Dear Friend,

I'm sure you'll want to read the attached op-ed article from this morning's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper.

Also, you'll be pleased to hear that Congressman Tancredo is currently running third amongst candidates of both parties in an online poll for radio station WRKO in Boston. Please go there and cast your vote for Tancredo!

http://www.wrko.com//Article.asp?id=347331

(Please forward this email to your friends!)

Sincerely,
Team Tancredo





The Tom Tancredo file

By Dimitri Vassilaros
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, February 26, 2007

Millions of illegal aliens in America could help to choose the next president. Even though they are prohibited from voting here, their impact at the polls could be dramatic.

If enough voters in the primaries want to stop the illegals' invasion, Rep. Tom Tancredo could be the Republican nominee. And then if enough voters on Election Day want a leader who will defend American sovereignty, well, the Colorado conservative just might win.

"Conservative" as in a lifetime rating of 99 by the American Conservative Union since he became a congressman in 1998. It's the organization's highest rating among announced presidential candidates. The ACU does not rate mayors (such as presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani) or governors (such as presidential candidates Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Bill Richardson and Mitt Romney).

Although Mr. Tancredo is a leading advocate to end illegal immigration, as president he first would deal with Iraq.

"The war on terror is a misnomer," says Tancredo. "It's a war on militant Islam." He says the point is fast approaching when this nation needs to tell Iraq what Ben Franklin supposedly said at the end of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. When asked what kind of government would replace the Articles of Confederation, Franklin said, "A republic if you can keep it."

"November is the benchmark for Iraq to control all 18 provinces," he says. The recent surge of additional troops is Iraq's last chance, he says.

In the war on illegal immigration, Tancredo first would construct two "walls," physical or virtual barriers -- along the Mexican and Canadian borders.

"The second thing is to aggressively go after employers, the magnets attracting illegals," he says. He'd go to the Department of Homeland Security and tell the secretary to begin to enforce the laws. "You don't need many laws, just enforce the ones that are there. It's not brain surgery. We must begin to use the bully pulpit to reinvigorate the discussion of western civilization and its values."

Frank Newport, editor in chief of The Gallup Poll, notes Tancredo has no national name identification. "But a single issue can be a useful device to get name recognition. If it can propel someone to win the nomination is an open question."

Most Americans will support more border security, but more than 50 percent also want some sort of pathway to citizenship, he says.

"(Tancredo) has very little chance to secure the nomination because you have some big names in the primary," says pollster John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International. "It's hard to see a one-issue person succeeding against Rudy Giuliani or John McCain. On the other hand, there is a substantial number of conservatives telling us they're disappointed there are no real conservatives (in the race)."

McCain has an 83 lifetime rating by the ACU. More conservative Republicans say that if the choice is between Hillary and McCain or Rudy, they'll vote for a third-party candidate, Zogby says. "The deal hasn't been closed."

Tancredo says most Republicans agree with most of his agenda. Maybe that's why the virtual unknown has raised from $600,000 to $700,000 in six weeks. "I give people someone to actually be excited about, to enthusiastically vote for," Tancredo says.

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