Thread: More Grief for McCain on Secret Meeting with Hispanics

More Grief for McCain on Secret Meeting with Hispanics
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June 24, 2008 12:04 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports from Capitol Hill: Sen. John McCain took some grief from the Left for keeping a tight handle on who he invited to his secret meeting with Hispanics in Chicago last week. And he took some grief from the Right for apparently promising at that meeting to pursue a pathway to citizenship for some illegal immigrants.

The grief from the Right continued today. Anti-amnesty crusader Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., wrote McCain a letter calling him out on the meeting, questioning McCain's commitment to pledges made earlier in the campaign, and snarkily invoking McCain's "Straight Talk" mantra.

Tancredo asks if promises made by McCain earlier in the presidential campaign to hold off on giving longtime illegal immigrants a "pathway to citizenship" until after the borders were secured were any more than lip service, and wonders whether the presumptive Republican nominee's candidacy is a Trojan horse for amnesty.

"Senator, given your past sponsorship of amnesty legislation, such statements raise troubling questions. Are you planning to break a promise you made in February to postpone all other immigration reform legislation until we have first secured our borders?" writes Tancredo, who goes on to ask McCain to use an upcoming speech to the pro-pathway to citizenship National Council of La Raza in San Diego to embrace a "security first" immigration approach.

"I challenge you to deliver a message to that assembly which does not pander to their amnesty agenda. You should speak to the La Raza convention and to all Hispanic audiences about America's need for secure borders as a priority above all other immigration reforms," Tancredo said.

McCain was a vocal proponent of the failed Senate attempt to pass comprehensive immigration reform when Republicans controlled the body in 2006. He was a less visible proponent in 2007, when Democrats were in charge, though he voted again for a bipartisan, comprehensive approach to immigration in both years.

The second attempt at immigration reform failed as his presidential campaign was ramping up. McCain explained to Republican voters in debates that he had gotten "the message" and would work to secure American borders before pursuing a pathway to citizenship.

"Giving Americans "Straight Talk" –- telling them what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear – demonstrates leadership, and as you have correctly pointed out many times in the past, that is what America needs now more than ever," he said.

June 24, 2008 in McCain, John, Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (25)

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar ... f-for.html

What a true let down for the American people Senator McCain has become. "Senator Sellout" certainly does fit Senator McCain.

Romans 5:8