In 2003 Senator McCain testified before the Congress, stressing the importance of amnesty for illegal immigrants who have spent over twenty years in the United States and saying “we can set up a program where amnesty is extended to a certain number of people who are eligible.” Then, in 2006 he brought his plans to action, co-authoring a bill with Senator Kennedy that pledged a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already within the country; the proposal died in the Senate, but the memory of it did not.
When Former Governor Romney reminded Republican voters and Mr. McCain himself of this not-so-distant-past during the primary debates, Mr. McCain did an about-face, twisting his words on amnesty and claiming he would no longer vote for his own bill were it was placed in front of him, which he called a moot point anyway because “it won’t [be].”
“I have said time after time that no one can be rewarded for illegal behavior,” Mr. McCain asserted on Meet the Press this year. “…don’t you call that ‘amnesty…’ About two million people here in this country have come illegally, [and] have committed crimes here in America, and they have to be deported immediately.” This—that only the two million illegal immigrants who have committed crimes in America should be deported—is the newest of Mr. McCain’s fickle policies on immigration. It is likely to change in the coming weeks.
Indeed it could be the independent backlash that moves Mr. McCain away from this deportation stance, but if it is not it will be the logical fallacy embedded in it. Deporting the two million immigrants who have committed misdemeanors and felonies is impossible both for logistical reasons and the simple fact that by illegally crossing the United States-Mexican border and remaining illegally in the United States, every one of the estimated twelve million illegal immigrants has committed a crime. By claiming exclusively those who have committed additional and unrelated crimes in the country are criminals, Mr. McCain is giving a subtle nod to his former amnesty plan, not to mention falsely and indirectly claiming it has passed.
If it had, such immigrants would no longer be guilty of any crime, which may very well have been in the best interest of the country; it would have ended the ignorance of a growing problem and acknowledged that it cannot be defeated through scapegoating and finger pointing. But since the bill did not pass and was not even voted on by the Senate, Mr. McCain’s claim that crossing the border illegally is not a crime and that he would not vote for his own bill that would have made it no longer a crime is as paradoxical as it is mystifying as it is thoroughly nonsensical. If the ‘Straight Talk Express’ is to serve as president or even again as senator, he needs to stop talking in circles.
-David Lamb
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McCain isn’t fooling anyone.
but Palin is…. She has a speaking ability that Biden can only dream about. It’s not related to McCain, he has it a bit, but I think we’re gonna start to see Palin swing many voters in the Republican direction. When we do, remember who called it.
Lou Dobbs is talking about if McCain and Obama will address the immigration issue right now if you want to tune in to CNN>
I still don’t trust him on immigration at all. After last night’s debate where he announced his socialized mortgage program - I’m not sure I trust him on the economy either! I don know that he is the lesser of two evils..but…I think he too would take us down the path of socialism..just at a slower pace than Obama.
Given the recent flip-flopping from the McCain campaign and the public’s increasing lack of trust in the leaders, maybe it’s time to bring back Mike Gravel. He could help give the choice back to the people.
There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also.
If you ever want to see a reader’s feedback
, I rate this article for 4/5. Decent info, but I just have to go to that damn google to find the missed parts. Thanks, anyway!