Sen. Clinton Gets Tough on Illegal Immigration
Jim Kouri, CPP
April 23, 2006
It's one of the marvels of today's political arena: a senator with obvious White House ambitions constantly changing positions on important issues while the "people's watchdogs" -- the news media -- ignore the flip-flops and flim-flam.
After showing her support during a huge rally of pro-illegal alien protesters in New York City, including a speech that brought pandering to new heights, she suddenly took her hardest line yet against illegal immigrants.
Sen. Hillary Clinton told the New York Daily News she wants US borders secured with a wall or fence, possibly surveillance drones and infrared cameras. Clinton's proposal -- which comes just weeks after she blasted Republican crackdowns on illegal immigrants as unchristian -- is not being well-received by illegal immigration activists.
Why the sudden about-face on immigration? Well, last week a Rasmussen poll showed that only 26% of likely voters would definitely vote for Sen. Clinton while 41% would definitely not vote for her. In match-ups with Republicans such as Rudy Guiliani and Sen. John McCain, she gets slaughtered (54%-Guliani, 39%-Clinton; 52%-McCain, 39%-Clinton). So while Clinton had been lurching to the left, especially on illegal immigration, she's decided to now lurch to the right -- again.
And the news media are assisting her in her deception. Here's the Daily News' take on Hillary: "Embracing both conservative and liberal goals, Clinton said she backs citizenship rather than amnesty for illegal immigrants, as long as it's earned."
Hillary Clinton is a very interesting politician. And her press coverage and the support she's receiving from liberal-left pundits is remarkable. For instance, political strategist and columnist Susan Estrich claims Hillary is a moderate and sometimes even a conservative. So if Hillary is a center-right politician, what's a leftist like Estrich doing supporting her? The former campaign manager for 1988 Democrat presidential hopeful Michael Dukakis, an avowed liberal-left Massachusetts politician, is supporting someone who's leaning to the right?
One political strategist told this writer that the so-called rift between Clinton and the anti-war, left-wing of her party is in reality a calculated dog-and-pony show to sucker voters into believing she's not the liberal-left woman who once served as counsel to the Black Panthers and supported the PLO in the 1970s.
"A physical structure is obviously important," Hillary told the Daily News. "A wall in certain areas would be appropriate," as long as it was not a "dumb wall" that could be scaled or tunneled. Advocating "smart fencing," she added, "There is technology that would be in the fence that could spot people coming from 250 or 300 yards away and signal patrol agents who could respond."
She also talked of using drones and infrared cameras and, when asked, agreed that Israel's anti-terror wall, which she has seen, might help guide the US. At the same time, she welcomed tougher enforcement of federal laws punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants. Clinton also pooh-poohed a work and school boycott by illegal immigration advocacy groups set for May 1.
At a planning meeting on Saturday for a human chain protest in New York's five boroughs, immigrant advocates booed Clinton's get-tough stance. Apparently she forgot to "wink" at them when she decided to get tough on illegal immigration.
"To see the senator from New York, which is clearly an immigrant state, take a position that harsh is not the real solution," Gouri Sadhwani, executive director of the New York Civic Participation Project and La Fuente told the News.
"The flow of undocumented immigrants into our country will not be stopped by putting up a fence along the Mexican border."
The Daily News' man-on-the-street interview quotes Saul Campoverde, 35, a construction worker from Bushwick, Brooklyn, who came to the US illegally from Ecuador 10 years ago ripping the fence plan. He didn't rip Hillary, just her fence plan.
"That would be like clipping the wings off a bird -- that would kill many people's dreams of having a better opportunity, future for their families," he said. (Does anyone believe that construction worker thought up that quote by himself? Or did he get a teenie-weenie bit of help from the reporter?)
Activists were much more pleased with what Clinton had to say last month when she accused the GOP of attempting to create a "police state."
"It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the Scriptures," she said then. "This bill would literally criminalize the good Samaritan -- and probably even Jesus himself." I'm still looking for the Bible verse on illegal immigration. Perhaps it's somewhere near the verse where Jesus Christ advocates partial-birth abortion.
Hillary Clinton's performance in the polls coupled with her drastic flip-flopping is giving former presidential candidates like John Kerry and Al Gore hopes for another shot at the gold ring. Kerry is making noises about considering a presidential run in 2008 and he's starting to quote Scripture. And Al Gore already has a PAC (political action committee) in place and he's preaching Scripture, as well.
After showing her support during a huge rally of pro-illegal alien protesters in New York City, including a speech that brought pandering to new heights, she suddenly took her hardest line yet against illegal immigrants.
Sen. Hillary Clinton told the New York Daily News she wants US borders secured with a wall or fence, possibly surveillance drones and infrared cameras. Clinton's proposal -- which comes just weeks after she blasted Republican crackdowns on illegal immigrants as unchristian -- is not being well-received by illegal immigration activists.
Why the sudden about-face on immigration? Well, last week a Rasmussen poll showed that only 26% of likely voters would definitely vote for Sen. Clinton while 41% would definitely not vote for her. In match-ups with Republicans such as Rudy Guiliani and Sen. John McCain, she gets slaughtered (54%-Guliani, 39%-Clinton; 52%-McCain, 39%-Clinton). So while Clinton had been lurching to the left, especially on illegal immigration, she's decided to now lurch to the right -- again.
And the news media are assisting her in her deception. Here's the Daily News' take on Hillary: "Embracing both conservative and liberal goals, Clinton said she backs citizenship rather than amnesty for illegal immigrants, as long as it's earned."
Hillary Clinton is a very interesting politician. And her press coverage and the support she's receiving from liberal-left pundits is remarkable. For instance, political strategist and columnist Susan Estrich claims Hillary is a moderate and sometimes even a conservative. So if Hillary is a center-right politician, what's a leftist like Estrich doing supporting her? The former campaign manager for 1988 Democrat presidential hopeful Michael Dukakis, an avowed liberal-left Massachusetts politician, is supporting someone who's leaning to the right?
One political strategist told this writer that the so-called rift between Clinton and the anti-war, left-wing of her party is in reality a calculated dog-and-pony show to sucker voters into believing she's not the liberal-left woman who once served as counsel to the Black Panthers and supported the PLO in the 1970s.
"A physical structure is obviously important," Hillary told the Daily News. "A wall in certain areas would be appropriate," as long as it was not a "dumb wall" that could be scaled or tunneled. Advocating "smart fencing," she added, "There is technology that would be in the fence that could spot people coming from 250 or 300 yards away and signal patrol agents who could respond."
She also talked of using drones and infrared cameras and, when asked, agreed that Israel's anti-terror wall, which she has seen, might help guide the US. At the same time, she welcomed tougher enforcement of federal laws punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants. Clinton also pooh-poohed a work and school boycott by illegal immigration advocacy groups set for May 1.
At a planning meeting on Saturday for a human chain protest in New York's five boroughs, immigrant advocates booed Clinton's get-tough stance. Apparently she forgot to "wink" at them when she decided to get tough on illegal immigration.
"To see the senator from New York, which is clearly an immigrant state, take a position that harsh is not the real solution," Gouri Sadhwani, executive director of the New York Civic Participation Project and La Fuente told the News.
"The flow of undocumented immigrants into our country will not be stopped by putting up a fence along the Mexican border."
The Daily News' man-on-the-street interview quotes Saul Campoverde, 35, a construction worker from Bushwick, Brooklyn, who came to the US illegally from Ecuador 10 years ago ripping the fence plan. He didn't rip Hillary, just her fence plan.
"That would be like clipping the wings off a bird -- that would kill many people's dreams of having a better opportunity, future for their families," he said. (Does anyone believe that construction worker thought up that quote by himself? Or did he get a teenie-weenie bit of help from the reporter?)
Activists were much more pleased with what Clinton had to say last month when she accused the GOP of attempting to create a "police state."
"It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the Scriptures," she said then. "This bill would literally criminalize the good Samaritan -- and probably even Jesus himself." I'm still looking for the Bible verse on illegal immigration. Perhaps it's somewhere near the verse where Jesus Christ advocates partial-birth abortion.
Hillary Clinton's performance in the polls coupled with her drastic flip-flopping is giving former presidential candidates like John Kerry and Al Gore hopes for another shot at the gold ring. Kerry is making noises about considering a presidential run in 2008 and he's starting to quote Scripture. And Al Gore already has a PAC (political action committee) in place and he's preaching Scripture, as well.
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