with our ties to Mexico, W. shows a staggering ignorance of the civilizational facts of life. The reason we are so close to Britain and Canada is that we share with them a common historical culture, language, literature, and legal system, as well as similar standards of behavior, expectations of public officials, and so on. My Bush Epiphany By Lawrence Auster
How things have changed on this very forum. Barely two years ago, we had daily fights over illegals that got pretty nasty, as Bush pushed for his amnesty bill, and Tancredo was routinely pilloried as a racist. I notice the pro-illegal folks don’t have much to say these days.
Tancredo does not carry that White Guilt around like Huckabee does.
Like the other members of his silver spoon in the mouth limousine liberals, Jeb is the man with a problem.
Tancredo is a very courageous man who has taken on the racialists in America, the international corporate interests whose goal is to destroy the quality of life for American workers and all Americans except an elite few, and the Democrats who are always thirsting for a vote, dead or alive, legal or illegal.
His presence in the campaign debates makes him and this issue the Gorilla in the Living Room that FORCES the other candidates to address an issue most of them would rather avoid.
And I disagree with the author of this piece. Illegal immigration, the failure of this administration and its collaborators in both political parties to defend our borders, and the destruction of an Anglo-American language and culture which Americans of EVERY ethnic group have come to assimilate, appreciate and value, is THE single most significant political issue of our age - beyond even the war on terror.
We have fought wars before. But never before has an American President so openly defied the will of the majority of Americans and conspired with elements of an opposition party and a foreign power to undermine the very fabric of American society.
God bless Tancredo and Hunter - the two most outspoken candidates on this issue.
I hope they continue to hold the Republicans, the Democrats and the Administration’s feet to the fire on this very crucial issue.
“I notice the pro-illegal folks don’t have much to say these days.”
My guess is most of them are back in the Democrat discussion groups where they belong, debating the merits of Hillary versus Obama.
The uninformed among us don’t know about the Gasden Purchase. Mexico was in a real cash crunch at that time, and was all too happy to cut us a Real Estate deal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.