By The Prowler on 1.16.07 @ 12:08AM
Opposition to immigration can involve advocacy of repulsive policies.
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) is expected to
announce the formation of an exploratory committee to seek the
candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. "He's going
to paint himself as a mainstream conservative," says the staffer
for one of Tancredo's colleagues in the House of Representatives.
"But the folks he's associating with are not part of the
mainstream."
Tancredo, who came to national prominence on the basis of his
tough stands on immigration reform, an issue he has pressed for
quite some time. "There is more to Tancredo than just immigration,"
says another House staffer. "If he does this, he's going to try to
appeal to a broader, socially conservative audience."
In fact, it's not clear Tancredo is in line with the mainstream,
social conservative wing of the GOP he seeks to align himself with.
According to campaign finance reports, one of Tancredo's biggest
financial backers has been the family of Dr. John
Tanton, the founder of the Federation for American
Immigration Reform (FAIR). Wall Street Journal
editorial-page features writer Jason Riley wrote a
devastating piece about the organization back in 2004, in which the
group's pro-abortion and pro-eugenics roots were revealed.
Tanton is also one of the most prominent conservative financiers
of Planned Parenthood in the United States, having helped found in
the mid-1960s the first Planned Parenthood chapter in northern
Michigan.
Tancredo appears to have embraced FAIR's extreme and repugnant
policy positions, having accepted more than $20,000 from the FAIR
PAC and personal donations from Tanton between 1996 and 2006. Over
the past ten years, according to Federal Election Commission
reports, FAIR has provided more than $15,000 to Tancredo campaigns
and PACs. Tanton has given Tancredo $7,000, while donating $28,000
to FAIR's political action arm.
"There are others out there who are prepared to be tough on
immigration policy," says a consultant for Republican House member
from a western state. "Republicans and social conservatives need to
be asking Tancredo some tough questions. I don't believe he's a
pro-life candidate, not by a long shot, and the people he's
associated with, who back him, are not part of the mainstream. To
disavow these people now is just too late."
topics:
Abortion, Immigration
