The American Spectator

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p> TANCREDO'S IMMIGRATION ORATION br> Re: W. James Antle III's The Trouble With Tom : /p> p>What debate were you watching? I thought Tancredo's remarks about illegal immigration were clear and direct. An excellent answer. I agree with him but even if I didn't, I would know exactly where he stood. I guess Antle III is not used to direct talk. It makes him uncomfortable. That is how low we've fallen -- the packaging is more important than the message. br> -- GLS br> Maryland /p>

W. James Antle III's attitude toward Rep. Tom Tancredo's performance over the past several weeks can be best encapsulated in the phrase "to damn with faint praise." Antle wishes that the congressman from Colorado would improve his poll numbers, but Spectator's scribe appears convinced that such progress will not be made. Should Congressman Tom, given that dreadful reality, throw in the towel and yell, "Basta?" If my judgment is correct, that will not happen, and most concerned Americans will, sooner or later, come to understand the importance of Tancredo's candidacy.

Several weeks ago, I spent one afternoon making calls to Iowa's Republican Party members for the Tancredo campaign. What struck me was the large number of folks in the Hawkeye State who seemed totally unaware of the problems illegal aliens present to this nation. Part of the problem Tancredo faces, then, is continuing to make the case that the current attempt to provide amnesty, SB 1348, will transform U.S. society negatively, but that will not be easy given the media's domination by the "open borders" crowd. In the weeks prior to the November '06 congressional elections, the editors of the Washington Post decided that illegal aliens posed no problem or were newsworthy -- except when reporting on their Calvinistic work ethic. I assure you that the editors of the Washington Post and the other major urban media outlets are not disinterested observers, but calculated that an "out of sight, out of mind" approach would be helpful to their Democratic Party water carriers on the immigration issue -- and they were right.

What is also missing from the Antle narrative is that Tancredo's current low numbers in his bid for the presidency are a result of a phenomenon missing from the article: Tancredo has been basically ignored by the mainstream media. Did anyone notice that during the two GOP presidential debates to date that Tancredo has been basically passed over in the questioning by the moderators? Given the latitude that the wax-like Sen. McCain, the smarmy Giuliani, and the ever smiling Romney had to answer and amplify their responses, Tancredo seems to have been -- shall I say intentionally? -- left out. I would like to know if someone with a stopwatch has determined the air time Tancredo was allotted in these debates vis-a-vis his opponents.

Finally, if for no other reason, Tom Tancredo himself recognizes that his continuation in the presidential race is absolutely necessary, because as he demonstrated in New Hampshire, he, more than any other candidate, will not allow this president and his acolytes, such as McCain, to prevaricate and mislead about what SB 1348 -- the amnesty that dare not speak its name -- means to the future of this nation. My sense is that Tancredo not only understands the pleas of the "vox populi" to stay in the race, but that he also appreciates what his perseverance in running will mean to his constituents, his party's conservative base, and to his country. He will, to use the felicitous phrase, "stay the course." Tom Tancredo is no quitter.

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