Tom Tancredo: Leader of the Anti-Immigrant Populist Revolt

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Tom Barry

...

Before 9-11, immigration restrictionists operated in the political wilderness, ignored by the leadership of both political parties. However, by mixing issues of national security, border control, national identity, and large immigration flows, Tancredo helped make immigration one of the issues of public debate that cut across the usual red-blue political divides. In 2003 Tancredo began to demonstrate the muscle of the Immigration Reform Caucus with the proposed Mass Immigration Reduction Act, which received support from such national restrictionist groups as NumbersUSA, Population-Environment Balance, Carrying Capacity Network, Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), Negative Population Growth, American Renaissance, and American Patrol. While that bill foundered, the House of Representatives shocked the political establishment in December 2005 by passing a harsh restrictionist bill that included measures to double the Border Patrol, dramatically expand the border wall, and incarcerate those crossing the border illegally. The bill represented a sharp rebuff to President Bush's own proposal for a guest worker program.

...

His founding of Team America notwithstanding, Tancredo is not a team player, at least when it comes to partisan politics. Like many other social conservatives who came into politics with the rise of the New Right in the 1970s, Tancredo regards politics as a fight between the grassroots and the liberal establishment, generally found on the East Coast. For Tancredo, immigration is a life-or-death issue in the culture war to save America , and he doesn't intend to let party loyalties stand in the way of battling back in the clash of civilizations. One sign of this independence as a populist has been Team America's backing of restrictionist challengers to prominent Republican incumbents, including Utah's Chris Cannon and Arizona's Jim Kolbe.

Writing in the National Review, neoconservative author David Frum warned, “No issue, not one, threatens to do more damage to the Republican Party or the president than immigration.” That doesn't seem to bother Tancredo, who instead believes that he has the masses of both parties on his side. When called to heel on separate occasions by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove, Tancredo didn't recoil. Instead, he publicized these failed attempts as party discipline, and in doing so increased his widening base of loyalists, including such prominent media figures as Lou Dobbs, who fashions himself as a populist.

...

Describing himself as a “devotee” of Samuel Huntington and the thesis of his Clash of Civilizations treatise, Tancredo like many on the right—from social conservatives to neoconservatives—base their restrictionism less on economic reasons than on cultural and racial ones. “I believe that what we are fighting here is not just a small group of people who have hijacked a religion, but it is a civilization bent on destroying us.”

“The threat to the United States comes from two things: the act of immigration combined with the cult of multiculturalism,” argues Tancredo. “We will never be able to win in the clash of civilizations if we don't know who we are. If Western civilization succumbs to the siren song of multiculturalism, I believe we are finished.”

http://rightweb.irc-online.org/rw/3005

Edited June 20, 2007 by Steven_and_Jinky

[pedroh 21]

omg the cult of mutliculturalism... it's gonna kill America!! OMGOMG

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

There's a huge difference between illegal-immigration and immigration. People seem to conveniently forget that.

[GaryC 7]

Sounds good! Where do I sign up? Multiculturalism is a farce. We used to be the melting pot of the world. That was good. Now we are a patchwork. That is bad.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

There's a huge difference between illegal-immigration and immigration. People seem to conveniently forget that.

You know he's running for President? ...and his platform is on illegal immigration. (Immigration, to many, is the larger issue)

Edited June 20, 2007 by Steven_and_Jinky

[pedroh 21]

Sounds good! Where do I sign up? Multiculturalism is a farce. We used to be the melting pot of the world. That was good. Now we are a patchwork. That is bad.

so now you want to make a culture the good and absolute one? meaning all other cultures trying to integrate into the US life are dangerous and less important? which culture should prevail? the anglo-saxon culture? instead of accepting those other low cultures from hte immigrants? that's what Tancredo says, that the Anglo-Saxon culture is the right one... do you support his white power arguments?

Edited June 20, 2007 by pedroh

[GaryC 7]

Sounds good! Where do I sign up? Multiculturalism is a farce. We used to be the melting pot of the world. That was good. Now we are a patchwork. That is bad.

so now you want to make a culture the good and absolute one? meaning all other cultures trying to integrate into the US life are dangerous and less important? which culture should prevail? the anglo-saxon culture? instead of accepting those other low cultures from hte immigrants? that's what Tancredo says, that the Anglo-Saxon culture is the right one... do you support his white power arguments?

Hehe, Pedroh you are too easy!!! pwnd!

[pedroh 21]

Sounds good! Where do I sign up? Multiculturalism is a farce. We used to be the melting pot of the world. That was good. Now we are a patchwork. That is bad.

so now you want to make a culture the good and absolute one? meaning all other cultures trying to integrate into the US life are dangerous and less important? which culture should prevail? the anglo-saxon culture? instead of accepting those other low cultures from hte immigrants? that's what Tancredo says, that the Anglo-Saxon culture is the right one... do you support his white power arguments?

Hehe, Pedroh you are too easy!!! pwnd!

I'm not the one supporting a guy who's supported by hate groups all around the country... A person in his right mind wouldn't accept such donations or links..

[GaryC 7]

Sounds good! Where do I sign up? Multiculturalism is a farce. We used to be the melting pot of the world. That was good. Now we are a patchwork. That is bad.

so now you want to make a culture the good and absolute one? meaning all other cultures trying to integrate into the US life are dangerous and less important? which culture should prevail? the anglo-saxon culture? instead of accepting those other low cultures from hte immigrants? that's what Tancredo says, that the Anglo-Saxon culture is the right one... do you support his white power arguments?

Hehe, Pedroh you are too easy!!! pwnd!

I'm not the one supporting a guy who's supported by hate groups all around the country... A person in his right mind wouldn't accept such donations or links..

Calm down pedroh! I am jerking your chain man! I saw you down there lurking and thought I would see if I could get a rise out of you! I am no racist and you have the right to your own culture! Jeez!!

[Dan J 277]

Sounds good! Where do I sign up? Multiculturalism is a farce. We used to be the melting pot of the world. That was good. Now we are a patchwork. That is bad.

Thats as much of the fault of the Americans already here as it is the immigraints comming into this country. Americans are more accepting of immigrants if they adapt to American culture as it is rather than immigrants bringing in thier own tradtions, language and culture into American culture.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Sounds good! Where do I sign up? Multiculturalism is a farce. We used to be the melting pot of the world. That was good. Now we are a patchwork. That is bad.

so now you want to make a culture the good and absolute one? meaning all other cultures trying to integrate into the US life are dangerous and less important? which culture should prevail? the anglo-saxon culture? instead of accepting those other low cultures from hte immigrants? that's what Tancredo says, that the Anglo-Saxon culture is the right one... do you support his white power arguments?

Hehe, Pedroh you are too easy!!! pwnd!

I'm not the one supporting a guy who's supported by hate groups all around the country... A person in his right mind wouldn't accept such donations or links..

That's just it... none of the anti-immigration people are openly challenging or criticizing Tancredo because they don't want to touch him and risk losing their base of support. He is the new Pat Buchanan of the Republican Party.

[GaryC 7]

Sounds good! Where do I sign up? Multiculturalism is a farce. We used to be the melting pot of the world. That was good. Now we are a patchwork. That is bad.

so now you want to make a culture the good and absolute one? meaning all other cultures trying to integrate into the US life are dangerous and less important? which culture should prevail? the anglo-saxon culture? instead of accepting those other low cultures from hte immigrants? that's what Tancredo says, that the Anglo-Saxon culture is the right one... do you support his white power arguments?

Hehe, Pedroh you are too easy!!! pwnd!

I'm not the one supporting a guy who's supported by hate groups all around the country... A person in his right mind wouldn't accept such donations or links..

That's just it... none of the anti-immigration people are openly challenging or criticizing Tancredo because they don't want to touch him and risk losing their base of support. He is the new Pat Buchanan of the Republican Party.

They aren't openly challenging him because we see him as a fringe kook. And as LS said, anti-illegal immigration is a world different than anti-legal immigration. You can't seem to separate the two.

[Dan J 277]

Sounds good! Where do I sign up? Multiculturalism is a farce. We used to be the melting pot of the world. That was good. Now we are a patchwork. That is bad.

so now you want to make a culture the good and absolute one? meaning all other cultures trying to integrate into the US life are dangerous and less important? which culture should prevail? the anglo-saxon culture? instead of accepting those other low cultures from hte immigrants? that's what Tancredo says, that the Anglo-Saxon culture is the right one... do you support his white power arguments?

Hehe, Pedroh you are too easy!!! pwnd!

I'm not the one supporting a guy who's supported by hate groups all around the country... A person in his right mind wouldn't accept such donations or links..

That's just it... none of the anti-immigration people are openly challenging or criticizing Tancredo because they don't want to touch him and risk losing their base of support. He is the new Pat Buchanan of the Republican Party.

They aren't openly challenging him because we see him as a fringe kook. And as LS said, anti-illegal immigration is a world different than anti-legal immigration. You can't seem to separate the two.

It doesnt help when proposed bill to fix illegal immigration has clauses to limit legal immigration. So the anti-immigration people ( which is actually a relativly small minority), and the anti-illegal immigration people all get lumped together into one category.

So the moral of the story is, if you want to fix illegal immigration, keep the anti-immigration nuts out.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

omg the cult of mutliculturalism... it's gonna kill America!! OMGOMG

So, how's multiculturalism in Mexico coming along? Folks there pressing one for Spanish yet when they call the government?

[GaryC 7]

It doesnt help when proposed bill to fix illegal immigration has clauses to limit legal immigration. So the anti-immigration people ( which is actually a relativly small minority), and the anti-illegal immigration people all get lumped together into one category.

So the moral of the story is, if you want to fix illegal immigration, keep the anti-immigration nuts out.

News flash!!!!! We didn't like the WHOLE bill!!! The amnesty and the limits on legal immigration!! See the old thread that rebecajoe started for that rant. Only the kooks lump the anti-illegal immigration people in with the anti-immigration types. It's the only way they can justify their pro-illegal immigration stance.