Posted on 08/17/2007 6:29:39 AM PDT by az4vlad
What is the Republican National Committee doing attacking the two major GOP contenders for president, Giuliani and Romney (who have no history as conservatives) for being too conservative on illegal immigration? The party leadership is out of touch with not only conservative Republicans, but mainstream Republicans as well.
The Republican National Committee chairman, Mel Martinez, has come out criticizing the GOP's 2 top candidates for president, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney for their positions on resolving illegal immigration . What is wrong with this picture? Giuliani and Romney are considered RINOs to many Republicans, with track records to prove it, so the Republican Party is doing Republicans no favors by attacking them for being too conservative. So far Giuliani and Romney are the only two Republican candidates with any real chance at winning the primary election (and if the RNC is that liberal on illegal immigration then it certainly won't support the more conservative Fred Thompson if he enters the race), so why is the RNC trying to scare off the conservative base even more from supporting these realistic candidates? After the Senate immigration bill fiasco, most Republicans, regardless of their stance on illegal immigration, came to a consensus that the bill had too many problems - no surprise considering it was mostly Democrats who supported it. Most Americans are gradually becoming resigned to the fact that Hillary Clinton is probably going to become our next president, unless something extraordinary takes place, like capturing Osama bin Laden. If Republicans want to keep control of the White House - which in fact is supposed to be the primary responsibility of the RNC - it is not the time to be attacking our leading candidates, who ironically represent the views of the middle-of-the-road RNC leadership better than the rest of candidates.
Giuliani is no illegal immigration hawk. He has tried to distance himself from his record in the past as New York mayor. However, even though he says he would emphasize enforcement issues more as President, he still takes a much more nuanced position than hardcore conservatives. In a recent campaign appearance in Boone, Iowa, he stated that he would not require the deportation of illegal immigrants who have children born in the U.S., unless they've committed crimes. He says he will move on to comprehensive immigration reform eventually - issues like paths to citizenship, guest worker program - after the borders are secured. He describes himself as "very practical about illegal immigration." "Good people would be given a chance," he said. "They'd have to earn it, they'd have to pay penalties and back taxes, they'd have to be able to read, write and speak English before they could become citizens. Bad people, or not such good people, would be thrown out depending on how you decided that."
Romney has criticized Giuliani recently for being soft on illegal immigration, but as recently as November 2005 Romney supported the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill, and in 2006 expressed support for a path to citizenship. Here in Arizona, where illegal immigration has been ranked by residents as the #1 issue facing Arizonans, extremely conservative Senator Jon Kyl suffered a severe backlash for supporting the Senate immigration bill this summer. Even though Kyl is considered one of the most solid conservatives in the U.S. Senate, with a lifetime rating of 96.9 from the American Conservative Union (presidential candidate Duncan Hunter only has a 92 and Tom Tancredo is barely any higher than Kyl at 97.8), the outcry from Arizona Republicans was enough to make him back off and vote against the bill's passage at one point.
So what is going on at Republican Party headquarters? The party leadership is supposed to represent the party, not the interests of a select few. Like it or not, Giuliani and Romney, arguably the two most liberal Republicans in the race for president and the only two official candidates with a realistic chance at winning, have chosen positions on this issue which fall somewhere between the liberal wing of the party and the conservatives. They should not be taken down by the very party which is supposed to represent them. Something is very wrong at Republican headquarters, which needs to be addressed before we lose this election.
Why wouldn’t they attack Rudy? He’s a RINO.
Are you trying to make the claim that Rudy is more conservative than Bush?
The RINOs have only recently supported an enforcement first approach. They were holding secure borders and enforcement hostage to comprehensive immigration reform.
True, the RINOs were supportive of the Immigration Bill until they saw the outrage of the conservatives. The Senate telephone meltdown and the flood of faxes proved a few things.
BTTT! Very good thread.
The RNC called me last Saturday and I told them my position on giving money this election will be to candidates that I support. Like Jeff Beatty in MASS who might just upset John F’g Kerry - I’ll donate directly to good candidates, but refuse to throw money to the party kitty so they can waste it on people like Arlen Spector!
I am no fan of Rudy--but he would be a FAR FAR better President than any of the kooks in the Democrat party.
Dear Chairman Martinez,
SUBJECT: TERMINATION OF RNC MEMBERSHIP
President Bush has not enforced the existing immigration laws nor has he secured our Southern border almost six years after 9/11. Despite the fact that the 854-mile fence was approved and funded by Congress, only 2 miles have been built to date. The President's support of "comprehensive immigration reform" and a "guest worker" program runs counter to the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Republicans, including those in Congress.
Before any further immigration laws are passed, including the legalization of the status of illegal aliens, the true test of the President's commitment to securing our borders will be the construction of the fence and the creation of the administrative infrastructure to track down visa overstays. The construction of a fence should not be held hostage to comprehensive immigration reform. It is a matter of national security.
During his recent testimony before the Senate on immigration reform, Secretary Chertoff referred to illegal aliens as "undocumented workers." Words mean something. When the people charged with enforcing our immigration laws use such terminology, they are adopting the language of those who wish to keep our borders unsecured and wish to reward those who have violated our laws by allowing them to stay and work here.
I will not be making any further contributions to the RNC until the President demonstrates by his actions that he will enforce our laws and secure our borders. With regret, I wish to terminate my RNC membership effective immediately. I will continue to vote Republican and contribute to individual Republican candidates who reflect my views on this issue, which will have an enormous effect upon the future of this country.
Sincerely,
One could almost make the wild assumption that George Bush
is being instructed by a higher power to NOT build the fence.
Guiliani is conservative?
Damn, I must be a Nazi then.
He’s to the left of everything I know conservatism to stand for.
Agree......get rid of Martinez
But they don't. That is the basic problem with this pathetic bunch.
Too many can’t admit that conservatism propelled the party to power. Today, they think that moderates can save the day when too often, moderates will make deals with the devil and have reduced the party back to mediocrity.
What amazes me is how many desire anyone with an “R” by their name, regardless of their record. They bypass strong conservatives that even they say is the best candidate. Instead, they wait for the Hillary Supporting media to tell them who is the popular one they should support.
You are right, conservatives must get behind conservative candidates and retake the party.
Put Martinez on a leaky truck inner tube and kick him back into the ocean.
I didn’t know to which commenter to respond with my own rant. I chose yours because, snort, I liked your play on names.
They really hate it when you tell the truth.
It’s not only the national pubbie party that’s lost touch with the base. I am currently working with our local GOP in Delaware and they have become so ingrained that they spend more time attacking ME than they do the beloved Dems.
I have no more faith in any of them, none at all.
They don’t seem to hear our message....DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS and quite pissing our our feet and telling us its raining when you do.
It takes time for a large group of people to coalesce to action but give it time and someday, when they least expect it, the GOP elites who love the perks of their office so much that they’ve forgot who they represent.
I won't vote for FR. I want someone that can think and does what's right for the country. Not someone that always "tows a line".
Yeah, vote for your guy Mitt. The guy who not once, but twice, bucked the GOP pro-life position when he ran for office in 1994 and 2002.
Yeah, the same logic was applied with Schwarzenegger. That sure has worked out well. /s
Because Open Borders Uber Alles is the prime directive of the elites of both parties.
Now that is the truth!
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