Thread: Reps Tancredo, Gutierrez engage in nasty exchange

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/g ... %2C00.html

Reps Tancredo, Gutierrez engage in nasty exchange

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
March 16, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tom Tancredo and an Illinois congressman traded charges of racism during a heated confrontation following a televised appearance Wednesday on immigration reform, both their congressional offices confirmed today.

Tancredo and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., are frequent sparring partners on the talk show circuit as Congress works to pass some version of immigration reform. Tancredo is a leading advocate of tougher enforcement against illegal immigrants and people who hire them. Gutierrez, the son of Mexican immigrants, calls Tancredo's approach "ugly policy" motivated by racism.

On Wednesday, they appeared together on CNBC, and when the cameras stopped rolling the debate continued with a spat first reported by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.

Gutierrez's office claims that Tancredo aggressively continued the discussion off camera and tried to slow Gutierrez as he was trying to reach the elevator.

Tancredo spokesman Will Adams, who was present, said it was Gutierrez who was the aggressor, hurling comments and, before it was over, saying he thought about hitting Tancredo.

The words exchanged are in little dispute, based on this account in Roll Call:

At one point, Gutierrez reportedly asked Tancredo if he had ever eaten in a restaurant.

"How could you eat from the plates touched by those nasty illegal immigrants?" Gutierrez said.

He then asked Tancredo: "Have you ever eaten an orange? A grape," an apparent reference to illegal farm workers.
He then repeated the phrase several times as Tancredo tried to answer. "An orange, a grape, an orange, a grape, an orange a grape."

Gutierrez, who has a cast on a foot, reportedly tried to walk to the elevator, but Tancredo tried to stop him by putting his hand on his shoulder. Gutierrez reportedly demanded: "Get your hand off me!"

Adams said Tancredo had done little more than tap him on the shoulder.

Gutierrez said to Tancredo: "You racist! You bigot!"

Tancredo told Gutierrez: "You look in the mirror if you want to see a racist."

Gutierrez and staff members finally got on the elevator, while Tancredo and his team took the stairs.

When they met again on the first floor, Gutierrez told his staff, "Better hurry up -- the KKK is coming," according to Roll Call.
He accused Tancredo of following him, although Adams said they simply needed to use the same exit because Tancredo's office is across the street.

Just outside, Gutierrez said to aides within Tancredo's earshot: "I thought about hitting him, but then I thought, 'What if I (expletive) kicked his ass,'" the newspaper reported.

"To say this is unbecoming of a Congressman doesn't go far enough," Adams said. "This is unbecoming of an adult."
Asked if Tancredo wanted an apology, Adams said, "It would be nice if he apologized. We're not expecting that from somebody who threatens to beat people up."

Asked if Gutierrez wanted an apology, spokesman Scott Frotman said, "He's not going to ask Mr. Tancredo for an apology, but Mr. Tancredo may think about apologizing to all the immigrants that he scapegoats and ridicules."

So, Guttersuchiz, were is that "good hearted" BS we keep getting hit with?

WOW!!!

Here he is standing up for US and working for so long on this and to see him be put through things like this makes me angry and sad.

You know what if I were to get hungry enough I would pick my own grapes and oranges.
Thank You Tom Tancredo for speaking up for me.
Wish I could buy that man a beer right now.

I would say this is going to get allot worse before it gets better.
There is going to be some people that have had enough of this BullS*** of calling the anti Illegal Immigrant groups Racist. When all we want is for the laws of America followed and enforced.

Note to Gutierrez: Tancredo is the son of Italian immigrants.

Gutierrez is about as big a bigoted racist as you'll see in congress.

This is what we can expect from our hispanic elected officials. Just more and more racist remarks. How child-like and arrogant these people are!

Gutierrez said to Tancredo: "You racist! You bigot!"

Tancredo told Gutierrez: "You look in the mirror if you want to see a racist."

Let me see if we have this right. Guitierrez wants to stand up for the breaking of U.S. FEDERAL Immigration Laws and when someone opposes that they are racist ?

Hey, Buddy, Americans aren't that stupid. This isn't going to fly anymore than George Bush's "racism" claim because we want the highest and best possible security for our country.

You should both hang your heads in shame.

You know what? If it wasn't for that idiotic and insane birth right citizenship we hand out to the children of illegal aliens born here then Gutierrez and many of these Mexico first hispanic elected officials wouldn't even be in office right now. It's ashame that we have to fight so hard for this, but that's what we get for allowing this to go on for so damn long.

amen, dman!