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Attempt to strengthen platform gives way to McCain's immigration positions

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Posted: August 27, 2008
6:42 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

 

Sen. John McCain Republicans seeking to put more teeth in the party's immigration platform ran into opposition from delegates who largely argued they didn't want to conflict with Sen. John McCain's positions.

But the divide over hot-button topics such as "anchor babies" and "amnesty" was further complicated by McCain's public shift in the wake of his failed "comprehensive immigration reform" bill, with the presumptive Republican presidential candidate now acknowledging the strong mandate to emphasize securing the borders.

The platform will be put before the party's delegates for a vote on the opening day of the convention Monday in the Twin Cities.

Today, the platform committee voted down an amendment to deny citizenship to babies born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants, reported Stephen Spruiell on National Review's blog The Corner.

The sponsor of the amendment, activist Kendal Unruh of Castle Rock, Colo., explained that when she was sent to the committee "by the people, the number one issue on their minds was immigration."

"They told me, 'You must represent our values on immigration,'" she said.

Unruh rejected the argument McCain is opposed to any law that would eliminate anchor babies.

"Colorado is a swing state, and the number one issue that decides swing districts is illegal immigration," she said. "… McCain needs to win Colorado, and this is a winning issue for McCain in Colorado."

Opposing the amendment, platform delegate Charles Mifsud of Ohio didn't like McCain's position on illegal immigration, but he argued there are other ways to stop the anchor baby problem, Spruiell reported.

"Anchor babies are a symptom," Mifsud said, calling for a general crackdown on illegal immigration and for securing the borders.

"If we want to be tougher on immigration in this document, let's be tougher," he said.

Some opponents of the amendment cited former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who battled McCain for the nomination, saying the GOP is not a "mean-spirited party," and innocent children shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes of their parents.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said he opposed the amendment because McCain was opposed, according to Spruiell.

"A lot of people ask me why I came here," Barbour said. "I came here to help John McCain get elected president of the United States. John McCain and I may not agree on everything, but that's why I was sent here. John McCain says he opposes this law, and I'm not going to stick my finger in his eye by supporting it. This platform has the toughest illegal immigration plank ever. I oppose this amendment."

Spruiell said Barbour's speech got a round of applause, but not everyone agreed with it.

One delegate said afterward, "I'm not aiming at Sen. McCain's eye."

She tapped her temple.

"I'm aiming a little higher."

Code word for amnesty

Fox News reported sparks flew when the committee discussed the language surrounding the issue of amnesty.

The draft read, "We oppose amnesty," but delegates from North Carolina and Colorado, including Unruh, proposed an amendment establishing opposition to "comprehensive immigration reform," because they believe it is a code word for amnesty.

A delegate from Washington, D.C., Bud McFarlane, reacted, saying the Republican Party is a "not a xenophobic party, not an intolerant party. We are a compassionate party that follows the rule of law and endorses federal law."

The amendment failed.

Unruh, who said she wanted to keep "opposition to comprehensive immigration reform," apparently took offense, pointing to her missionary work and saying she would "never have the label" of xenophobic "slapped on me," Fox News reported.

Unruh pressed for adding tougher language to stop "behind the door tactics" to prevent "amnesty" of illegal aliens.

She argued that McCain's departure from his original immigration legislation was a good reason to add the opposition to comprehensive immigration reform.

"Our nominee has tried to use this language and he has now backed away," Unruh said. "If he has backed away from it, then I think it is OK to put it in writing."

McCain's bill provided a path to citizenship for 12 million illegal immigrants while taking measures to tighten the border.

The delegates from North Carolina and Colorado also wanted to strengthen the section on the English language, to make it the "official" language of the country.

The platform draft states English is the "common" and "accepted" language.

The Republican National Committee calls the platform drafting process its most transparent and open ever, with more than 12,000 submissions received from the public via YouTube.

An Iranian cleric accused President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of betraying the people and called on reformers to unite to defeat him in next year's elections, according to an interview in a German newspaper quoted by Reuters, Wednesday.

 

Slideshow: Pictures of the week

"Ahmadinejad is not complying with the will of the people," The Financial Times Deutschland quoted Grand Ayatollah Bajat Sanjani as saying. "This is a major threat, a big danger," the cleric added in an unusually direct personal attack.

The newspaper also said Sanjani accused Ahmadinejad's government of breaking the law, seriously violating personal freedom and illegally empowering the Revolutionary Guard.

Ahmadinejad is expected to run for a second term in Iran's next presidential election, slated to take place early in 2009. His reformist rivals are expected to attack him especially on his economic policies.

Iran suffers from a rising consumer price index, high percentage of unemployment and an inflation of 26 percent.

I was depressed last night so I called Lifeline.
       
 Got a call center in Pakistan. I told them I was suicidal.
They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

I would like to know why the blogs from the dnc are hitting the front page instantly and everything else is getting second fiddle? Is fox going liberal?

http://www.golfweek.com/story/lpga-english-news-082508

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/31048_Zombi
e-_Recreate_68_Finally_Lives_Up_to_Its_Name-_Riot_in_De
nver

http://www.denverpost.com/politicswestnews/ci_10301
186

http://www.denverpost.com/livecam

Pelosi to protesters: "Can we drill your brains?"

 

House Democratic leaders and protesters waving McCain signs had a war of words Tuesday at a press event outside an old train station. The demonstrators interrupted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with chants of “Drill here! Drill now!”

Pelosi paused and asked the group, “Right here?”

Seeming to enjoy the back and forth, she followed with another question: “Can we drill your brains?”

She went on to refer to the protesters, who continued to chant sporadically, as “handmaidens of Big Oil.” Arguing that increased offshore drilling would reduce gas prices by only a couple of pennies a decade from now, she referred to the demonstrators as the “2-cents-in-10-years-crowd.”

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer swiped at the demonstrators, too, saying that “sophomoric chanting” won’t solve the energy crisis and that “all thinking Americans know” — stressing the word "thinking" and looking at the crowd — that America doesn’t have a quarter of the word’s fossil fuels yet uses a quarter of the world’s energy.

McCain Campaign
McCain Ad: It's 3 A.M

A new McCain ad uses Hillary's famous "3 AM Ad" to attack Obama -- Hillary even appears and says Obama is just not ready to be president.

LAUREL, Miss. (AP) — Federal immigration agents arrested some 350 suspected undocumented workers in a raid on a Mississippi electrical equipment plant Monday, authorities announced, hours after sealing all entrances amid reports their sweep had idled normal operations.

Barbara Gonzalez, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, confirmed the arrests in the raid that she said targeted Howard Industries Inc. of Laurel. Authorities said more people could be arrested.

The company produces dozens of products ranging from electrical transformers to medical supplies, according to the company's website.

"This is a targeted enforcement operation that is part of an ongoing ICE investigation that has revealed that illegal aliens are employed at Howard Industries," Gonzalez said, adding late Monday that agents were still interviewing plant workers.

She declined to say how many federal agents were involved in the raid, but said they acted on a tip provided by a union worker.

Another agency spokesman, Brandon Montgomery, told The Associated Press outside the plant Monday afternoon that agents were talking with everyone who worked at the sprawling plant to determine their residency status.

He said that 50 of those suspected of being illegal workers were eligible for some form of "alternative to detention" — a concession that could allow them to be placed on a monitoring device while awaiting a caseworker for "humanitarian reasons" such as children in their care.

All plant entrances were blocked, with tents set up at some ICE checkpoints to keep agents out of a steady rain. Motorists traveling on roads behind the plant were stopped by officers in unmarked vehicles and told to leave.

People leaving the plant told The Hattiesburg American newspaper that so many illegal immigrants were arrested that operations were shut down. It wasn't clear how many workers the plant employed.

A recording at Howard Industries plant on Monday said the telephone switchboard was closed.

Billy Howard, the company's chief executive officer, did not immediately respond to a message left by The AP. A man who answered a phone call at the company's security station said reporters would have to call back Tuesday.

Howard Industries was founded in the 1960s. In 2002, state lawmakers approved a $31.5 million, taxpayer-backed incentive plan aimed at helping to expand its operations.

The raid is one of several nationwide in recent years.

On May 12, federal immigration officials swept into Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, in Iowa. Nearly 400 workers were detained and dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards were seized from the plant's human resources department, court records showed.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

The overwhelming majority of Westerners say they support efforts to stem illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border, a poll indicates.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Monday that Westerners support completing construction of a border fence and penalizing employers who hire undocumented workers.

The newspaper reported that more than 75 percent of Nevadans and 71 percent of people regionally said they support the efforts

The poll of 400 likely voters in six Western states was conducted Aug. 13 to Aug. 15 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. The regional results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Individual state results have a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The states polled were Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

It's a mixed bag with immigration, said Brad Coker, managing partner with Mason-Dixon. People want border security and to have laws enforced, but they also understand there are people here working who are probably good for the economy.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

Dr. Jerome Corsi and Jim Gilchrist landed in Denver today and immediately began their mission; Bring national awareness to the issues that are destroying America.

Dr. Corsi new blockbuster best selling book,
“ObamaNation – The Cult Of Personality”
discloses the true history of one who is asking America to make him President.

Corsi’s full disclosure of Obama is shocking and frightening. Many are wondering why such information has been hid from the American people.

Corsi makes sure the secret is out! “The cat is out of the bag!”

Jim Gilchrist, President of the Minuteman Project, Inc. is calling for all political parties to press their presidential candidates into making positive statements about securing America’s borders. Gilchrist is demanding a 5 year plan to deport over 20 million illegal aliens, secure our borders and freeing Ramos and Compean.

Many open border fanatics were very annoyed when Gilchrist and his staff showed up in Colorado to face down the DNC. However their annoyance turned into anger when they learned that a world class author of the very book that is punishing their beloved candidate was traveling with Gilchrist and not only that but Corsi is a sworn in Minuteman!

Gilchrist stated on a radio talk show today:

“I believe in a “REAL CHANGE AND A CHANGE WE CAN LIVE WITH”. We must change from a paralyzed bureaucracy into a REPUBLIC for the people and by the people. We must change from our open border society into a secure nation. Anything less will destroy America.”

As the Minutemen “Take Command” in Denver the ripple effect is flowing into the heart of the media. On Sunday Gilchrist spoke in length on FOX media about the serious problems resulting from the failure of Washington to recognize that our beloved nation is being invaded. Today the media is lining up to hear more. Corsi and Gilchrist will give it to them!

Dr. Corsi, Jim Gilchrist and brave Minutemen are facing a core of hatred and anger as they proclaim that America must be saved. Deport the illegal alien mobs, secure our borders and free Ramos and Compean is their message.

The staff of the Minuteman Project, Inc. along with hundreds of thousands of Minutemen across America are united behind the message being fearlessly proclaimed in Denver.

What can you do? March, Fax, E-mail, Phone Call, Write Letters, Proclaim, and most of all VOTE!

Thank you Patriot, once again our beloved nation is in your hands. Let’s return it to WE THE PEOPLE.

Let Jim know that you stand with him.

Send him a note,do as much as you can.

We need your help.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/videos/detail/protest
ers-confront-fox-network/

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) _ The towering black gate opens silently to an alley with walls of corrugated metal. Scrawled in large white letters on one wall is: "The End."

For those deported from the United States, the words are an unnecessary reminder. Nearly every hour of the day, guards unlock this gate that leads back into Mexico, clicking open the padlocks hung on each side, in each nation.

Every time the gate slams shut, it wipes out a dream, divides a family, ends a life lived in the shadows of the law.

On average, 700 Mexicans expelled from the United States walk through this gate daily, according to Mexican government figures. They include farmers, construction workers, prisoners, nannies, children, entire families.
A few steps from the gate, American tourists pose for photos in front of a stone relief. They are oblivious to the men, women and children sadly shuffling into a homeland many risked their lives to leave.

___

U.S. deportations have jumped by more than 60 percent over the past five years. Mexicans accounted for nearly two-thirds of those deportees, helping to roll back one of the biggest migrations of recent history. All along the border, shelters once full of people trying to cross into the United States are now home to thousands of deportees who sleep on mattresses strewn inches apart on cement floors.

In a week spent at the Tijuana gate, The Associated Press watched busload after busload of deportees arrive, some in a daze, still stunned over their sudden expulsion. Many stumbled over the Mexican official's question, "Where are you from?" after spending decades in the United States.

The faces of those who stream through reflect how tough and far-reaching the U.S. crackdown on illegal immigration has become.

Among them are young people. There were more than 18,000 repatriations of children under 18 to Mexico this year, and in more than 10,000 cases they were alone, according to the Mexican government.

There are also criminals. The U.S. does not break down figures by country, but it has deported about 55,000 prisoners so far this year. One man walked through the gate in slippers with 80 cents in his pocket, after being picked up by police during a violent fight with his wife in their backyard.

And there are women, with more than 40,000 repatriations since January — about 13 percent of all cases, according to the Mexican government. Sometimes the women are dropped off alone, at night. The U.S. Border Patrol in Washington says the safe repatriation of women is a major concern, but acknowledges there is no overall policy along the 2,000-mile border.

Mexico must now deal with a population that it has long ignored. And those returning must deal with Mexico, a land that for many now seems foreign. The challenge starts the day they walk through the gate the U.S. Border Patrol calls Whiskey II, military code for west of the port of entry.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/caribbean/sns-a
p-mexico-forced-homecoming,0,3337113.story

follow the link for the rest of the story starting with     Tuesday morning.

At 11:03 a.m., six teenagers — three girls, three boys — line up at the gate, accompanied by a Mexican Consulate official