McCain will continue to work for immigration reform
By Charlotte Eby, Journal Des Moines Bureau | Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2007
PELLA -- U.S. Sen. John McCain vowed Friday during a trip to Iowa to continue his work on the issue of illegal immigration the day after a comprehensive reform measure he co-sponsored suffered a defeat in the Senate.
The GOP White House hopeful, who has taken criticism from his rivals for the nomination, said he didn't know how the debate on the immigration issue changes the race for president.
"I do what I know is right for America," McCain said. "People of Arizona sent me to Washington to do the hard things. They didn't expect me to go there and say no and do nothing about our broken border in Arizona."
One of the biggest critics of the immigration reform bill, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, insisted the measure's collapse would be the end of McCain's presidential hopes.
Tancredo, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, also campaigned in Iowa Friday.
"I think the silver lining in the fact that we have debated this bill, and the fact that he has pushed it so hard, is that it probably means there will never be a president John McCain," Tancredo said on Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program.
Tancredo argued that McCain's political problems are underscored by the fact the immigration measure drew very little Republican Senate support.
"I think that this is sort of the death knell for John McCain's campaign," Tancredo said.
McCain drew close to 250 activists to the town square of this community settled by Dutch immigrants in south-central Iowa.
He kicked off the substantive part of his speech describing his disappointment in the failure of the comprehensive immigration reform package in the Senate the day before.
"It is a national security issue because since 9/11, we can't afford to have 12 million people in this country not knowing where they are and what they're doing," McCain said.
McCain said he's proud to work with both parties on immigration reform, but didn't know when it would be taken up again in Congress.
"It's not an issue that we can say, well it's over, because it's not over. We still have broken borders, and we still have this problem of not finding out who these people are," McCain said.
Jim Huyser, a Pella Republican, had been eager to hear McCain's views on immigration reform and came away more confident of McCain's ability to do something about the problem.
"He makes a more convincing case in person than the news media that it's filtered through that we get it from," Huyser said.
When asked by a reporter, McCain dismissed the idea that it might hurt his presidential chances.
"We're leading in the early states. There's ups and downs in every campaign, and I'm very happy where we are," McCain said.
His event Friday was stalked by a person dressed up as a chicken, mocking him for choosing not to compete in a straw poll for the GOP held in Iowa in August.
McCain said rival Rudy Giuliani's decision this week not to compete in the straw poll was part of the reason he decided not to compete either.
"We thought it was probably not going to be a very valid process, so we decided that we'd focus all our attentions on getting ready for the caucuses, which are the real determining factor," McCain said.
Huyser, the Pella Republican, suspects McCain's decision not to attend the straw poll in Iowa will hurt him here and will make people question how seriously he takes the state.
"I don't think they want to see him as a follower of the pack that Giuliani's leading," Huyser said.
Todd Dorman contributed to this story.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
PELLA -- U.S. Sen. John McCain vowed Friday during a trip to Iowa to continue his work on the issue of illegal immigration the day after a comprehensive reform measure he co-sponsored suffered a defeat in the Senate.
The GOP White House hopeful, who has taken criticism from his rivals for the nomination, said he didn't know how the debate on the immigration issue changes the race for president.
"I do what I know is right for America," McCain said. "People of Arizona sent me to Washington to do the hard things. They didn't expect me to go there and say no and do nothing about our broken border in Arizona."
One of the biggest critics of the immigration reform bill, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, insisted the measure's collapse would be the end of McCain's presidential hopes.
Tancredo, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, also campaigned in Iowa Friday.
"I think the silver lining in the fact that we have debated this bill, and the fact that he has pushed it so hard, is that it probably means there will never be a president John McCain," Tancredo said on Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program.
Tancredo argued that McCain's political problems are underscored by the fact the immigration measure drew very little Republican Senate support.
"I think that this is sort of the death knell for John McCain's campaign," Tancredo said.
McCain drew close to 250 activists to the town square of this community settled by Dutch immigrants in south-central Iowa.
He kicked off the substantive part of his speech describing his disappointment in the failure of the comprehensive immigration reform package in the Senate the day before.
"It is a national security issue because since 9/11, we can't afford to have 12 million people in this country not knowing where they are and what they're doing," McCain said.
McCain said he's proud to work with both parties on immigration reform, but didn't know when it would be taken up again in Congress.
"It's not an issue that we can say, well it's over, because it's not over. We still have broken borders, and we still have this problem of not finding out who these people are," McCain said.
Jim Huyser, a Pella Republican, had been eager to hear McCain's views on immigration reform and came away more confident of McCain's ability to do something about the problem.
"He makes a more convincing case in person than the news media that it's filtered through that we get it from," Huyser said.
When asked by a reporter, McCain dismissed the idea that it might hurt his presidential chances.
"We're leading in the early states. There's ups and downs in every campaign, and I'm very happy where we are," McCain said.
His event Friday was stalked by a person dressed up as a chicken, mocking him for choosing not to compete in a straw poll for the GOP held in Iowa in August.
McCain said rival Rudy Giuliani's decision this week not to compete in the straw poll was part of the reason he decided not to compete either.
"We thought it was probably not going to be a very valid process, so we decided that we'd focus all our attentions on getting ready for the caucuses, which are the real determining factor," McCain said.
Huyser, the Pella Republican, suspects McCain's decision not to attend the straw poll in Iowa will hurt him here and will make people question how seriously he takes the state.
"I don't think they want to see him as a follower of the pack that Giuliani's leading," Huyser said.
Todd Dorman contributed to this story.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
The GOP White House hopeful, who has taken criticism from his rivals for the nomination, said he didn't know how the debate on the immigration issue changes the race for president.
"I do what I know is right for America," McCain said. "People of Arizona sent me to Washington to do the hard things. They didn't expect me to go there and say no and do nothing about our broken border in Arizona."
One of the biggest critics of the immigration reform bill, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, insisted the measure's collapse would be the end of McCain's presidential hopes.
Tancredo, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, also campaigned in Iowa Friday.
"I think the silver lining in the fact that we have debated this bill, and the fact that he has pushed it so hard, is that it probably means there will never be a president John McCain," Tancredo said on Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program.
Tancredo argued that McCain's political problems are underscored by the fact the immigration measure drew very little Republican Senate support.
"I think that this is sort of the death knell for John McCain's campaign," Tancredo said.
McCain drew close to 250 activists to the town square of this community settled by Dutch immigrants in south-central Iowa.
He kicked off the substantive part of his speech describing his disappointment in the failure of the comprehensive immigration reform package in the Senate the day before.
"It is a national security issue because since 9/11, we can't afford to have 12 million people in this country not knowing where they are and what they're doing," McCain said.
McCain said he's proud to work with both parties on immigration reform, but didn't know when it would be taken up again in Congress.
"It's not an issue that we can say, well it's over, because it's not over. We still have broken borders, and we still have this problem of not finding out who these people are," McCain said.
Jim Huyser, a Pella Republican, had been eager to hear McCain's views on immigration reform and came away more confident of McCain's ability to do something about the problem.
"He makes a more convincing case in person than the news media that it's filtered through that we get it from," Huyser said.
When asked by a reporter, McCain dismissed the idea that it might hurt his presidential chances.
"We're leading in the early states. There's ups and downs in every campaign, and I'm very happy where we are," McCain said.
His event Friday was stalked by a person dressed up as a chicken, mocking him for choosing not to compete in a straw poll for the GOP held in Iowa in August.
McCain said rival Rudy Giuliani's decision this week not to compete in the straw poll was part of the reason he decided not to compete either.
"We thought it was probably not going to be a very valid process, so we decided that we'd focus all our attentions on getting ready for the caucuses, which are the real determining factor," McCain said.
Huyser, the Pella Republican, suspects McCain's decision not to attend the straw poll in Iowa will hurt him here and will make people question how seriously he takes the state.
"I don't think they want to see him as a follower of the pack that Giuliani's leading," Huyser said.
Todd Dorman contributed to this story.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
PELLA -- U.S. Sen. John McCain vowed Friday during a trip to Iowa to continue his work on the issue of illegal immigration the day after a comprehensive reform measure he co-sponsored suffered a defeat in the Senate.
The GOP White House hopeful, who has taken criticism from his rivals for the nomination, said he didn't know how the debate on the immigration issue changes the race for president.
"I do what I know is right for America," McCain said. "People of Arizona sent me to Washington to do the hard things. They didn't expect me to go there and say no and do nothing about our broken border in Arizona."
One of the biggest critics of the immigration reform bill, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, insisted the measure's collapse would be the end of McCain's presidential hopes.
Tancredo, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, also campaigned in Iowa Friday.
"I think the silver lining in the fact that we have debated this bill, and the fact that he has pushed it so hard, is that it probably means there will never be a president John McCain," Tancredo said on Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program.
Tancredo argued that McCain's political problems are underscored by the fact the immigration measure drew very little Republican Senate support.
"I think that this is sort of the death knell for John McCain's campaign," Tancredo said.
McCain drew close to 250 activists to the town square of this community settled by Dutch immigrants in south-central Iowa.
He kicked off the substantive part of his speech describing his disappointment in the failure of the comprehensive immigration reform package in the Senate the day before.
"It is a national security issue because since 9/11, we can't afford to have 12 million people in this country not knowing where they are and what they're doing," McCain said.
McCain said he's proud to work with both parties on immigration reform, but didn't know when it would be taken up again in Congress.
"It's not an issue that we can say, well it's over, because it's not over. We still have broken borders, and we still have this problem of not finding out who these people are," McCain said.
Jim Huyser, a Pella Republican, had been eager to hear McCain's views on immigration reform and came away more confident of McCain's ability to do something about the problem.
"He makes a more convincing case in person than the news media that it's filtered through that we get it from," Huyser said.
When asked by a reporter, McCain dismissed the idea that it might hurt his presidential chances.
"We're leading in the early states. There's ups and downs in every campaign, and I'm very happy where we are," McCain said.
His event Friday was stalked by a person dressed up as a chicken, mocking him for choosing not to compete in a straw poll for the GOP held in Iowa in August.
McCain said rival Rudy Giuliani's decision this week not to compete in the straw poll was part of the reason he decided not to compete either.
"We thought it was probably not going to be a very valid process, so we decided that we'd focus all our attentions on getting ready for the caucuses, which are the real determining factor," McCain said.
Huyser, the Pella Republican, suspects McCain's decision not to attend the straw poll in Iowa will hurt him here and will make people question how seriously he takes the state.
"I don't think they want to see him as a follower of the pack that Giuliani's leading," Huyser said.
Todd Dorman contributed to this story.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 4 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
fight for whats right wrote on Sep 12, 2008 12:54 AM:
Sean wrote on Feb 3, 2008 4:23 PM:
With false accusations from an immigrant residency seeker and the help of VAWA laws, a stable American citizen can be reduced to living in poverty. All of your assets can be seized and given to the immigrant residency seeker even if you are not found guilty. You will immediately be forced to surrender a portion of your income to the immigrant residency seeker. The courts will order you to turn your motor vehicle over to the immigrant residency seeker even if the car is in your name and the residency seeker does not have a drivers license. Your illegal immigrant spouse becomes legal and you become illegal. The court system will abuse you and strip you of your rights while social programs that promote immigration fraud thrive.
"
me wrote on Jun 12, 2007 8:27 AM:
Truth. wrote on Jun 9, 2007 10:03 AM: