Now, in the calm before the five-week storm which will commence when the presidential (and vice presidential) debates begin, after which we will all need to simply choose a side, pin our ears back, and charge, there is still the opportunity to engage in policy arguments here on the GOP side of the fence.

For John McCain, that means the issue which still remains a stickler for much of his constituency is live, and in the past couple days it has become very, very live. Friends, I hate to have to say this, but I think we need to kill it until after the election.

John McCain’s 800-pound gorilla is his record as a boastful supporter of amnesty for illegal aliens. He wrote the “comprehensive reform” bill which was voted down in 2006 and was a supporter of its successor in 2007.

Believe me, I hated McCain for that, and I wanted Tom Tancredo to get the Republican nomination for president. Problem is, Tancredo got 1 percent of the vote in the primaries and McCain won the nomination. McCain has said he “got the message” and will pursue border security prior to comprehensive reform.

On the other side of the fence right now, as I write, is Barack Obama, the Democrat candidate who promises amnesty without strings attached.

Who you gonna choose?


With the news that McCain seems to be courting Hispanics by possibly whispering a promise of amnesty, people are starting to get pissed, and understandably so.

Our good friend Blog Fu indicates he may choose none of the above. Mark Krikorian and Mickey Kaus profess to believe McCain would be more likely to actually get amnesty passed than would Obama.

Ann Coulter suggests the difference between McCain and Obama is “between a 10% chance and a 9.99999% chance.”

I agree with Ann.

Let’s be realistic, amigos y amigas. We are not choosing between John McCain and Tom Tancredo. We are not choosing between John McCain and Duncan Hunter. We are choosing between the guy who won a LOT more than 1 percent of the vote, and Barack Frickin’ Hussein “Weatherman” Obama. Those are the only choices. Failing to vote, or voting for some other party, are merely indirect means of making a choice between those two. Obama’s supporters are going to vote for Obama. If you don’t vote for McCain, you are helping Obama. You may be standing on principle, and that is your right, but here on planet Earth you also would be helping Obama. So you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Do I want to help put Barack Obama in the White House?”

Why shouldn’t you want to put Barack Obama in the White House?

I hope you don’t really have to ask that question. I hope I can just say “Jimmy Carter” and you will snap to your senses. I sincerely hope you know enough about Barack Obama to know he brings absolutely nothing to the table but a velvety voice and an image, he is an out-and-out liar and that all his talk about being post-partisan and post-racial is a load of crap. He is as partisan and racial as they come. He has flipped on every significant policy position that he used to defeat Hillary Clinton in the primaries. More here and here.

And, when we consider the role of the president in immigration enforcement, let’s remember we are not choosing a successor to President Tancredo. We are choosing a successor to President Bush, who would have gladly signed any amnesty legislation that made it to his desk. Recall that it was the Bush administration that declared war on the Border Patrol.

Need a reminder? Take a trip down memory lane with Bush’s buddy Johnny Sutton: for instance here, on Lou Dobbs where U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton twice uses the term “hilarious” to describe the trial of Ramos and Compean – confirming Sutton as a prep-school, lightweight twit who sent two U.S. agents to 10+ year prison terms.

THAT is the regime we are seeking to replace. To state the obvious: The bar is not very high.

If our major concern is immigration enforcement, 1) we should kick ourselves for not doing more for Tom Tancredo, and 2) we must remember that we can continue to fight to defeat attempts at amnesty and we have a successful track record. Also, 3) we will definitely have to continue that fight in Congress no matter who our next president is.

It is important to bear in mind that our next president will have the power to impact our lives and America’s future on issues other than illegal immigration. And let’s not kid ourselves: There are other issues. The war, for instance. The economy. Energy policy. Freedom of speech is a big one for me.

How about the right to bear arms? If both candidates are inclined to continue to allow the flow of illegals into our neighborhoods, which candidate is also inclined to allow us to procure guns and ammunition to blast the hell out of the bad guys when they attempt to break into our homes? Do we want another Clinton gun ban or worse?

Hear me now, fellow immigration enforcement activists: We failed pretty spectacularly by not communicating our message well enough to get either Tom Tancredo or Duncan Hunter over the 1 percent level. Over 70 percent of the American people had said they wanted an “enforcement first” solution to illegal immigration, so our effort fell short by over 69 percent in the primaries, leaving us with a worse and worser choice in November. But when other issues and policies are brought into the field of consideration, there really is no difficult choice. We all live in a world where many issues affect our lives and our children’s lives, and it makes no sense to act on a single-issue basis in a way that would facilitate the second term of Jimmy Carter. John McCain is the person we want for president.

I’m sure the illegal immigration issue will come up in the debates and the discussion will be perhaps entertaining but ultimately – as we all know – totally meaningless. Among ourselves, we know whatever these guys say will be BS. But there are other considerations, to say the least. Let’s keep our powder dry until after the election and then make the battle as heated as it’s ever been.