Texas Governor and prominent GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry is getting bad advice from his campaign managers. Worse, he's listening to it. After three debates during which Republican audiences roundly booed Perry for his DREAM Act support, he refuses to budge an inch.
Doesn't Perry know that few bills in Congressional history have been more unpopular and more consistently defeated than the DREAM Act? Since 2001 when it first appeared in the 107th Congress, the DREAM Act has been re-introduced in the House and Senate multiple times. In 2006 and 2007, the legislation that would provide instate tuition to illegal aliens was written into two different comprehensive immigration reform bills, both ultimately defeated in part because of the DREAM Act provision. Illinois Senator Richard Durbin tried to bury the DREAM Act in a 2007 Department of Defense Authorization bill; it failed.
Then in 2010, after dozens of alien students' high profile national protests, intense, spare-no-expense lobbying and a stacked Democratic deck led by majority leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, the Senate nevertheless quashed the bill during a lame duck session. In total, over a decade, Congress defeated the DREAM Act 12 times.
A Rasmussen poll taken during the heated arguments over Durbin's measure found that only 22 percent of Americans supported the Illinois senator. Given the DREAM Act's horrible track record and resounding public opposition, if ever there were a time for a candidate to resort to doublespeak, one of their favorite forms of communication, today is Perry's day. If he hopes to gain the Republican nomination, Perry has to immediately temper his DREAM Act advocacy.
Instead, at every opportunity Perry reaffirms his commitment to the Texas DREAM Act, legislation he advanced in 2001. Alien students who graduate from a Texas high school or pass the GED test and have lived in the state for three years are eligible. The student must also have lived in Texas for three years and sign an affidavit affirming that he is seeking legal residency.
Aside: What does "seeking legal residency mean"? Perhaps that someone in the family sent away for the appropriate forms to begin the process? That, under Perry's definition, would be enough to qualify.
Insisting that Texas, or any other state, should educate aliens at taxpayer expense as Perry does is a tough sell in today's economy.
During last week's debate, challenger Mitt Romney pressed Perry hard. Said Romney: "I don't see how it is that an illegal alien gets a discount to the University of Texas. If you're a U.S. citizen you have to pay $100,000 more for a four-year education. That kind of magnet draws people into this country to get that $100,000 break."
After Romney spoke, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum made other valid arguments against the DREAM Act. Santorum wondered why illegal immigrants should be given preferential treatment over American citizens.
Not surprisingly, one post-debate exit poll showed that Perry scored the lowest among all candidates.
Perry may have self-inflicted the fatal wound on his campaign when he vilified Americans who, for legitimate reasons, oppose the DREAM Act. According to Perry, if you don't agree with him about subsidizing illegal aliens' advanced educations, "I don't think you have a heart."
A seasoned politician like Perry should know that you can't insult your base and still expect to win its vote.
Joe Guzzardi is a syndicated columnist and Senior Writing Fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization. He can be reached at JoeGuzzardi@CAPSweb.org.
Masterrogue666 posted at 7:06 am on Thu, Sep 29, 2011.
Dale: That was then, this is now. The MAJORITY of citizens of the USA is tired of the entitlement attitude of ILLEGAL ALIENS and their supporters. What ever happened to EARNING what you get?
Masterrogue666 posted at 7:03 am on Thu, Sep 29, 2011.
Leon: Actually, Joe Guzzardi is one of the few EVT columnists that is against ILLEGAL ALIENS. Further, his group is for less legal immigration until something's done about the ILLEGAL SIDE of immigration.
CooperG: You are wrong again. Don't you ever get tired of using the "race" card even though it's not warranted? Actually CAPS is for "replacement-level" immigration, and does so "without regard to race, ethnicity, or national origin."
Hey CooperG, what does the term "LA RAZA" translate into in ENGLISH? EVERYONE KNOWS: "THE RACE". Now, if that isn't racist, I don't know what is....
RationalHuman posted at 6:04 pm on Wed, Sep 28, 2011.
It's not funny Dale...but it's not surprising, either.
Both Bush and Perry are so ignorant and uneducated as to be barely functionable.
But you already knew that. ;)
Dale Whiting posted at 7:29 am on Wed, Sep 28, 2011.
Funny, isn't it. The last two Governors of Texas, George W. Bush and his former lieutenant, Rick Perry, both supported comprehensive immigration reform and legislation now characterized as the Dream Act.
Anyone out there care to take a bit of this apple?
az2008 posted at 6:26 pm on Tue, Sep 27, 2011.
@samkat: """the majority of Americans do not agree with Perry in spending our scant education dollars on people who should not be here in the first place."""
I don't know about that. But, we do have a much larger problem that I believe a majority of Americans don't agree with: our freebie "citizenship by presence" (instead of the parents' citizenship) which makes us unique among industrialized nations. Google for "jus soli"
The problem of illegal-immigrant children is confounded by their parents bringing them here to have legal children. IMO, there is a very reasonable argument that relatives of US citizens who were brought here against their will are significantly different than your average adult who enters illegally of his own volition.
This condition of illegals related to citizens (children born to illegals) is a huge problem. Mexicans drain our welfare system. Pro-illegal immigration advocates say welfare doesn't pay benefits to illegals. But, this is lying by omission. The welfare system will pay benefits to the US citizen child -- and that money goes to the child's caregivers who are illegals.
We aren't going to fix this problem until we join the rest of the world and base citizenship upon the child's relationship to his parents (their citizenship). Being born on soil that you have no relationship to (and your parents entered illegally) is hardly a rational way to grant citizenship.
When we tackle that issue we'll see a lot of problems with illegal immigrants disappear. Many incentives to come here will disappear. And, we might have more incentive to grant temporary-worker visas (knowing it's not a passport to instant citizenship for children born to temporary workers).
samkat posted at 5:20 pm on Tue, Sep 27, 2011.
cooper: You obviously are not aware that Spain ensured they populated every country they conquered with Spanish blood so if you are Hispanic, you undoubtedly have a fair share of European blood in you.
Sorry to burst your bubble twice but the majority of Americans do not agree with Perry in spending our scant education dollars on people who should not be here in the first place.
Accuracy posted at 5:11 pm on Tue, Sep 27, 2011.
The DREAM Act (acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) legislative proposal. And it was U.S. Senate Majority Leader Democrat Harry Reid who reintroduced the DREAM Act in the Senate this year on May 11, 2011. Note: for "Alien Minors". Democrats say the DREAM Act would provide a future for young illegal immigrants who right now cannot work or go to school.
Keeping the heat on Rick Perry at the GOP debate in Orlando, Florida, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., challenged Perry's suggestion that people are heartless if they don't support his Texas law that gives some illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates at universities.
"We will not have taxpayer-subsidized benefits for illegal immigrants or their children," Bachmann said. She pledged to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border, a move that Perry opposes.
az2008 posted at 1:27 pm on Tue, Sep 27, 2011.
Perry and other politicians are just pandering to the Hispanic vote. It may backfire, but you never know. Remember how McCain lost *all* support after backing amnesty? Within 9 months he was the party's nominee for President.
That's what cracks me up about hot-headed Rs who insist it's the "socialist" Ds causing all the problems. McCain, Dole, Bush (I) all come to mind as milk-toast candidates. Even the R darlings like Perry aren't hardliners on the topic. For crying out loud, Reagan supported the largest amnesty in recent history. He signed it into law!
We need to start emphasizing the common working guy, not partisan rhetoric with simplistic labels to define the "out group."
RationalHuman posted at 11:13 am on Tue, Sep 27, 2011.
"Guzzardi needs to know that the vast majority of Americans agree with Perry and not him. "
Care to back up that claim, CooperG?
While I agree that the vast majority of Americans probably agreed with Perry spending 34 million on a Prayer Day - I highly doubt you'd find that same majority in favor of giving entitlements (their tax money) to illegal alien criminals so they can go to college.
But hey, provide your credible evidence and prove me wrong! ;)
CooperG posted at 8:07 am on Tue, Sep 27, 2011.
Somehow I find it remarkably disingenuous for some guy from a California group who believes in eugenics, the superiority of European races (of which Spain and Portugal are parts of, by the way), and is a recognized hate group feels he is qualified to call Rick Perry out for standing up to the like-minded and uninformed neanderthals who boo sensible immigration policies.
Leadership means taking a stand when the "public" is wrong--even if it's a vocal minority. So, in this case, CAPS senior (as in old?) fellow Guzzardi needs to know that the vast majority of Americans agree with Perry and not him.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 7:08 am on Tue, Sep 27, 2011.
Nooooooooooo....not another ...California Critic....who doesn't live in Arizona, doesn't vote in Arizona, doesn't drive in Arizona, doesn't pay taxes in Arizona...doesn't know ...Squat About Arizona.
Isn't it bad enough that we have the President of the United States flying all over the Country day in, day out....week in, week out,...month in, month out,...year in and year out...........Preaching....Preaching...Preaching (and now screaming at Us from his Pulpit....like his old mentor and Sunday Church Pastor....the Reverend Jeremiah Wright how is on "YouTube" shouting to the... dancing and clapping congregation..."not Gawd Bless America but....Gawd-Dam America" and "America ...deserved 9/11...it bombed Hiroshima...it bombed Nagasaki...America, your chickens are coming home to roost").
Why don't these ...Pro-Illegal Alien Amnesty Activists and or Left-Wing Socialist Democrat PresidentS.....just leave Arizona alone....we are doing fine (well the triple-digit tempuratures could go away for a while at least)...but ....otherwise...Arizona is A-OK... (Moderator Ted Simmon on the ASU-PBS Channel 8, KAET nightly program "Horizion" needs to stop ranting...."What's Wrong With Arizona" and instead focus on ....."What's Right with Arizona").