Posted on 10/01/2011 10:43:57 AM PDT by shield
In one of the more heated moments of the Republican presidential debate in Orlando, Fla., last week, several of the candidates took turns criticizing Texas Gov. Rick Perry for giving undocumented immigrants college tuition breaks.
"If you say that we should not educate children that have come into our state for no other reason that they've been brought there by no fault of their own, I don't think you have a heart," he said, defending the bill he signed in 2001 that allows undocumented students who've graduated from a Texas high school and who have lived there for three years to pay in-state tuition at the state's public universities.
Rep. Michele Bachmann is among the chorus of critics, and she's using aspects of Perry's immigration record to fundraise.
"Perry was the first governor in America to give in-state tuition benefits to illegal immigrants and said to America that if you disagree... You don't have a heart," Bachmann wrote in a fundraising email over the weekend, according to the Huffington Post. "For too long, Washington has turned a blind eye to immigration and as President I will put an end to that."
It turns out that Bachmann voted for a similar measure in 2005 while serving in the Minnesota Senate. The language, which was included in a larger higher education funding bill, would have allowed students who had attended a Minnesota high school for three years or more, had graduated and had enrolled in public Minnesota college to pay in-state tuition.
During debate of the bill, Bachmann spoke in support of an amendment that would have required such students to be legal residents as well.
"Is citizenship a privilege, or is it a right?" she asked on May 5, 2005, the day the chamber debated the bill. "It seems like the understanding we've always had in this nation is that citizenship is a privilege for those who are not born in this nation... This [bill] is affirmatively having our state make a new decision about citizenship. And really by doing this, we are answering that citizenship is now a right as opposed to a privilege."
She voted for the amendment, which failed.
But when it came time to vote on final school funding bill, Bachmann was one of 63 senators who voted in favor of the legislation; three lawmakers, including two Republicans, opposed the bill.
Later that day, the Senate replaced the House's bill - which did not include the tuition language - with its version of the legislation; again Bachmann voted in favor of the bill.
Ultimately, the language was stripped in conference committee, so it never became law.
The following year, Bachmann voted against another bill that would have allowed undocumented students to get in-state tuition.
Perry and Bachmann appeal to similar voters, namely those who are evangelical Christians and those who identify with tea party ideals, making the Texas governor Bachmann's most obvious opponent during the primaries.
So, Bachmann's been highlighting other aspects of Perry's record on immigration to set herself apart.
For instance, Perry's opposed to building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. For her part, Bachmann says she "would build a fence... on every yard, on every foot, on every inch of the southern border."
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She’s a flibbertigibbet.
With Bachmann’s polling and contributions going through the floor, its obvious that a lot of her early support is gone because of her exposure and realization that she is not exactly what was presented.
Even though she is not POTUS material, she would do well by replacing Franken in the Senate. There her impulsiveness would not be so critical to our national security.
“Hypocrite Michele Bachman”
Happens all the time in politics. You try to amend a bill - in this case to make it apply to LEGAL persons only, it fails, and then you vote for the much larger bill to keep the government running.
NOTHING SPECIAL HERE.
(but boy are the Perrybots desperate to save their candidate)
It figures. She should just bow out now and go away. She needs to stop calling herself a born again Christian with the way she lies and is power hungry.
That’s not hypocritical. She voted to strip instate tuittion out of the funding bill, but it failed. She voted for the whole bill afte that. The alternative would have been not funding shools at all. Sometimes as a legislator you have to vote for a whole bill that has something in it you don’t like.
That was pretty stupid of her.
i don’t agree with parry AT ALL and his reasoning that if we don’t let them get in state tuition then we will have to keep them on the gov’t paid dole
Since when do ILLEGALS get welfare benefits legally?
Why should real citiznes suffer because illegals snuck in, no matter how many years ago.
HOwever this attitude will drive hispanics away from voting GOP
so we are screwed either way
Bachman is done
She is a hypocrite and went so far as to use this issue for a fund raiser. It’s called what is it so many like to say? Fully vetting the candidates. Turn about is fair play.
OK, who has the gif with the little stick figure running back and forth saying “OHHH Noes”
At one time Bachmann had a bright future. Good conservative voting record in the House.
Then Bachmann went into full meltdown and I see nothing she has said or done in recent weeks to change that opinion of her. Sucking up to Romney didn’t help her either.
‘Undocumented immigrant’
An immigrant wants to come here, be a part of America. They want to celebrate being an American, and leave behind the past in their home countries.
Illegal invaders, however, are here to pillage and steal, knowing that they’ll be able to take their ill-gotten gains and take it back home, most of the time with the US government’s assistance.
They are not ‘undocumented immigrants.’
Secondly, one man's "hypocrisy" is another man's "carefully considered action which weighed all the moral imperatives and costs".
This is why REAL CONSERVATIVES don't give any weight at all to any claim of "hypocrisy".
Frankly I’d have to see the actual language where she supported “undocumented” students getting instate tuition. Instate tuition has been going on for a long time and had nothing to do with illegal immigrants.
Its also important to note that congressmen often get tagged with having supported bills due to voting yes on procedural votes which come well before an actual final vote as well.
The fact that this comes from a Perrytard makes it pretty questionable right off the top so I’ll have to read it all for myself.
It was very sad for me to see how Bachmann has turned out. I always defended her. So to say the least, I was shocked with her attacks against Perry with a sprinkling of truth but mostly with lies.
One thing the Republican field has plenty of is HYPOCRITS.
“She is a hypocrite and went so far as to use this issue for a fund raiser. Its called what is it so many like to say? Fully vetting the candidates. Turn about is fair play.”
Naa, not on this issue. I sense DESPERATION instead.
Did she go around BRAGGING about their Dream Act?
Did she continue to defend her vote?
Did she call people that oppose her vote “heartless”
I am sure that is true...whereas, I expected Bachmann to conduct herself differently than the others.
Michelle Bachmann is an Alynskite and what’s more she’s using democratic lies to support her position. At this time I wouldn’t vote for her for dog catcher. She knows she can’t win it and she’s trolling for a Mitt Romney VP slot, and become his butt buddy thinking she’ll step up into the presidency through him.
I’m getting a flavor of that now with Herman Cain.
The criteria for participating in migrant and seasonal Head Start programs is low family income and agricultural employment, she said. Since the Head Start program was started in 1965, we have never asked families if they are citizens, and its never been a requirement, she said.
Migrant and seasonal Head Start programs operate in 39 states and serve more than 30,000 migrants and 3,000 children of seasonal farm workers, she said.
They serve children from 6 months to school age and also provide a variety of health, nutritional and transportation services.
United Migrant Opportunity Services operates eight migrant and seasonal Head Start programs in Wisconsin that serve 530 children.
Several kids and babies died in the fields because parents were fearful of sending them to Head Start,
http://www.miamiherald.com/2008/08/28/662335/officials-tracking-down-illegal.html
Not all American children of tax paying American Citizens qualify to be in the program and get free baby-sitting and viddles.
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Representative Bachmann voted YES
Of interest, Texas Rep Poe, who is VERY strong on immigration, voted NO. He is also the one who has some legislation that I don't see Bachmann co-sponsoring. She could be making an effort to help us this very minute, more than words on a campaign trail.
I suppose Rep Poe could be heartless and Bachmann was just showing heart for those poor, children, who are "limited English proficient and children of migrant or seasonal farm workers".
I think Bachmann needs to come out with a real plan, not just *I support a fence and I will have the states and ICE's back.* Lets hear a REAL plan! If she is so pure on this subject, as she claims.
Bachamnn refuses and consistently skirts the issue of what what she would do with all the illegals living here, once the border is secure.
And sometimes, as a state governor, you have to do something you don't like.
Excuses for the goose are excuses for the gander.
You didn’t read the entire article did you -
“Ultimately, the language was stripped in conference committee, so it never became law.
The following year, Bachmann voted against another bill that would have allowed undocumented students to get in-state tuition. “
A much larger bill to keep the government running? What was in this MN bill that was so critical?
LOL excuses, excuses, excuses. She’s on record for voting for this. She shouldn’t have gone there in attacking Perry over this to the point of using the issue as a fundraiser.
Did she call anyone who doesn’t agree with her a racist? No
Perrytards are desperate
“A much larger bill to keep the government running? What was in this MN bill that was so critical?”
Give it up, you guys are looking silly on this one. If she had voted against the amendment, you’d have a point (a good point).
The point is she voted for it period. She could have voted no.
Yes the bill failed, but not with her help.
Talk about a misleading headline.
Perry couldn’t win High School Class Prez now.
Point is the headline is misleading, the thread is misleading and Perrybots are desperate
Bachmann isn’t even polling in the top 5 now and you guys are still frothing at the mouth about her.
Of the announced candidates, I have to go with Cain and (as much as it pains me to say so) Newt second.
No matter how you try to disguise them, Romney, Perry and Christie aren't conservatives. Acting like a cowboy and being a “good ol’ boy” doesn't make one a conservative (except in Texas).
“In-state tuition for undocumented students part of Bachmann’s past, too”
Well then it simply MUST be an acceptable conservaitve policy, huh?
Think not.
Grasping at straws aren’t they?
The title is what it is. Take it up with the Minnesota Public Radio as they aren’t exactly “Perrybots”. She went there on the attack over this issue and by God she’s going to get this vote of hers thrown back in her face. I don’t care if she is polling lower than Gary Johnson.
She’s still head and shoulders better than Perry.
Live with it, Perry-bot.
“Grasping at straws arent they?”
TOTALLY. But it does show that Perry is still being stung by his CODDLING of illegals.
You are missing the point, it’s the hypocracy of hers that is being highlighted. She claims to be this uber evangelical born again Christian yet she has no problem of lying in order to gain political power.
I think Perry is going down.
Grasping at such lame straws won’t help him float a second longer.
Flame-out, Perry boy!
The funny thing is, that you can tell the headline-only readers on this thread. They ignore (and probably never read, but if they had, would still ignore), the fact that Bachmann proposed an amendment that would make the tuition ONLY for citizens. Did Perry Veto the Texas Dream act? Did he lobby to have illegals not get benefits?
No, and neither is going to be President of the U.S.A., but the “pick your pony” crowd has a logical breakdown in their rabid attacks of one another. Humorous, but sad.
She polls 4% so why would Perry supporters care about her at all if not to make their boy look better on an issue where he really, REALLY screwed up?
Is Perry the one who brought this up or is it the Minnesota Public Radio who did this. Since it’s MPR it’s not like they are a big fan of hers or Perry for that matter. KWIM? The libs can’t stand her.
If she’s angling for the VP slot then she still needs vetting. She’s also still a sitting US Representative. How she votes is still important.
Sorry but she went there and that’s the way this game is played.
No executive experience was a killer for me with Bachmann from the begining. I always had a great deal of respect for her because of her conservative values. But to lower herself to the level of lying ‘caused me and a whole lot of other people to readjust our whole perception of her. Today, she just another one of those untrustworthy politicians.
I am not amused by this.
If Bachmann continues to disappoint, I may run for Cain - or Paul.
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