August 30, 2004

"Tancredo to fight over immigration"

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) plans to start a nasty floor fight at the Republican National Convention in New York this week unless the GOP convention platform includes elements of his immigration proposals. He calls the current platform �weak� and �Clintonesque.�

The third-term former nonprofit-organization executive said he has already enlisted a groundswell of support from sympathetic delegates from border states such as California and Arizona...

Tancredo recalls vividly a conversation he had with President Bush�s top political adviser, Karl Rove, two years ago. Tancredo had given an interview to The Washington Times regarding his hard-line stance on immigration that upset Rove.

�[Rove] called me the next morning,� Tancredo recalled. �I was on my way to work. We had a spirited discussion. He told me never to darken the doorstep of the White House.� To which the congressman replied, ��I don�t remember a welcome mat ever being out, and second, it�s not your house.��

He added: �I am astounded that my position on an issue that commands somewhere near 75 percent support from the general public is perceived as being problematic for the party. Most Americans want secure borders. Most Americans want an end to illegal immigration. These have to be addressed � even when people call you names.�

Posted to Immigration2004 at August 30, 2004 09:39 AM

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