Steve King ♥ Tom Tancredo?

Steve King ♥ Tom Tancredo?


Cyclone Conservative reports that email is moving on the right-o-sphere re this O. Kay article:

Iowa Congressman Steve King shares the same views on immigration reform as the most-recent entrant in the Republican presidential race, but King says he's not ready to endorse Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo's candidacy.

"I certainly encouraged Tom to run. I had, essentially, a heart-to-heart talk with him this past week and encouraged him," King says. "I want to facilitate everything I can in Iowa so that his voice is well-heard here." King and Tancredo both oppose amnesty for the illegal immigrants living in the U.S. today and instead they advocate construction of a fence along the southern border of the U.S. and stricter enforcement of immigration rules.

CyCons seems to be buying into my theory that Tancredo is the man to watch:

When I did door knocking and phone calling before the election mostly on behalf of Tom Latham and Jim Nussle/Bob Vander Plaats, I was really struck by how often people asked what their stances were on immigration and whether they were going to do anything about the illegal immigration problem.

Some might argue that Tancredo is only running to push this issue more prominently into the national debate, but I am convinced that if Tancredo, a pretty articulate fellow, can run a Tommy Thompson style campaign, he could begin moving up the polls as quickly as anyone.

Iowa conservatives tend to love their conservative congressman from Kiron and its hard not to see where they wouldn't show the same sort of love for the conservative King clone from Colorado.

I hate to say I'm in complete agreement with CyCons but I am. Although we probably have very different feelings about it.

Tancredo's Kulture War

Tancredo's Kulture War

Konservative kandidate Tom Tancredo in IC last night:

"'There are more issues than jobs we're losing,' said Tancredo, an outspoken advocate for immigration reform. 'It's an issue of our culture.'

Lax immigration laws that don't support assimilation are fostering what Tancredo called a 'culture under attack from within.'"

Harsh hard-right words in front of the Jim Leach Johnson County Republican Party. The article lacks any local reacts or renunciations. But the Press-Citizen wins points for its sense of humor: I don't know if he immigrated or not, but I'm guessing a reporter named Hieu Pham has a family background that includes relatively recent immigration. Nice touch.

Hide Your Hot Sauce, Tancredo's Comin' To Town

Hide Your Hot Sauce, Tancredo's Comin' To Town



Certain to be muy caliente rhetoric at the JC GOP's fundraiser Friday night with their Special Guest Tom Tancredo!

Even better, he's going to Muscatine, home to one of Iowa's largest Hispanic communities, Saturday.

And here's a blast from the past: "For more information, please contact Bill Salier..." That's right, the Bill Salier who damn near blindsided party insider choice Greg Ganske in the 2002 Senate primary. After that nar disaster, the national GOP pretty much wrote off Ganske. Heard his name the other day on WOI public radio: as a sponsor uh, supporter. That's right, he's back in the plastic surgery business.

Anyway, it's like I've been saying: Tom Tancredo's round `em up and send `em back neo-Know-Nothing rhetoric represents the dark soul of the modern GOP. Watch for that Better Than Expected finish next January.

21 Bars Get Busy

21 Bars Get Busy



Not as high profile as the Obama meeting but the committee for the 21 bar referendum got together last night. Only the Daily Iowan picks up on it - is that what we can expect for the fall? - but they did get Leah Cohen to call them "prohibitionists." Iowa City locals will recall that Cohen, owner of Bo James, fell about 50 votes short of bumping off Mike O'Donnell in 2001. Mike later switched to anti-21, which helped him beat 21 bar leader Rick Dobyns in `05 after Dobyns placd first in the primary.

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Quick links:

Edwards picks up some Vilsackers; the few big names from Johnson and Linn don't appear. Essential Estrogen says this is bad for the caucuses; I see the point but mildly disagree. I think the county chair types can be fair even if committed; we're not talking Chicago Alderman Louie Kneecaps here.

The Dems have finally found the phrase that pays: "Fully Funded Withdrawal." Some Progressive Caucus names here; will watch this one closely.

Interesting national numbers on immigration: Support for letting folks stay in the US and get on a citizenship path has stayed roughly steady in the 60% range but there's a recent spike in the GOP base, unworkable "deport everyone" position. Jonathan Singer at MyDD:

No doubt those speaking out in opposition to creating a realistic fix to the problem of having 10 million or more people living inside our country's borders unlawfully are among the loudest -- or at the least know how to play to the media to offer the portrayal that their numbers are greater than they actually are. And in fact, many in Congress -- to many Democrats, included -- have become timid on the issue of immigration reform as a result.

But the numbers speak for themselves. Americans want a comprehensive reform of the nation's immigration policy -- one that includes a path to citizenship.

It's the classic strength of position curve that drives so many of our issues: the vast majority that support a citizensip path do so mildly, while the minority have anger and energy on their side. See gun control, stem cells, choice, etc. for more examples. And get ready for that Tom Tancredo surprise.

Tancredo's The One To Watch

Tancredo's The One To Watch

Sorry, Gov. Richardson, but the weather looked nasty. Catch you next time, and link love later for those who are there.

Meanwhile, I'm looking at the right side of things. (Aside: Anybody want me to cover a GOP event, just to capture my take on the look and feel of the thing?) Iowa Voice bemoans the current GOP field and laments my Theory Of The Turn:

We’ve got to end this nonsense of putting someone up there simply because we think they’ve ‘earned it’ (Bob Dole) or because we think he can win, and instead nominate the best conservative we can find for the job.

If you want to know why McCain and Rudy are high in the polls right now, it’s because they’ve got the name recognition going for them. It’s not because they’re conservatives, because we know they’re not.

Well, too conservative for me, but we are talking GOP standards here. Iowa Voice then goes on to cite GOPProgress.com who was at some big conservative get together:

Team Tancredo seems to be sporting, with 0% deviation, 'no smoking' style stickers, with 'Rudy McRomney' emblazoned on the backdrop. In other words, there's a concerted group of anti-moderates on the ground. But, interestingly, most of them aren't focused on the Big Three, or Rudy Giuliani, or even McCain. Most are focused on Romney.

The evidence for this? The appearance of Mitt Flops-- quite literally, flip-flops in four different colors, pointing out Romney's wild changes of position on everything from taxes, to guns, to political parties, which seem to be in the hands of every Tancredo-ite in sight, but which during the course of the day made their way into the hands of many, if not most, attendees.

This confirms two of my pet theories:

Mitt Romney is a crash and burn waiting to happen

and Tom Tancredo is the winger candidate who is going to come out of nowhere and shock everyone.

Tancredo, Bush Foe on Immigration, Poised as Republican Spoiler

Tancredo, Bush Foe on Immigration, Poised as Republican Spoiler

One can hope:

"Right-wing populists have bedeviled American political parties in presidential elections for more than 30 years. These include George Wallace in the 1960s and 70s, Patrick Buchanan in the 90s, and may include another such spoiler in 2008: Republican Tom Tancredo."

They left out Perot... but a big splash by Tancredo couldn't hurt.

Tancredo: U.S. could ‘take out’ Mecca

Tancredo: U.S. could ‘take out’ Mecca

How not to make a good impression overseas:

“Well, what if you said something like — if this happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites,” Tancredo answered.

“You’re talking about bombing Mecca,” Campbell said.

“Yeah,” Tancredo responded.

Politics

Tancredo peddling his message in Iowa

Tancredo peddling his message in Iowa

Tancredo is scheduled to appear at small receptions hosted by the Christian Coalition of Iowa in homes in Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls and Dubuque. In between, he plans to do interviews with the state's largest Christian radio outlet and others, and to meet with the man who once managed the presidential candidacy of Pat Buchanan.

The trip is being coordinated by Buchanan's sister, Angela "Bay" Buchanan, who leads the Team America PAC that Tancredo founded to advance tougher enforcement of immigration laws.

Don't look for Tancredo for President lit en Espanol...

I'm surprised not to see Muscatine on that list. Having run for office not too far from Tancredo's stops, I can assure you that nativist sentiment runs deep and strong among Iowa Republicans in the eastern Iowa meat-packing belt.

The Buchanan connection is also interesting. Buchanan came very close to winning the 1996 caucuses, and indeed would have upset Dole had not the leading fundamentalist minister in Cedar Rapids endorsed Alan Keyes instead. Keyes wound up winning Linn County and little else.

In a splintered field with no clear front runner, Tancredo could have a strong surprise showing and accomplish his goal of forcing the eventual GOP nominee to take an explicitly anti-immigrant stance. That would be an open repudiation of W's attempts to woo the Hispanic vote, and a great opportunity for Democrats.

However, I'd still be ashamed if Iowa made that kind of statement.

By the way, check the photo credit on the story: Barry Gutierrez.

Politics, Iowa

Tom Tancredo: Our own Enoch Powell?

Tom Tancredo: Our own Enoch Powell?

Immmigrant bashing hits the campaign trail:

He warns darkly of the "Balkanization" of the United States from mass immigration and the dire threat of the "cult of multiculturalism." But the tide is turning, he tells his audience, and they are on the winning side.

From the dim amphitheater, someone yells out, "Tancredo for president!"

I suspect he'll be a minor player if he gets in, but he'll pull the rest of the field to the right, because The Base is where one plays nonination politics, and the GOP base is deeply and profoundly anti-immigrant. I think Bush is genuinely uncomfortable with this - despite his kowtowing to the fundamentalists he's essentially a business conservative, and the business conservatives like cheap immigrant labor. But the internal politics of the Republican Party are rapidly moving into the post-43 era.

It's risky but with any luck it'll backlash on them just like it did on Pete Wilson in California.

Politics