Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo (CD-6) has made a name for himself as a one-issue congressman, using any opportunity he can to speak out against illegal immigration. In the process, Tancredo has managed to alienate a number of Republicans, including Karl Rove and President Bush. That doesn't seem to bother "Tom Tom" Tancredo; in fact, he even brags about the time Rove told him to "never darken the door of the White House again."
But locally, Tancredo may finally be pushing one two many buttons. As The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports, Republican State Party Chair Bob Martinez ripped into Tancredo for continuing to criticize Bush's immigration policy...
State Republican Party Chairman Bob Martinez on Wednesday called on Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo and other lawmakers to "back off" of their criticism of President Bush's immigration policy. The comments came during a question-and-answer session that followed Martinez's remarks to the Larimer County Republican Luncheon Club. Martinez was asked why Bush hasn't helped Republican Rep. Tancredo in his quest for tighter borders and a tougher stance against illegal immigration.
Martinez, recently named chairman of the state party, said it's his job to support the president and called on congressmen to halt their "demagoguery" on the immigration issue. When approached following the meeting, Martinez said lawmakers - including Tancredo - are using terrorism fears to inflame the immigration debate. "Ninety-nine percent of the Mexicans that cross that border are not coming across the border with the intent to kill anyone," Martinez said. "I'm defending the president's position. That's all I'm doing."
Now, obviously Tancredo doesn't care if the White House likes him, and he probably isn't concerned when Democrats like Congresswoman Diana DeGette attack him for grandstanding. But at some point, Tancredo is going to have to stop making enemies among Republicans in Colorado. The more he pushes, and the more he forces people like Martinez to push back, the more danger he runs into of facing a Republican primary.
Tancredo probably isn't going to lose in a CD-6 general election any time soon, but he could very well fall in a primary if he ticks off enough Colorado Republicans. Tom Tom is running for President because he enjoys the support of extremist anti-immigration groups, but if he loses his congressional seat, then he's just some guy yelling about immigration. The only reason anybody pays attention to him at all is because he's in Congress, and if he makes too many more enemies than friends, he's not going to be in Congress much longer.
Even though immigration is a hot issue right now, Tancredo is also moving further and further away from reality in terms of his policies. From The Coloradoan:
As recently as last week, Tancredo called on the president to deploy military technology and manpower to secure the border. Specifically, Tancredo requested that illegal immigrants be registered into the National Crime Information Database. Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be required to respond to state and local requests for assistance with immigration enforcement.
Lastly, Tancredo asked the president to direct the Justice Department to take action against local governments with sanctuary policies that shield illegal immigrants.
Tancredo was once moderately credible as a voice for stronger illegal immigration rules, and he deserves some credit for keeping the issue in the national debate. But as he gets more attention, he gets a little braver in his statements -- and less credible along the way. Registering all illegal immigrants into a national database, and then requiring Immigration and Customs agents to respond to any request for assistance, is absurd. Forget whether or not you might agree with him -- there's no way you could implement that idea. The federal government would have to increase its immigration enforcement staff 100-fold, if not more. And now he's becoming a stronger advocate of punishing local governments for not doing more to combat a problem that they can't pay for. The list of people standing behind him is getting shorter the more he speaks.
Tancredo is an interesting guy, and he's had a nice run in Congress. But more and more, you get the feeling that we're watching him drive away towards that long political cliff.
Maybe President Bush should be more concerned with securing our border.
If the republicans do not address this issue in a complete manner, a third party candidate will, and take many people with him who would otherwise vote republican.
Just something to think about...
Posted by: big issue | June 23, 2005 at 10:39 PM
The Coloradoan is a Liberal newspaper, so why should this be considered news?
Posted by: nothing | June 23, 2005 at 10:52 PM
Ah, yes. The liberal media conspiracy defense: always available, never effective. I'm sure they just made the whole thing up. I'm sure everyone else will believe that too.
Posted by: Ter Ducken | June 23, 2005 at 10:59 PM
Even if it is a liberal paper, I doubt that their reporters would make up quotes from the GOP chairman.
Posted by: big issue | June 23, 2005 at 11:03 PM
Tom Tancredo is a racist. Denigrate this statement, defend Tancredo, deny it all you can. It is the truth.
Posted by: Joshua | June 24, 2005 at 07:30 AM
This post misses the point completely. This isn't about Tancredo. It is about Bob Beauprez, the "other lawmaker" who is demagoguing the issue of immigration. The "Tancredo and other lawmakers" formulation is a way of sending a message to Beauprez without giving a quote that could come back to haunt Martinez if Beauprez ends up as the nominee for governor and runs the Pete Wilson strategy.
Posted by: Colorado Luis | June 24, 2005 at 08:49 AM
It's interesting the only local comment supportive of Tancredo came from Perry Lorenz. Perry ran for Poudre School District board a couple years ago, on a Bell Curve platform with crypto-white nationalist campaign literature. Supported by the county GOP too. Very embarrassing. His opponent got almost 80%.
Posted by: Stygius | June 24, 2005 at 08:52 AM
Tancredo is no racist. Thus, who don't want to hear the truth that illegal aliens are lawbreakers preemptively cry "racism". It is the hallmark of the Left. Having said that, I agree with Big Issue that the Bush Administration has been horribly AWOL on border security.
Colorado Luis, as usual, is dead wrong.
Posted by: ColoradoConservative | June 24, 2005 at 08:52 AM
The Coloradoan has been repeatedly caught publishing form letters and fraud. The Coloradoan has no credibility.
Posted by: silent one | June 24, 2005 at 08:59 AM
Anyone who attempts to address the issue of illegal immigration is instantly a racist. So why don't we open our borders completely and have a free for all. Then when an immigrant commits a crime they can just run across the border and not face the ramifications (oh wait that is already happening). The flaming liberals are on a witch hunt to find anything that they can construe as racist, give it up.
Posted by: witchhunt | June 24, 2005 at 09:02 AM
Another interesing point - Martinez is from Douglas County, the heart of the 6th. I'm thinkin there's some movement happening that few might know about.
Posted by: DougCo | June 24, 2005 at 09:17 AM
Actually, I think it is Republicans who use the "Crying Racism!" card to avoid having to discuss alternative views about immigration. I don't believe that all people who want to close the border are "racists" (although some are and it is naive to deny that).
The alternative that the Cheap Labor Conservatives and the Close the Border crowd don't want to discuss is legalizing all people who are productive members of our society and focusing directly on enforcing wage and workplace protections instead of claiming that very expensive border controls indirectly accomplish the same thing (which obviously isn't true). It is not in America's best interest to have a permanent underclass of people who are denied citizenship under our current, obviously failed immigration policy.
Posted by: Colorado Luis | June 24, 2005 at 09:30 AM
Hey, do you think when Tancredo says the President chould use military technology to secure the borders, he could be thinking like Herbie? We're talking border control robots that also write traffic tickets.
With Tancredo getting more vocal about a run for President - not that he has a credible shot - I'm guessing Congress is becoming less interesting to him. He'll probably run again in 2006, then get to traveling the country as a fringe one-issue candidate for President. He won't run again for Congress in 2008, leaving the seat to John Andrews.
Which, is actually a scary thought. At least Tancredo is only out there on one issue - and because of his style he has zero impact on the actual policy debate. He gets TV time and gets a small segment of population all riled up, but he's not a serious player and never will be. Andrews has the potential to be very right-wing on a whole host of issues, and is saavy enough to be more than a just an empty mouthpiece on those issues.
Posted by: Alfalfa | June 24, 2005 at 09:42 AM
Tancredo IS a racist. There are a number of ways to address illegal immigration but he focuses only on the Mexican border. The Canadian Border is way more porous than the Mexican Border. Terrorists have alredy used it and we know that for a fact, not just guesses. There are 27 countries that do not need Visas to enter the US. If Tancredo were truly interested in National Security he would be raising hell about EVERY issue. Instead he focuses only on the Mexican border. Maybe he's just bitter that all his life people thought he looked hispanic.
Posted by: Hugo O'conor | June 24, 2005 at 10:17 AM
Tom Tancredo has made illegal immigration a major national political issue, and any Republican who stand in his way is asking for trouble. The public is against illegal immigration and wants Bush to secure our borders.
Martinez comes out of the construction industry, I believe. They're among the biggest abusers of illegal immigrants and defenders of illegal immigration, along with the Chambers of Commerce folks who ko tow to them.
Martinez risks becoming the John Dean of the Colorado Republican Party when he defends Bush on illegal immigration. Bush and many Republicans are more interested in Hispanic votes than in the long-term future of America, which is a disgrace.
If Martinez and his fellow exploiters of illegal immigrants and promoters of terrorism want to take on Tancredo, they will find out who the extremists and racists are---employers of and apologists for illegal immigrants. These are the people who are winning power and making money defending and employing illegal immigrants.
Extremists are the racists who defend illegal immigration and the exploitation of illegal immigrants and American citizens who subsidize their health care. Play the race card all you want. Voters are on to the race card game, and they're on to the political games that Bush, Rove and Democrats are playing with our national security and illegal immigration.
Tancredo is pushing America toward the tipping point that will force Washington to secure our borders and deal with illegal immigration and illegal immigrants.
He's the most successful member of Congress this state has seen in generations. Get used to it.
Don
Posted by: Donald E. L. Johnson | June 24, 2005 at 10:20 AM
Hmmmm....
Couldn't the solution be anti supply-side economics?
How about severely punishing anyone who hires an illegal. Provide a huge economic disincentive.
Oh, wait! That might HURT business. Couldn't do that!
Something more to think about.
Posted by: too_much_green_tea | June 24, 2005 at 10:22 AM
Note to Martinez and Rove:
Since 9/11 I've written some 1,000 posts like the one above backing the president's war on Islamic terrorism. But, like other Americans, I'm getting sick and tired of his refusal to deal with illegal immigration and his half-hearted efforts to finish off the enemies in Iraq.
Next time you see Bush, tell him that his 40% rating is headed to 20% unless he gets serious about winning the war and securing our bordes.
Don
Posted by: Donald E. L. Johnson | June 24, 2005 at 10:31 AM
Tell me what Tancredo has ACTUALLY accomplished for CD-6 and Colorado. His district gets the least amount of federal money of just about any district in the country. I agree that he has made the immigration issue more public, but Tancredo hasn't actually accomplished squat.
Posted by: Ter Ducken | June 24, 2005 at 10:32 AM
Has anyone heard about Robert Vasquez the County Commissioner who sent a $2 million dollar bill to the Mexican government asking for illegal alien expenses for medical and jail costs. And he is also planning on running for Congress. It was featured on ABC news the other night and it is quite interesting.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/10/AR2005061002308_pf.html
Posted by: witchhunt | June 24, 2005 at 10:35 AM
Don...you are a pathetic whack job. I would tell you to open your window and look out at the world of reality, but I don't think that it would do much good. Do your homework, Martinez was in the utility construction industry, look it up...I've worked in the same industry, and to a man, I would say that 90% of the workers are AMERICAN citizens (mostly white, country music listening folks). So to say that anyone in construction automatically supports illegal immigration is both false and incredibly ignorant. I would say that 99% of the far right members on this issue have never owned their own business, much less ventured out to see the impact that LEGAL immigration has on our economy. 41 million Americans are Hispanic, President Bush was able to capture more Hispanic votes than any other republican President, to say that Republican leaders who go after that huge segment of our society are just pandering for votes means that you also are not a student of day to day political activity and demographic shifts in this country. I wish that you guys would just come out and say that you are afraid of people who aren't like you (which I’m not sure anyone would want to be like you)..that is the core issue here, xenophobia.
If we can't get a decent dialogue about immigration going without your boy Tommy popping off every 5 seconds about conspiracy theories and military action against Juarez, then we as Republicans might as well write off the next 4 years and concede to Pelosi, Biden, Clinton, etc....
Posted by: Tricky Dick | June 24, 2005 at 10:42 AM
"American citizens who subsidize their health care."
Illegal immigrants subsidize their own healthcare by the amount of tax revenue overpayments that they never get back INCLUDING social security taxes. They support the economy in ways you never even imagined. They provide services, not always at the "exploited" salaries that you like to quote. They put money back into the economy in the billions.
And for all you nay-sayers that say they just send it all back to Mexico, the actual figures are alot lower than you think. According to the Inter-American Development Bank remittances to Latin America were an estimated 30 billion. Yes that is a lot of money, however when you break it down, it's an approximate $2700 per illegal immigrant. I would be willing to bet that the average illegal immigrant makes 10 times that a year because they don't work just one job. Where is all that other money? IN THE US ECONOMY.
Posted by: Hugo O'conor | June 24, 2005 at 10:48 AM
Putting aside the fact that Tom has done absolutely nothing for his district while remaining focused exclusively on immigration, what has he actually accomplished in regards to halting illegal immigration?
Nothing.
OK - I'll give you that he gets on Lou Dobbs a lot. And Fox News loves Tom. But, has his valiant efforts halted illegal immigration? Has it even made a dent in illegal immigration. No. And, if you add that the only reforms likely to ever come out of Washington are ones that he actively opposes, I'd have to call that a pretty unsuccesful run.
I don't think people like George W. Bush, Ted Kennedy and John McCain are taking on this issue (though in ways Tom opposes) because Tom Tancredo has made it his pet cause. The are taking on this issue with responsible approaches because it is an important issue our nation needs to address. I give Tom Tancredo zero credit for making it an important issue simply because he has spent a lot of time talking about it.
Posted by: Alfalfa | June 24, 2005 at 11:01 AM
Giving Tancredo credit for raising awareness about illegal immigration is like giving Michael Moore credit for the public becoming more concerned about US involvement in Iraq. The fringes of each party speak only to the fringe elements. The public is usually a lot smarter than that and will come to its own conclusions on important policy issues without the help of whack jobs.
Posted by: Alfalfa | June 24, 2005 at 11:09 AM
Tancredo and Michael Moore great comparison
Posted by: witchhunt | June 24, 2005 at 02:45 PM
Tancredo's a racist; those that support him are anti-immigration? He's neither, nor am I. You lib's just keep going to that old playbook, it is only hurting you.
BTW, if any of you would ever talk to Tom, he'd explain to you why this is his pet issue--It's because his consituents CONSTANTLY tell him about this issue and have for years...from the beginning!! He doesn't answer to the state GOP..they are just as much a 'chosen' group as the state DNC.
This thread is going long but its always entertaining.
Your friendly racist/bigot real GOP'r (if you say so :))
Posted by: Chris Beaty | June 24, 2005 at 04:42 PM