Bull's Eye on Immigration

Brussels Sept 11 Protest

2007-09-11T06:07:00.000-07:00

(Photos are below).

UPDATE 3:

Good Summary of links here.

UPDATE 2:Seems that over 150 people were arrested. Honestly, it didn't seem like that many to me, but I think some of the arrests took place outside the square or perhaps before I got there.

Ah, as I thought there was action going on somewhere else - Shuman Square, where more arrests took place.

The main demo at Place de Luxembourg was largely peaceful. But a support demonstration at Schuman was the one with heavy arrests etc.

I found a very "Soviet" quote from an EU official:

"It is very important to remember that the freedom of assembly and expression can be restricted to protect the rights and freedoms of others, including the freedom of thought, conscience and religion," secretary general Terry Davis said.

So someone wouldn't be able to think because of the protest? It would bother their conscience? What is he talking about?

There is also great comment here from an Italian official on the arrest of one of their MEPs:

It doesn't seem normal to me that on the 11th of September, in a European capital, a demonstration involving European parliamentarians, against fundamentalist Islamic terrorism, can be banned."

No, it does not seem normal, does it.

UPDATE: Seems like some of the "locals" I discuss below were members of the European Parliament! There is a more informative blurb and some video here.

ORIGINAL POST

I knew about the banned anti-Islam protest at Luxembourg Place (Brussels) so I stopped by. I did not join the protest as it was illegal to do so and you were arrested right away for participating. However, I was able to take pictures.

The police presence was incredible. I can't emphasize this enough. I started seeing police presence as soon as I left the hotel and it kept increasing as I got closer to the site of the protest.

The police were at various street corners and in front of the train station. The presence was heaviest in Luxembourg Place itself as well as the surrounding streets. They numbered at least 250 officers, 25 trucks and many motorcycles. I had initially thought of joining the protest, but realized it would be futile.

The police were in greatest force around Luxembourg Place. If anyone started chanting or held up a sign they were arrested IMMEDIATELY and with OVERWHELMING force. At first, the hard core protesters were arrested. These were the people dressed in dark colors, English speaking, and typically had shaved heads. In general they were under 30 years old.

After the initial round of arrests, some older, more conventionally dressed French speaking people (locals?) starting chanting things I could not understand (except for Democracy!). They too were arrested. One couple wore "sandwich board" signs which I was not able to read.

Additionally, there was one person who went directly into the square and held up a cross. The press surrounded him, took pictures and interviewed him. The police did nothing for a half an hour or more. It was a powerful gesture and something that should be duplicated in the future.

I would say one or two dozen people were arrested. There were many bystanders, some of which looked sympathetic to the cause but unwilling to get arrested (like myself). Other bystanders were just observing and others were hostile.

There was a HUGE press presence - at least 100 media people including reporters and photographers. If getting press coverage was the goal of this event then it was a success.

The media was desperately looking for a story and crowding around every arrest. They were also doing many interviews with the crowd.

My impression was that the press was generally looking to find a "neo-Nazi" story line, but they were also a willing to hear why people were concerned about Islam.

The organizers could have been more sophisticated, or at least better prepared to make their message heard. Yes, they got the press to come to the event, but they did not use the opportunity as effectively as possible.

In my opinion, the protesters needed to have signs with short, clear messages that could by photographed quickly by the press and put out for all to see. Whatever the bias of the press, they are desperate for a story - any story - and they would have taken photos of signs or any other images that would create interest.

The protesters should have a) shown sign, b) had picture taken and c) get arrested. Of course, that is easier said than done.

Here are the photos (click on photo to enlarge):

Riot truck with fire hoses prepped for action.

Early view of the Plaza.

Arrest of a protester who tried to escape.

These are the "locals" arrested and put up against the wall.

Just a portion of the police force at Luxembourg Place.

And here is a portion of the riot vehicles present.

Protester with cross who was not arrested right away (click to enlarge).

Arrest of female protester.

Protester with flag.

Police were armed.

Military Zone.

The press was crazy.

Young kids before arrest.

Finally, something more pleasant.

Grahm Challenger

2007-08-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Bauer possibly a challenger for Inglis, Graham?
By Jason Spencer
Published: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 | Updated: 6:30 am
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South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer arrived in Spartanburg last week for a Republican rally saying, "I'm not running for anything."

He wasn't so sure when he left.

Bauer said Tuesday that the sheer number of people who came up to him when he was here and asked him to run for Congress has caused him to consider challenging either U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham or U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis. Both are Republicans.

"I'm still happy doing what I'm doing," Bauer said. "For a while now, I've had people approach me, and I've kind of brushed it off. But any time you have that many activists in the party approach you, you would have to at least think about it."

The crowd - which had a large contingent of people set on publicly reprimanding Graham for several actions, particularly his support of immigration reform in Congress - was split as to who Bauer should run against. Many hugged him or shook his hand, greeting him by first name.

The Dirty Dozen

2007-08-26T00:15:00.001-07:00

The Dirty Dozen Republican Senators (RINOs)

Twelve out of forty-six Republican senators sold out the American worker and voted for amnesty. While the number of illegal aliens within our borders is not precisely known, most estimates range from 12 to 20 million.

Unfortunately these are only ‘guesstimates’ no one actually knows how many there are. Some claim it could be 30 million or higher. If each amnestied illegal only brings in three dependents, our population could increase anywhere from 48 to 120 million and start our transition toward a Third World (our current population is something over 300 million.

Knowing the number of illegals receiving amnesty was unknown and with full knowledge of the trillion dollar cost and the devastating environmental impact these senators voted for amnesty---they need to be run out of town on a rail. The only thing Republican about these RINOs are their socks. Keep this list of the dirty dozen handy so they can get the shaft from voters at their next election. The dirty dozen Republican senators and their re- election dates are:

Re-election 2008

1. Larry Craig, Idaho

2. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina

3. Chuck Hagel, Nebraska

Re-election 2010

4. Robert Bennett, Utah

5. Judd Gregg, New Hampshire

6. Mel Martinez, Florida

7. John McCain, Arizona

8. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania

Re-election 2012

9. Jon Kyl, Arizona

10. Trent Lott, Mississippi

11. Richard Lugar, Indiana

12. Olympia Snowe, Maine

Please circulate across the USA.

Hegel Draws a Challenger

2007-06-19T12:08:00.001-07:00

Even though he is pro war, I like Bruning over the Amnesty loving Hegel.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning formally announced today his candidacy for the United States Senate. The seat is held by incumbent Sen. Chuck Hagel, with the primary election scheduled for May 13, 2008.
“I am a candidate without reservation,” Bruning said. “I’m running hard and I’m running to win.”

Bruning was joined at the news conference by family, friends, and supporters. He was introduced to the crowd by Nebraska State Treasurer Shane Osborn. “I am proud to stand here today with my friend, colleague, and fellow Republican, Osborn said. “Nebraskans know Jon Bruning as a man of his word, a man of action, and a man of accomplishment.”

Bruning expressed disappointment in Hagel’s lack of leadership on the issues facing the country, from Hagel’s vote for an early withdraw from Iraq to Hagel’s support for the current immigration bill offering amnesty to 12 million illegal immigrants.

Link

Immigrant Police more Corrupt

2006-06-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

I guess this is why we are more unhappy.

A secret high-level Metropolitan police report has concluded that Muslim officers are more likely to become corrupt than white officers because of their cultural and family backgrounds.

The document, which has been seen by the Guardian, has caused outrage among ethnic minorities within the force, who have labelled it racist and proof that there is a gulf in understanding between the police force and the wider Muslim community. The document was written as an attempt to investigate why complaints of misconduct and corruption against Asian officers are 10 times higher than against their white colleagues.

Guardian

Diversity makes us unhappy

2006-05-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

Don't we have a right to be happy?

Research by the Home Office suggests that the more ethnically diverse an area is, the less people are likely to trust each other.

The Commission for Racial Equality has also done work looking at the effect of diversity on well-being.

Interviewed on The Happiness Formula, the chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Phillips accepts that people are happier if they are with people like themselves.

Link

GOP Senators Who Votes for Amnesty

2006-05-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

Four GOP Senators up for relection voted for amnesty:

Chafee - RI
DeWine - OH
Lugar - IN
Snowe - ME

Chafee is the archtypical RINO, and Snowe is a liberal Republican. Lugar is a household name and be Senator for life.

DeWine is the interesting vote. I don't think the people of Ohio favor open borders and I belive he is a constested race. For example, Santorum and Talent voted agains amnesty and the politics of immigration are that not very differnt in Missouri and Pennsylvania than they are in Ohio.

It will be interesting to see if this vote matters in any of these three races.

Link

More Graphs and studies

2006-04-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

Cato (Pro immigration, but some interesting graphs.)

US Immigration Graphs

2006-04-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Cair

Mizzou

George Borjas

Paul Streitz

2006-03-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

This guy looks like someone I can support.

Mar 23, 2006
Paul Streitz seeks U.S. Senate seat
By Jaclyn Trop

Paul Streitz
Paul Streitz thinks it’s time for the country to pull out of Iraq and turn its attention to the “demographic war” Mexico is waging on the U.S. border.

Streitz, a 10-year Darien resident, announced Tuesday his decision to run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on an anti-immigration and pro-working class platform. He told The Darien Times yesterday that he thinks his chances for defeating incumbent Democrat Joseph Lieberman are “very good.”

Lieberman has divided the Democratic party by supporting immigration, the war in Iraq, and job outsourcing, Streitz said.

“It is time to get the troops out of Iraq and put them on the Mexican border. Thousands of Mexicans and other illegal aliens from other countries come into this country every day. This is an invasion, not immigration,” Streitz said in a press release.

“The Mexicans are serious about their Reconquista claims to Aztlan. The Senate is headed toward surrendering the states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas,” the press release continued.

A marketing researcher for the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York, Streitz was unsuccessful in his bid for the Republican nomination in 2004.

Streitz co-founded Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Control, a grassroots organization to talk about immigration, last spring. He said the group has a mailing list of about 180 people, most of whom come from Danbury.

Link

test 3

2006-02-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

Democrat for the Minutemen

2006-02-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

Congressman Henry Cuellar -- a Democrat from Laredo, Texas -- wants to give $100 million dollars to the Minutemen, the racist, gun-toting vigilante group.

Last October, Representative Cuellar sponsored a bill called the "Border Law Enforcement Act of 2005" that would essentially deputize members of the Minutemen militia by giving them new titles, badges and guns.

Interesting.

Final Tally for Gilchrist

2006-01-27T20:17:00.000-08:00

Jim Gilchrist raised an impressive $746,000 for the CA distriuct 48 house seat campaign. Very impressive. The GOP pulled out the stops with his opponent helping raise 1.5 million for a lowly house seat!

There were over 300 contributions of more than $200. An amazing effort overall, although it is too bad it was for a loss.

1.5 million/30,000 votes -> $50/vote! Insanity.

CA-48

I note that Sonny Sardo and his family contributed more than $4,000. He deserves more backing than he has been getting.

Taking Stock

2006-01-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

Let's look at three big races as we enter the primary season.

Randy Graf is looking good as his opponent Jim Koble has elected not to run. He has also rasied about $68,000 as of Dec 31. This is impressive as he raised about 100,000 during the last campaign and he has not receive much PAC money at this point.

Randy Graf

Less exciting is the David Dreier race. Sonny Sardo has only raised $14,000, compared with David Dreiers cash hoard of over 2 million.

Still, the John and Ken radio show factor is always in play with this race, so you never know.

CA-26

Chris Cannon is not sitting on a lot of cash, but we don't know what type of resource his oppenent Jacob is going to bring to bare as he is self funded.

UT-03

For now the good news is limited to Randy Graf.

Test Picture

2005-11-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

This is a test upload.

Test Ad

2005-11-10T12:04:00.000-08:00

Ad is running.

Stop the open borders lobby!

Help this man (Randy Graf) defeat Jim Kolbe in the 2006 Republican primary and send a message that you will not tolerate open border policies. Please help Randy today!

Link: http://www.votegraf.com/randygraf/support/creditcard.php

Gilchrist Funding

2005-10-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

In a John and Ken interview with John Campbell

More on D-48 Run Off Results

2005-10-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

From Jim Gilchrist's web site.

A total of 89,991 votes were cast in the primary, representing 22% of registered voters in the district.

In assessing Tuesday's results, the most astonishing political result is that Gilchrist garnered nearly 27% of the precinct votes actually cast on Election Day (as opposed to votes cast early by absentee ballot)--demonstrating a 21-point surge following the two weeks of Early/Absentee Voting, compared to a 15-point drop for Campbell on election day.

Early/Absentee vote:

Campbell 52%
Brewer 15%
Young 10%
Gilchrist 6%

Election Day vote:

Campbell 37%
Gilchrist 27%
Brewer 19%
Young 7%

It's worth noting that over 60% of all ballots cast were submitted as "absentee" ballots (which under California law are essentially equivalent to voting by mail). Many, if not most, of these ballots were submitted weeks earlier—before the Gilchrist campaign made its final push prior to Tuesday's election.

The Gilchrist campaign now has two full months to continue to put Jim Gilchrist in front of the electorate before the general election—and clearly, as people come to know Jim, they love him and what he stands for.

D-48 Election Results

2005-10-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

Campbell (R) 46.0%
Brewer (R) 16.2%
Gilchrist (I) 14.5%
Democrat ~12.0%

Mr. Gilchrist performed well enough to send the message. He should be congratulated.

With more time before the run-off (Dec 6) he may perform even better.

That said, Campbell is taking reasonable positions with regard to immigration, so this race is no longer "critical" other than keeping the issue in the news.

The focus must remain on replacing open-borders Repubicans like Jim Koble with pro-border Republicans like Randy Graf.

Election Day Message from Jim Gilchrist

2005-10-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

October 4, 2005

Dear Voter,

Ever since you helped convince me to run for Congress, all of our work has been geared up for this day. Election Day.

We have all joined together in this effort. I am very grateful for your hard work of walking precincts with me throughout Orange County, and attending the candidate forums and meetings. I thank you for the personal phone calls you've made to so many of your neighbors. We could never have gotten to this day without the generous financial support you have given my campaign, enabling me to reach out to still more voters through our events, mail, television, and radio.

But now, today -- Tuesday, October 4 -- between 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, I need you to go to the polls and cast your vote.

Read the rest here.

Introduction

2005-10-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

This blog is directed to covering the "nuts and bolts" politics of immigration. I am interested in both reducing illegal and legal immigration, but with a greater emphasis on illegal immigration.

With the next Presidential election more than three years away the current focus will be on mid term congressional races. The goal is to have a minimum number of posts to make the blog easy to scan through.

One or two posts a week should be the norm.

Please feel free to place any questions, articles or suggestions in the comments section.

Jim Gilchrist debates John Campbell on John and Ken

2005-10-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

Jim Gilchrist, head of the Minutemen, debated the "mainstream" Republican candidate John Campbell as part of the special election being held in Orange County California.

Jim Gilchrist has run a surprisingly effective campaign for a novice. He has run limited radio and TV ads of reasonably high quality. He was also very well spoken in the debate with Jim Campbell.

This is an "open" election with approximately sixteen candidates. I think Gilchrist will be in the top four, but we shall see. If no candidate wins more than 50% then there will be a run off.

While I hope Jim Gilchrist wins, the debate demonstrated that his effort has been a success regardless of the outcome. During much of the debate John Campbell was basically trying to out "nativist" Jim Gilchrist. It was a pleasant change.

John Campbell agreed with almost every immigration control stance including: no in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, no driver licenses for illegals, tougher enforcement against corporate hiring of illegals and revocation of the US birth citizenship right.

Campbell further promised to hit the ground running if he won tomorrow and that he would make some key anti-immigration votes as soon as this Thursday if elected by more than 50% on Tuesday.

The Congressman being replaced is "moderate" Republican Chris Cox, who now works at the SEC(?). Therefore, the election of either Campbell or Gilchrist will move the House ever more slightly in the right direction.

That said, I would rather have Jim Gilchrist win the election. I have no problem putting a "bomb thrower" such as Gilchrist into a House seat. However, based on John Campbell's repeated immigration restrictionist statements at the debate the bottom line is that, win or lose, Jim Gilchrist has scored another political success.

JOHN & KEN BROADCAST LIVE IN THE OC

Join John & Ken, TODAY, Oct 3 from 3-7pm at the Ayres Hotel in Laguna Woods. Tomorrow is the Special Primary Election for the 48th district of California – the election to replace Chris Cox in congress. We’ll have two of the top candidates, State Senator John Campbell and Co-Founder of the Minuteman Project, Jim Gilchrist. They’ll debate and take your questions. Also we will have the California Border Police petitions for you to sign and Assemblyman Ray Haynes, the author of the initiative, to answer your questions.

CA District 26 2004 Primary Rseults

2005-09-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

David Dreier won the primary without much trouble. This was before the immigration issue became so important, but 83.7% is a strong margin.

* David Dreier 52,929 83.7%
S. Sonny Sardo 10,316 16.3

CA District 26 Results

Jim Kolbe 36,565 57.1%
Rangy Graf 26,897 42.3

AZ District 8 Results

Curt Bramble to Run Against Chris Cannon

2005-09-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

From an e-mail I received.

[State. Sen. Curt Bramble. may run for Chris Cannon's seat]. He is much better on the immigration issues. He has a voting record. He has served as Cannon's Campaign Tresure so who knows. We are in contact. This will play out in the next few months. We have had half a dozen people wanting to run against Cannon so far. Most have no chance. Bramble is the best bet so far, if he runs. Lots of interest since Tom Tancredo came here last month.

Tancredo for President Web Site (Unofficial)

2005-09-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

The unofficial Tom Tamcredo for President website can be found here.

Welcome to the Unofficial Tom Tancredo for President web site! America today is in a state of crisis. Our borders are in chaos, our cities are decaying, and our way of life is under attack. Congressman Tancredo has been one of the few men to stand up to the Washington establishment and fight for an agenda that will once again put America first.

It is an excellent place to keep up on how Tom is pushing the immigration issue and perhaps how you can get involed as well.

Joseph Farah Calls For Bush Impeachment

2005-09-02T06:55:00.000-07:00

Joseph Farah, the owner of the popular World Net Daily (WND) website seconds Pat Buchanan's call for a Bill of Impeachment for George W. Bush for his failure to enforce the immigration laws of the United States.

Pat Buchanan, former communications director to President Ronald Reagan, former presidential candidate and WND commentator, has come to the conclusion that a courageous Republican legislator should move a bill for impeachment of President Bush.

I reluctantly agree – and for the same reasons.

President Bush has had nearly five years in office to honor his oath of office and enforce immigration laws in this country.

He has not only failed, he has intentionally neglected this sworn duty, instead claiming he prefers to promote a vague immigration "reform" plan that involved a "guest worker" program that has served as an encouragement to the most massive influx of illegal immigration this country has ever seen.

Mr. Farah is an important voice in conservative circles and his position on this issue demonstrates how important the immigration issue is to rank-and-file Republicans.

Link

John March to Run Against Dreier

2005-08-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Powderbluereport says that John March has decided to run against David Dreier in the Republican primary. John March is the father of the slain police officer who killer now lives in Mexico. The Mexican government refuses to extradite the killer unless the US agrees not to pursue the death penalty.

David Dreier has done absolutely nothing to assist in the March situation, and has in fact offered bills to make it worse.

March will have a compelling story with which to run against Dreier and would make a stronger candidate than Sonny Sardo.

Powderbluereport

John D. Jacob Challenges Chris Cannon in Utah

2005-08-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

Looks like we (finally) have a serious challenger to Chris Cannon.

WASHINGTON - Millionaire real estate developer John D. Jacob, a Republican, is forming a committee to explore the prospect of running against Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, and could announce his candidacy at the end of next month, Jacob's spokesman said Thursday.

Jacob will not run on the immigration issue, but he is clearly more moderate than Cannon, who is essentially open borders.

Jacob won't run on the immigration issue, as Throckmorton did, Demke said. But he believes Cannon should have been willing to debate Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Republican anti-illegal immigration crusader, when Tancredo was in Cannon's district this week.

While is sounds like Jacob is a moderate (which is still better than Cannon), I doubt he would be running against Cannon if he did not have some feelings about the immigration issue.

Let wish him the best of luck.

Link

Jim Gilchrist to run for 48th Congression District

2005-08-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Jim Gilchrist looks like he is going to run for the 48th Congressional District in a special election.

The 48th Congressional District of California will soon be vacant due to President Bush's appointment of Rep. Chris Cox as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Once Cox officially resigns from his House seat, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is required to set a date for a special election within 14 days. That election must be held between 112 and 119 days later.

There are pros and cons to this move. The short election cycle will reduce the power of money, which is good for Gilchrist. However, it will be hard to get name recognition up in such a short period of time.

Send him a check if you can. He will need it.

Link to Story

Gilchrist for Congress

Romney is Ready, says Novak, Powerlineblog

2005-06-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

Bob Novak says on realclearpolitics:

Romney's preparation for 2008 is more advanced than any of his potential Republican rivals. While he recently spoke in his neighboring state of New Hampshire, Romney's Commonwealth fund has raised and distributed $225,000, concentrated in three early primary states: Iowa, South Carolina and Michigan.

This early campaign is being put together by famed political consultant Mike Murphy, who is California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's closest political adviser and who worked for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in 2000.

I like Mike Murphy, although I don't like John McCain.

Also, we hear encouraging words from powerlineblog:

If I am right about this, the nominee will not be either a member of the Bush administration or family, nor will it likely be a Republican Senator closely associated with the administration. But since the party will still be conservative, the nominee is unlikely to be a liberal or moderate Republican Senator, particularly one who has played ball with the Senate Democrats.

This means that the most likely nominee is a Republican governor or Rudy Giuliani. Within this group, the prize most likely will go to the candidate who appeals to conservatives without scaring moderates. Like the George Bush of 2000. Romney may fit that description.

So far, Mitt seems better than most on immigration, but we need to keep watching.

Chris Cannon under FEC Investigation

2005-06-16T10:02:00.000-07:00

The FEC is investigating Chris Cannon's 2004 re-election campaign.

Hunter said the notice from the FEC, received last month, ``indicated they're going to look at everything, which is fine. It's all there to look at.'' He said Cannon's treasurer, state Sen. Curtis Bramble, has sent records to the agency.

Larry Noble, a former general counsel with the FEC who now runs the Center for Responsive Politics, said the commission doesn't have the resources to do many audits, so they are ``only done when there are enough problems to really warrant the FEC to look at them.

[...]

Hunter said Cannon's opponents, particularly those who oppose his immigration stand, have made complaints to the FEC and stirred up trouble, ``so it certainly doesn't surprise me'' that there would be an audit.

Link

Tencredo Talks Up 2008 Presidential Bid

2005-06-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

Tom Tencredo is keeping the heat on the immigration issue by thretenting a 2008 campaign run. Tom has established a national base and I have no doubt that he would fair well in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Even if he did not do as well in the rest of the northeast (although I think he could hold his own), doing well in these first two states would allow him to hang on until the south where he would also fair well.

In other words, he is a legitamate threat if the other candidates ignore the immigraiton issue.

The Colorado Republican announced his potential candidacy yesterday after speaking for roughly 50 minutes to the Nashua Republican City Committee at Langdon Place, an assisted living facility in Nashua.

"I don't consider myself a candidate today," Tancredo said when asked if he is considering a Presidential run, adding, "If no one will take this banner up (illegal immigration) and I say this with great trepidation yeah, I will."

"I don't know what else to do," he added.

"I say, Run," yelled Claire McHugh of Nashua from a couch in the back of the room.

Tancredo's primary goal, however, is to push (illegal immigration) to the forefront of the Presidential debate and persuade another Presidential hopefuls with more stature and resources than he to take this banner up, not just with words, but their heart.

Link

Sonny Sardo to Challenge David Dreier in CA 26th

2005-06-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

Sonny Sardo announced that is going to challenge David Dreier for the Republican nomination to run in the 26th District of CA. He challenged Dreier in the previous election, however, Dreier had not been exposed as the fake on immigration control that he is at the time.

His only chance is if John and Ken (talk show hosts) get on the bandwagon, as Dreier has a war chest of 2.8 million, which is massive for a House member.

Mitt Romney Promises Veto of Immigrant-Tuition Bill

2005-06-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

Mitt Romney is planning to run for President in 2008. As such, he needs to take stances that he thinks will be popular nationwide, rather than just in Massachusetts.

Well, he is sending the message that in-state tuition for illegal aliens is not popular nationwide. Maybe people are starting to "get it."

Legislation granting undocumented immigrants the discounted in-state tuition rate at state colleges and universities is failing to make the grade in the House.

Several House lawmakers said this week there aren't enough favorable votes in the House to withstand a promised veto of the bill by Gov. Mitt Romney, and some suggested support may even fall short of the 81-vote majority needed to pass it.

If they can't pass something like this in Massachusetts that says a lot about how unpopular giving in-state tuition to illegal aliens is.

Link

Republican Primary Challenger in Idaho, District 1

2005-06-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

Looks like Robert Vasquez will be challegning for the District 1 seat in Idaho. The current holder of the seat is Butch Otter who immigration report card is here.

Otter has a reasonable average grade of B-, which doesn't seem so bad, however, the F grades for amnesty and visa proposals indicates he needs to go.

Here is some background of Mr. Vasquez.

Mr. Vasquez, 55, a Republican county commissioner and Mexican-American in a region where Latinos are ascendant, has been on a crusade against illegal immigration, what he calls "an imminent invasion" from south of the border.

Mr. Vasquez has tried to have Canyon County declared a disaster area because of the strain from illegal immigrants. He has also sent a bill to the Mexican government for more than $2 million; that is the cost, he said, of Mexicans who are in the county illegally.

Mr. Vasquez says the newcomers overwhelm public services, bring gang violence and drugs, spread diseases like tuberculosis and insist on rights that should not be granted to noncitizens.

His latest salvo, a plan to sue employers who hire illegal immigrants, has angered the solidly Republican business community and many of the senior political leaders in this heavily Republican state. The plan would make Canyon County the only local government in the country to use federal racketeering statutes against people who employ illegal immigrants, said Howard Foster, a Chicago lawyer advising the county.

CIRC Speaks

2005-05-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus (CIRC) is making some buzz about putting guards on the boarder.

link.

2005-05-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Immigration to be an issue in AZ govenors race.

Link.

Kolbe - The Nail that Sticks Out

2005-05-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

There is a saying that the nail that sticks out will get hammered down, or something like that.

Jim Kolbe is certainly not afraid of being the nail that sticks out. He is standing shoulder to shoulder with McCain and Kennedy on the Ammnesty bill. He apparently doesn't think his constituents are very concerned about mass illegal immigration.

With only 5000 votes of margin, that is a pretty arrogant stance.

See this.

Article on Hold Your Feet to the Fire

2005-05-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

Great job Mike Sizer.

Link.

Utah for Immigration Reform

2005-05-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

This group could be very helpful in the campaign to unseat Chris Cannon.

Lets keep our eyes on them.

Real ID smear campaign

2005-05-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

The misinformation being spread on the Real ID Act the last minute is stunning.

For example, see the ACLU statement,

The rise in identity theft has put many people’s personal information at risk. Now, legislation passed by Congress will create a ripe target for identity thieves by allowing the government to compile your most personal information -- such as your name, address, photo, birth certificate, social security number and perhaps even your DNA -- into a national database. Thousands of government employees will have access to this giant network, dramatically increasing the risk of your personal information being stolen.

Faced with the outcry from concerned activists like you, supporters of this legislation -- the REAL ID Act -- were only able to pass it by attaching it to an unrelated emergency appropriations bill. This bill will soon be signed into law by President Bush. We need to reach out to our Members of Congress today to express our profound disappointment that they did not remove the REAL ID bill from the unrelated appropriations bill.

This is a complete red herring.

State employee's already have this informtion as part of the normal licensing process. The Real ID act just ensures that this information is accurate. That in no ways increases your exposure to identity theft.

And if the law succeeds in keeping criminals out of the US then many cases of identity theft may be prevented.

Immigration Key Issue in 2006

2005-05-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

This article is just more evidence that 2006 is going to be the year of immigration in politics.

Key Quote:

"It is clear that immigration issues, once considered in this country more a regional 'problem' than a national concern, are about to take center stage in American politics," said Rick Kidder, public policy director for the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce and former advisor to ex-governor Fife Symington.

Timely support to key candidates will make a huge difference.

States may Fight Real ID

2005-05-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

Looks like every step in the immigration battle will be contested.

House Republicans against Real ID

2005-05-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Republican Reps. Howard Coble of North Carolina, John Duncan of Tennessee, and Ron Paul of Texas voted against the Real ID Act.

I know that Ron Paul voted against it for non immigration reasons - he is a strong libertarian. I am not sure about the motives of the other two.

Amnesty Ho!

2005-05-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

Horrible amnesty plan from Kennedy and McCain will be announed soon.

Senators to Remember on Real ID

2005-05-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

The Real ID Act was a tremendous win for advocates of sane immigration controls.

However, it is worth reviewing some provision introduced into this bill by certain members of the Senate.

The first modification comes as no surprise:

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., added a measure to waive for two years the 66,000-a-year cap on H-2B visas for low-skill seasonal workers.

Can't do much about that.

Next, from one of the leading Republican presidential candidates for 2008, comes:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., inserted a line to give 10,500 visas to Australian guest workers in high-skill jobs.

This is an odd provision. Who was pushing for that reform? Why just Australians?

Next, Kay Baily open the doors to more legal immigration by adding this provision to the bill.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, added a provision to provide permanent residence for 50,000 foreign nurses and physical therapists. Drafting errors have left that provision in doubt.

Could be worse. I also note that Kay Baily has voted well on illegal immigration issues in the past.

And finally, from one of the worst Senators on all aspects of the immigration issue:

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., added a measure to allow unlimited immigration from China. Current law limits asylum claims from China's one-child policy to 1,000.

Sure, we can absorb half the population of China. Makes sense to me.

We will just have to grit our teeth on that one as Brownback was just (re)elected in 2004, so he is virtually immune to grass roots pressure for the next four years.

Randy Graf Announces His Candidacy for District-8 in 2006

2005-05-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

An article on the announcement of Graf's 2004 candidacy can be found here.

Graf looks good on issues of immigration. Here are some excerpts:

He praised the Minuteman Project volunteers, who came to Cochise County this month, positioned themselves along the border and reported potential illegal activities to authorities as a way to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.

Also,

Strain [Kolbe campaign manager during 2004] said there has been increased interest about what is happening along the U.S.-Mexico border, especially since the Minuteman Project volunteers have come to the county this month.

Agreeing with Graf that more money is needed than he had in 2004, [Strain] said, "Randy needs to get out there and raise more."

Graf's 2006 campaign website is located at www.votegraf.com.

Chris Cannon attacks Tancredo

2005-05-05T12:57:00.000-07:00

We will talk more about Chis Cannon (R-Utah) later, however, this type of personal attack on Tom Tancredo illustrates the fervor with which he pursues his open-boarders policies.

See this.

Quotes from Cannon:

"I think he [Tancredo] ought to consider his views and decide whether they're consistent with the Republican Party,"

And:

"I don't think there's a place in the Republican Party for racism, for xenophobia, for ideas that are fundamentally un-American[.]"

So, enforcing boarders is not Republican? Worse yet, enforcing the boarders is xenophobic and un-American?!?

I don't think we need that type of hateful rhetoric.

Randall "Randy" Graf - 5000 Votes Needed

2005-05-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

Randall "Randy" Graf is running against Jim Kolbe in the Republican Primary for District 8 in Arizona. District 8 covers the Tuscon area.

The result of the 2004 primary between Koble and Graf was very close. The incumbant Koble won 57.5% to 42.5%, but more interestingly the total difference in votes was less than 10,000 votes (36,039 to 26,686)!

Can we change a total of 5000 votes from Koble to Graf in the next primary? Certainly possible!

Randy Graf raised about $100K during the 2004 election, almost all from individual contributors.

Thanks to the Minutemen (and others) the immigration issue will be front and center for the 2006 elections. That, combined with an additional $25,000 to $50,000 in contributions, could tip the balance to Randy Graf in '06.

Bullseye Target #1 - Jim Kolbe

2005-05-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

Jim Kolbe is the Republican House member from district 8 in Arizona. His report card on immigration is a career C- with a more recent score of D.

It is unclear where his strong support for immigration (both legal and illegal) comes from as his top industries and top contributors do not have large agriculture or cheap labor interests.

However, his record is poor and his district does not support this stance, so he is a reasonable target.