Thread: SEN. MCCAIN: "Never Supported amnesty" ??

I know a lot of folks still waiting for his $50 hour lettuce picking jobs

What happened to that promise?

So McCain says he never supported amnesty, heh? Read this from 2000:

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Fight over immigration law splitting GOP - Plan would grant amnesty to residents who came illegally
By ERIC SCHMITT
October 22, 2000

Congressional Republicans are locked in a battle with the White House over easing immigration law that threatens to undercut George W. Bush's efforts to court Hispanic voters and shed the party's lingering image as insensitive to new immigrants.

As the congressional session draws to a close, among the last sticking points between President Clinton and the Republicans on a year-end budget deal are Democratic proposals to grant limited amnesty to hundreds of thousands of longtime residents who came to the United States illegally, expand permanent residency to certain Central Americans and help certain other immigrants obtain green cards.

The provisions are in a spending bill that would finance the State, Commerce and Justice departments. Clinton has threatened to veto the legislation if it does not include the immigration proposals.

The stakes appear much higher for Republicans than for Democrats. Many conservatives argue that bowing to Clinton would reward lawbreakers and encourage a new wave of illegal immigrants. But rejecting the legislation could alienate Hispanic voters just before Election Day and resurrect the divisive fights of the 1990s over immigrants' benefits that hurt Republicans in many immigrant communities.

A coalition of business groups with ties to Republicans, including health care providers, restaurant owners and landscapers, has also endorsed the changes as necessary to retain badly needed workers.

"If the Republican Party is really serious about changing its image in the Latino community, it's hard to understand their resistance to these proposals," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy of the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group.

Democrats say they are united behind the proposals.

But Republicans are split. House and Senate Republican leaders have balked at the provisions. U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the House Republican whip, acknowledged that some immigrants' cases were mishandled in the 1980s and should be remedied.

"But the president wants a blanket amnesty," DeLay said. "He's playing politics. He's trying to buy votes through an amnesty."

Several other prominent Republicans, including Jack Kemp, the party's 1996 vice presidential nominee, and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, support the proposals.

The legislation, called the Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act, would make three major changes in immigration law.

First, the measure would allow at least 400,000 immigrants who came to the United States illegally before 1986 to apply for permanent residency, as people who came before 1972 are already able to do.

Proponents say many of these immigrants were wrongfully denied amnesty under an earlier law when the Immigration and Naturalization Service bungled their claims. Critics say that some of those cases should be reviewed by a court but that in many others, immigrants are not entitled to green cards, which confer permanent residency.

"If we keep granting amnesty to people who came to the country illegally, we are in essence putting up a neon sign on all of our borders saying, `Violate our law, come into our country illegally,' " said U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas).

The second provision calls for granting legal status to 300,000 immigrants who fled wars and political chaos in Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Liberia and applied unsuccessfully for refugee status. Proponents say these immigrants should be treated the same as those from Cuba and Nicaragua, who were granted legal status in 1997.

The third provision would permit immigrants who are changing their legal status to pay a $1,000 fee and complete the process in the United States, rather than return to their home countries and leave relatives here behind.

U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who heads the Judiciary Committee, has countered the Democrats' plan with a proposal to adjudicate some of the amnesty claims and grant temporary visas to reunite spouses and children with legal permanent residents here.

Most Democrats hailed Hatch's plan but said it fell short.

JohnMcCain believes Illegal aliens should be able to collect Social Security. They paid into it so they should be able to receive it

McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill 2006.....nuf-said!!!

McCain is lower than a snake's belly!!! He has the audacity to argue semantics i.e....it's not amnesty...amnesty is "forgiveness". How can it be amnesty when we are going to make them pay a fine, back taxes, learn English, etc., etc.

He can call it whatever he likes but he will always be one of the greatest traitors this country has ever known!

They will say anything. Doesn't matter if it's true or not. Hey, they're just following the example of our fearless leader.

More from McCain's BS express -- here is the entire article from 2003 wherein McCain specifically calls for amnesty:

McCain pushes amnesty, guest-worker program
Tucson Citizen (AZ)
May 29, 2003
Author: C. T. Revere; StaffTucson Citizen
By C.T. REVERE

Immigration reform that was put on hold after the 9-11 terror attacks must be a priority when Congress reconvenes next week, Sen. John McCain said yesterday.

While national security remains a crucial concern in light of the war on terror, lawmakers should pass a guest-worker program that includes amnesty for some illegal workers now in the United States, the Arizona Republican said during a news conference in his Tucson office.

"I believe we can pursue the security programs and at the same time set up a system where people can come here and work on a temporary basis. I think we can set up a program where amnesty is extended to a certain number of people who are eligible and at the same time make sure that we have some control over people who come in and out of this country," he said.

Immigration reform talks between President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox ended abruptly when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. But the relentless wave of illegal immigrants risking their lives to find work in America dictate that Congress address the problem soon, McCain said.

"There are jobs that American workers simply won't do," McCain said. "As long as there's a demand for workers, workers are going to come across."

An amnesty program is vital to any immigration legislation that includes a guest-worker program, he said.

"Amnesty has to be an important part because there are people who have lived in this country for 20, 30 or 40 years, who have raised children here and pay taxes here and are not citizens. That has to be a component of it," he said. "How can we have a temporary worker program if we're not allowing people who have been here for 30 years to hold jobs here?"

The fact that the Fox administration opposed the U.S. military action in Iraq cannot be allowed impede negotiations, McCain said.

"I am confident President Bush, former governor of a border state, understands the absolute importance of our relationship with Mexico and will move forward as soon as possible, especially on these issues of border security and immigration," he said.

Immigration law is likely to open the door for a national identification system, he said.

"At some point in history we are going to have a national I.D.," he said. "But the first phase of it has got to be for people who are not citizens, so we can identify them and know who is going in and out of the country."

Another border security measure is likely to be the use of unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles, commonly called drones.

"It's one of the important technological tools we have. We're never going to have enough people to patrol that border. UAVs do a good job," he said. "We have an obligation to secure our borders. There are too many indications of bad people with bad intentions who are contemplating or coming across our border."

McCain credits U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, a Tucson Republican, for spearheading the Arizona effort to create a guest-worker program.

"I'm hopeful that congressman Kolbe and the rest of us will be able to address that legislation shortly after we return next week," he said.

McCain can never be trusted.

He is pro Amnesty, no matter which way you slice it. He tried to cram that crap down our throats, and then accused us of being racists and obstructionists... to his wonderful amnesty plan.

Yeah, right.
This is coming from the RINO bulls**t express.

Of course, we should be allowing for Alzheimer's. His mind is very confused at his advanced age.

Sen. McCain, 2007: "The fact is that I've never supported amnesty." (ABC's "This Week," 12/30/07)

This is what you call "flip-flopping" on the issue.