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  1. #1
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    OR: Gordon Smith Changes His Position on Immigration

    Gordon Smith Changes His Position on Immigration

    in the news

    Senator Gordon Smith is drawing media attention for an election-year conversion, only this time the topic is illegal immigration. This week, Smith voted against a bill that would create a path to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants who graduate from US high schools:

    From the Oregonian's Jeff Mapes:

    Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., has not been a hardliner on the immigration. In 2006, he supported an immigration bill that provided a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants - and that came under withering fire from conservatives who want to take tough steps to keep people from illegally crossing the border and getting jobs here.
    The issue came up again in the Senate this week, but without much attention in the news (blame it on the California wildfires). Supporters of giving immigrants a path to citizenship carved off a popular piece of the bill that would allow children who came to the U.S. before the age of 16 to move toward legal status if they plan to go to college or join the military.

    The measure scrambled party lines, with 11 Republicans voting for it (including such conservative stalwarts as Trent Lott and Sam Brownback). But Smith joined 43 other senators in voting against moving the bill, enough to keep supporters from getting the 60-vote majority they needed to proceed.


    Mapes notes that the vote is a change from Smith's previous positions on immigration, and ties it to Smith's re-election efforts:

    Democrats, though, are questioning whether Smith is catering to a Republican base shaken by has abandonment of President Bush on the Iraq War. One of the D Senate candidates, Steve Novick, put out a statement charging: "Whatever your views on immigration, these children are no threat to the American way of life. But in order to have some red meat to pander to the far right, Gordon Smith voted to punish these children."
    Hammond denied that Smith was making a calculation based on next year's re-election race. And, indeed, one strong backer of legalization, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he was concerned that carving off a piece of the bill weakens the bargaining position for those who want to move forward with broader immigration reform.

    At the same time, it is clear that this bill hadn't slipped under the radar of the tough-on-immigration crowd, which sees this as "amnesty on the installment plan."

    And make no mistake, they're a big deal in Republican circles in this state. Oregon's Republican National Commiteeman Solomon Yue told me a few months ago that GOP activists are more worked up about illegal immigration than they are about the war now - which he said was important to keeping them feeling good about Smith. And I notice that Smith's overall record on immigration - which earned him D- grades in the previous two sessions of Congress from a group that opposes granting legal status to illegal immigrants - has risen to A- this year.


    Read the rest. What other issues might Smith change his position on?

    http://www.blueoregon.com/2007/10/gordon-smith-ch.html


    Good discussion ongoing at the comment section. Follow the above link.

  2. #2

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    I freed thousands of slaves; I could have freed more if they knew they were slaves.
    --Harriet Tubman

  3. #3
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    We should thank Senator Smith for listening to the people and opposing the Dream Act.

    _________


    Call the Senate: NO AgJOBS Amnesty !
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  4. #4
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    I am less charitable to those who change their position for political expediency. If we will forgive their first position we have to revisit the campaign of John McCain. He, as well, claims to have had an epiphany.

    Lindsey Graham is another who is desperately trying to convert to patriotism after selling us out and branding us 'bigots.'

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