Shut The Border Election Strategy Failing in Arizona
I've been in Tucson covering one of the top five races for control of the House: the battle to replace retiring moderate Republican Jim Kolbe.
I'll have a lot more to say about it in the days to come. But looks like my presence brought some bad luck to the Republican candidate Randy Graf. The national GOP has apparently pulled the plug on him, cancelling $1million in TV ads and essentially surrendering the district to Democrat Gabi Giffords.
Graf has been running hard for the seat since he lost two years to ago to incumbent Kolbe. His has been a veritable single-issue campaign to close and militarize the border. This district which includes 80 miles of the Southeastern Arizona border with Mexico is really ground zero for the Minutemen who have given Graf substantial support. But overall it is a moderate district which had sometimes given the openly gay Kolbe as much as 60% of he vote. Kolbe, like U.S. Senator McCain, is also a supporter of liberalized immigration reform.
Much of the Republican establishment had been openly wary that Graf was too extreme to win the general election and had funded his more moderate opponents. He nevertheless took 42% of the vote in a 5 way primary last week (Kolbe immediately said he would not endorse Graf). Just two days ago Graf came back from a quick trip to Washington claiming he had secured national GOP support.
Apparently not.
The failure of his anti-immigrant campaign right in the heart of Militiastan would bode well as a national bellweather. If the anti-immigrant spiel can't work here in southern Arizona, where can it? More later.
September 22nd, 2006 at 10:21 am
I know you are not a partisan blogger Marc but if you go to a site like MYDD and check it out the number of supposedly “Safe” GOP seats that are now listed as “competetive” is truly astounding. While Jerome Armstrong. KOS, and Matt Stioller all urge caution and avoid overconfidence the evidence (and the story from HOTLINE, Charlie Cook) suggest a tsunami is coming.
I think the Republican Party is going thru the same sort of crack-up that afflicted the Dems in the late sixties. The old time religion just doesn’t look so hot and the vacuum created by the disasters of the Bush Adm have allowed the religious right and the extremists to become more influential. And they just turn off most Americans. It is significant that Barry Goldwater’s granddaughter has a film about him that suggests he would’t recognize the party today and see Jack Danforth. No the GOP may be in for some rough times(if the voting is fair, that is!)
September 24th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
Marc keeps smearing everyone who rejects illegal immigration with the tag anti-immigrant. His only argument in support of the cause of illegal immigrants and amnesty is that we are all descendents of immigrants. However, it is because we are descendents of immigrants that we are stewards of our forefathers great American experiment and its legal process. As stewards, the people, through their Congress established laws to ensure the paramount purpose of the Constitution, the promotion of the common welfare, remained a lasting legacy. It is manifest that the citizen’s welfare, not the welfare of foreign nationals that our forefathers referred to in the Constitution’s preamble. It is only when foreign nationals are accepted as immigrants under established law that they are legitimate, and no sooner. Mr. Cooper’s attempt to ascribe the same legitimacy to foreign nationals who have entered this country illegally, as deserved by those who were born here, or have complied with due process, makes a mockery of the law and the people’s stewardship.
September 25th, 2006 at 8:11 am
Hi George,
did you ever talk with an “Illegall Alien”?
Did you what kind of life they have?
Did you realized that a lot of them worked as slavery in US?
Did you like that?
Do you think that all the illegall alien were happy to cross the border at 200 degre and risk their life?
Is that easy?
No, it`s not.
Believe me, i am legal alien, struggling with my green card process. I play the rule and sometime i am wondering that it will be better came back home (Italy). I am stuck in my job and i can`t go anywhere. But , at least, it`s my choice.
The “illegal” community does not have the luxury to have a choice, they are desperate. When i go to a restaurant, i see latino people working for nothing and for 12 hours, when i see construction i see latino o chiniese working for nothing and with no security, who is hiring this people? Don`t you think that the illegal problem is also an American problem?
September 27th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
Giuseppe: there are only two ways to prevent the problems you describe. Either open the borders completely and give everyone who comes across full rights, or enforce our immigration laws. The problem comes when people don’t realize this and then complain about something while at the same time in effect supporting it.
And, in addition to what George Williams said, can we really trust Cooper’s analysis if this is all he has to offer?
There are obviously other reasons why the GOP would oppose Graf other than thinking he can’t win.
My money’s on Cooper not being able to figure that out or not bothering to mention it.
September 29th, 2006 at 11:32 am
Hi nation
first thank you for your answer.
I think that it will be easy to understand that illegal immigration is like poverty or violence, is pretty impossible to defeat it. So there is no solution about this problem.
I can`t understand why, you as well all other organization like minumentum project are so focused about the border. I can tell you that the majority of the illegal are here with an expired visa, means that this wall will not fix any problem.
It’s also important that you understand that the situation of illegal immigrant is worse in Italy (my home country) as well as France. After that you see the amount of Eastern Europe or north African and the problem that they are making , you will be so happy to deal with a Mexicans or Latino (trust me, I am more scared to walk in the night in Italy than in NYC). I also think that the US policy is wrong, the main goal should be to make the (illegal) immigrants assimilate with the US. In Florida, Miami, everybody speaks Spanish, everybody should speak only one language (my English is really bad, I am the wrong example). I am sure that you agree with me that this “illegal nation†is working and it`s part of the economy, so why don`t recognize and understand what is wrong in the immigration system? This people are working, and it`s American citizen who hired them (and treat them as slave), so are not US guilty of this situation? Trust me, a lot of Americans have such ad advantage about the cheap labor of illegal alien.
And by the way, yesterday my layer told me that I will get (maybe) the Green Card in other 4 years,,,,,after 8 thousand $ and 4 years for a labor certification.
This means that no matter what, If I want to live in US I have to work for the same company who give the sponsorship…..if not, goodbye American Dream
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