Mc Cain v Romney

I'm starting to like Romney. It's good to see a mainstream GOP candidate speak in favor of a secure border. But is he a true believer like Tancredo or Hunter?

Speaking in politically crucial Florida, with its heavy concentration of Cuban and Haitian immigrants, McCain argued that while the bill is imperfect, it is an attempt to secure U.S. borders, help the economy and identify those who have entered the nation illegally.

The four-term Arizona senator chided rivals who are trying to score points on the issue. McCain never mentioned any names but his target was obvious - Romney.

"To want the office so badly that you would intentionally make our country's problems worse might prove you can read a poll or take a cheap shot, but it hardly demonstrates presidential leadership," McCain told members of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

As opposed to Mc Cain, who can't read a poll, and takes cheap shots anyway.

Romney answered back.

"The immigration approach proposed by Senators McCain and Kennedy falls short of a workable solution to an important problem," the former Massachusetts governor said in a statement. Romney said he respected McCain, but his opposition was based on a "principled disagreement about policies and priorities related to enforcement of our immigration laws."

I wish Romney or another front runner would say what the people want to hear, secure the borders first, then we'll talk amnesty.

Romney has not offered a detailed plan on how he would handle illegal immigrants, but he said recently a priority would be to deport criminals and remove illegal immigrants from government assistance programs.

Deportation without a secure border is just "catch and release". But Giuliani is no better;

Another GOP rival, former New York city Mayor Rudy Giuliani, also opposes the bill, but has said he is willing to compromise on how to deal with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States as long as he is satisfied all security issues are addressed.

Here's a video of Giuliani with former US Senator and Governor of California Pete Wilson of Prop 187 fame. The video is 12 years old, but Wilson is remarkably cogent.

"It's unfair, as state taxpayers and needy legal residents to suffer the unfairness that has flowed from the federal failure to secure the border."

He goes on to say that California taxpayers were required by federal law to use state revenue to provide services for illegal aliens. Despite the fact the federal government is Constitutionally bound to secure the border in question.

Wilson was considered a moderate Republican at the time (1995). Giuliani (about 16 minutes into the video) talks about how the INS's inability to deal with even criminal Illegal aliens, and laments the fact the only 776 aliens had been deported for the entire year.

The video is interesting on several levels. Only 12 years ago, Wilson was considered a moderate Republican. But now, Wilson's words could only be uttered by mavericks like Tancredo. Yet prop 187 passed by 58% in 1994, and the public's frustration with an open border has deepened since then. The modern GOP isn't just ignoring conservatives, they are ignoring a clear mandate from a broad political spectrum, all the while pulling the race card and pointing a finger at even their  devout followers.

Conversely, Giuliani seems to be comfortable atop an anti-crime platform that is critical of only illegal aliens who have committed a crime other than their resident status. He goes on to say that aspects of 187 are "inhumane". His picking and choosing on this issue seems to reveal more of a political pragmatist than than a secure border crusader. Want to look tough on crime while still embracing a welfare state, even for illegal aliens.

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