Thread: OR: Dem's downplay immigration in race for Senate

Dem's downplay immigration in race for Senate
Story Published: Mar 29, 2008 at 5:20 PM PDT

By BRAD CAIN Associated Press Writer

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Illegal immigration has been a hot-button issue in many American election races this year. But the leading Democratic contenders for the U.S. Senate in Oregon have spent most of their time talking about the war in Iraq, global warming and the slumping economy.

In their first two debates, Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley and political activist Steve Novick adopted an "on the one hand, but on the other hand" stance over how laws should treat the thousands of undocumented workers in Oregon.

It's likely a reflection of the mixed feelings that Democrats in general have about the immigration issue, one analyst says.

"People are conflicted about it," Portland pollster Tim Hibbitts said. "Many say they want a moderately tough line on illegal immigration, but at the same time voters in the broad middle understand the consequences that a tough line would have on immigrant families."

While Merkley and Novick aren't highlighting illegal immigration, it has come up during their campaigns for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican Sen. Gordon Smith.

In their recent debate in Eugene, they were asked about the Oregon Legislature's decision in February to block illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses. It was a move backed by Merkley and other legislative leaders.

Merkley calls the law a commonsense approach needed because Oregon's loose identification requirements attracted trafficking in fake IDs.

Novick, in response, didn't directly criticize Merkley. But Novick said he worries that denying driver's licenses to undocumented workers will make Oregon's roads less safe because people will drive anyway and that it won't effectively deal with national security and illegal immigration issues.

Novick does fault Merkley for what he said is Merkley's refusal to say how state and federal laws should treat the 12 million undocumented immigrants now in the U.S., including an estimated 120,000 in Oregon.

In an interview, Novick said he thinks that if undocumented workers acknowledge that they have broken the law in coming to the U.S. and pay fines and back taxes, "then we should have a policy that allows people like that to obtain legal status."

Merkley said it's important first to restore "the framework of laws" by securing the U.S. border and cracking down on employers who take advantage of the system by "willingly or knowingly employing undocumented workers."

"We need to re-establish the rule of law," he said in an interview. "Then we can address the other issue of matching labor supply and labor demand within the rule of law."

An immigrant rights group, the Woodburn-based Voz Hispana, is sponsoring a drive to register Latino voters in the mid-Willamette Valley, and is planning to issue an endorsement in the Democratic Senate race, said spokesman Francisco Lopez.

At this point, the group isn't ready to back either Merkley or Novick, because neither is hitting the immigration issue head-on, Lopez said.

"We need to have immigration reform so that almost 12 million undocumenteds can come out of the shadows," he said. "We want a clear message from these two candidates, not an ambiguous, cautious response."

At the other end of the philosophical spectrum is Jim Ludwick of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, which advocates for a crackdown on illegal immigration. Ludwick said Merkley and Novick are taking a low-key approach on immigration because the issue has hurt Democrats politically in other places.

Ludwick mentioned the strong criticism that former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer got last year from Democrats as well as Republicans when he proposed a plan to provide illegal immigrants with driver's licenses. Spitzer's plan also created a political headache for Democrat Hillary Clinton when she gave a confusing answer to a question about whether she supported Spitzer's proposal, Ludwick noted.

"Merkley and Novick don't want to talk about the issue because they know it's a loser for them," he said.

Both Merkley and Novick said it's a difficult issue for most people.

"Democrats do talk to me about the issue," Novick said. "They are puzzled over it, and what to do about it."

Merkley agreed.

"We're all responding to 20 years of federal incompetence and special interests working to block any real reform," he said. "Sorting that out is complicated and difficult."

http://www.kval.com/news/local/17129556.html

Thanks for posting this Jean.

It looks like I've got more letters to write...

The first thing they should do is to objectively look at similar people and how they've approached or handled the issue.

We have a Dem Representative that actually has a rather respectable record on immigration overall (not perfect, but considering we're a VERY "blue" state for the most part...) - and, oh yeah, he's held his seat (winning his district for about the last 8-9 previous elections; about 20 years now) and, and he tends to [i]listen to his constituents[/b] AND is most closely associated with the label of 'populist'. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Mr. Peter DeFazio (D-OR):

http://grades.betterimmigration.com/tes ... &VIPID=677

Maybe they should talk to Rep. DeFazio and get some advice

Originally Posted by PhredE

Thanks for posting this Jean.

It looks like I've got more letters to write...

You're very welcome Phred. Expected this one to catch your eye.

Good luck!

These people they are speaking to need to demand answers and they need to tell candidates what they want...the are the government! Anyone who does not want to act on what the people of their state wants they should not be elected. 120,000 will turn into 1 million.