Thread: McCain's Immigration Double Talk in the Spotlight

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McCain's Immigration Double Talk in the Spotlight



WASHINGTON, June 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Taking a not-so-indirect
shot at his Republican opponent Mitt Romney's hypocrisy and flip-flops on
immigration reform yesterday, John McCain said he "would hope that any
candidate for President... wouldn't play politics for their own interests"
with the issue. Oddly enough the jab came in a speech while McCain
campaigned in Florida, putting his presidential ambitions ahead of the
debate on immigration in the Senate where 14 amendments remain up for
consideration, and where he could have helped court his fellow Republican
Senators to actually get the bill passed. [johnmccain.com, John McCain -
Address on Immigration, 6/4/07; politico.com, 6/04/07]
McCain went so far as to ask, "is any office worth sacrificing the
progress we can make now to solve this crisis?" But never addressed whether
he'd show up to vote on the 14 amendments throughout the week. That's the
kind of double talk that's taking its toll on McCain's struggling campaign,
according to a new poll out today that shows McCain at just 14 percent
nationally, dropping to fourth place. The same poll three weeks earlier
showed McCain had a six point advantage over Romney before he re-engaged
immigration reform in the Senate after having abandoned it earlier this
year. Even in his home state of Arizona, a majority now has an unfavorable
view of McCain and just 15% have a Very Favorable view of their home state
presidential hopeful. [Rasmussen Reports, 6/05/07; johnmccain.com, John
McCain - Address on Immigration, 6/4/07]
"If John McCain is serious about 'not sacrificing the progress' on
immigration reform for a presidential campaign, he should commit to
actually showing up in the Senate and voting on all the amendments to the
bill," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "As we
saw on the Iraq votes, McCain talked tough, but didn't show up for his day
job to actually cast the votes. That's the double talk the American people
are tired of, and the do-anything-to-win approach that has McCain in
trouble in the polls. After having run away from the immigration bill he
sponsored last year, he should at least show up to vote on the bill now."
Below is a new DNC Research fact sheet on McCain's Double Talk on
immigration:
Opportunity Knocks and John McCain Is At The Door
Once Deal is Reached, McCain Jumps on the Immigration Bandwagon. After
a deal on immigration reform was reached in the Senate, McCain, "who has
distanced himself from the negotiating table as he prepares to stress a
borders-first approach for his presidential run," reemerged to participate
in the press conference with Sens. Kennedy, Kyl, and others. McCain noted,
"I'm proud to have been a small part," of the deal. [The Hill, 5/18/07; New
York Times Political Blog, 5/17/07]
Republican Blasted McCain For Parachuting In at the Last Minute.
Republican Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) called out McCain for being "out of
line" by choosing to "parachute in" at the last minute to take credit for
the current immigration bill in the Senate despite not sitting in on
negotiations all year. McCain exploded under the pressure of his failed
balancing act by accusing Cornyn of "making a 'chickens-t' argument" and
shouting to Cornyn, "[Expletive] you!" [Washingtonpost.com, 5/18/07; Roll
Call, 5/21/07]
But McCain Had Tried To Slip Away From His Previous Immigration
Legislation Because Of Conservative Opposition During His Presidential
Campaign
McCain Backed Out of Leadership Role on Immigration Reform. "Senator
John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who until recently joined Senator
Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, in pushing for a compromise
in overhauling immigration, has moved away from a lead role on the issue in
the Senate." [New York Times, 4/22/07]
McCain Said He Would Reconsider Position on Immigration. "As he left
Iowa, Mr. McCain said he was reconsidering his views on how the immigration
law might be changed. He said he was open to legislation that would require
people who came to the United States illegally to return home before
applying for citizenship, a measure proposed by Representative Mike Pence,
Republican of Indiana. Mr. McCain has previously favored legislation that
would allow most illegal immigrants to become citizens without leaving the
country." [New York Times, 3/20/07]
McCain Abandoning Immigration Reform with Ted Kennedy Because of
Conservative Pressure. "McCain's hesitancy about joining [Senator] Kennedy
on the same issue they worked together on in the previous Congress," the
Boston Globe reported, "speaks to an emerging dynamic in the Republican
presidential race. McCain has encountered anger from hard-line immigration
foes on the campaign trail, particularly over an aspect in last year's bill
that would have allowed most undocumented immigrants to work toward
citizenship." [Boston Globe, 3/22/07; New York Times, 3/20/07]
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been From "Amnesty" To "Shamnesty"
2003: McCain Said "Amnesty Has To Be A Component" Of Immigration
Reform. The Politico reported that "McCain himself embraced the term
["amnesty"] during a news conference a few years ago in his office in
Tucson, Arizona. "McCain Pushes Amnesty, Guest-Worker Program," reported
the Tucson Citizen of May 29, 2003. The senator is quoted as saying:
'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.'
The newspaper also quoted McCain as saying: '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.'" [The Politico, 6/4/07]
McCain Championed The McCain-Kennedy Earned Legalization Immigration
Bill On A Nationwide Tour And Urged Immigrants To Take To The Streets In
Support Of It. Alongside Ted Kennedy, McCain pushed their immigration bill
which focused on "earned legalization" for illegal immigrants. The bill
allowed for all illegal immigrants passing a background check and paying
fines and fees to register as guest workers to obtain a visa "which could
be renewed once, would be valid for three years. Then the immigrant would
have to return to his home country or be in the process of getting legal
residency status[.]" McCain championed his bill in New York city at "a
boisterous multiethnic rally in support of his legislation" and "at a
packed town hall meeting" in Miami with "more than 1,000 cheering and
chanting supporters." In Miami, McCain "urg[ed] all to garner grass-roots
support for the bill" and said to the supporters, "You've got to work not
only here in Miami-Dade and around Florida but around the country" for the
McCain-Kennedy bill to prevail. [Houston Chronicle, 5/27/05; Associated
Press, 2/28/06; Miami Herald, 2/24/06]
-- 2007: While Pushing The Immigration Reform Bill, McCain Argued That
Amnesty "Didn't Work" in The 1980's. Defending new immigration reform
legislation, McCain argued, "It requires six years of working, and then
eligibility for a green card and five years after that. That doesn't
fit any definition of amnesty. In fact, it's very, very tough and
that's a major provision of it. That's not amnesty. We tried amnesty in
the 1980's and it didn't work. This is fine, penalty, working, passing
background checks. It's not amnesty, it's earned citizenship. That's
what it is." [ABC, Good Morning America, 3/29/06]
Conservatives Derided McCain-Kennedy Immigration Plan as "Shamnesty."
Conservative political writer Tom Bevan wrote that McCain's stance on
immigration reform made no sense if he was trying to win conservative votes
Bevan wrote, "Many conservatives have long since deemed McCain's
immigration proposal 'shamnesty,' a derisive term meant to conjure up
unfavorable comparisons with the dreaded Simpson-Mazzoli bill of 1986."
Bevan added that "if McCain is really concerned about conservatives staying
home in November, how can he think that passing a comprehensive immigration
bill, opposed by large numbers of conservative activists in districts all
over the country, is something that will help improve Republican prospects?
It makes little sense." [foxnews.com, 7/30/06]
McBorder: What's on Mccain's Back Burner?
McCain Criticized Federal Funding For Border Security Earmarks In
Arizona. In 2001 and 2002, Senator McCain criticized federal funding for
projects that would be used by border and law enforcement agencies to
increase security measures. McCain listed opposition to earmarks for
several projects in Arizona that included a detainee facility in Prescott,
a border guard service processing center in Florence, a sector headquarters
in Tucson, and border patrol stations in Yuma and Douglas. [McCain Release,
9/13/01; 2001 & 2002 Congressional Pig Book]
McCain Criticized Federal Funding For Border Patrol And Border Fence
Earmarks In Arizona. In 2003, Senator McCain criticized $25.6 million for
construction of a U.S. Border Patrol station in Tucson, Arizona. A
Republican congressman from Tucson said White House officials requested
money for it in their budget, but McCain deemed the project as wasteful
spending because it didn't go through proper legislative channels. In
addition, McCain's 2005 Congressional Pig Book criticized $500,000 in
federal funding for the construction of a border fence in Nogales, Arizona.
[Gannett, 4/10/03; 2003 & 2005 Congressional Pig Book]
McCain Said Border Couldn't Be Fully Protected Because Good Jobs Would
Continue To Drive Illegal Immigration. "We're not going to have a secure
border as long as there's this kind of attraction of jobs into the United
States of America. Our border between Arizona and Mexico is long, it's
desolate and it cannot be fully protected 24 hours a day." [McCain Press
Conference, 7/25/03]
John McCain Voted Opposite 35 Republicans To Force The United States To
Consult With Mexico Before Securing The Border. John McCain voted for Arlen
Specter's amendment to force consultation with Mexican officials before
acting to protect the U.S. border with Mexico. The amendment required that
the U.S. Secretary of State, and federal, state and local law enforcement
"shall work with the appropriate officials from the Government of Mexico"
on "improved border security." Additionally, "federal, state and local
representatives in the United States shall consult with their counterparts
in Mexico concerning the construction of additional fencing and related
border security structures along the international border before the
commencement of any such construction[.]" The amendment passed by a vote of
56-41; McCain voted "yea" in support of the amendment and against 35 of his
Republican colleagues who voted against the amendment. [S.Amdt. 4188, Vote
#156, 5/25/06; CR S5259, 5/25/06]
McCain Missed Vote Key To Republican Base On Border Security. John
McCain missed a vote on an amendment that would have required the DHS to
certify that the border was secure before the implementation of a
guest-worker program. This amendment, which was supported by a majority of
the Republican caucus and "would have bent the bill toward the enforcement
emphasis favored by the House," failed. [Senate vote #121, S.Amdt. 3961,
senate.gov, 5/16/06; Los Angeles Times, 5/17/06]
McCain Downplayed The Importance Of His Guest Worker Proposal To
Appease Border Security Hawks In His Party. When faced with increased
criticism about his guest worker proposal from Republicans, McCain
acknowledged that security was the priority and reasoned that the other
provisions of his reforms could come later. "We all know that border
enforcement is the first and foremost requirement because it's a national
security issue. As long as we agree that it's a comprehensive approach that
should be taken, I mean, after all, are you just going to leave 11 million
people here illegally washing around in our society? I don't think so. Then
I think it's negotiable as to when those programs could kick in. They do
take time to set up." [ABC News, 7/2/06]
Mccain Flip-Flopped On "Report To Deport"
McCain Called Implementing Deportation Of Illegal Immigrants A
"Fantasy," And Said Supporting "Report To Deport" Policy Was "Insane." In
reasoning the need to document illegal immigrants, McCain said it was
unrealistic to expect undocumented immigrants to voluntarily surface leave
the country. "The reality is 11 million people are not going to voluntarily
come out of the shadows just to be shipped home. 'Report to deport' is not
a reality and isn't workable" McCain said, and noted that the idea "borders
on fantasy." McCain reasoned that the administration would be "insane" to
support a 'report to deport' policy, and called such a policy "a not too
appealing opportunity" for immigrants. [Senate Judiciary Committee hearing,
7/26/05; Roll Call, 10/6/05; NPR, 3/31/06]
McCain Voted Against McCain-Kennedy And In Support Of A "Report To
Deport" Provision. McCain voted against cloture on the Specter Amendment to
the Immigration and Nationality Act which had "embraced the thrust of" the
McCain- Kennedy bill. Instead, McCain threw his support behind a Republican
sponsored compromise that "requires illegal immigrants who have been in the
United States between two years and five years to return to their home
country briefly, then re-enter," but "those in the country less than two
years would be required to leave without assurances of returning, and take
their place in line[.]" Such a policy has been labeled as "report to
deport." McCain claimed his vote was driven by politics, reasoning his vote
saying, "he would not bow to the Democrats' tactics and vote to end debate"
on his own bill. [109th Congress, S. Amdt. 3192, Vote #88, 4/6/06; San
Francisco Chronicle, 3/17/06; AP, 4/6/06; Washington Post, 10/18/05,
4/6/06]
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
http://www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any
candidate or candidate's committee



SOURCE Democratic National Committee
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stori ... 543&EDATE=

My favorite quote:

"We're gonna secure the borders for 18 months" - Sen. John McCain on June 5th 2007 CNN GOP Debate

He tried to tactfully play that race card tonight also. Look at the war memorials and you'll see a lot of hispanic names.....what the heck is he trying to say? You'll see a lot of names of different origin on war memorials! Hispanic name does not mean that person is an illegal immigrant....I don't get it. He's following Bush and implying that Americans are afraid of diversity, although McCain said it more like Americans just don't like hispanic culture.

And I cringe every time McCain claims that illegals "will get at the end of the line."

Getting what you broke into our country for - staying here, continuing to work, and drawing taxpayer funded benefits, health care, and earned income tax credits IS NOT GETTING AT THE END OF THE LINE!!!!!!

This is cutting in front of everyone else who has been waiting and sucking off American citizens.

I hope McCain goes down in flames. We don't need any more liars in the oval office.

If Rebublicans elect McKenndey as their candidate...the party will be in even more serious trouble than it is now.

I didn't read all of that but thought it funny it came from the Democrats. I guess they are hoodwinked into thinking he is even a viable candidate?

McBrainless comes across with all the charisma of a professional mourner in a funeral parlor. Simply hearing his maniacal depressive voice turns me off. I couldn't imagine hearing it every day for four years. That would be almost as bad as Billary's screech.