http://test.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_5578797

Tancredo bid shirks legislation
By The Denver Post Editorial Board
04/03/2007 12:44:25 AM MDT

Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo on Monday launched a quixotic bid for the White House, appealing to Republican voters who might embrace his agitating approach on immigration issues.

Tancredo knows full well that he's the longest of long shots, but the Littleton Republican has gained a national following as the voice of the anti-illegal immigration movement. He must figure that it's "use it or lose it." He's raised $1.4 million in campaign contributions so far to fuel his candidacy.

Immigration will be one of the many issues up for debate in this lengthy presidential race, and Tancredo should be doing more in Congress to settle the matter. So far, he's only erected a wall between himself and the White House.

Tancredo lingers too much on the fringe of politics - calling Miami "third world," threatening to take out Muslim holy sites - to be viable in a field of more accomplished candidates. His strategy, so far, is to rile up his base on immigration. He spent most of Monday "announcing" on talk radio programs across the country. When he's not in Congress, he plans to spend much of his time in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Tancredo told the Rocky Mountain News on Monday that because he has gained a national platform on illegal immigration, he considers it his "responsibility" to advance the issue any way he can.

"When I say, 'Do everything I can,' I mean, do everything I can," he told the paper. "I mean to be in Congress, do what's necessary there."

As we wrote in our endorsement last fall of Tancredo's congressional bid, we think he can and should play a leading role in crafting a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Reaching a compromise with the Bush administration would require Tancredo to make some concessions on such non-border provisions as employment and citizenship.

Tancredo says he doesn't oppose a guest worker program in theory but thinks border security must come first. He has been opposed, however, to any reform that could provide a path to citizenship for immigrants who fulfill various requirements. That's been a wise component of President Bush's plan, and Tancredo will have to move toward the middle if the issue is to ever be solved.

In appealing to independent-minded voters who don't yet know him, Tancredo must remember that making noise about an issue and actually solving it are two different things. He needn't be the skunk at the GOP garden party. If Tancredo helps craft a federal compromise on immigration, he might earn consideration from voters who greet his announcement with a gasp or a yawn.