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Hawkabee
The one useful contribution Tom Tancredo has made to the
2008 presidential race was when he accused the other GOP candidates of “trying
to out-Tancredo Tancredo.” He was right. So far, his opponents have failed to
match the alarmist, borderline socially unacceptable anti-immigrant rhetoric
the Colorado
congressman has spouted. But they come close.
Mike Huckabee’s new immigration
plan, unveiled today, is a case in point. Titled the “Secure America Plan,”
its bullet points include “Build the fence,” “Increase border patrol,” and
“Prevent amnesty,” with this little sub-bullet:
“Propose to provide all illegal immigrants a 120-day window
to register with the Citizenship and Immigration Services and leave the
country. Those who register and return to their home country will face no
penalty if they later apply to immigrate or visit; those who do not return home
will be, when caught, barred from future reentry for a period of 10 years.”
What happened to the Huckabee-approved “pathway to
citizenship”? Here’s what he said in an inteview
last year: “To think that we're going to go lock up 12 million people or even
round them up and drive them to the border and let them go might make a great
political speech but it's not going to happen."
Why the switch from “pathway to citizenship” to
deport-and-blockade? Chalk it up to the tuition breaks flap. In the past few
weeks, Huckabee has defended an Arkansas
program that would have reduced tuition for the children of illegal immigrants.
He claims he doesn’t want to punish children for their parents’ crimes—or, as
he says, “sins.”
But his opponents, and Romney in particular, have no
trouble grilling his cakes over it.
So here comes Huckabee the hawk. Look forward to seeing a
little less compassion and a little more conservatism on this issue in the
coming weeks.
Still waiting for comment from Huck's campaign, will post an update when it
comes in.
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