Tancredo challenged on immigration tactics
Congressman Tom Tancredo is one of the most outspoken members on the issue of illegal immigration. Tancredo has a lot of good ideas on the subject, but his tactics are questionable. Of late Tancredo has taken to smearing good conservatives in the House who do not agree with his proposals. Most notable has been his hardball — some might say thuggish — tactics with respect to Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Pence.
On a recent radio interview with the Garrison Show in Indiana, Tancredo was challenged on this issue. The show’s host, Greg Garrison challenges Tancredo for his lack of acknowledgement that the Pence immigration proposal actually mandates border security first. Garrison then goes on to be more direct:
Garrison: We’ll have to just disagree about that one. You have to go and so do I. Quick couple of questions here. First of all, why the vitriol against Pence? Why not just disagree and propose something different? The longer you talk the more you sound like Buchanan. It’s as though Pence has turned his back on Conservatism because he has a different idea than you guys.
Tancredo: Well
Garrison: Is the tent so small that there can’t be alternative proposals there without having to be called names I mean..
Tancredo: I think the way we started this discussion, if I’m not mistaken was a series of compliments.
Garrison: From him to you. (ha)
Tancredo: Well what did I say in response? Garrison: Former conservative hero. Former conservative hero, Mike Pence has announced his own guest worker amnesty plan which he has the gall to call a no amnesty solution. That’s Team America with Tom Tancredo’s picture at the top of the page.
Tancredo: Well, team America is a Pac. I started it. I have nothing to do with it at the present time.
Garrison: That’s funny your picture is about four inches from the line I just read.
Tancredo: My picture is on a lot of things
Garrison: So do you eschew then? Do you repudiate that statement then?
Tancredo: I am disappointed in Pence and I have said this to Chris, I mean to Mike himself. I have told him on the floor of the House when he did this, that I am disappointed because he has been a stalwart of the conservative movement and when he–
Garrison: And that’s over with because he’s done this?
Tancredo: It cracks the ranks. That is what he’s done. And that’s what I’m disappointed about. He’s a good guy. I like him. He’s a smart guy. He is a conservative that has been enormously helpful on a number of issues…
…Garrison: Curious. One quick question. I assume you’ve studied the works of Ronald Reagan he’s kinda the conservative stalwart. Remember the 11th commandment?
Tancredo: Remember the 11th commandment? Thou shalt not speak evil of another republican
Garrison: You guys have been busy eviscerating anybody that doesn’t tell your line through this thing in a way that is so inconsistent with the way conservatives behave I don’t understand that. Why have you done this?
Tancredo: Because the nation is at stake
Garrison: Well, hell, you can say that about everyone of these issues that comes up.
These tactics are unbecoming of a man who says he is a conservative. If you are following this issue, it is well worth your time to listen to this whole interview. Give Tancredo credit for being a stalwart on an issue that desperately needs attention and a solution. But in this interview he is left wanting for answers on a variety of issues. I addressed this issue in a recent column in which I wrote:
In the above mentioned column Buchanan insists that the adoption of the Pence plan will mark “the end of Mike Pence as a rising star of the GOP.” That would be a shame. The idea that some so-called conservatives would abandon an up-and-coming Reaganite because they disagree with his good-faith attempt to find a workable immigration solution is a measure of the temperature at which this debate is being conducted.
Pence has demonstrated his commitment to the conservative cause time and time again. Without his leadership, it is likely that the RSC’s numerous victories in this Congress would not have happened. And that is no small thing. Increasingly in this Republican Congress it has been Pence and his small band of conservatives that have been the only ones willing to stand up for principle. But that point appears to be lost on many hard-liners who are dead set on a “my way or the highway” approach to immigration.
July 5th, 2006 at 3:11 pm
The Pence plan is worse than the Senate Immigration plan in many respects. If Tancredo is hammering him because of it, good, because Pence has offered up a truly awful plan is using his great reputation to sell it. The more people Tom Tancredo tells about it, the better.
July 5th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
John, good to have you commenting over here!
I am not disagreeing with Tancredo on policy — although I do have a few quams with his position — so much as I am with tone. In my opinion Tancredo has no right to declare Pence a “former conservative hero.” He can try all he wants to distance himself from his PAC which operates under his name, but that is parsing at best.
Also, you seem to imply that Pence is using his reputation as a solid conservative to push a plan that is unworthy of being promoted by such a person. The implication is that Pence has sold out to external interests that true conservatives would not be compelled by. But that implication is essentially an accusation — the accusation being: Mr. Pence, you do not really believe in the compromise plan you are pushing, you are just politically positioning yourself. Perhaps I am reading too much into your argument…forgive me if I am.
My position essentially boils down to this: if anyone has earned the right to be heard by conservatives Pence has. If he is operating in good faith, which I believe he is, then he should not be shouted down by fellow Republicans just because they disagree with him on this issue.
July 5th, 2006 at 11:06 pm
I don’t believe Pence has sold out to “external interests” at all. To tell you the truth, I think Pence’s plan is too Libertarian/”open bordersish.” IMO, that is where he has gone wrong.
I also like Mike Pence a lot. I’d even consider voting for him in the primary if he ran for President in 2008. But, his plan is a real stinker and I’m seeing more than a few people who seem to be buying into it just because Mike Pence is offering it up. That’s why I’m glad Tanc and Team America are roughing him up a little bit on the issue.
As far as Buchanan goes, I don’t pay any attention to him whatsoever and I don’t lump Tancredo in with him. Although Tanc is tough on illegal immigration, he has never struck me as a Paleocon.
July 6th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
John-
I’m curious: what are the parts of Mike Pence’s plan that you think stink so much? If I recall correctly, his bill contains the entire House-passed border security bill and the Homeland Security Secretary would have to certify that the border is secure before the guest worker program he proposes would begin.
Red Hunter
July 7th, 2006 at 12:29 am
Full disclosure here, I\’m Greg Garrison\’s radio producer. I also was Mike Pence\’s radio producer before he ran for congress in 2000. The interview you heard, was set up through ABC Radio to promote Tancredo\’s book. We were fortunate to have him for back-to-back 10 minute hits (usually limited to one). In producing the \”Garrison\” program for the past 9 years, this is the first time we haven\’t received a book to review before an interview (and we still haven\’t received the book) - so Mr. Tancredo\’s comments of \”I thought we were here to talk about my book\” does not tell the whole story. Greg does not discuss books he hasn\’t had a chance to at least skim through. Our contacts at ABC said this was the fault of the Tancredo folks (whether that means the publisher, staff or whomever, I don\’t know).
The point that I find interesting, is that Tancredo basically disavows his own PAC. In regard to the comment above of \”As far as Buchanan goes, I don’t pay any attention to him whatsoever and I don’t lump Tancredo in with him.\” You should pay attention. Bay Buchanan runs the Team America PAC.
I agree, Tom Tancredo has been a great leader in trying to shut down illegal immigration. However, let\’s not be afraid to \”connect the dots\” with whom Mr. Tancredo is allied with. In that group you will find Pat Buchanan - who compared Pence to the double-crossing Tessio in \”The Godfather\”, Joe Farah of WorldNetDaily fame - who basically published lies in his scathing attack on Pence, and Rep. Steve King of Iowa - who compared Pence to disgraced baseball player \”Shoeless\” Joe Jackson in his National Review Online column. Not nice stuff - and all these folks fall in line with the Tancredo camp.
Towards the end of the interview, Mr. Tancredo says that he doesn\’t trust Homeland Security (the Administration) to verify the border is secured (which under the Pence Plan would be after 2 years or when it can be verified - whichever comes second) - he said they would lie.
It is quite obvious that Mr. Tancredo is not interested in hearing any other opinions in regards to this problem. From what I have heard from Mr. Tancredo, the only person who can do this job, is Mr. Tancredo - or should we say, President Tancredo? Mr. Tancredo has let his main issue consume him to the point of being deaf to all other opinions. I believe that where he sees a reasonable argument contrary to his own, he feels he must attack (or have others do so for him) those that have alternatives to his own ideas. To say this is worse than the Senate bill is false and insincere.
Finally, I do not agree with the whole of the Pence Plan. I specifically have problems with the guest worker program (I am more along the lines of Victor Davis Hanson\’s point of view on this). However, I\’m not going insinuate nasty things about Mr. Pence\’s character. Mike Pence is one of the finest men I know. He is a good and decent man. Shame on Mr. Tancredo (and friends) for trying to dirty his image.
Best,
Todd Meyer
Producer - \”Garrison\”
August 29th, 2006 at 8:29 am
[…] This is the same group who attacked Pence after he announced his proposal as a “former conservative hero.” That attack prompted some to challenge Tancredo on his my-way-or-the-highway approach to immigration reform. […]