Dear American Patriots,

"The real reason for excluding Tancredo may be that
the planned
presidential preference straw poll would reveal the
extent of the split
within the GOP over the issue of immigration. "In
March, all eyes will
be on Tennessee and this straw poll," noted Bob Davis,
chairman of
the Tennessee Republican Party. But the last thing
anybody in the
GOP leadership wants to see is a strong showing for
Tancredo...."

Patriots, see below our latest article on Tom Tancredo
who should
not only be given the keynote speaking slot at the
SRLC
Conference, he should be heralded as Congressman of
the Year!

At the bottom of this page I have loads of new action
items to help
get Tom added to the conference speaker list. Please
write and call
as many as possible.

FTC - Linda

PS -- Tom's Secure America Tour has begun! For more
info see
our site. If you attend any of the events please send
in your photos
and I'll post them on ForTheCause.us Also send in
news links and
your comments on the tour. I have the first event in
Houston on the
site [Thanks Leslie!] See it at: www.forthecause.us

--------

Congressman of the Year - Tom Tancredo
Feared, Shunned by GOP Leadership
by Linda Muller
For the Cause - forthecause.us


Since his election to the House of Representatives in
1998,
Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo has been a tireless
and
outspoken advocate of securing the border with Mexico,
stopping
illegal immigration and protecting American jobs.
These should be
the views held by every member of the House who takes
the oath of
office.

Sadly, it is not...

Too many politicians seem to have other priorities
like placating
special interests to raise cash for the next election,
dealing behind
closed doors for personal gain, or lining up their
next employment
opportunity as a lobbyist. Little effort or thought
seems to go into
how this country can be put on a firmer foundation for
future
generations.

While other elected representatives labor long and
hard to offend no
one, Tancredo states his views plainly. For this he is
ostracized by
the Republican Party leadership, shunned by the White
House, and
castigated by the establishment media.

Yet Tom Tancredo is never deterred. He has not only
weathered the
storms, but prevailed in a way none of his detractors
could ever
have imagined... In November 2005, the House passed
275 pages
of the toughest border enforcement measures ever,
while beating
back a ferocious attack by the powerful business lobby
and a
nefarious cabal of anti-American open border zealots.

Interestingly, the people hear Tancredo. He shares
their anguish
about plant closings, job losses, out-of-control
federal spending, the
high cost of health care, the devaluation of American
citizenship,
and the politically calculated extension of rights and
privileges to
illegal aliens that goes far beyond what is rational
and economically
sustainable for America's shriveling middle class.
Establishment
elites who created this untenable situation with their
muddled
thinking and overly optimistic projections are the
ones backpeddling
and making excuses.

While Tom Tancredo stands vindicated, he has not been
forgiven
by the GOP leadership whose authority he spurned on
behalf of all
Americans.

One ramification of Tancredo's growing influence is
his exclusion
from a speaking slot during the Southern Republican
Leadership
Conference (SRLC) to be held in Memphis, Tennessee,
from March
9-12, 2006. Republicans from 26 states in the South
and Midwest
are represented and as many as 5,000 people are
expected to
attend. The SRLC kicks off the 2006 election season
for the GOP.

Tennessee Senator Bill Frist and his allies are
blocking Tancredo's
invitation to speak at the conference. The reason
given is that
Tancredo is not from the South or Midwest. This
explanation is
dishonest because Governor Bill Owens of Colorado and
Governor
George Pataki of New York are both on the list of
confirmed
speakers and they are not from the South or Midwest
either.

Another excuse offered for the exclusion on Tancredo
from the list
of speakers is that the SRLC has invited 16 "potential
presidential
candidates" to speak at the conference. Not only is
Tancredo a
potential presidential candidate, but among the list
of 16, at least
two have said they have no intention of running -
Governor Mark
Sanford of South Carolina and Sen. Rick Santorum of
Pennsylvania.

The real reason for excluding Tancredo may be that the
planned
presidential preference straw poll would reveal the
extent of the split
within the GOP over the issue of immigration. "In
March, all eyes will
be on Tennessee and this straw poll," noted Bob Davis,
chairman of
the Tennessee Republican Party. But the last thing
anybody in the
GOP leadership wants to see is a strong showing for
Tancredo.

Think about it... The GOP has excluded from its
premiere event the
most nationally recognized Republican in the country -
the man
everyone is talking about - the man most responsible
for changing
the hearts and minds of his House colleagues to such
an extent that
despite all odds they voted overwhelmingly for the
most sweeping
immigration reform package ever devised.

It is vital to Republicans and all Americans that the
issue of illegal
immigration be addressed at the conference. The
Republican most
qualified to speak on that issue is Tom Tancredo. The
credibility of
the Republican Party hinges on this issue, and there
is no legitimate
excuse or justification to lock him out.

For his leadership, integrity and resolute commitment
to doing
what's right for our country, Tom Tancredo should not
only be given
the keynote speaking slot at the SRLC Conference, he
should be
heralded as Congressman of the Year.

-----

We encourage everyone who cares about the future
direction of our
country to drop a note of thanks and encouragement to
Tom. Let
him know that you stand with him and pledge to help in
the
upcoming battles - whether in Washington DC, securing
the U.S.
border, or protecting our own neighborhoods. Most of
all, send what
you can to Tom's 2006 re-election campaign. If we lose
his voice in
Congress we may suffer a setback on immigration reform
from
which our Nation may never recover.

Congressman Tom Tancredo

Contact form
http://tancredo.house.gov/contact/conta ... ttom.shtml

DC Office
1130 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515-0606
202.225.7882

District Office
6099 South Quebec St., Suite 200
Centennial, Colorado 80111-4547
720.283.9772

----

National Journal Hotline Presidential Straw Poll

Please contact Hotline as they will be administering
the presidential
straw poll at the conference. Ask them if they are
aware of the
controversial decision by GOP leadership to exclude
Congressman
Tancredo from speaking at the conference. Let Hotline
know how
you feel about it and ask them to consider that the
poll will be flawed
unless Tom is included.

Contact Form:
http://nationaljournal.com/help/feedback.htm


National Journal
600 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-739-8400
800-613-6701
Fax: 202-833-8069


------

Contact the Southern Republican Leadership Conference

SLRC Contact form: http://www.srlc.org/contactus.html

Chairman of the conference: Mr. Bob Davis:
davis@tngop.org

He is also chair of the Tennessee GOP Phone:
615-269-4260. Ext:
19

-----

Contact the Tennessee GOP

Contact page: http://www.tngop.org/contact.html

Tennessee Republican Party
2424 21st Avenue, Suite 200
Nashville, Tennessee 37212
Telephone 615-269-4260
Fax 615-269-4261
General Party E-mail: feedback@tngop.org

----

Two more people worthy of attention with regard to
this conference
are John Ryder, a Memphis attorney, and Anne Locke,
Director of
Special Projects for the Tennessee Republican Party.
Each of them
is working on the preparations for the conference.

John Ryder - SRLC Director
Harris, Shelton, Hanover, Walsh, PLLC
901-525-1455
jryder@harrisshelton.com

Anne M. Locke - Director of Special Projects
Tennessee Republican Party
615-269-4260 ext. 27
locke@tngop.org

Two Tennesseans, Cong. William L. Jenkins (R- TN) and
Cong.
Zach Wamp (R-TN) are members of Cong. Tancredo's
Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. Both of them
are
invited speakers at the conference so it is a priority
to contact them.

Cong. Jenkins' website:
http://www.house.gov/jenkins/contact.shtml.

-----

Southern Republican Leadership Conference

SRLC Website: http://www.srlc.org

This is the SRLC web page containing their contact
information:
http://www.srlc.org/factsheet.html

The Southern Republican Leadership Conference List of
Invited
Speakers from 26 states can be found here:
http://www.srlc.org/guestspeakers.html

Cong. Wamp:
http://www.house.gov/wamp/IMA/get_address4.htm.

-----

Others to contact:

Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) - Senate Majority Leader
E-mail Contact form on Web Site:
www.frist.senate.gov


DC Office of Senator Bill Frist
202-224-3344
202-228-1264 (fax)


Nashville Office of Senator Bill Frist
615-352-9411
615-352-9985 (fax)

Chris Devaney - Executive Director TN GOP
Phone: 615-269-4260. Ext: 26
Email: devaney@tngop.org

Republican National Leadership
http://www.gop.com/ContactUs/

Comment Line & General Information: 202.863.8790
Phone: 202.863.8500
Fax: 202.863.8820

National RNC Chairman
Ken Mehlman
Phone: 202-863-8700
Fax: 202-863-8774
Email: Chairman@gop.com

National RNC Co-Chairman
Jo Ann Davidson
Phone: 202-863-8545
Fax: 202-863-8631
Email: Info@gop.com

RNC Political Campaign Operations
Voter Programs
Phone: 202-863-8600
Fax: 202-863-8808
Email: Political@gop.com

RNC Finance Marketing
Donor Programs
Phone: 202-863-8720
Fax: 202-863-8690
Email: Finance@gop.com

Republican National Committee - States
Find your local RNC party leaders and send them a
message!
http://www.gop.com/States/


-----

More Ways to Help:

Contact Your Republican Senators and Congressmen:
http://www.congress.org

Contact the Media:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/

----

Here are some Internet discussion forums at which
supporters of
Cong. Tom Tancredo may wish to post comments:

Free Republic: http://www.freerepublic.com/home.htm

REDSTATE.org: http://www.redstate.org/

Sean Hannity: http://www.hannity.com/

Perspectives.com: http://perspectives.com/forums/

GOPUSA: http://www.gopusa.com/

SaveOur State: http://www.saveourstate.org/

FreeConservatives: http://www.freeconservatives.com/

Rivals.com (post on a non-sports message board for
your favorite
college team): http://www.rivals.com/

Scout.com (post on a non-sports message board for your
favorite
college team): http://www.scout.com/

Hudson Institute:
http://www.hudson.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

Rant Forum: http://rantweb.proboards4.com/

----

SEE OUR SITE FOR MORE ON TOM TANCREDO:

Rocky Mountain News
Tancredo Unfazed by Drop in Funding

Tancredo is proud that the campaign finance records
show that he
isn’t indebted to special interests that support
political campaigns.

Baltimore Sun
Tancredo Goes His Own Way, Regardless of Who He Annoys

To critics, Tancredo is a hatemonger and mean-spirited
demagogue. To supporters, he is a rare politician with
the spine to
speak his mind. Either way, his talk of militarizing
the border and
hunting down and deporting millions of illegal
immigrants has
complicated White House efforts to put a friendlier
face on the GOP
and court Latino votes. That explains why so many of
Tancredo's
enemies are fellow Republicans. "Party I couldn't care
less about,"
he says. "If it gets hurt by this, it deserves to be
hurt."

WorldNetDaily
Passed Immigration Bill 'Will Secure Our Borders' -
Supporters Say
Legislation Hard-Won, Overdue; Tough Test to Come in
Senate

First-draft bills are often appealing at first glance
but don't hold up
under the compromising, relentless deal-making process
that is
Capitol Hill. But a number of long-time politicos and
lawmakers say
a "sweeping" new immigration reform measure passed by
the
House last week not only contains the most promising
changes in
U.S. immigration law in a decade, it has rock-solid
provisions that
supporters believe will go a long way toward ending
many of the
nation's border problems...


Isn't this the very reason that we want him to run for president? His unpopularity with the career politicians is revealing.

RR