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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (6655)	3/29/2006 9:29:11 PM
From: sandintoes	Respond to of 71588

Sean Hannity gave the names of the sponsors on his radio show today...and it was the same group that was out to do in the Republican party...Soros, the Tide foundation...etc..

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (6655)	4/2/2006 3:31:24 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

The GOP must not become an anti-immigration party. BY EDWARD GILLESPIE Sunday, April 2, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST In coming weeks, Republicans in Congress must choose either a comprehensive immigration reform package including a guest-worker program or a narrowly focused border-security bill. The former would improve homeland security, help our economy and build greater Republican majorities. The latter, conversely, would ignore fundamental problems, hurt our economy and risk the party's majority status. Lawbreakers should not be rewarded with citizenship, but respect for the rule of law need not conflict with two other pillars of conservative philosophy: freedom and economic growth. A rational immigration policy that allows workers to enter and exit this country for temporary employment will make us more secure. Law enforcement will face fewer problems with undocumented workers and will be better able to focus on the true threats to our nation from criminals and terrorists. Much of the resentment toward immigrant labor is based on the misperception that it is a drain on our economy and resources. However, researchers at the Academy of Sciences for the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform have demonstrated that immigrants add about $10 billion annually in net economic output due to the increased supply of labor and resulting lower prices. Furthermore, a typical newcomer pays $80,000 more in taxes than he takes out in benefits over the course of a lifetime. From low-wage workers who pick oranges to high-tech workers who lend their engineering expertise to American companies, immigrant labor provides critically important human resources. Eliminating them from the labor force will not result in more Americans filling those jobs. Our nation's unemployment rate is at 4.8%, and 243,000 new jobs were created last month. Without comprehensive reform, we are likely to see Florida orange groves being sold to developers as citrus companies plant new groves south of our border, and U.S. technology companies moving employment centers from Boston and Silicon Valley to Bangladesh and Shanghai. Polling done last year by the Tarrance Group showed that 75% of voters strongly support a comprehensive approach on immigration that increases border security, toughens enforcement of current laws, registers current illegal immigrants, and allows illegal immigrants to earn legal status by working, learning English, paying taxes and living crime-free. Implementing policies like these will help Republicans make gains in the electorate, while past experience shows that policies that seek to penalize immigration harm the party. Populists offer a different immigration plan: Build a bigger wall. I understand why this message resonates, but it will prove shortsighted. The California GOP struggles today because of what Hispanics saw as an assault on them more than a decade ago by then-Gov. Pete Wilson. In Virginia, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore ran last-minute anti-immigration ads that didn't move his numbers with swing voters and probably cost him important votes in the Hispanic enclaves of Northern Virginia. Anti-immigration rhetoric is a political siren song, and Republicans must resist its lure by lashing ourselves to our party's twin masts of freedom and growth--or our majority will crash on the shoals. The Republican Party cannot become an anti-immigration party. Our majority already rests too heavily on white voters, given that current demographic voting percentages will not allow us to hold our majority in the future. Between 2000 and 2004, President Bush increased his support in the Hispanic community by nine percentage points. Had he not, John Kerry would be president today. Hispanic voting percentages are increasingly decisive in swing states like New Mexico, Nevada, Florida, Colorado and Arkansas. Mishandling the immigration debate today could result in the Republican Party struggling in these states and others in the same way it now does in California. People who come legally to this country with nothing and labor in the most menial ways to get a new start should feel at home in our party. As a rule, they are hardworking, law-abiding, freedom-loving and patriotic Americans. This is as true today as it was when my father arrived by ship from Donegal, Ireland, in 1933, as a 9-year-old with nothing but the clothes on his back. John Patrick "Jack" Gillespie was processed through Ellis Island. As a young man, he worked as a janitor. Later in life, he started his own small business and made his children the first generation of Gillespies ever to attend college. He still can't walk very far today, because in 1944 Nazi bullets ripped through both his legs in the course of earning a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and a Silver Star for his adopted country. I am proud to be the son of an immigrant. Like many first-generation Americans, I feel it has made me treasure the benefits of citizenship even more. I appreciate the opportunities that have been provided to my father--and by extension to me and my three children--by the greatest country ever to grace the face of the earth. As a former party chairman, I hope Republicans appreciate the opportunity provided to us today. We can demonstrate that we are a party that believes in freedom, economic growth and the rule of law by supporting immigration policies that not only secure our borders but are also pro-freedom and pro-growth. If we do so, we will also be a party that enjoys the support of a majority of voters for generations. Mr. Gillespie was chairman of the Republican National Committee in the 2004 election cycle. His firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, represents clients who support a temporary guest worker program. opinionjournal.com