A Step Backward in the Thompson Campaign
An American Patrol Supporter -- July 26, 2007
Former senator, movie and TV actor and dark horse presidential candidate Fred Thompson's campaign took a step backward in the eyes of immigration reform activists on Tuesday when it announced it was bringing former senator Spencer Abraham on board in this first campaign shakeup.
No doubt Abraham was recruited for his fund raising ability, but he is better known, by some of us, as the leader of another campaign a decade ago. As the senator from Michigan he led the effort to thwart and ultimately water down the 1996 IIRIRA, Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. For his efforts he was a La Raza Award Winner in 1997. This will be the focus of those who are fed up with non-action by government officials and had hoped that Thompson's early, and brief, comments on immigration law and order were genuine. (For example: Will Abraham advise Thompson to go to Silicon Valley High Tech firms for contributions if he will support a doubling or tripling of H1-B High-Tech worker visas? This is something that will work as Abraham knows from experience when he was advocating more for Chinese and Indian programmers for American companies than Americans students graduating from American colleges and Universities.)
Thompson never scored better than average overall on immigration votes during his eight years as the senator from Tennessee. His votes on targeted amnesties are mixed. But his selection of Spencer Abraham as a campaign head and adviser belies his real commitment to immigration enforcement and reduction.
Americans are better informed than ever before on the cost and impact of massive illegal immigration on their communities and they want action taken. All candidates for high office in our country need to do more than acknowledge the public's concern with phony processes like the most recent dog and pony show in Washington; S. 2611. Americans don't want a process that goes through the motions only to end up with the status quo; Latin for "this mess we are in" as Ronald Reagan once opined. Americans want elected officials who will actually treat the out of control immigration mess we are in seriously, with respect and urgency.
Early in 2000 when the presidency was an open seat many citizens in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina began to ask questions about immigration enforcement. Seven years later, as the problem of massive illegal immigration is bursting schools, hospitals and county jails, what was once a far removed problem plaguing those "out west somewhere" is now a local problem. Most people see evidence of the non-enforcement of our laws every day.
It seems likely that every presidential candidate is going to be asked what concrete steps they would take to secure the borders and enforce the laws. The old blaming immigration double-talk won't be received well this time 'round. And watching every candidate's decision in and outside their campaign will become fodder for talk radio and weblogs, especially when they have an immigration component. The debate about immigration enforcement and sovereignty has just ended, temporarily at least, inside The Beltway. It is about to accelerate out in the states where presidential hopefuls will be soliciting support for their campaigns.
Americans want results. They want immigration law enforcement, our borders secured, our sovereignty defended and our population stabilized. We are 300 million now, on target for a half- billion people by mid-century and that population explosion will increase pressure on hospitals, schools, law enforcement and every taxpayer in America.
The 2008 presidential campaign and congressional candidates will be deluged with questions about immigration and sovereignty issues. And this time everybody will be listening to the answers very closely.
