Tancredo Out (UPDATED)
December 20th, 2007 at 06:12pm Matt Margolis
FOX News reports that Tom Tancredo is about to drop out of the presidential race.
UPDATE: Endorses Romney…
Tom Tancredo dropped out of the Republican field for president today and backed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
“At this point in time, (Romney) is the best hope for our cause,” Tancredo said during a news conference in downtown Des Moines.
The cause that vaulted the Colorado congressman into the race –– illegal immigration –– also motivated him to abandon his pursuit of the nomination, Tancredo said.
His continued presence in an election he could not win, he said, may have helped the campaigns of Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. John McCain –– candidates Tancredo says are soft on immigration.
Dianne Bystrom, an Iowa State University political science professor, said Tancredo’s exit and endorsement of Romney could shake up the volatile Republican field.
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Republicans
11 Comments
1. Bushwon | December 19th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
It’s about time. That guy was making us look bad. I get it, immigration is an important issue. But calling Miami ‘a third world country’, when it happens to be home to many Cubans who are 80% Republican, was probably not the smartest thing to do. Also, calling illegal immigrants ‘the scourge of society’ does not go a long way in attracting latino voters who supported Bush by about 40% in ‘04. Besides ‘THE SCOURGE OF SOCIETY’? What about child molesters? What about drug dealers? What about terrorists? Again, it is an important issue but let’s keep things in perspective. Most of these people are coming here to work not kill us.
2. sleepygene | December 20th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Who is out? The xenophobe from San Diego or the xenophobe from Colorado? I am just kidding I don’t think they are xenophobes but Tom will not be missed.
3. Almiranta | December 20th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Tom Tancredo was on a LOT of local radio talk shows in Colorado and when he had time to speak and fully answer questions he came across as very calm, very rational, very fair, and very smart.
His is not a message which can be easily covered in tiny sound bites, and it was too easily demagogued into ‘xenophobia’ when it was anything but.
I’m hoping he called enough attention to the problem to make it harder for someone else to pretend it does not exist.
As for the lovely and naive bleat of “Most of these people are coming here to work not kill us…..” Yeah. So what?
How many have to be coming here to kill us to get our attention? What if only 10% are coming here to kill us? Any idea how many prospective killers that would be, unleashed upon the American public? How about 5% How about 1%? How about just five hundred terrorists crossing the border, here without anyone knowing they are here?
How about those who bring illegal drugs with them? Got a problem with that?
And of those who DO “come here to work”—sure, when they decide to cross the border, maybe their goal IS to just find jobs and send home money. But once they are here, and learn that they are untouchable as far as law enforcement is concerned it is just way too easy to ignore any old law. Driving without a license? No problem. Driving drunk? What are they gonna do about it? Leaving the scene of an accident? ditto. Shoplifting? Once they are out after a court date is set, just how are you gonna get ‘em back into court?
And then of course there is the social cost. Why bother to teach your kids English if the entire class is required to slow down enough to put up with students who only speak another language? Why pay anything at all for a clinic when the emergency room is “free”?
I think it is impractical and even inhumane to demand a blanket policy of requiring all illegals to return to their home countries. But we should be very comfortable with the idea of selecting immigrants who can actually contribute to this country—that means working, educating their children, paying taxes, and assimilating.
4. Jeremiah | December 20th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
that means working, educating their children, paying taxes, and assimilating.
Amen to that, Almiranta.
~ Jeremiah
5. Cory | December 20th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
I’ve posted this at more than just this blog, but I definitely do not work for Romney’s campaign. I want some conservatives, who I feel haven’t given Mitt a fair shake thus far, to seriously reconsider their positions. Romney is clearly now the anti-illegal immigration candidate. What candidate can win the support of ALL conservatives…fiscal, defense, AND social? Mitt’s the man!
6. Ricorun | December 20th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Cory: What candidate can win the support of ALL conservatives…fiscal, defense, AND social? Mitt’s the man!
Well, he’s certainly been all over all of those issues at one time or another. He might currently be on the right side of all of them, I’ll give you that — without ever mussing his hair. That’s a plus I suppose. But if he gets the nomination, be prepared to be reminded of his previous positions.
I don’t have anything against the guy really. I’m just saying.
7. Diana Powe | December 20th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Mitt stretched the truth a little too far for his own good this time:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/NEWS07/712200442
8. NeoClown | December 20th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
4 down, 7 to go.
9. Sean | December 21st, 2007 at 9:28 am
Romney was a horrible choice for Tancredo to endorse. First off, even if his rhetoric sounds good, he isn’t really trustworthy (check out http://www.factcheck.org — an impartial truth checking organization that Cheney cited in a 2004 debate) to validate this claim). Duncan Hunter is by far the best candidate in this issue and many others.
sleepygene — you don’t have to be a xenophobe to have a strong view on immigration. If you are intellectually honest, I encourage you to read this: http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/500306.html
10. sleepygene | December 21st, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Sean-
If you read what I wrote I was kidding about calling them xenophobes. But their rhetoric is going to hurt them politcally for a generation.
I read your story and I have two words for you. Boo Hoo, bad things happen to good people all the time.
11. pghiuxwn&hellip | December 29th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
pghiuxwn
pghiuxwn